Baycode
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2004
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Brainwavz S1 [COLOR=A9A9A9](Price: 59.50 USD)[/COLOR]: A Review by Baycode
CATEGORY: IEM
Intro to Baycode's Reviews with Graphs:
I always prefer to see "detailed but simple and easy to evaluate reviews" on head-fi. So I ended up using the graphs. Each factor you see in the graph is provided after extensive listening and A-B'ing with other iems. The higher the value, the better that factor gets. Anything less than 5 is below average, 5 is average, 10 is max. These numberings are not based on any other reviews. For better understanding the terminology and graph please see the notes section on the bottom of this page. To see the summary of the graph just look on the red and orange bars (red bar is average value of all while orange is the average value of only the sound quality). For the other factors you can find short notes under separate headlines. I want my reviews to be as fast an effectively understandable as possible which reflects only the TRUTH ( I am against "hype"). Some of the review products are free review samples sent to me while some of the others are purchased by me. Always feel free to ask any questions.
I compare and put the values for each category which is specifically evaluated (calculated) values for that "CATEGORY". So please do not attempt to compare an IEM category with full sized HP's.
Thanks for your visit and valuable contributions!
Brainwavz S1 Graph:
[COLOR=FF00AA]Click to see it larger:[/COLOR]
Summary:
If you're looking for a durable allarounder iem on the go, an iem which is suitible for diverse kinds of music, if you like sound with good amount of emphasize on the bass but don’t want to sacrifice on highs and clarity too much, if you like warmness and wide sound-stage in an iem which has above average isolation and very minor microphonics, then Brainwavz S1 is for you.
Front of the package is very nice
Back of the package
Under the package (box) flap
Underneath the flap of the box something is written in a wrong way
I show the correction with arrows
Genres Good for Listening with:
Pop, New Age, Chillout, Ambient, Instrumental, Vocal, Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy-Metal, etc. Broad ranges of genres are suitable with this iem.
Suitable to Use for:
General listening; suitable for noisy environments like bus, train, airplane; can be used while walking or daily works; not very advisable for sports, not suitable for water sports.
Iem native wearing position:
It's intended to be weared as cable up position. Can be worn cable down as well.
Fit and Comfort:
Easy to fit over the ears (cable up) position. It can be worn cable-down position but I prefer over the ears because of the less microphonics and more secure fitting. Chin slider is a good idea on a flat cable. It makes the fitting more secure. S1 is very comfortable once fitted over the ears. Doesn't cause any problems when listened for a long time in this position. Flat cable doesn't rub your ears and it really has very less microphonics. But I really dislike the large and heavy flat cable in general. Its weight is always trying to pull the iem. Thanks to over the ear design, iem doesn't fall out easily because of cable weight. In my opinion cable should be lighter and round!
Isolation:
Somewhere between average and above average isolation. It will not completely block the sound. There is a vent hole on the inner side (closer to the back) of the iem.
Source-IEM Matches/Mismatches:
S1 is rated at 16 ohm. Because of this it can be played even from a weak source like a cell phone. S1 can be played through diverse kinds of sources very well. It is a general usage iem in my book. So no worries here...
Brain and Driver Burn-in Period:
It needs at least 20 hours of burn-in for the biggest settlement. Will completely settle after 100 hours. At first I though It has very big and less controlled bass. I have 100+ hours of burn-in and now the bass is more controlled, bleeds into the mids very less.
Quality and Durability:
Its a very good quality iem. Aluminum housing seems excellent quality and durable. Although it's slightly on the heavy side for my tastes. Cable relief strains are nice and seems to protect the cables on the joint points. Included accessories is sufficient and packaging is very good. "Comply" tip is not knock-off, it's the real thing inside its original/sealed bag. Also the other tips provided by Brainwavz are inside a special nylon bag. Everything brought me the feeling that Brainwavz is valuing its customers! Zippered case is handy and very good in quality. Problem with the case is: its too big and the round corners makes trouble for the action of the zip. I always prefer smaller round, clam shaped cases.
The accessories shows that the Brainwavz knows how to value their customers!
I also like the idea of including a "silica gel bag" which is a "must" inside every iem/hp
case to absorb any humidity after using the iem/hp
Good amount of different eartips and an airplane adapter
Case is very good quality and looking very appealing too but it is big and meaty for my tastes
This warranty is very valuable and I will praise whom provides it! But I believe the warranty
information should be written on the front side of the package, not on the sides!!!
This information is much and much more important than the
"Comply Tips" included info, which is placed on the front of the package!
Whom should avoid Brainwavz S1:
Analytical lovers, who needs extreme (explosive) bass and subbass, who doesn't like 2nd-3rd row presentation, who prefers a dark sound, who hates flat and over the ear cables, who prefers a really light iem (including cables); should avoid S1.
Value for Money:
Since the 60 USD iems are crowded with very good competitors these days (like B3 Pro1, KC06 and Tenore) S1 has a chance for being a very durable and good all arounder iem. Its bass may satisfy most of the listeners. But midbass bleeds slightly into the mids. Its big soundstage is appealing. General sound quality is very good.
Love Factor:
This term is new in head-fi (I prefer to use it). "Love factor" is very "personal taste" dependent and one should take care of this factor as a grain of salt (but if you ask me it's one of the most important factor). This factor summarizes my liking of sound quality, fit-comfort, durability, isolation, microphonics, aesthetics, etc. So joining of all these factors makes me want to listen to a given iem/hp for a long time or not.
I could love this iem if it has more clarity, more neutral sound, better imaging, slightly lesser mid-bass that has no bleed to mids and round cable instead of flat. Other than these factors it's a great iem. So my love factor is on the above-average level for the S1 (check the graph).
Sum-up:
I think S1 is a good all arounder iem which have potential to satisfy many customers. It's material (or build) quality and accessories definitely deserves the asking price. But if I solely talk about the sound quality -although S1 is a very good iem- there are very strong competitors on the market now.
Availability: http://www.mp4nation.net/brainwavz-s1-iem-earphones
Guarantee: Yes, provided by Brainwavz, 12 months. I always appreciate the guarantee on the audio equipments. So big applause for Brainwavz here!
Specs:
Contents & Accessories:
Detachable Cables: No
Microphone: No
Acknowledgements:
Thanks for the Audrey (Brainwavz Relationship Manager) for sending me a review sample.
Notes:
1- Most of the terminology used in this review is depending on this excellent write-up by multiple headfiers: http://www.head-fi.org/a/describing-sound-a-glossary
2- Specifications and/or color of the equipments covered by this review may change in the future by the producer. And these changes may not be reflected inside the review in the future (although I prefer to update).
3- The bar-graph review technique is a new one and its my way to show readers to undestand an equipment at first look. It’s easier to understand IMO rather than reading dozens of pages. But I also advise any reader to look for the other reviewers pages and other contributors ideas. There is no single way to reach the truth.
4- The values in the graphs may change “slightly” over time. This is because my equipment collection is growing and comparative evaluations will always be in the process (even after review). So please feel free to come back and check the graph in the future (for example 2 months later). But usually these values are created after extensive burn-in and listening/comparing periods. So will mostly be stable.
-------------------
Baycode's Upcoming Reviews (in the graph sytle):
Philips Fidelio X2 (Completed)
Havi B3 Pro1 (there is already an impressions thread started by me, please visit this link: http://www.head-fi.org/t/711582/havi-b3-pro-1-impressions-thread )
Havi B3 Pro2
Penon IEM
Brainwavz S5
:wink_face: Please see the new review list (and links) in the “upcoming reviews section”: http://www.head-fi.org/t/728731/baycodes-upcoming-and-completed-reviews-newsfeed-page
CATEGORY: IEM
Intro to Baycode's Reviews with Graphs:
I always prefer to see "detailed but simple and easy to evaluate reviews" on head-fi. So I ended up using the graphs. Each factor you see in the graph is provided after extensive listening and A-B'ing with other iems. The higher the value, the better that factor gets. Anything less than 5 is below average, 5 is average, 10 is max. These numberings are not based on any other reviews. For better understanding the terminology and graph please see the notes section on the bottom of this page. To see the summary of the graph just look on the red and orange bars (red bar is average value of all while orange is the average value of only the sound quality). For the other factors you can find short notes under separate headlines. I want my reviews to be as fast an effectively understandable as possible which reflects only the TRUTH ( I am against "hype"). Some of the review products are free review samples sent to me while some of the others are purchased by me. Always feel free to ask any questions.
I compare and put the values for each category which is specifically evaluated (calculated) values for that "CATEGORY". So please do not attempt to compare an IEM category with full sized HP's.
Thanks for your visit and valuable contributions!
Brainwavz S1 Graph:
[COLOR=FF00AA]Click to see it larger:[/COLOR]
Summary:
If you're looking for a durable allarounder iem on the go, an iem which is suitible for diverse kinds of music, if you like sound with good amount of emphasize on the bass but don’t want to sacrifice on highs and clarity too much, if you like warmness and wide sound-stage in an iem which has above average isolation and very minor microphonics, then Brainwavz S1 is for you.
Front of the package is very nice
Back of the package
Under the package (box) flap
Underneath the flap of the box something is written in a wrong way
I show the correction with arrowsGenres Good for Listening with:
Pop, New Age, Chillout, Ambient, Instrumental, Vocal, Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy-Metal, etc. Broad ranges of genres are suitable with this iem.
Suitable to Use for:
General listening; suitable for noisy environments like bus, train, airplane; can be used while walking or daily works; not very advisable for sports, not suitable for water sports.
Iem native wearing position:
It's intended to be weared as cable up position. Can be worn cable down as well.
Fit and Comfort:
Easy to fit over the ears (cable up) position. It can be worn cable-down position but I prefer over the ears because of the less microphonics and more secure fitting. Chin slider is a good idea on a flat cable. It makes the fitting more secure. S1 is very comfortable once fitted over the ears. Doesn't cause any problems when listened for a long time in this position. Flat cable doesn't rub your ears and it really has very less microphonics. But I really dislike the large and heavy flat cable in general. Its weight is always trying to pull the iem. Thanks to over the ear design, iem doesn't fall out easily because of cable weight. In my opinion cable should be lighter and round!
Isolation:
Somewhere between average and above average isolation. It will not completely block the sound. There is a vent hole on the inner side (closer to the back) of the iem.
Source-IEM Matches/Mismatches:
S1 is rated at 16 ohm. Because of this it can be played even from a weak source like a cell phone. S1 can be played through diverse kinds of sources very well. It is a general usage iem in my book. So no worries here...
Brain and Driver Burn-in Period:
It needs at least 20 hours of burn-in for the biggest settlement. Will completely settle after 100 hours. At first I though It has very big and less controlled bass. I have 100+ hours of burn-in and now the bass is more controlled, bleeds into the mids very less.
Quality and Durability:
Its a very good quality iem. Aluminum housing seems excellent quality and durable. Although it's slightly on the heavy side for my tastes. Cable relief strains are nice and seems to protect the cables on the joint points. Included accessories is sufficient and packaging is very good. "Comply" tip is not knock-off, it's the real thing inside its original/sealed bag. Also the other tips provided by Brainwavz are inside a special nylon bag. Everything brought me the feeling that Brainwavz is valuing its customers! Zippered case is handy and very good in quality. Problem with the case is: its too big and the round corners makes trouble for the action of the zip. I always prefer smaller round, clam shaped cases.
The accessories shows that the Brainwavz knows how to value their customers!
I also like the idea of including a "silica gel bag" which is a "must" inside every iem/hp
case to absorb any humidity after using the iem/hp
Good amount of different eartips and an airplane adapter
Case is very good quality and looking very appealing too but it is big and meaty for my tastes
This warranty is very valuable and I will praise whom provides it! But I believe the warranty
information should be written on the front side of the package, not on the sides!!!
This information is much and much more important than the
"Comply Tips" included info, which is placed on the front of the package!
Whom should avoid Brainwavz S1:
Analytical lovers, who needs extreme (explosive) bass and subbass, who doesn't like 2nd-3rd row presentation, who prefers a dark sound, who hates flat and over the ear cables, who prefers a really light iem (including cables); should avoid S1.
Value for Money:
Since the 60 USD iems are crowded with very good competitors these days (like B3 Pro1, KC06 and Tenore) S1 has a chance for being a very durable and good all arounder iem. Its bass may satisfy most of the listeners. But midbass bleeds slightly into the mids. Its big soundstage is appealing. General sound quality is very good.
Love Factor:
This term is new in head-fi (I prefer to use it). "Love factor" is very "personal taste" dependent and one should take care of this factor as a grain of salt (but if you ask me it's one of the most important factor). This factor summarizes my liking of sound quality, fit-comfort, durability, isolation, microphonics, aesthetics, etc. So joining of all these factors makes me want to listen to a given iem/hp for a long time or not.
I could love this iem if it has more clarity, more neutral sound, better imaging, slightly lesser mid-bass that has no bleed to mids and round cable instead of flat. Other than these factors it's a great iem. So my love factor is on the above-average level for the S1 (check the graph).
Sum-up:
I think S1 is a good all arounder iem which have potential to satisfy many customers. It's material (or build) quality and accessories definitely deserves the asking price. But if I solely talk about the sound quality -although S1 is a very good iem- there are very strong competitors on the market now.
Availability: http://www.mp4nation.net/brainwavz-s1-iem-earphones
Guarantee: Yes, provided by Brainwavz, 12 months. I always appreciate the guarantee on the audio equipments. So big applause for Brainwavz here!
Specs:
- Drivers Dynamic, 10mm
- Rated Impedance 16 Ω
- Frequency Range 20Hz ˜ 20kHz
- Sensitivity 93 dB @ 1 mW
- Max Input Power 2 mW
- Cable 1.3m, Y-Cord OFC Copper
- Plug 3.5mm Gold Plated
- Fitting Over Ear Style
Contents & Accessories:
- Foam Tips Comply S-Series (x1)
- Silicone Tips Standard S,M,L (x6)
- Silicone Tips Bi-Flange (x1)
- Silicone Tips Tri-Flange (x1)
- Airplane Adapter x1
- Hard Casex1
- Manualx1
Detachable Cables: No
Microphone: No
Acknowledgements:
Thanks for the Audrey (Brainwavz Relationship Manager) for sending me a review sample.
Notes:
1- Most of the terminology used in this review is depending on this excellent write-up by multiple headfiers: http://www.head-fi.org/a/describing-sound-a-glossary
2- Specifications and/or color of the equipments covered by this review may change in the future by the producer. And these changes may not be reflected inside the review in the future (although I prefer to update).
3- The bar-graph review technique is a new one and its my way to show readers to undestand an equipment at first look. It’s easier to understand IMO rather than reading dozens of pages. But I also advise any reader to look for the other reviewers pages and other contributors ideas. There is no single way to reach the truth.
4- The values in the graphs may change “slightly” over time. This is because my equipment collection is growing and comparative evaluations will always be in the process (even after review). So please feel free to come back and check the graph in the future (for example 2 months later). But usually these values are created after extensive burn-in and listening/comparing periods. So will mostly be stable.
-------------------
Baycode's Upcoming Reviews (in the graph sytle):
Philips Fidelio X2 (Completed)
Havi B3 Pro1 (there is already an impressions thread started by me, please visit this link: http://www.head-fi.org/t/711582/havi-b3-pro-1-impressions-thread )
Havi B3 Pro2
Penon IEM
Brainwavz S5
:wink_face: Please see the new review list (and links) in the “upcoming reviews section”: http://www.head-fi.org/t/728731/baycodes-upcoming-and-completed-reviews-newsfeed-page
