[SciOC]

That's no fun when you want to A-B and are audio obsessed!

2-3 days with no headphones? That's torture!

I have a sinus infection right now so things sound a little wonky, but even that is not keeping me from constantly having IEMs in my ears even though I should probably use one of my over the ears for the time being...

 

[Lurk650]

It’s funny, I ordered an aftermarket cable on AliExpress yesterday myself (£25), just outta curiosity as I don’t have a spare mmcx balanced cable.

Went back to the stock cable and stock tips last night and it's actually not bad. The cable just doesn't pair well with my CH9T. On that note, I initially had trouble connecting my aftermarket cable to the B400, needs force to snap in place. To remove it last night I needed pliers and a lot of strength. Not normal at all. There is no tolerance with the B400 housing connection for some reason. Not a big fan of that.

 

[Lurk650]

If anybody is interested https://www.head-fi.org/threads/brainwavz-b400.876463/

 

[Arthur Li]

Just received my B400s this afternoon. I have listened to few familiar albums through them. Source was chord mojo. Impressions: surprisingly decent bass, neither muddy nor wimpy, fast and well controlled. Warm and slightly intimate mid-range, female vocal sounds slightly thicker than what I would consider neutral (focal clear). Polite treble, somewhat roll-off, good for long listening sessions. Good transients, the drivers do work together in a coherent fashion, only a tiny bit of smear when reproducing percussion. Dynamics are okay but not impressive, there is simply no way that an IEM could reproduce realistic, big dynamic swings of orchestral music. Staging is all in the head with normal 2 channel recordings, nothing wrong with that, it is inevitable for IEMs. Listening to some binaural stuffs on youtube and the B400s do manage to throw a decently wide and deep soundstage with precise imaging. Overall, I would say the B400s is a worthy pair of entry-level audiophile grade IEMs. From memory, the Audio Technica LS200IS that I owned few months ago isn't nearly as capable as the B400s. Lastly, as a HongKonger I am really glad to hear such a great pair of Hong Kong made IEMs.

 

[SciOC]

I share a lot of your impressions, the Dynamics and bass parts especially.

I definitely don't hear everything in the head in stereo recordings though. I'm wondering if this is a "our ears are all different" type of thing or if after a while, brain burn in will happen for you. I'll be interested to see if you have the same impressions after more time in terms of staging...

 

[Arthur Li]

I share a lot of your impressions, the Dynamics and bass parts especially.

I definitely don't hear everything in the head in stereo recordings though. I'm wondering if this is a "our ears are all different" type of thing or if after a while, brain burn in will happen for you. I'll be interested to see if you have the same impressions after more time in terms of staging...

Maybe it just my hearing is different from yours. Actually, I have never heard any IEM that can reproduce a "out of head" staging, not even the CA Andromeda. To my ears, it seems that there is instrument separation and layering, but everything is still in my head. Listening to orchestral music, it likes there is a miniature orchestra playing in my brain......On the other hand, many full-size headphones, such as the HD800s, do reproduce out of head staging with traditional stereo-recordings (to my ears at least).

 

[gemmoglock]

I share a lot of your impressions, the Dynamics and bass parts especially.

I definitely don't hear everything in the head in stereo recordings though. I'm wondering if this is a "our ears are all different" type of thing or if after a while, brain burn in will happen for you. I'll be interested to see if you have the same impressions after more time in terms of staging...

Maybe it just my hearing is different from yours. Actually, I have never heard any IEM that can reproduce a "out of head" staging, not even the CA Andromeda. To my ears, it seems that there is instrument separation and layering, but everything is still in my head. Listening to orchestral music, it likes there is a miniature orchestra playing in my brain......On the other hand, many full-size headphones, such as the HD800s, do reproduce out of head staging with traditional stereo-recordings (to my ears at least).

Hi! Wondering if you could share how is treble extension for orchestral music? Do violins sound ok? I need extension because I listen to orchestra (violins) and jazz (cymbals). I use the Pinnacle P1/PX, enjoyed demos of the HD600 and Massdrop Plus but prefer MD+ to have more extended treble. I demoed LS200 but can't remember the treble extension of LS200. It should be safe @Arthur Li you find more treble in B400 than LS200?

Trying to decide between B400 and UE900.

Courtesy of Golden Ears for UE900.

Courtesy of @Brooko for B400.

 

[Arthur Li]

Hi! Wondering if you could share how is treble extension for orchestral music? Do violins sound ok? I need extension because I listen to orchestra (violins) and jazz (cymbals). I use the Pinnacle P1/PX, enjoyed demos of the HD600 and Massdrop Plus but prefer MD+ to have more extended treble. I demoed LS200 but can't remember the treble extension of LS200. It should be safe @Arthur Li you find more treble in B400 than LS200?

Trying to decide between B400 and UE900.

Courtesy of Golden Ears for UE900.

Courtesy of @Brooko for B400.

Hi! I am not an expert but I would like to share this chart with you : http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm. As you can see, the fundamentals of violin do not exceed 1.5KHz, above approximately 1.5KHz are mere harmonics. Also, human ears are most sensitive to the 1K to 2K range. Therefore, I think that for an earphone to faithfully reproduce violin, mid-range coherency/ naturalness is more important than treble sparkle. To my ears, the B400s have slightly thicker than neutral mids, as a result violin sounds somewhat dark. When I listened to orchestral music with the B400s, it seems to me that the string instruments are somewhat overshadowed by the other instruments. I see that as a sign of upper mid recession. If you require absolute faithfulness to the natural timbre of acoustic instruments, I would recommend you look further. However, if you prefer a laid-back and comfortable listening approach, I would recommend the B400s.

Also, according to my distant and unreliable aural memory, the LS200ISs have rolled-off treble - the air octave is missing. The B400s has a somewhat relaxed treble response as well. If you consider yourself a treble-head, you may want to pass both the B400s and LS200s.

Lastly, the UE900 has been discontinued longtime ago due to issues with mmcx connectors. It's successor - the UE900S - seems to have really bad quality control as well.

 

[gemmoglock]

Hi! I am not an expert but I would like to share this chart with you : http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm. As you can see, the fundamentals of violin do not exceed 1.5KHz, above approximately 1.5KHz are mere harmonics. Also, human ears are most sensitive to the 1K to 2K range. Therefore, I think that for an earphone to faithfully reproduce violin, mid-range coherency/ naturalness is more important than treble sparkle. To my ears, the B400s have slightly thicker than neutral mids, as a result violin sounds somewhat dark. When I listened to orchestral music with the B400s, it seems to me that the string instruments are somewhat overshadowed by the other instruments. I see that as a sign of upper mid recession. If you require absolute faithfulness to the natural timbre of acoustic instruments, I would recommend you look further. However, if you prefer a laid-back and comfortable listening approach, I would recommend the B400s.

Also, according to my distant and unreliable aural memory, the LS200ISs have rolled-off treble - the air octave is missing. The B400s has a somewhat relaxed treble response as well. If you consider yourself a treble-head, you may want to pass both the B400s and LS200s.

Lastly, the UE900 has been discontinued longtime ago due to issues with mmcx connectors. It's successor - the UE900S - seems to have really bad quality control as well.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. There must be something that makes me feel some IEMs have less extension or air/headspace, maybe violin harmonics as the link shows harmonics extending up.

For my Pinnacle PX they are still ok but slightly thin. When I tried the Massdrop Plus I found those not very well extended in the treble. I am not a treble head haha, but I find the lack of extension on some IEMs and issue when listening to classical or jazz. Rock and metal are a different game, that for me tests congestion and layering.

Any idea what I should "look further" to? I have a weak spot for UE900s because they remind me of school days where some band mates were were using TF10s as their reference.

 

[Arthur Li]

To be honest I don't have much experience with IEMs in the 200 dollars price-range. If your budgets allow, I would highly recommend the Sony EX1000. Many headfiers think that this legendary IEM has been discontinued. Actually, it is still in production and is readily available in Hong Kong. I picked one up for around 260USD in a local store last year. If you grab one online it may cost you around 400USD - still a good value in my opinion. The EX1000 has such wonderful treble extension and shimmer. Acoustic instruments sound vivid and brilliant through this earphone. However, they have some potential drawbacks: 1. literally no noise isolation at all. 2, awkward fit, potentially uncomfortable. 3. you will look like an idiot when wearing this earphone and attract lots of unwanted attention on the street. If you plan to use the EX1000 indoor only, then you could ignore most of the drawbacks.

 

[gemmoglock]

To be honest I don't have much experience with IEMs in the 200 dollars price-range. If your budgets allow, I would highly recommend the Sony EX1000. Many headfiers think that this legendary IEM has been discontinued. Actually, it is still in production and is readily available in Hong Kong. I picked one up for around 260USD in a local store last year. If you grab one online it may cost you around 400USD - still a good value in my opinion. The EX1000 has such wonderful treble extension and shimmer. Acoustic instruments sound vivid and brilliant through this earphone. However, they have some potential drawbacks: 1. literally no noise isolation at all. 2, awkward fit, potentially uncomfortable. 3. you will look like an idiot when wearing this earphone and attract lots of unwanted attention on the street. If you plan to use the EX1000 indoor only, then you could ignore most of the drawbacks.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[ForceMajeure]

You are comparing a graph from golden ears that had Diffuse Sound Field Equalization + The small room X-Curve Compensation + Bass Compensation.
Not even talking about the difference in measurement gear.

That' the raw

 

[Brooko]

Sorry - late to the thread (away on business yet again).

As ForceMajeure (cool nick BTW) stated - you can't compare the two graphs. Different couplers, different compensations, different mics, and under different conditions. Unfortunately I don't have a UE900S to compare either.

What I can say about the B400 is that (IMO) it renders violins and orchestral pieces beautifully. Its just more of a laid-back presentation than the likes of my HD600 or HD800S. But the detail is there - its just the lower treble presence (or air) is a little subdued. If you have preference for clarity and detail (ie what i would call treble-head tendencies), the B400 may not be for you. A couple of alternatives in roughly the same bracket:

1. Simgot EN700 Pro - Orange line on the graph below. Somewhat V shaped, but still quite balanced. More mid-range and lower treble emphasis than the B400.
2. Alclair Curve - Blue on the graph. The most reference of the three. Has the best overall extension. Its often my go to if I'm looking for an uncoloured sound.

 

[gemmoglock]

Sorry - late to the thread (away on business yet again).

As ForceMajeure (cool nick BTW) stated - you can't compare the two graphs. Different couplers, different compensations, different mics, and under different conditions. Unfortunately I don't have a UE900S to compare either.

What I can say about the B400 is that (IMO) it renders violins and orchestral pieces beautifully. Its just more of a laid-back presentation than the likes of my HD600 or HD800S. But the detail is there - its just the lower treble presence (or air) is a little subdued. If you have preference for clarity and detail (ie what i would call treble-head tendencies), the B400 may not be for you. A couple of alternatives in roughly the same bracket:

1. Simgot EN700 Pro - Orange line on the graph below. Somewhat V shaped, but still quite balanced. More mid-range and lower treble emphasis than the B400.
2. Alclair Curve - Blue on the graph. The most reference of the three. Has the best overall extension. Its often my go to if I'm looking for an uncoloured sound.

Thanks Brooko, and @ForceMajeure (that's an intimidating username haha)! My treble-head tendency is not that strong, I'm just avoiding anything overly smooth or rolled off like the Massdrop Plus. How laid back is the B400 compared to the HD600? I found the HD600 quite agreeable and not particularly forward, it just kind of held everything in a nice balance.

Funnily enough I haven't found someone who has heard both B400 and UE900s, but I have been able to find people who have heard HD600 with either of these. Looking to hold on to my PX so most probably not jumping onto the Simgot for now.

Cheers!

 

[Brooko]

B400 is a little warmer / darker than the HD600 (IMO)