Disclaimer: I received the Brainwavz HM9 under the condition I would write a review for it. I set the purchase price at the current going rate on Amazon, which is roughly $120.
Introduction
The Brainwavz HM9 was always a headphone I was curious to try, but my curiosity wasn't strong enough to warrant a purchase. Thanks to the review sample provided by Brainwavz, I was finally able to check them out! Sure, I always thought they looked stylish, but I had no idea how they would sound. Onto the review and analysis!
Looks, Presentation, Comfort, Build Quality, Misc.
I really like the look of the HM9. They're a bit more unwieldy on my head than I initially expected, but, eh, they look like fairly high quality and classy headphones with the black and silver scheme and overall design. I was surprised to find they're more on-ear headphones than over-ear. In fact, I can't get my ears in these at all! The cups and ear pads are smaller than I expected (the unwieldy aspect comes with how wide they are from cup to cup). Ah, well, no worries. The pads are quite plush, fairly comfortable, and still seal around the ears once you give the foam a few minutes to warm up and conform to your head and ears. The cushioning on the headband also seems plush enough to make these comfortable for a good while. They're not the most comfortable headphones ever, but they do well enough.
Going back to looks, I have to admit that the HM9 feels cheaper than it looks. The cups are clearly made of a thin plastic, and there is a bit of creaking in areas of the headband assembly. It feels sturdy enough, though, and I'm not worried about them breaking. And while the headphone does fold up, I wish the cups could swivel from side to side, as they are stuck sitting parallel to your head. This makes getting a good, comfortable fit a bit harder than I'd like.
I do like the accessories that came with the HM9. Removable cables are always a nice touch, and the HM9 comes with plenty of them! One cable even has an inline mic. The carrying case is nice and works well too! I'm always happy with the accessories Brainwavz includes with their products. It's a nice touch.
Sound
Based on the HM9 descriptions and some other impressions I had read, I expected a fairly warm and colored headphone. That turned out to be true (and then some), but I was still a bit underwhelmed with the HM9's overall sound quality. It's not that it isn't enjoyable, but it isn't very refined even for a colored headphone, and I know of at least one direct competitor with a similar sound signature that does better overall. Let me go into further details.
The first thing I noticed about the HM9 was the bass. There is lots of bass, and in particular lots of mid-bass. This gives the headphones a sort of thick, "wooly" quality that even bleeds into the midrange. In a sense, it's as though everything is going "woh" or "woof" even when it shouldn't be. I also thought the left channel had subjectively more bass than the right. My guess is it's caused by the single-entry cable in the left cup that is causing leakage and internal cup differences.
The midrange and treble seemed to be a bit better balanced than the bass, but some aspects were still off. Something in the low-to-mid treble was a bit rough sounding, whether it be some sort of peaky nature and/or extra resonance and ringing in that area. On the other hand, it sounded like the top bit of the treble was noticeably shelved, so the headphone sounded both rough, dark, and laid-back at the same time. And bassy.
Even with these issues and the bass clouding things up, you can still sometimes get a good sense of speed and detail. It depends on what you're listening to and listening for. There will be moments you are listening for something and are surprised by how well it comes through, and other times where you're listening for something and it doesn't manifest itself so well or at all. Interesting. I also found the soundstage to not be too bad and the sense of reverberation to be decent. This was surprising to me given the bass boost and treble veil in some areas, but I'll take it.
Aside from the boosted bass and rough treble area, there are still some promising signs. Bass can be a bit one-note sounding, but still has OK detail and never gets too boomy or rumbly. My guess is it has decent distortion and just a boosted bass response. The mids and some areas of the treble sound fairly detailed and clean, but they are easily clouded by the poor aspects on the headphone. Some genres do work better on this headphone than others due to its colored and rough characteristics.
In the end, I still found myself enjoying the sound of the HM9, but not so much that I could really recommend them. For the sound signature they were targeting, I think they went a bit too overboard in spots, and there are some rough aspects that make the HM9 sound much less refined than some similarly voiced headphones. For example, the Logitech UE6000 has a similar bass boost, but it is cleaner and better integrated with the rest of the spectrum. The mids and treble on the UE6000 are fairly balanced and clean as well. So, it's voiced in a similar way, but it just sounds so much more refined than the HM9. Given you can find that for less than $100, I find it difficult to consider the HM9 as a super viable purchasing option. (I have taken measurements of the UE6000 several months ago, but I will need to re-do them if I ever want to post them publicly. They did confirm what I hear subjectively.)
Measurements
Frequency response measurements are not surprising. Large bass boost centered around 100Hz. At its peak, it is about 11dB higher than the 90dB point at 1KHz (left channel), which is where I calibrate my headphone on the left channel for measurements. Channel imbalances also match what I heard, but it's not too bad above the bass. Treble response is pretty rough and uneven overall. There's an emphasis around 3KHz, a peak around 7KHz, and a large treble recession around the 10KHz area. Even for a fun or colored headphone, much of this is fairly poor.
Harmonic distortion is generally fairly low relative to the frequency response. I do see some spots where it hits around 1% THD in the bass, and 3rd-order distortion starts to creep up a bit below 200Hz, but these results are not too bad overall.
CSD results are a bit skewed given how depressed the treble is relative to the bass. Still, it looks like the HM9 doesn't have too many resonance or ringing problems except for that ~7KHz peak area (don't worry so much below 1KHz). I've heard ringing that is more sustained over time than this on other headphones. Since this ringing spot decays before 3ms, you will hear some roughness and extra edge around that area, but it won't sound so much like it is continuously screeching at you at that point. (Pics are left and right channel, in that order.)
Raw measurements indicate a headphone that is fairly stable when it comes to bass performance, which is good given how these are basically on-ear headphones. Treble performance does show some variability with placement and fit, but nothing too wild. You might be able to find some positions on your ears that sound slightly better.
Conclusion
I like how the HM9 looks, and I like the accessories it comes with. It did feel cheaper in quality than I expected, but it doesn't feel like it will fall apart easily. I did find the sound enjoyable despite the issues I mentioned, but it still has too many rough patches and perhaps too exaggerated of a bass response for me to recommend it even if you are looking for a colored, bassy headphone. I don't hate or love it by any means, hence the middle of the road review score. The looks and accessories brought the score up a tiny notch. If you want a bass-heavy headphone around $100, the UE6000 will fit the bill with a much more balanced midrange and treble response (it comes with a carrying case and inline mic on the cable as well).
(I did try some damping mods on the HM9 and was able to get the bass response much lower, but the treble response is still quite uneven and difficult to improve. I thought they might have some modding potential, but I was left disappointed there. But, if you have an HM9 and are looking for some damping ideas on how to lower the bass response, feel free to PM me.)
Introduction
The Brainwavz HM9 was always a headphone I was curious to try, but my curiosity wasn't strong enough to warrant a purchase. Thanks to the review sample provided by Brainwavz, I was finally able to check them out! Sure, I always thought they looked stylish, but I had no idea how they would sound. Onto the review and analysis!
Looks, Presentation, Comfort, Build Quality, Misc.
I really like the look of the HM9. They're a bit more unwieldy on my head than I initially expected, but, eh, they look like fairly high quality and classy headphones with the black and silver scheme and overall design. I was surprised to find they're more on-ear headphones than over-ear. In fact, I can't get my ears in these at all! The cups and ear pads are smaller than I expected (the unwieldy aspect comes with how wide they are from cup to cup). Ah, well, no worries. The pads are quite plush, fairly comfortable, and still seal around the ears once you give the foam a few minutes to warm up and conform to your head and ears. The cushioning on the headband also seems plush enough to make these comfortable for a good while. They're not the most comfortable headphones ever, but they do well enough.
Going back to looks, I have to admit that the HM9 feels cheaper than it looks. The cups are clearly made of a thin plastic, and there is a bit of creaking in areas of the headband assembly. It feels sturdy enough, though, and I'm not worried about them breaking. And while the headphone does fold up, I wish the cups could swivel from side to side, as they are stuck sitting parallel to your head. This makes getting a good, comfortable fit a bit harder than I'd like.
I do like the accessories that came with the HM9. Removable cables are always a nice touch, and the HM9 comes with plenty of them! One cable even has an inline mic. The carrying case is nice and works well too! I'm always happy with the accessories Brainwavz includes with their products. It's a nice touch.
Sound
Based on the HM9 descriptions and some other impressions I had read, I expected a fairly warm and colored headphone. That turned out to be true (and then some), but I was still a bit underwhelmed with the HM9's overall sound quality. It's not that it isn't enjoyable, but it isn't very refined even for a colored headphone, and I know of at least one direct competitor with a similar sound signature that does better overall. Let me go into further details.
The first thing I noticed about the HM9 was the bass. There is lots of bass, and in particular lots of mid-bass. This gives the headphones a sort of thick, "wooly" quality that even bleeds into the midrange. In a sense, it's as though everything is going "woh" or "woof" even when it shouldn't be. I also thought the left channel had subjectively more bass than the right. My guess is it's caused by the single-entry cable in the left cup that is causing leakage and internal cup differences.
The midrange and treble seemed to be a bit better balanced than the bass, but some aspects were still off. Something in the low-to-mid treble was a bit rough sounding, whether it be some sort of peaky nature and/or extra resonance and ringing in that area. On the other hand, it sounded like the top bit of the treble was noticeably shelved, so the headphone sounded both rough, dark, and laid-back at the same time. And bassy.
Even with these issues and the bass clouding things up, you can still sometimes get a good sense of speed and detail. It depends on what you're listening to and listening for. There will be moments you are listening for something and are surprised by how well it comes through, and other times where you're listening for something and it doesn't manifest itself so well or at all. Interesting. I also found the soundstage to not be too bad and the sense of reverberation to be decent. This was surprising to me given the bass boost and treble veil in some areas, but I'll take it.
Aside from the boosted bass and rough treble area, there are still some promising signs. Bass can be a bit one-note sounding, but still has OK detail and never gets too boomy or rumbly. My guess is it has decent distortion and just a boosted bass response. The mids and some areas of the treble sound fairly detailed and clean, but they are easily clouded by the poor aspects on the headphone. Some genres do work better on this headphone than others due to its colored and rough characteristics.
In the end, I still found myself enjoying the sound of the HM9, but not so much that I could really recommend them. For the sound signature they were targeting, I think they went a bit too overboard in spots, and there are some rough aspects that make the HM9 sound much less refined than some similarly voiced headphones. For example, the Logitech UE6000 has a similar bass boost, but it is cleaner and better integrated with the rest of the spectrum. The mids and treble on the UE6000 are fairly balanced and clean as well. So, it's voiced in a similar way, but it just sounds so much more refined than the HM9. Given you can find that for less than $100, I find it difficult to consider the HM9 as a super viable purchasing option. (I have taken measurements of the UE6000 several months ago, but I will need to re-do them if I ever want to post them publicly. They did confirm what I hear subjectively.)
Measurements
Frequency response measurements are not surprising. Large bass boost centered around 100Hz. At its peak, it is about 11dB higher than the 90dB point at 1KHz (left channel), which is where I calibrate my headphone on the left channel for measurements. Channel imbalances also match what I heard, but it's not too bad above the bass. Treble response is pretty rough and uneven overall. There's an emphasis around 3KHz, a peak around 7KHz, and a large treble recession around the 10KHz area. Even for a fun or colored headphone, much of this is fairly poor.
Harmonic distortion is generally fairly low relative to the frequency response. I do see some spots where it hits around 1% THD in the bass, and 3rd-order distortion starts to creep up a bit below 200Hz, but these results are not too bad overall.
CSD results are a bit skewed given how depressed the treble is relative to the bass. Still, it looks like the HM9 doesn't have too many resonance or ringing problems except for that ~7KHz peak area (don't worry so much below 1KHz). I've heard ringing that is more sustained over time than this on other headphones. Since this ringing spot decays before 3ms, you will hear some roughness and extra edge around that area, but it won't sound so much like it is continuously screeching at you at that point. (Pics are left and right channel, in that order.)
Raw measurements indicate a headphone that is fairly stable when it comes to bass performance, which is good given how these are basically on-ear headphones. Treble performance does show some variability with placement and fit, but nothing too wild. You might be able to find some positions on your ears that sound slightly better.
Conclusion
I like how the HM9 looks, and I like the accessories it comes with. It did feel cheaper in quality than I expected, but it doesn't feel like it will fall apart easily. I did find the sound enjoyable despite the issues I mentioned, but it still has too many rough patches and perhaps too exaggerated of a bass response for me to recommend it even if you are looking for a colored, bassy headphone. I don't hate or love it by any means, hence the middle of the road review score. The looks and accessories brought the score up a tiny notch. If you want a bass-heavy headphone around $100, the UE6000 will fit the bill with a much more balanced midrange and treble response (it comes with a carrying case and inline mic on the cable as well).
(I did try some damping mods on the HM9 and was able to get the bass response much lower, but the treble response is still quite uneven and difficult to improve. I thought they might have some modding potential, but I was left disappointed there. But, if you have an HM9 and are looking for some damping ideas on how to lower the bass response, feel free to PM me.)
I'm assuming that the airline adaptor is one of those two prong ones similar to this (http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Airline-Headphone-Adapter/dp/B002I9WCWK)? I do a lot of long haul travel (10 hour plus - business class) - and they come in pretty handy if you're watching in flight movies, and want to use a decent set of headphones. I often use an adaptor with my IEMs for this exact use.