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Brainwavz HM9 Thread: Reviews, Impressions, Comparisons, and Appreciation
Aug 5, 2013 at 1:30 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16
tinyman392

tinyman392

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Brainwavz HM9 Thread

Reviews, Impressions, Comparisons, and Appreciation; Love or Hate, We'll Accept it All (I hope :wink:)
MP4Nation | Amazon
 
NOTE: I am generally in the Portables forum, and rarely in the full-sized forum.  If you wrote a review, impression, or comparison and would like the OP to link to it, PM me with links.  I'll update accordingly :)
 
Some of you already know that the Brainwavz HM9 have already been announced by Brainwavz.  I didn't see a review/impression/appreciation thread for it yet, so I thought I'd start one up.  I should be getting a pair in the coming days a a review a few weeks after that.  I'll do my best to keep this review updated. 
 
I'm not on the full-sized headphone forum too often, so if you do post anything that you want in the OP, please PM me the link to it and I'll add it in :wink:
 

Specifications and General Info

This is Brainwavz newest flagship headphone model.  From the HM5, this model actually proves to be an on-ear headphone that is sized somewhere between true on-ear and true over-ear (I had similar thoughts with the Phiaton MS500 Bridge).  The take a slight step away from the flat neutral sound of the HM5 to a more portable friendly sound with a slight boost to the bass. 
 
Design: On-Ear
Driver: 40 mm Dynamic
Frequency Response: 10 Hz - 24 kHz
Impedance: 40 ohms
Sensitivity: 104 dB @ 1 mW
Included: Brainwavz HM9, Audio Cables (1.2 m mic'd, 1.2 m audio only flat, 3 m audio only flat), Hard Carrying Case (with strap), Airline Adapter
 

Reviews

IshcaBible
tinyman392
dragon2knight
 

Impressions

coming soon
 

Comparisons

IshcaBible: vs Momentum (From memory)
 
Aug 6, 2013 at 11:34 AM Post #2 of 16
Got them in today.  Initial impressions are positive.  They are more bass-heavy than the HM5. 
 
The first thing that struck me was the size though.  These are sized inbetween a true on-ear (think V-Moda M-80) and a true over-ear (think Beats, sorry, but it is over-ear and the width of the headphone is in similar regard).  With that said, they aren't small by any means.  They do take a little bit of fidgeting to get into a comfortable area though, which may be a downer for most :frowning2:  I wanted to wait to call them on-ear until I had my hands on them, in many ways, pictures can look larger than they actually are, etc. 
 
The second thing I noticed was that the hinges don't lock into place.  They rather just sit there loose and can flop around.  The materials feel great in the hand, but something about the hinges not locking just doesn't feel right to me at all.  It's good and all that they fold closed, but some sort of locking mechanism would definitely be preferred. 
 
Sound impressions will be brief and short as this is only a truly initial impression, had about half an hour (to an hour) with them thus far.  The sound is fairly neutral with a bass boost (low-to-sub-bass boost).  I would say warm overall.  Major dips and bumps include a bump in the bass (Brainwavz already stated this publicly on Head-Fi) and dips in the lower treble and lower midrange.  This is all subjective of course.  Well, that's all for now, I'll update after burning in and getting a better feel for them. 
 
Aug 6, 2013 at 9:07 PM Post #3 of 16
being eyeballing these, please compare them to other headphones you have as well
 
Aug 7, 2013 at 12:28 AM Post #4 of 16
Quote:
ourfpshero said:
being eyeballing these, please compare them to other headphones you have as well
Click to expand...

 
I will do that for sure when I have time...  V-Moda M-80, M-100, Brainwavz HM5, and Phiaton Bridge are on my list right now. 
 
BTW, if you're not looking for a bassy sound, or don't like one, this may not be the headphone for you.  The bass is a little slower and smoother overall. 
 
Aug 18, 2013 at 9:43 PM Post #6 of 16
Aug 18, 2013 at 10:31 PM Post #7 of 16
Aug 18, 2013 at 10:45 PM Post #8 of 16
I can only compare them by memory so take this with a grain of salt. I *think* the Momentum sounds a bit better (mostly because I've been a big fan of its type of sound signature lately). Its midrange is a bit better from memory and is overall more refined. The Momentum sounds a bit more intimate too. The HM9 sounds slightly distant because of the midrange recession when comparing to my other mid-forward headphones. I barely remember how the Aviator sounds so I can't really say much, but I remember being slightly underwhelmed by the lack of general control the Aviator had, which I didn't feel was too bad with the HM9. The bass is still slightly one-noted, but as one-noted as many other headphones I've heard in the price range.
 
Aug 24, 2013 at 12:57 AM Post #9 of 16
I did get a chance to get my review up as well: http://www.ifans.com/blog/91101/
 
___
 
Updated OP with review links and comparisons. 
 
Sep 5, 2013 at 11:46 AM Post #11 of 16
Nov 27, 2013 at 9:36 PM Post #12 of 16
I just got my pair of HM9 a day ago. Early impressions:
 
- Certainly well built and quite comfy (for shorter periods so far). The three cables should have everyone covered.
- I really like that they are 3.5mm on both sides (I can use my Cardas cable if I choose)
- I like the style, like others, they are using the silver aluminum and matte black scheme. Handsome but not flashy.
- A few hours in and some of the excess warmth is subsiding so they are getting more balanced. The speed is gotten better and now the PRaT has gotten to a more engaging and involving level. So, they didn't really groove out of the box but they do now
biggrin.gif
.
- Supra-aural so they do have a sweet spot to find or they lose some treble and clarity.
- Mids are only slightly recessed which is impressive for a can that seems to accentuate it's bass and treble and has such thick pads.
- Early but as they layer out some the bass and treble reach are quite nice. Maybe not the best of either one but the combo of both is nicely done.
 
I guess that's it till my review!
 
Jan 3, 2014 at 4:19 AM Post #13 of 16

 
OK, so here is my review
http://twojepc.pl/artykuly.php?id=Recenzja-Test-Brainwavz-HM9&jedna_strona=1
it's in Polish, but maybe you want to see detailed pictures. 
 
To give you a quick overview and a gist of my impressions: 
On-ear design, outdoor and portable feel and look. Headband foldable and adjustable: 9 steps = 31mm. Rebrand of Yoga X02. Cushions replacable, 87mm in diameter, mounted on a plastic ring - the same system as in HM5. 
Pads' dimentions inside: 42mm, 25mm deep. On-Ear. 
As phones in general you can buy better one (even CAL!2), as a portable HM9 work just fine. 
 
pros
+ overall: excellent portable phones
+ sound adjusted for outdoor use, which means: close and tight scene, dark signature, loud
+ excellent passive isolation - no lickage in and out
+ dynamic and fun phones
+ well equipped: 3 cables (one flat 1,2m (20g), one 1,2m (20g) with a in-line mic and one 3m flat wire (35g)) + hard case + aerplnane adapter
+ easy replacable cushions
+ very comfortable phones - good clamping force, soft cushions, soft headband
+ supperb build quality - thick aluminiom, decent plastic + detailed finish
+ foldable
+ easy to drive - no need to invest on a headamp, HM9 works fine with plain music player or soundcard
+ nice look
 
cons
- very heavy (almost 350g without cable)
- tight sound, no air in scene
- the sound could be more detailed
- I would say the price is a bit to high
 
 
I'd love to answer any questions you might have ...
 
Oct 17, 2014 at 1:27 PM Post #14 of 16
I have posted a review as well of the HM9's.
http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-hm9-hi-fi-noise-isolating-headphones/reviews/11757
 
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