Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of the Brainwavz S5 for review. This will not affect my opinion of these IEMs in any way.
You can also find this review(with pictures) on my own blog here.
Brainwavz has been making cheap, well made IEMs that punch well above their weight for quite a while now. However I've never owned one before, so when I was approached to make a review I hastily accepted. Considering the price of the S5, and the increasing competition in this price bracket coming from some of the smaller Chinese companies lately, they offer an astoundingly complete package for their price.
Packaging and Accessories
The S5 come in a fancy book-style box that has been becoming more prolific recently among most tech products and it shows a nice attention to detail from Brainwavz. Large swathes of accessories have been becoming the norm from smaller Asian companies recently, and Brainwavz are no exception to this trend. The S5 comes with 6 sets of standard single flange tips(two sets of Small, Medium and Large, one grey one black), one set of double and triple flange tips respectively and a set of Comply T400 foamies, as well as a rather beefy(not in a bad way) 1/4 inch adapter and a rather snazzy carrying case. This is arguably my favourite part of the package as it is nicer than the one that came with my JVC FX800s that cost 2.5x what the S5 do. It's compact, rigid, zippered and has sorted compartments inside, perfect for carrying the IEMs with a selection of tips and other assorted things you might need on the go. Overall the packaging and accessories get the Brainwavz S5 off to a good start.
Design/Build Quality, Comfort and Isolation
The S5 are a traditional over-ear IEM: no surprises here. The housings are made of a nice shiny black metal with a simple Brainwavz logo the only adornment. The strain reliefs are adequate but not cumbersome or bulky and the cable is a tagliatelle style flat cable, sleeved in a grey rubber. It is light, and doesn't tangle easily. The Y Split is rather large, similar to that found on Shure IEMs and the cable cinch is also smooth and ergonomic. The jack is of the standard straight variety and strain reliefs on it and the Y Split are reinforced well, important on any IEM. The jack and split also have nice little engraved Brainwavz logos on them, which shows Brainwavz is putting the effort in when it comes to details, very nice to see.
Fit wasn't an issue at all. The small housings and ergonomic shape of said housings makes comfort no problem, and the huge selection of tips provided makes getting a good seal easy, no matter the shape of your ears. Isolation was very good with both the included sillicone and Comply foamies, able to withstand my daily commute on the train no problem, and as these are over the ear IEMs, microphonics were a non-issue. Build quality is, again, excellent. The metal housings, beefy strain reliefs at the jack and housings and strong y split make the S5 an incredibly well built IEM, especially for the modest price. They feel absolutely miles better than the similarly priced Audio Technica IM50, and I have absolutely no worries as to the longevity of these.
Setups Tested:
Nexus 4 -> Brainwavz S5
Nexus 4 -> Fiio E11 -> Brainwavz S5
PC -> Creative X-Fi USB DAC/Amp - > Brainwavz S5
All Music 320kbps
Sound
I usually listen to more electronic styles of music, but for this review I dug out some classical and rock songs to listen to in order to really get a feel for how these IEMs perform. I found no real difference when amped vs unamped, apart from maybe a little less hiss and noise, although this is mainly due to the fact that these are quite sensitive headphones, and so you'll want to use a cleaner source and decent quality source material otherwise you'll hear bad stuff you wouldn't normally hear.
One claim Brainwavz makes in their advertising is "Smooth Bass." While I was expecting this to be marketing drivel, it turned out that these do indeed have smooth bass. Bass is very well extended and deep, and texture is brilliant. Quantity is above neutral, but far from basshead level. It may sound muddy on the cleanest of recordings, but most electronic basslines and percussion, and bass guitars, sound absolutely sublime. Bass is not as emphasized as the Audio Technica IM50, for example, but the extension and texture make it second to none. The low frequencies are my favourite part about this IEM.
The middle frequencies are where things start to slip a little. Mids aren't exactly recessed, per se, but they aren't at the forefront of the music either. They sound a little better than the IM50 or Yamaha EPH-100, for example, but they aren't going to beat any of the Shure offerings for example. Some Trance pads and Hardstyle leads sound decent, whereas others can sound a little overpowered at times, however the mids aren't necessarily bad. They are neither here nor there; neither at the front nor at the very back, somewhere in the middle, a little lacklustre but not an entire deal breaker.
Trebles are fantastic on the S5. They sound sparkling and prominent, and very well extended too. Sometimes on more bright recordings they have a tendency to sound a little too strident, bordering on fatiguing, but most of the time the trebles are clear and accentuated nicely. Listeners looking for a slightly more laid back, relaxed treble should look elsewhere, the treble here is bright and adds a nice sheen. Trance and Hardstyle leads stand out and sound rightfully epic, and violins sound just as they should, piercing and sharp but not painful.
Another Brainwavz marketing claim is that the S5 boasts "Rich Detail." I surprisingly found this to be absolutely true. Detail retrieval is brilliant on the S5, and every layer of music can be easily picked apart even in the most hectic of climaxes. Soundstage is also very good on the S5, extremely wide for an IEM, sufficiently deep but not sounding spaced out or too wide. I played a lot of CS:GO using these and the combination of supreme detail, nice trebles, deep bass and wide soundstage made the experience top notch.
Conclusion
The Brainwavz S5 present a brilliantly rounded package at a very competitive price point. They are built well and come with any accessory you may ever need, fit and isolate well, and sound good with most types of music. Users who listen to unusually mid-heavy genres(unplugged vocals, types of Jazz, etc) may want to look elsewhere, but for everything else, the Brainwavz S5 provides an excellent listening experience.
You can also find this review(with pictures) on my own blog here.
Brainwavz has been making cheap, well made IEMs that punch well above their weight for quite a while now. However I've never owned one before, so when I was approached to make a review I hastily accepted. Considering the price of the S5, and the increasing competition in this price bracket coming from some of the smaller Chinese companies lately, they offer an astoundingly complete package for their price.
Packaging and Accessories
The S5 come in a fancy book-style box that has been becoming more prolific recently among most tech products and it shows a nice attention to detail from Brainwavz. Large swathes of accessories have been becoming the norm from smaller Asian companies recently, and Brainwavz are no exception to this trend. The S5 comes with 6 sets of standard single flange tips(two sets of Small, Medium and Large, one grey one black), one set of double and triple flange tips respectively and a set of Comply T400 foamies, as well as a rather beefy(not in a bad way) 1/4 inch adapter and a rather snazzy carrying case. This is arguably my favourite part of the package as it is nicer than the one that came with my JVC FX800s that cost 2.5x what the S5 do. It's compact, rigid, zippered and has sorted compartments inside, perfect for carrying the IEMs with a selection of tips and other assorted things you might need on the go. Overall the packaging and accessories get the Brainwavz S5 off to a good start.
Design/Build Quality, Comfort and Isolation
The S5 are a traditional over-ear IEM: no surprises here. The housings are made of a nice shiny black metal with a simple Brainwavz logo the only adornment. The strain reliefs are adequate but not cumbersome or bulky and the cable is a tagliatelle style flat cable, sleeved in a grey rubber. It is light, and doesn't tangle easily. The Y Split is rather large, similar to that found on Shure IEMs and the cable cinch is also smooth and ergonomic. The jack is of the standard straight variety and strain reliefs on it and the Y Split are reinforced well, important on any IEM. The jack and split also have nice little engraved Brainwavz logos on them, which shows Brainwavz is putting the effort in when it comes to details, very nice to see.
Fit wasn't an issue at all. The small housings and ergonomic shape of said housings makes comfort no problem, and the huge selection of tips provided makes getting a good seal easy, no matter the shape of your ears. Isolation was very good with both the included sillicone and Comply foamies, able to withstand my daily commute on the train no problem, and as these are over the ear IEMs, microphonics were a non-issue. Build quality is, again, excellent. The metal housings, beefy strain reliefs at the jack and housings and strong y split make the S5 an incredibly well built IEM, especially for the modest price. They feel absolutely miles better than the similarly priced Audio Technica IM50, and I have absolutely no worries as to the longevity of these.
Setups Tested:
Nexus 4 -> Brainwavz S5
Nexus 4 -> Fiio E11 -> Brainwavz S5
PC -> Creative X-Fi USB DAC/Amp - > Brainwavz S5
All Music 320kbps
Sound
I usually listen to more electronic styles of music, but for this review I dug out some classical and rock songs to listen to in order to really get a feel for how these IEMs perform. I found no real difference when amped vs unamped, apart from maybe a little less hiss and noise, although this is mainly due to the fact that these are quite sensitive headphones, and so you'll want to use a cleaner source and decent quality source material otherwise you'll hear bad stuff you wouldn't normally hear.
One claim Brainwavz makes in their advertising is "Smooth Bass." While I was expecting this to be marketing drivel, it turned out that these do indeed have smooth bass. Bass is very well extended and deep, and texture is brilliant. Quantity is above neutral, but far from basshead level. It may sound muddy on the cleanest of recordings, but most electronic basslines and percussion, and bass guitars, sound absolutely sublime. Bass is not as emphasized as the Audio Technica IM50, for example, but the extension and texture make it second to none. The low frequencies are my favourite part about this IEM.
The middle frequencies are where things start to slip a little. Mids aren't exactly recessed, per se, but they aren't at the forefront of the music either. They sound a little better than the IM50 or Yamaha EPH-100, for example, but they aren't going to beat any of the Shure offerings for example. Some Trance pads and Hardstyle leads sound decent, whereas others can sound a little overpowered at times, however the mids aren't necessarily bad. They are neither here nor there; neither at the front nor at the very back, somewhere in the middle, a little lacklustre but not an entire deal breaker.
Trebles are fantastic on the S5. They sound sparkling and prominent, and very well extended too. Sometimes on more bright recordings they have a tendency to sound a little too strident, bordering on fatiguing, but most of the time the trebles are clear and accentuated nicely. Listeners looking for a slightly more laid back, relaxed treble should look elsewhere, the treble here is bright and adds a nice sheen. Trance and Hardstyle leads stand out and sound rightfully epic, and violins sound just as they should, piercing and sharp but not painful.
Another Brainwavz marketing claim is that the S5 boasts "Rich Detail." I surprisingly found this to be absolutely true. Detail retrieval is brilliant on the S5, and every layer of music can be easily picked apart even in the most hectic of climaxes. Soundstage is also very good on the S5, extremely wide for an IEM, sufficiently deep but not sounding spaced out or too wide. I played a lot of CS:GO using these and the combination of supreme detail, nice trebles, deep bass and wide soundstage made the experience top notch.
Conclusion
The Brainwavz S5 present a brilliantly rounded package at a very competitive price point. They are built well and come with any accessory you may ever need, fit and isolate well, and sound good with most types of music. Users who listen to unusually mid-heavy genres(unplugged vocals, types of Jazz, etc) may want to look elsewhere, but for everything else, the Brainwavz S5 provides an excellent listening experience.
