[B9Scrambler]

What about the hiss on lg? More info?
Reply here not on the emails

Not sure what else there is to say, lol. Plug them in and there is a persistent hiss in the background. Increases slightly when you scroll, tap, or interact with the screen at all. None of my other iems do that, but then this is the only quad-BA I've got on hand at the moment.

 

[Ahmad313]

My take on the B400. Enjoy!

https://head-fi.org/showcase/brainwavz-b400-quad-balanced-armature-earphones.22688/reviews

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Excellent review ,

 

[Jerda]

Damn, that would be a real dealbreaker for me as I plan to get an lg v30 in the future
The lg do that only with the b400 ( only quad that you have) or with others too? And I expect the b400 didn't get any other noise plugged to other sources, right?

 

[B9Scrambler]

Damn, that would be a real dealbreaker for me as I plan to get an lg v30 in the future
The lg do that only with the b400 ( only quad that you have) or with others too? And I expect the b400 didn't get any other noise plugged to other sources, right?

The LG does that only with the B400. B400 also hisses with the Walnut F1 while running the balanced cable, and with my HiFi E.T. MA8. It was fine with the HiFiMan MegaMini and Shanling M1.

 

[Jerda]

Somebody knows why that could happen?

 

[dweaver]

A bit later than promised here is a quick comparison between the B100 and B400.

I used 2 songs, Patricia Barber's Code Cool and Beckah Shae's Rest. Comparing back and forth the B400 clearly had more bass presence and more detail across the entire sound spectrum. They both share a very similar house sound though so if you like the B100 and just which it had more of everything then the B400 will definitely fit that bill.

For those who own or want to own an LG phone. I own an LG V20 and have not heard any hiss on the B400. Now before you take that as it does not exist on that phone, I may simply not be able to hear it. One of the guys at work could hear a hiss on one my headphones that I simply could not hear so my ears are not as golden as others. Having said that I have had other IEM's that had definite hissing so if there is a hiss it is on the lower end of the scale.

 

[HiFiChris]

Somebody knows why that could happen?

Low impedance, sensitive IEMs + noisy output = audible hiss and noise. That simple. Workaround: connect a voltage divider that doesn't mess too much with the output impedance (such as the ifi iEMatch or ifi Ear Buddy) to the output and the noise should be below the audible threshold (but you also need more current to get to the same volume).

 

[TympanicLiam]

Yup - I own the Triple.Fi 10, W4R and UE900.

Using all IEMs from a low impedance source with a ZOut of < 1 Ohm, the B400...

... has got about the same amount of bass as the Triple.Fi but with the warmer lower mids and a lesser sub-bass focus in comparison. The Brainwavz' mids are, in contrast to the UE, less distant. The UE has definitely got the brighter and splashier treble.

... about the same amount of bass and lower mids as the W4R (that is just a tiny bit warmer), more level in the upper mids, not as much of a recession around 5 kHz, and the softer and more laid-back upper highs.

... somewhat more bass and warmth than the UE900, is more neutral in the upper midrange (the UE has got a down-slope here), and is a bit softer and slightly more laid-back in the upper highs.

Thanks for the input! Given the fantastic pricing of the B400 I'm inclined to believe that they are the best choice of the spread for someone (me) that values relatively neutral audio without compromising bass extension or overspending.

 

[HiFiChris]

Thanks for the input! Given the fantastic pricing of the B400 I'm inclined to believe that they are the best choice of the spread for someone (me) that values relatively neutral audio without compromising bass extension or overspending.

Replace "relatively neutral" with "smooth, natural and balanced", then the sentence is correct.

Brainwavz really are putting out some great stuff with all of their B series models.

 

[Jerda]

A bit later than promised here is a quick comparison between the B100 and B400.

I used 2 songs, Patricia Barber's Code Cool and Beckah Shae's Rest. Comparing back and forth the B400 clearly had more bass presence and more detail across the entire sound spectrum. They both share a very similar house sound though so if you like the B100 and just which it had more of everything then the B400 will definitely fit that bill.

For those who own or want to own an LG phone. I own an LG V20 and have not heard any hiss on the B400. Now before you take that as it does not exist on that phone, I may simply not be able to hear it. One of the guys at work could hear a hiss on one my headphones that I simply could not hear so my ears are not as golden as others. Having said that I have had other IEM's that had definite hissing so if there is a hiss it is on the lower end of the scale.

Maybe I've found the reason: without the high impedance mode the v30 got only one dac's channel of 4 and the impedance of the LG phones output go a bit higher

 

[harpo1]

Maybe I've found the reason: without the high impedance mode the v30 got only one dac's channel of 4 and the impedance of the LG phones output go a bit higher

I don't think that's true. As soon as you plug headphones in Hi-Fi Quad DAC is enabled.

Edit: I don't hear any hiss on the V20 with these either.

 

[Jerda]

I don't think that's true. As soon as you plug headphones in Hi-Fi Quad DAC is enabled.

Edit: I don't hear any hiss on the V20 with these either.

Go to v20/v30 threads you will find there s more to know, don't make me write more about v30 here, btw when plugging cans or iems like these you will enable only "one dac" not the full quad

 

[harpo1]

Go to v20/v30 threads you will find there s more to know, don't make me write more about v30 here, btw when plugging cans or iems like these you will enable only "one dac" not the full quad

All speculation. But this is off topic so I'm done.

 

[dweaver]

OK while a bit off topic I will post once on the LG V20 situation. While I will not root kit my phone I did have a 75 ohm adapter sitting around so could fool the DAC on my phone to play with all DAC's enabled like the B400 was a high imoedance device.

The result was hissing while listening to music at any volume over 15 out of 100 and an extreme level of detail and edge. At low volumes 15 or lower the same level of detail is pretty impressive and might be fun.

When I plug the B400 without the adapter the DAC determines a normal hifi device and reduces the amount of DAC being used accordingly and requires a volume level higher than 15 to have the volume level.

I think I am happy with the default sound without the adapter. If anyone has rooted their phone so they can force the use of all 4 DAC's regardless of actual impedance I would imagine there would be much higher levels of hiss on the B400 since the adapter I am using actually adds resistance something that would be missing in a root phone scenario.

But I can say the added resistance in conjunction with my HE 400i did add a lot of detail and enoyment with that headphone but we are talking a full size headphone known to enjoy added juice as compared to the B400 which does not need that kind of power.

 

[dweaver]

On a different note I have a pair of Westone Beta IEM's so tried a cable swap to gain a microphone and button and am pleased with the added functionality and a slight uptick in treble response. This does show that the B400 responds well to cable changes.

I apologize now though, I ended up working late last night on a change for work (hazard of being an IT dude) so have not had time to work on my review yet. I should have more time after this weekend so hopefully will have sometjing put together soon.