Brainwavz B150

Brainwavz B150 Review: Delicate in Mind and Body
Brainwavz has a long track record of building compelling IEMs in the Audiophile space, mostly on the budget end of things. However, this changed with the release of their B-series: a lineup of balanced-armature Hi-Fi IEMs. Today I’ll be taking a look at the middle-of-the-road option from it, the B150. It features a plastic build and a single BA driver.

You can find the B150 available here, on Brainwavz’s official web-store, for $70.

Disclaimer: This unit was provided to me free of charge for review purposes. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product.

Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoyability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.

My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.

Source: The B150 was powered like so:

HTC U11 -> USB-C adapter -> earphones

or

Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones

or

HiFiMAN SuperMini -> earphones

or

PC optical out -> HiFiMe SPDIF 9018 Sabre DAC 3.5mm out -> earphones

All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.

Sound Signature
Initial Impressions:

The B150 just feels… natural. Its sound signature doesn’t have any standout features or “takes” on sound reproduction other than a mild warmth in the lower-mids. The B150’s overall tone is quite effortless and gives off a feeling of precision. Layering is also quite good, though there is some small amount of smudging in the low-middle midrange.

Treble: Songs used: In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy

The B150’s treble is present, articulate, and decently extended. High-hats and cymbals layer very well into songs, sitting in the background but rarely ever losing definition.

Another impressive testament to the engineers who tuned the B150 is the complete lack of sharpness/sibilance. Its treble is even and quite detailed but never crosses that line into discomfort.

Treble emphasis from lower-treble to upper-treble is even and lacks any sort of weird peaks or valleys. This lends the treble a good level of cohesion, though modern IEMs rarely suffer from notable cohesion issues.

Mids: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Dreams

The midrange of the B150 will be the sticking point for most people: it isn’t completely even and has some warmth in the lower mids. This warmth can cause some veiling of guitars during busy choruses, but otherwise, does not affect the performance of the IEM detail-wise.

Vocals are quite good on the B150, though it is partial towards male vocals. Affinity aside, vocals played through the B150 have above-average intelligibility. This is a major component of the “precise” feeling the B150 maintains.

Drums can be pushed into the background though; it was tough to follow them in a multitude of songs in my library. This effect lessens significantly with better-mastered tracks, but never fully removes itself from the listening experience.

Drums aside I rarely found instrumentation that would “blur” in the midrange.

Bass: Songs used: Moth, Gold Dust, In For The Kill (Skream Remix), War Pigs (Celldweller Remix)

The B150’s bass is surprisingly powerful given the single-BA configuration it makes use. It has a healthy mid-bass hump around the 300Hz range (about 2dB above neutral) and extends reasonably well.

The B150’s bass is perfectly acceptable for all genres I tested including rock, dubstep, house, jazz, and classical. While it doesn’t have the full impact I want on aggressive drops, it absolutely nails the ratio of mid-bass to sub-bass. As such, drops and bass-synths sound quite satisfying. Listening to Infected Mushrooms’s See Me Now perfectly captured the cohesive nature of the B150’s bass.

Rather than overwhelming the midrange, the bass complemented it. I really like the lower registers frequency response as a whole as it delivers the bass performance I want without reducing clarity significantly or creating a weird tonality.

Packaging / Unboxing
Build
Construction Quality

Normally Brainwavz’s products have an excellent fit-and-finish, but my B150 missed something: the lip of the nozzle has a deformed edge. Does this impact listening, comfort, or structural integrity at all? Nope. Is it annoying to me on a product that costs $70? Yep.

Weird QC issue aside, the build of the B150 is actually perfectly passable build-wise. The driver housing is made of a thin plastic which has a reflective black finish. It’s very discreet and won’t be turning any heads, but it won’t get dirty very easily or have the paint wear off, so that’s nice.

The cable is… mediocre. I found that while it is too thin for my comfort, it is surprisingly durable. This is partially due to the responsibly-designed stress relief on the jack’s housing, the Y-splitter, and the driver housing and partially due to the material it is coated with. As such, each component is well protected from mechanical stress.

A point of contention I have with the cable is that is springy and maintains a lot of “memory”. This is a pet-peeve of mine. I tried my usual remedies for a cable holding onto a specific shape: counter tortioning and wrapping the cable around a hot mug. Disappointingly, neither worked.

Comfort
The ergonomics of the B150 are top-notch and deliver a consistently comfortable listening experience. Finding a good seal was easy with the included eartips (I used Comply) and the shell didn’t press weirdly against my ears.

Accessories
Inside the box you’ll find:

• 1x semi-hard carrying case
• 6x sets of silicone ear tips (S/M/L)
• 1x set of Comply T-100
• 1x shirt clip
• 1x Velcro cable tie

The B150’s accessory package is just right for an IEM of its price: not too many things such that the costs detract from the overall quality of the product and not too few that it feels like the manufacturer skimped. The included silicone eartips are comfortable and get the job done, and the inclusion of Comply eartips makes it that much better.
The carrying case is of standard Brainwavz stock and comfortably houses the IEM and its accessories.

Summary
The B150 is a pretty good deal for $70. While the build does admittedly leave something to be desired, I can’t fault it when you take into account its very good sonic performance. Listeners with an earn for a south-of-neutral sound signature will be satisfied with the B150’s take on music. All in all, I think the B150 is a very good foundational block for Brainwavz’s future BA IEMs. Nicely done Brainwavz!

Disclaimers:
1) This product was provided to me by Brainwavz as a review sample at no cost. There is no incentive for a positive rating and this review expresses my honest opinion of the product.
2) Audio is a very subjective hobby, and my opinions might not accurately reflect your preferences and experiences. So please keep this in mind when reading my review.

I welcome any feedback and questions.

Introduction
Brainwavz is a Chinese audio company that is based in Hong Kong. They are known for offering products that provide great sound quality at a great price. The B150 that I am reviewing is part of their balanced armature lineup, which consists of the single driver B100 ($49.50) and B150 ($69.50), as well as the dual driver B200 ($119.50) and quad driver B400 ($179.50). All of these models feature plastic housings and are designed to worn over-the-ear, but the B200 and B400 are 3D printed. The B100 and B150 have a fixed, non-removable cable while the B200 and B400 have standard MMCX connectors that allow the cable to be removed and replaced. All have cables that are advertised as being OFC copper. The entire B-series recently had price cuts, and the B150 in particular was reduced to $69.50 from its previous $109.50. I will be reviewing it at the current, lower price.

Although I do not want to make a definitive statement, I have not been able to find any balanced armature IEMs that are cheaper than the B150, aside from its little brother, the B100. Balanced armature drivers generally have more detail than dynamic ones, with the downside of offering weaker bass. This problem is often rectified by using multi-driver designs, but at the B150’s price point it has to make due with just one driver. It is important to keep price in mind, as Brainwavz is clearly targeting this model at someone on a budget that likely wouldn’t have previously considered a balanced armature IEM due to the higher price.

For this review, I used my iPhone 6 as a source and music ranging from 320kbps Spotify to lossless. I own higher end desktop sources, but believe that IEMs should be able to be driven well from a smartphone. While the B150 might sound slightly better with more expensive equipment, I believe that at its price point the vast majority of customers will be using it with just a smartphone. As such, they are relatively easy to drive at 30Ω, and I had no issues using them with my iPhone. Brainwavz specifies the frequency response as 16 Hz – 22 KHz, and the sensitivity as 105 dB at 1 mW. The cable is 1.3m long. Rounding out the specs is a 24-month warranty, which is very competitive at this price point.

The best place to buy the B150, or any of its siblings, is probably from Brainwavz’s own website. The links above will take you to it.

Design and Accessories – 8/10
The design and workmanship of the B150 is good and solid, if a bit boring. The housings are a glossy black plastic and seem very sturdy. Left and right channel markers are embedded into the plastic housings, although they are a bit hard to see. They are adequate though, especially since the over-ear design makes it impossible to mix up the channels as the ear guide will go over your ear in the wrong direction. The housings will also not fit into the wrong ear properly. Extending from the housings are rubber strain reliefs that connect to the ear guides. The rubber ear guides work great. They are soft enough to mold over your ear without irritation, and in general do an excellent job of keeping the B150 secure. After about three inches, the ear guides give way to the cable, which is thin, but also seems sturdy. The splitter provides some strain relief to the lower portion of the cable, which is braided and slightly thicker. The termination is a very well-made 45o 3.5mm jack. Of note, is that the jack is thicker than most and just barely fit into my phone’s case. If you use a case that is tight-fitting around the headphone jack you might run into issues and need an extender.

Included in the simple cardboard box is the hard-shell carrying case, containing the B150 with medium silicone tips preinstalled, a pouch containing four other sizes of silicone tips, a pair of red T100 medium Comply foam tips, a clip to attach the cable to your shirt and a user manual. A Velcro band is also provided to keep the B150 wrapped-up when inside the case. The inclusion of genuine Comply foam tips is welcome at this price point.

The case is black, with red accents providing a nice contrast and complement. There is a metal Brainwavz logo embedded in the bottom-right of the top. The case does a great job of protecting the B150 and holding all of the included accessories. While it is pocketable, it is a bit fatter than I would have liked. The tips, case and cable clip might seem to be a bit basic, but at this price point I think that they form a great and competitive accessories package.

Overall, I am satisfied with the design and accessories. Brainwavz clearly used a relatively basic design in order to be able to focus on the sound. Nevertheless, I have deducted two points from this section. One-half point each for the case being almost too thick to be pocketable and the bland all black design. The other point is for the lack of a microphone and remote-control on the cable. At this price point, and considering that it is aimed for use with smartphones, I would have appreciated an included mic, or at least the option to pay slightly more for one. Taking phone calls is annoying without one, and I like the convenience of the three-button remote on the cable. This exclusion would have been less of an issue if the cable was removable or it was clearly designed for at home use, but neither of these are the case.

Comfort, Fit and Isolation – 9/10
I have grouped these three together because I believe that for IEMs they are all intimately related. If you don’t get a good fit, the earphones are likely to be uncomfortable and not isolate well.

As discussed previously, the B150 comes with five different sizes of black silicone tips and one pair of medium red Comply foam tips. Foam tips generally provide more isolation, and can be more comfortable, but they are more of a pain to take in and out and need to be replaced every few months. The medium silicone tips are preinstalled, and gave me a good seal right out of the box. While they are not the best silicone tips I have ever used, they are above average and definitely do their job. I did not feel the need to try any of the other included tips, or substitute other tips from another brand. The cable guides do a great job of keeping the housings inside your ears. They don’t fall out on their own, even when shaking my head vigorously in an effort to make them do so. So it is easy to get and maintain a good fit.

The B150 has below average cable microphonics, as do most other over-the-ear designs. This means that when you walk or move around with them you will hear less of the cable rubbing against your shirt. They also do a great job blocking out noise. When I walked around with them outside while listening to music, I could not hear any of the cars or other noises from the environment. For regular on-the-go use, the B150 will be great. However, for flying I would still prefer an IEM or headphone with active noise cancelling to block out engine noise.

The comfort is good. I have not experienced any discomfort, even during long listening sessions. The plastic housings can be a bit clunky, but they fit in my ears well. Although I have used more comfortable IEMs, the B150 is definitely above average and doesn’t present any issues.

Soundstage – 8.5/10
The soundstage of the B150 is above average. When listening to more complicated tracks the imaging does a great job separating the different instruments and vocals. On some tracks vocals can seem a tiny bit distant, but I attribute this more to poor recording quality than the B150. I also wouldn’t go so far to say that the soundstage compares to an open headphone or an open IEM such as Audeze’s iSINE series, but it does a great job overall and I have no complaints.

Highs (Treble) – 8.75/10
I have really enjoyed the highs on the B150. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I can hear the air in between an artist’s breath as on some much more expensive IEMs. That being said, strings, piano notes and cymbals are all very clear. Higher piano notes have a nice sparkle to them. There is a great amount of detail and resolution. I wouldn’t call the B150 bright or piercing.

Mids – 8/10
If I had to find fault with one aspect of the B150’s sound, the mids would be it. Vocals, especially male vocals, can sound veiled at times and lack detail and clarity. This does depend on the track somewhat, so it should be at least partially attributed to the poor quality of the recording. That being said, this can lessen the listener’s enjoyment. Drums have slightly better detail and clarity, although the intersection between the mids and the lows might be described as a bit muddy. Despite these criticisms, the sound is non-fatiguing.

Lows (Bass) – 9/10
For me, the bass was definitely the most surprising aspect of the B150’s sound. It is impactful, hits low and has a tiny bit of boom and rumble. I would describe it as mostly accurate and well-controlled. It is slightly elevated above neutral, but it doesn’t ruin the mids and highs. The quantity of bass might not be enough to fully satisfy a basshead, and those that prefer less bass might call it a tiny bit muddy. That being said, I have really liked the B150’s bass and think it strikes a nice balance between neutral and basshead, while keeping accuracy at a high level.

Value – 20/20
I have increased the weight of this section to twenty, up from ten, given that this IEM is targeted towards those on a budget. I definitely think the B150 deserves the full twenty points. I picked apart the sound to find any fault I could, and in the end, I must say my criticisms are minor when the low $70 price is taken into account. I am confident that the B150 can go head-to-head with other IEMs under the $200 price point, and perhaps even above that. While the B150 lacks the premium construction of more expensive IEMs, the sound it delivers for the price is stellar. In addition, you get a very nice package of accessories for the price, including genuine Comply foam tips. A twenty-four-month warranty provides plenty of reassurance that the B150 will last. To summarize, I think the B150 represents a tremendous value at its price.

Selected Comparisons
Final F4100 ($279) – The Final F4100 is also a single balanced armature design. The F4100 includes a nicer accessory package, with better silicon tips and more foam tip options. The included silicon carrying case is also much nicer than the B150’s. When it comes to the design, the F4100 is extremely tiny, looks more elegant, and is much more comfortable to wear over extended periods of time. It also has a removable cable. That being said, the included cable is more microphonic than the B150’s. The sounds are definitely different. The B150 has much better bass, while the F4100 has clearer mids and slightly better highs. Overall, I feel the B150 competes very well on sound given its price is a quarter of the F4100’s, yet the F4100 definitely has a more premium design and better included accessories. But these two IEMs have very different sound signatures.

Conclusion – 8.91/10
At its price point of $70, I can recommend the B150 without reservation. While I would have liked to have had a more pocketable carrying case, an option for a built-in microphone and remote and perhaps a bit fancier of a design, it is clear that Brainwavz focused on the sound of the B150, and they delivered. Even though I own IEMs that retail for hundreds of dollars, I think the B150’s sound is inoffensive and does everything well. While the mids could be slightly better, at this price point that is nitpicking. So to conclude, the B150 gives audiophile-quality sound at a bargain price. It would make a good backup or beater pair, or gift to friends.

Averaging out the scores for all seven categories results in a score of 8.91/10. This is in between four and five stars. As it is just below the cutoff for a five, 9/10, I am going to go ahead and show that rating on this review as I think the B150 deserves it for the tremendous value that it represents. However, you can change the weighting of the various categories to better reflect your own preferences and come up with your own rating.















Bonus Review: Krudul Duo – 5/5
Brainwavz also sent me their Krudul Duo, which is a package of two IEM holders. One has the adhesive at a right angle to allow it to be mounted on a monitor, and the other has it straight at the end to allow it to be mounted anywhere else. I was very impressed with the build quality of both units. Brainwavz advertises on its website that both units are constructed from die-cast aluminum and it certainly feels that way. I could see them being useful if you listen to IEMs at home a lot and don’t want to have to go through the hassle of taking them in and out of the case every time you use them. Instead, you could just hang them on one of the Kruduls and be able to grab them and listen. For the price of $14.99, if you think you would benefit from the Krudul, I’d definitely recommend it.

I´m a 38 year old father of 2 children who has a wife that is totally against anything that isn´t music out of the carstereo. I have been forced to sell my HIFI from Cerwin Vega, B&W and KEF speakers and move to portable audio and headphones to save my marriage. 

I was given the chance to review the Brainwavz B150 and this review is based on my subjective listening experience and is not influenced by anything but the gear I have at my disposal and the music I´m listing too.

In this review, and all reviews I do, I use the same tracklist and listen for specific things in the tracks. I listen to different genres and try to keep a good mix of different types of music and sounds. All tracks are FLAC. The tracklist is as following;
 
⦁    Sun Kil Moon – Third and Seneca
⦁    In Flames – Ropes
⦁    Fleet Foxes – White winter hymnial
⦁    The Middle East – Blood
⦁    Niki and the Dove – Love to the test
⦁    Queen – Innuendo
⦁    A tribe called quest – Get a hold
⦁    Yanni – Adagio in C minor
⦁    Elvis Costello – Alison
⦁    Dave Matthews Band – Grey street
⦁    Etherwood – Cast away
⦁    Rage against the Machine - Vietnow 
 
Specifications

⦁    Drivers : Single Balanced Armature
⦁    Rated Impedance : 30 Ω
⦁    Frequency Range : 16 Hz ~ 22 kHz
⦁    Sensitivity : 105 dB at 1 mW
⦁    Cable : 1.3 m Y-Cord, Over the ear, OFC Copper
⦁    Plug : 3.5 mm, Gold plated

The box
 
My review set of The Brainwavz B150 came in an ordinary white box so I don´t know how the retail one looks. What you do get on the inside is a lot of extra accessories and they are also very good for the price. You get; 
 
3 x Pairs of Sony hybrid lookalike tips (S, M, L) (did not come with my review set)
3 x Pairs of Brainwavz own tips (S, M, L) (I received 5 pair red)
1 x Comply foam tips (these alone are like $13US in Sweden for the pair…)
1 x Shirtclip
1 x Velcro cable strap
1 x Branded Brainwavz earphone case
1 x User guide (did not come with my review set)

 
 

 
 
Build and Design
 
The Brainwavz B150 are made out of black lightweight plastic and are shaped to look like they are custom built to fit in the . They are not branded with “BRAINWAVZ” on the side like the S5 and they look a bit small at first. I´ll get back to this later in the review. They look a bit basic as they are all black. They look very elegant and “neat”. They do feel very solid and that is also how I would describe their looks.

Taking a look at the cable, it´s black, rather ordinary with a rubbery feel to it. I have learned that my review sample was from an early batch that has a different cable and a more transparent housing then the retail version. The retail will have a braided OFC cable much like the M100. Above the y-split the B150 comes with a basic rubber sheathed, thin strand of cable. 
 

 
 
 

There is no remote on the cable, and to be honest, that´s not the end of the world for me. The cable also has excellent strain reliefs at all the danger areas so all in all I find the design ok. They are made to be worn over-ear and they can´t be worn cable down. The cable is not removable which otherwise seems to be a trend and I personally like.
 
Comfort and Isolation
 
I like iems and earbuds. I have about 30 in my possession at the moment and they range from small microdriver units to big bulky universals that cover your whole concha and will hurt your tragus badly. I haven´t tried customs and I´m not sure I ever will…

My main issue with iems are usually that I can´t get a good seal. I have BIG ears and well above average sized ear channels. Tip rolling is not something I do on occasion with new iems, I do it everytime and sometimes for hours to get that perfect seal and sound. 

I don´t know what it is about Braniwavz iems but they really are easy for me to get an excellent seal with. I put on the standard large sized tips and they just loved me. We come together in perfect harmony. For me, the B150 are the one of the most comfortable earphones I have ever used. I honestly forget about them after wearing them for a while. They are smaller in size compared to my average iems but they are sooo comfortable. I wear them over-ear, of course, and the cable lays snug around the back of my ears. Isolation is also among the best I´ve ever tried. For me, they are very close to the isolation I get when using Comply and my Shure SE535. 

I have to state this again. I find the Brainwavz B150, just like the B100, S5 and M100 to be extremely comfortable and a pleasure to wear.
 

 
 
 
 
Audio quality
 
I´ll be using a FiiO X7 with AM3 module as source and I´ll also hook up a VE Runabout 2.0 amp too. I also have an Oppo HA-2 dac/amp which I will pair with my Oneplus3 smartphone.
Straight out of the box I´m intrigued. Bass is fast with good punch. In my book just the right amount too. They sound fun which can be interpreted as “V”-shaped by many. I don´t think it´s fair to conclude anything out of the box so I had the B150 play music out my MacBook pro for about 50 hours. No special music just a random playlist and no “pink noise burn in”.
 
Mids

I find that the mids are very smooth and clear and that it brings out the vocals with detail and it´s much to my liking. They have warmth but not too much. I especially like how good it sounds with acoustic music from my tracklist above. Guitars and violins sound extremely good. 
 
Bass

Fast and punchy! It doesn´t feel muddy or blur in with the mids. Bass has control and at no time do I feel it has any problems when playing faster and harder music like In Flames. It does not lack speed and has no some problem “keeping up”. Adding an external amp doesn´t really provide any benefit either. For both HipHop and EDM they sounded excellent.
 
Treble

I´m very sensitive to sibilance, I´ll just add that right away. The B150´s gave me no issues or problem whatsoever. I honestly even enjoyed the laid-back level of treble they provided, not fatiguing at all. 
 
Soundstage

I´m a sucker for huge soundstage and airy atmosphere in music. The B150 are OK and average but they bring so much more to the table. I´d say it´s above average (like 5/10) and when I add the VE Runabout amp the B150 really does not benefit from it. They are easy to drive anyway both straight out of my phone and my FiiO X7.
 
Conclusion

A very pleasant surprise! I really think that Brainwavz have a gem here. The Brainwavz B150 is up to this date, my favourite iem from the company. They are well tuned, balanced and neutral and doesn´t add to much of its own signature to the music. I´d say these are an excellent buy for someone who wants a pair of iems that can play pretty much any type of music. There is no need for an amp so they should be interesting for a vast number of people. If you have large ears and feel fatigue wearing different iems these might just be the ones for you. I honestly think I´ll use these with my phone (Oneplus3 and Oppo HA-2 amp – used as DAC more than amp) and will keep them with me at all times in my pocket.