Brainwavz Audio B400 4-Way Quad Driver 3D Printed IEM
Oct 9, 2017 at 5:35 AM Post #227 of 1,463
Wow - really. How long did you own the 535's. personally I thought they were great earphones - just missing some extension on the highs, and the mids over-done a bit. Yes over-priced based on what you can buy now, but not back when they and the Westone's were the only decent triples on the market.

And the VSD3S? I have that - just haven't got around to reviewing it yet. Its good value for $40, but better than an SE535 - really? I wouldn't say they are any better than your average $100 earphone on today's market. The FiiO F9 skins them IMO, and its not at the level of the B400. In fact with the VSD3S there almost seems to be some coherency issues in the mid-range - definitely not overly engaging IMHO.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 5:52 AM Post #228 of 1,463
Wow - really. How long did you own the 535's. personally I thought they were great earphones - just missing some extension on the highs, and the mids over-done a bit. Yes over-priced based on what you can buy now, but not back when they and the Westone's were the only decent triples on the market.

And the VSD3S? I have that - just haven't got around to reviewing it yet. Its good value for $40, but better than an SE535 - really? I wouldn't say they are any better than your average $100 earphone on today's market. The FiiO F9 skins them IMO, and its not at the level of the B400. In fact with the VSD3S there almost seems to be some coherency issues in the mid-range - definitely not overly engaging IMHO.
When your review will be up here ,?
Please make a comparison with Big Dipper and A4 in your review.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 5:57 AM Post #229 of 1,463
I'm waiting for my Big Dipper to get back (loaned to another person to measure, then had an issue with driver failure - so awaiting replacement - I actually ended up buying it). But I wouldn't compare the B400 to the Dipper - the Dipper is on a different tier.

I'm also recovering from bad bout of the flu - so everything on hold for now. All I'm doing is finishing some older reviews.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 7:36 AM Post #230 of 1,463
Wow - really. How long did you own the 535's. personally I thought they were great earphones - just missing some extension on the highs, and the mids over-done a bit. Yes over-priced based on what you can buy now, but not back when they and the Westone's were the only decent triples on the market.

And the VSD3S? I have that - just haven't got around to reviewing it yet. Its good value for $40, but better than an SE535 - really? I wouldn't say they are any better than your average $100 earphone on today's market. The FiiO F9 skins them IMO, and its not at the level of the B400. In fact with the VSD3S there almost seems to be some coherency issues in the mid-range - definitely not overly engaging IMHO.

For quite some time, I used to be quite the shure fan, also a sennheiser fan - yeah, back then there wan't that much competition. The things is they remained at the same price for year after year, so yeah, they were already very overpriced more than 5 years ago let alone nowadays.

Well yes, the vsd3s is clearer and more spacious without sacrificing detail or being artificial sounding. In fact I prefer it to vsd5/s and it's very close to gr07, aside from not being as flat and the treble is a bit on the thin side. I don't know about skinning, there has been hype for a lot of gear throughout the years that was not justified. In recent time, the k3 pro was supposed to be skinning a lot of stuff in the price range and it didn't even skin a bunch of sun-$50 ones, so pardon my skepticism. Of course, can't comment on it as I haven't heard it but I remember crinacle was not impressed. Hell, I still think the brainwavz b2 is better than most of the recent stuff I've heard and better than any hybrid I've heard

I do hope the b400 is good, although I was not particularly impressed by the B150, although at the new price it is a bit easier to recommend. I hope Moe has the b400 with him and if I get the time to meet with him this weekend I can hear it.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 7:43 AM Post #231 of 1,463
Oh the B400 are good, very good in fact. Similar sort of feel good factor the B2 had - when you listened to them, and went how much? (surprised in a good way!)

I’m afraid you and I are in different worlds on the VSonics though. Good for the price - but hardly what I’d call world beaters, and the Shure (for my tastes) are much better. Mind you I actually preferred the 425 to the 535 in the end. But B400 would beat them both.

I hope you get to try them soon.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 8:20 AM Post #232 of 1,463
Oh the B400 are good, very good in fact. Similar sort of feel good factor the B2 had - when you listened to them, and went how much? (surprised in a good way!)

I’m afraid you and I are in different worlds on the VSonics though. Good for the price - but hardly what I’d call world beaters, and the Shure (for my tastes) are much better. Mind you I actually preferred the 425 to the 535 in the end. But B400 would beat them both.

I hope you get to try them soon.
Well, I guess eventually we will find out. I am not the biggest vsonic fan around but I am genuinely impressed by their price to performane ratio. No giant killers by no means but slaying a ton of the competition.

Just recently I have been skeptical of a lot of new gear. The magaosi k3 pro quite mediocre and what people said were next level layering and positioning were hust coherency issues. The same goes for that new massdrop plus iem. Shotgunshane is singing praises but a couple of years ago he was doing the same for the earwerkz (empire ears) supra andand comparinf it to uerm and the noble 4 wiped the floor with it, so I need a lot more convincing to jump on the thype train tomorrow.

Honestly, I'm more hyped about the brainwavz b2 pheonix but who knows.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 10:43 AM Post #233 of 1,463
Oh the B400 are good, very good in fact. Similar sort of feel good factor the B2 had - when you listened to them, and went how much? (surprised in a good way!)

I’m afraid you and I are in different worlds on the VSonics though. Good for the price - but hardly what I’d call world beaters, and the Shure (for my tastes) are much better. Mind you I actually preferred the 425 to the 535 in the end. But B400 would beat them both.

I hope you get to try them soon.

I'm a big fan of the SE425 and also slightly prefer them over the SE535, they just have a better low to high balanced than the overly smooth and mid forward SE535.

How do the B400 compare in relative quantities to the SE425, guessing better extension on both ends, but presence wise do they have a similar balanced of a more low end oriented, smooth sound.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 1:11 PM Post #234 of 1,463
Well, I guess eventually we will find out. I am not the biggest vsonic fan around but I am genuinely impressed by their price to performane ratio. No giant killers by no means but slaying a ton of the competition.

Just recently I have been skeptical of a lot of new gear. The magaosi k3 pro quite mediocre and what people said were next level layering and positioning were hust coherency issues. The same goes for that new massdrop plus iem. Shotgunshane is singing praises but a couple of years ago he was doing the same for the earwerkz (empire ears) supra andand comparinf it to uerm and the noble 4 wiped the floor with it, so I need a lot more convincing to jump on the thype train tomorrow.

Honestly, I'm more hyped about the brainwavz b2 pheonix but who knows.

Yes, I agree, there are a lot of hyping here and FOTM.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 2:06 PM Post #236 of 1,463
Yes, I agree, there are a lot of hyping here and FOTM.
Well, I'm not bashing brainwavz. I have been reviewing their products and am a fan - I just generally have reservations when other reviewers become overexcited about new gear.

Did you ever try the B100? I thought the B150 was the weakest in the lineup. B200 was my favorite IEM until I heard the B400.
No, I didn't, but you have to agree that when the higher positioned and priced product does not impress, you can't say to someone "Oh, but it is the weakest in the lineup, you should try the other cheaper model", coz if it is the weakest why does it exist and what warrants the price tag? With that said I wouldn't be surprised given the brainwavz S0 and S3 outperformed the S5. This can get confusing for the consumers and leave some buyers with sour taste.
I do pull for brainwavz to get a proper place in the current saturated market and they have had some real gems like the b2 and r3, so they can do it and hopefully the b400 is a step in the right direction or even a big leap. Oh, and I want a B2 phoenix ASAP - a lot of the guys newer to audio gear jumping on all those cheap flavor of the day Asian hybrids should here a twfk-based iem and find out that newer tech not always means better. Case in point, I recently got the Colorfly c10 and it sounds awesome and beats a lot of newer DAP using newer DACs.
 
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Oct 9, 2017 at 3:30 PM Post #239 of 1,463
Well, I guess eventually we will find out. I am not the biggest vsonic fan around but I am genuinely impressed by their price to performane ratio. No giant killers by no means but slaying a ton of the competition.

Just recently I have been skeptical of a lot of new gear. The magaosi k3 pro quite mediocre and what people said were next level layering and positioning were hust coherency issues. The same goes for that new massdrop plus iem. Shotgunshane is singing praises but a couple of years ago he was doing the same for the earwerkz (empire ears) supra andand comparinf it to uerm and the noble 4 wiped the floor with it, so I need a lot more convincing to jump on the thype train tomorrow.

Honestly, I'm more hyped about the brainwavz b2 pheonix but who knows.

I've noticed this a lot as well and i think it's just symptomatic of our crazy audiophile brains. A bunch of times I've seen people talking about something using terms like "end-game" only to see them raving about something else a few months later. Does that mean they were full of crap before? No.

It just means that we tend to be as addicted to chasing the dragon as we are to spending time with the dragon. It's like the honeymoon phase of a relationship only unlike with a woman it's OK to jump right into another honeymoon.

We just have to be wary of New Toy Syndrome as well as remaining cognizant of the fact that just because something is new doesn't make it inherently better.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 8:44 PM Post #240 of 1,463
Oh the B400 are good, very good in fact. Similar sort of feel good factor the B2 had - when you listened to them, and went how much? (surprised in a good way!)

I’m afraid you and I are in different worlds on the VSonics though. Good for the price - but hardly what I’d call world beaters, and the Shure (for my tastes) are much better. Mind you I actually preferred the 425 to the 535 in the end. But B400 would beat them both.

I hope you get to try them soon.

How does the B400 compare to the Mee Audio P1? I am currently using the P1 now. Thanks!
 

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