Alpha Brainwavz Review

[mark2410]

well for reasons that wont be gone into here i came by a pair of Alpha Brainwavz.

now this isnt going to be a full and in depth review, more a quick little expression of my thoughts of them so far. they havent had really any time to burn in bar a few hours so far but still i just felt i had to post something as there doesnt seem to be really any info about them on here.

source wise im using a 5G ipod line out into an icon mobile

now also you do have to bare in mind the cost of these things which i do believe is like us$14 delivered anywhere in the world, which is placing them right at the bottom end of things price wise.

OMG!!!! how and why is there not more talk of these on here? now i know we tend to focus very much so on the high end but for something so cheap that infact MP4nation give these things out as their standard earphones with thier own pmp's. i am just stunned by these things, really just stunned. anything else ive heard near this price range has tended to be very V shaved in sound sig, big horrid fat bass, shrill screechy highs and just crappy mids but these are just outstanding. just amazingly nice mids and smooth deep well controlled bass. even the highs are well behaved and not overly abundant, granted they arent amazing or anything but then come on these things cost 14 bucks!!!!!

yes if i wanted i could sit and list faults but for the money these i think are just fantastic (okay im willing to give they look as cheap as they cost) im just astonished there has never really been more talk of these. they knock serious spots off the cx300

 

[jant71]

I'll chime in on them too since I was also sent an Alpha Brainwavz along with the Beta's I am going to review.

They are very good. Both Alpha and Beta have a "house" sound where anyone could tell they are related if they listened to both.

I would say nice balance, comfortable and light, and better than I thought they were. The included tips are pretty decent and not the thin crappy ones, though I do think other tips make the treble sound more natural.

I don't know about "OMG!!!" but they are a great deal and are a very fun warm sounding set of canalphones. I think they are not as clear as the PL30 but are better balanced and have a little more oomph!

Soundmagic should watch out, the Alpha's, Alpha Pro's, and Beta's are probably a better line up than the PL series.

They stack up very close to the Meelec line up of AI-M2/M6/M9 in great SQ/$$ ratio. I would choose the MP4nation(apparently from the Vsonic factory) for better build quality/durability since the current Mees' don't seem to take abuse well IME.

 

[mark2410]

well i did notice they not quite so great through the ipods hp out but via my usual set up the mids in particular i thing are stunning for the money.

as for the a and b being alike i didint get that, granted the b's were only in my ears for 2 min before sending them off to the burn in machine.

maybe its just a great synergy with the icon mobile but i think the alphas are just fantastic, the sound sig just works fantastically for me and they feel very clear and smooth. cant think of anything for about £10 delivered that would come close

 

[LiranV]

What do you think about the coming Beta Brainwavz Pro?
They are worth ordering from presale?
Can you compare the brainwavz to other iem's?

 

[jant71]

@Mark: Yep, the icon mobile would be great for the Alpha's. I sold my Nuforce but the Alpha's are really quite nice with added treble and probably even more fun with the added speed the Icon Mobile brings.

To my ears the Alpha's and Beta's share a similar style of balance, separation, fullness, and large stage. Some base traits I can hear even though they have different sound signatures and levels of performance.

Mark, did you try the ebay bi-flanges on the Alpha's? I like Shure E2C Clear flex on them. The bi-flange were okay but I get along better with wider/larger tips for the Alpha's.

LiranV, the Beta's are more than worth ordering in most every aspect except one. They won't have enough bass for the bassheads without help(amp/EQ).

 

[robjrock]

There already is some hype building up about the Beta model... kinda wish I had ordered the (cheaper) model instead of my PL12s now... damn you!

Maybe my Pl12s will break and I'll just have to order some Brainwavz Pros...

 

[LiranV]

How are the beta pro's in compare to other known iem's such as cx300, shure se210, nu force ne-7m and such?
I currently have a px100 but i need some isolation, will the beta's catch up with the px100? or i will be giving up some sq?

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jant71 /img/forum/go_quote.gif @Mark: Yep, the icon mobile would be great for the Alpha's. I sold my Nuforce but the Alpha's are really quite nice with added treble and probably even more fun with the added speed the Icon Mobile brings. To my ears the Alpha's and Beta's share a similar style of balance, separation, fullness, and large stage. Some base traits I can hear even though they have different sound signatures and levels of performance. Mark, did you try the ebay bi-flanges on the Alpha's? I like Shure E2C Clear flex on them. The bi-flange were okay but I get along better with wider/larger tips for the Alpha's. LiranV, the Beta's are more than worth ordering in most every aspect except one. They won't have enough bass for the bassheads without help(amp/EQ).

well upon seeing your post i jut pulled the ebay bi flange tips off the pair of IE8's near me and stuck them on and all i think its done is subdue the bass a touch but no huge difference, highs are maybe a fraction clearer too. im still utterly blown away by these things though, ive had them in for about the last hour or 2ish and just so impressed by the alphas

betas ive not listened too since they went away to burn in

but only thing thats beginning to p me of a touch is the alphas are unbalanced, one side is louder than the other a bit. its not horrendous but its just enough to be annoying me a bit but still the sound quality is just so impressive. just so much detail across the board and the mids in particular are just so nice. if they didint look so cheap i could very very easily believe they cost several times as much as they do

 

[dhruvmeena96]

Can anybody compare jive with alpha