[earfonia]

After having sometime with B200, here are some early impressions:
 

1. B200 is a keeper. Well tuned dual BA IEM.
2. B200 scales well with sources and need some powerful player to shine. In other words, it is quite picky with player matching. I've been using Onkyo DP-X1, iFi micro iDSD (silver), and iFi micro iDSD Black-Label. B200 performs quite different with different player. It sounds a tad dull with DP-X1. Quite sparkling (sometimes almost touching sibilant) with micro iDSD (silver), and best with the new micro iDSD BL. It sounds much more lively with way better dynamic when driven by both iFi micro iDSD compared to DP-X1. So B200 seems to be best driven using a powerful player.
3. Tonality is very well tuned and have a good balanced accross the spectrum. sub bass and upper treble extension gently rolled off and a little lower than the rest of the frequency, but not considered anemic. Mildly mid centric in an elegant way. Tonality is best describe as neutralist tonality approach.
4. There is a mild touch of warmness, just a little and cannot be considered as warm sounding IEM.
5. Detail and clarity are good but not emphasized.
6. Smooth and polite presentation.
7. May sound a little dry when compared to dynamic driver IEM. Decay sounds a bit short.
8. Imaging is on the intimate side. Not the big and spacious type, but also not congested. A bit small for my personal preference.
9. Excellent comfort.

 

[nmatheis]

My pair has been stuck with FedEx for the past few days. It says they're still out for delivery tonight even though it's 7:30pm. The recent snowpocalypse in Portland really screwed things up

 

[B9Scrambler]

My pair has been stuck with FedEx for the past few days. It says they're still out for delivery tonight even though it's 7:30pm. The recent snowpocalypse in Portland really screwed things up

 
Thanks a bummer. Looking forward to your impressions when they eventually complete the trek.

 

[nmatheis]

Yup, they're back at FedEx depot again...

Boo!

 

[Zelda]

@earfonia how the B200 stands against the ath IM02? and E50 (from memory if you don't have it anymore) ?

 

[nmatheis]

 
In this video, I unbox the Brainwavz B100 and B200 IEM, show you their construction, and give an overview of how they sound to my ears.
 
In general, they share a similar sound signature, which is on the warm/smooth side. The B100 have increased upper mid presence, while the B200 have a slight upper mid dip. This makes female vocals more prominent and gives guitars more bite with B100, whereas B200 sounds more refined and tonally correct to my ears.        
 
I recommend both of these. The B100 are an excellent value at $60, a good entry point for people who are interested in trying out BA IEM. I'd probably give them a 4.5/5 star rating on the headfi review scale because of their excellent bang for your buck value. 
 
The B200 have some characteristics of much higher-priced multi-BA IEM I've heard, specifically their sense of refinement. They're the IEM I've been choosing to spend more time with out of the two. They're not released yet, but I'm guessing they'll be around the $200 price point. They sound good for that price, but I'd like to see a bit of differentiation in the shell design. I'd probaby give the B200 a 4/5 star rating, maybe 4.5/5 depending on my mood.
 
Overall though, these are two very good releases from Brainwavz. Thanks to Pandora for giving me the chance to listen to test them out and provide my opinion on them to the community!
 
Thanks for watching, and until next time... Happy Listening!!!
 
 
EDIT: Here are links to posts in @crinacle's IEM measurement thread where I measured B100 (LINK) and B200 (LINK).

 

[AndreiD]

Great review!        
     
BA100 seem pretty interesting given the price, their FR curve looks pretty nice to boot, but the BA200 not having removable cables is a deal breaker for me.     
I'm probably going to snag a BA100 since it seems like a bargain..      

 

[nmatheis]

Great review!        
     
BA100 seem pretty interesting given the price, their FR curve looks pretty nice to boot, but the BA200 not having removable cables is a deal breaker for me.     
I'm probably going to snag a BA100 since it seems like a bargain..      

Yeah, I think Brainwavz could've stepped it up a bit with the B200 by using a more distinctive shell, removable cables, etc. But they're quite good nonetheless. In fact, I'd go so far as to say B200 are my favorite Brainwavz IEM to date and I've been listening to them a lot even though I've got many more (and more expensive) IEM at my disposal. That's a very good sign. Recommended!

 

[AndreiD]

I might cave and get the B200 since it seems to be nicely tuned, but non-removable cables is still disappointing, especially given that even <20$ chinese IEMs have them nowadays.   

 

[razzer001]

 
 
In this video, I unbox the Brainwavz B100 and B200 IEM, show you their construction, and give an overview of how they sound to my ears.
 
In general, they share a similar sound signature, which is on the warm/smooth side. The B100 have increased upper mid presence, while the B200 have a slight upper mid dip. This makes female vocals more prominent and gives guitars more bite with B100, whereas B200 sounds more refined and tonally correct to my ears.        
 
I recommend both of these. The B100 are an excellent value at $60, a good entry point for people who are interested in trying out BA IEM. I'd probably give them a 4.5/5 star rating on the headfi review scale because of their excellent bang for your buck value. 
 
The B200 have some characteristics of much higher-priced multi-BA IEM I've heard, specifically their sense of refinement. They're the IEM I've been choosing to spend more time with out of the two. They're not released yet, but I'm guessing they'll be around the $200 price point. They sound good for that price, but I'd like to see a bit of differentiation in the shell design. I'd probaby give the B200 a 4/5 star rating, maybe 4.5/5 depending on my mood.
 
Overall though, these are two very good releases from Brainwavz. Thanks to Pandora for giving me the chance to listen to test them out and provide my opinion on them to the community!
 
Thanks for watching, and until next time... Happy Listening!!!
 
 
EDIT: Here are links to posts in @crinacle's IEM measurement thread where I measured B100 (LINK) and B200 (LINK).

 
Great review, thanks for taking the time to do it, i am glad you've enjoyed them so much.
 
In regards to making different shells for the models, this came down to a combination of factors, the biggest being that the overall design has really good ergonomic characteristics, to make a change would only have been for the sake of it and may have reduced the comfort. We did play around with the idea of using different color schemes, but we have long realized our customer base tends to prefer black over any other color or color combination. Also in the end its about the sound
 
 
 

  I might cave and get the B200 since it seems to be nicely tuned, but non-removable cables is still disappointing, especially given that even <20$ chinese IEMs have them nowadays.   

 
Having removable cables isn't at all difficult, making the connector points durable and remain compact, that's different. We opted to not go with the detachable cable design as we are still looking for a durable design. Having sold a lot of other brands which have used detachable cables, i can tell you first hand, the cable connector points tend to be a weak point and were usually the first parts to fail. We will be having detachable cables in the future, but we're not in a rush.

 

[nmatheis]

   
Great review, thanks for taking the time to do it, i am glad you've enjoyed them so much.
 
In regards to making different shells for the models, this came down to a combination of factors, the biggest being that the overall design has really good ergonomic characteristics, to make a change would only have been for the sake of it and may have reduced the comfort. We did play around with the idea of using different color schemes, but we have long realized our customer base tends to prefer black over any other color or color combination. Also in the end its about the sound

 
I'm glad you made two really good IEM at reasonable prices. Thanks for the opportunity to try them out. I think I'll see if a few of my headfi buddies would like to try them out!
 

Having removable cables isn't at all difficult, making the connector points durable and remain compact, that's different. We opted to not go with the detachable cable design as we are still looking for a durable design. Having sold a lot of other brands which have used detachable cables, i can tell you first hand, the cable connector points tend to be a weak point and were usually the first parts to fail. We will be having detachable cables in the future, but we're not in a rush.

 
I understand where you're coming from. A solid fixed cable isn't a negative. I'm not easily swayed by detachable cables, but some people really like them so offering some higher-tier IEM in the future will help attract those people as customers.

 

[earfonia]

 
 
 
EDIT: Here are links to posts in @crinacle's IEM measurement thread where I measured B100 (LINK) and B200 (LINK).

 
Awesome thanks!
 
I had a chance sometime ago to compared the B200 and Etymotic ER4XR, this is my impression:
 
ER4-XR sounds more transparent and more resolving in detail, with more spacious perceived imaging. More extended and sparkling treble. I like the transparency, but bass is lacking for my preference.
 
B200 has thicker and fuller mids. Vocal sounds fuller with more body. Smaller soundstage with a more intimate presentation. Fuller and more potent bass.
 
Both have actually quite different tonality, but both are enjoyable and don't have any audible annoying peaks and dips on their spectrum.

 

[earfonia]

  Having removable cables isn't at all difficult, making the connector points durable and remain compact, that's different. We opted to not go with the detachable cable design as we are still looking for a durable design. Having sold a lot of other brands which have used detachable cables, i can tell you first hand, the cable connector points tend to be a weak point and were usually the first parts to fail. We will be having detachable cables in the future, but we're not in a rush.

 
Agree on this.

 

[AndreiD]

Originally Posted by razzer001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Having removable cables isn't at all difficult, making the connector points durable and remain compact, that's different. We opted to not go with the detachable cable design as we are still looking for a durable design. Having sold a lot of other brands which have used detachable cables, i can tell you first hand, the cable connector points tend to be a weak point and were usually the first parts to fail. We will be having detachable cables in the future, but we're not in a rush.

 
Credit where credit is due, the cable does look pretty solid.

 

[earfonia]

 
 
Tested B200 with AK380SS + SS AMP, unfortunately not the best pairing for B200 

The soft and smooth treble of AK380SS didn't help to add excitement on B200. The iFi micro iDSD and iFi micro iDSD Black-Label still the best player for B200