Brainwavz M1 Review by mark2410

[mark2410]

you know i really do like the sf.3, its got a nice flat sound with nothing that jumps out and stabs you in the ear.  i can see many would find it dull though and if push came to shove i have to say the M1 are better.
 
if you want a very non fatiguing sound the sf.3 might be the best option or need the isolation but otherwise the M1 is pretty astonishing for its cost.

 

[goodvibes]

 love these but they do lack bass. I'm back to the stock single flange tips. Really seem to give the best top balance.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

Sale next week -
 
http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=51&products_id=399
 
Worth the price ($29.95)?

 

[paulypaul]

good value for $29.
Ive heard them and liked them.
Im thinking of picking up one even though i have the M2.
or maybe ill wait for the M3

 

[iaudio]

How would the M1 work for someone like me who's got SM PL30, RE 2(shipping), Brainwavz beta with a Sansa clip plus and occasionally with Nuforce udac?
Basically I am looking for inputs on how much of an improvement or vice versa they would be compared to the above headphones?
TIA

 

[Angelopsaro]

OOOOO MMMMMM YYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3minutes with these beasts and iam blown away! this cost only 40$?
They are ultimate comfortable. the build quality is like wow! and the sound blown me away!!!!!!! Anyone who jumbs from the the stock ones to this will fall out of his chair. Do NOT make the mistake to spend 30euros for the philips and sonys they sell in the malls.
Energetic, full sound and ALIVE!
if i find time i will make a review. They deserve it.
The only prob is the missing fomies but ill open a ticket.

P.S the currying case rocks!

 

[paulypaul]

I agree, even better value if you get them when on special.
M2s are impressive too.

 

[Angelopsaro]

I did (got them on presale

). I am curious about the m2. I would like a bit deeper bass but i don't want to sacrifice any clarity and airness for more bass. They don't lack bass and its far superior that budget sony's but with the great all around sound of the m1, the bass expectations are high. Still they don't have more than 1hour on them so will judge in a week.

 

[paulypaul]

Up until 2 days ago i had the M2 & M1 ( i also got the M1s presale with a $5 off voucher $24.95)
after A / Bing them i felt they were too similar to keep them both.
The M2 does have a bit more bass extension and are a bit warmer in the mids. Not much difference in the highs.
Also the build of the M2 appears more solid.
I kept the M2s..
I listen to the M2s as much as i listen to my $100 RE-ZEROs.
M2s may not be analytically accurate like the ZEROs, but they are fun.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

Just got them today - mids and highs are nice, but the lows seem, for lack of a better word, clouded.  Do they settle down with burn-in?

 

[cardozo]

The Brainwavz M1 is a extremely well balanced headphone, with good balance between bass, midrange and treble. Moreover, the headphone delivers a good detail, with airy sound, very good clarity and soundstage. And best of all: This headphone works at its best when properly amplified.

I've had and did not like the M2. He is too dark with exagerated bass. Very unbalanced headphone.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

 

[AirForceTeacher]

I've heard such good things about it, so I've got it burning in right now.  We'll see if that tightens up the bass - got a few hours in the car today, so I'll have time to evaluate them. My fiancee liked them a lot more than I did, but still thinks her Skullcandy earbuds are better for the rap she listens to when walking - she thought the mids were amazing and the highs very good, but the bass was too weak, but clear.  I kind of feel the opposite about the bass - the bass is too much and a bit muddy to me.  It's really hard to explain - the sound seemed oppressive - that's the best way I can describe it. After burn in, I'll try them again and try to get more cohesive thoughts.

 

[goodvibes]

I bet your tips are fitting poor enough to block the openings. Your girlfriend has it about right. If you can get a deep insertion especially with some double flanges, the bass will fall into place. I'm still surprised at how competent they are for the price.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

Alright - my first review - yay!
 
Even at $30 (last month's sale) , these are about the most expensive earbuds I've tried. Previous best was a toss-up between Razor gaming earbuds from Woot in 2007 and more recently, Altec Lansing Sports.  Both were around $20 a pair, but still sounded better than the stock iPod headphones, Sony Noise Cancelling earbuds, Phillips Surround and a host of other cheapies.
 
Construction:
Weird shaped shells, but manageable. Looks like it would be hard to grab onto to remove them, but not in practice.  Some people have complained about the cord, I kind of like it.  Feels quite sturdy, only a little stiff. 
 
Accessories:
Case is decent, four pairs of tips - three normal and one double flange and a clip.
 
Sound:
As I mentioned before, my fiancee tried them first.  First comment "Midrange is awesome, but the bass is too weak - too much treble for rap."  She then tried them with Norah Jones - "I take that back - these are awesome."  She wants her Skull Candy earbuds back from my kids for her rap music while she walks. 
 
So I try them.  Eric sounds great until the bass comes in - then it feels very clouded.  Any song with a lot of instruments starts to feel oppressive.  I try with some M'Shell Ngedecello - vocals amazing, very airy sounding.  Try opening bars of a King's X song - great, but still oppressive and muddy when a lot starts happening.
 
I burned in the headphones overnight - looping a minute of white noise, a 20-20k sweep, a minute of pink noise, two or three M'Shell Ngedecello songs that were accidentally left in the VLC playlist, and a 5 minutes of silence wav.  I switched out the tips to double flanges (as recommended above), then wore them during the "visit the family" drive for about 3 hours.  Source was my iPhone4, unamplified.  As someone else up above had suggested - I wrapped the cords around the top of the ear.  This really made a difference.
 

1. KIng's X - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska: OMG - I realized on the drive that this is probably one of my two favorite albums ever - this ranks right up with The Joshua Tree at number 1 for me.  Muddiness was gone.  I heard a few things I'd forgotten or never knew were in the songs.  There was no real wow - just better all around. 
2. King's X - XV:  A more recent King's X CD - heavier with more "wall of sound" approach.  Everything was clear.
3. Pink Floyd videos on Youtube:  Eek - very revealing of flaws in source.
4. 2nd Chapter of Acts: The Roar of Love:  Christian Concept album from 1980 based upon "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe."  It featured not only the two sisters and brother that make up the 2nd Chapter of Acts, but several prominent Christian artists of the time like Michael Omartian and Phil Keaggy - a world class player by anyone's estimation.  I forgot I was testing headphones listening to this one - everything just jumped out at me. Occasional sibilance from female vocals, but nothing exhausting or piercing.
5. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach: Snoop Dogg's opening sounds rich and well balanced - does not sound muffled and IMHO, there was just the right amount of bass.  This is not the best recording possible - NPR had the entire album on their website review for a week, and I ripped it using Audacity.  Still sounded good to me, and most of the intricate sampling came through easy to hear and detailed.
6. U2 - The Joshua Tree (2007 Remastered box set): Ripped at 320kbps MP3.  Rich, detailed, airy - just like it's supposed to be.  The chimes at the beginning of "With or Without You" made my jaw drop - never heard them so ... round is the only word I can think of.  Some sibilance and piercing, but not too bad.

 
I tried a bunch of other songs, ranging from The Beatles to The Art of Noise to Sanctus Real to the Monkees.  Impression really didn't change.  There was no "Wow - OMG this is amazing", but a lot of "Yup, that sounds better", and "Yeah, Bono's voice is richer" and "Oooh, never noticed that before."  Everything was just more excellent and detailed.  
 
Volume consistency was an annoyance.  It was very clear to me which sources on my iPhone were recorded at lower volumes and which weren't.  Most things were played in the top 25% of the volume slider, but some songs needed the very top, but others would hurt there. I've never had a pair of headphones that needed more adjustment - usually headphones for me have been low volume and needed always to be at the top end.  I'm not sure what this means - better dynamic range from the drivers?
 
I don't know what soundstage is, so I don't know if I was really hearing any.  Most things sounded right there in my head, but not pounding or painful.  Stereo separation in Beatles's music with the panning vocals was good and evident.
 
Customer service:  Rather poor - I would like to try some of their better headphones next time there's a sale, but it took forever to get these.  I know they come from Hong Kong, but the dates mailed listed on the MP4Nation account history page did not agree with the HKPost page - almost three weeks apart.  When they finally shipped from HK, took about a week.  Now, I know what you're going to say - "they're coming from HONG KONG! whaddya want??"  However, I ordered an Indeed on eBay and it arrived in about two weeks, and the seller (Indeed HI-FI Labs) not only contacted me about every delay, but when I lost a rubber foot a few days after I got them, he sent me 4 new feet for free, and has contacted me to apologize for shipping delays on that shipment too!
 
Overall
If I could buy them locally, I'd buy them again or upgrade to one of their better line of earbuds.  Not sure about ordering another pair for my wife-to-be - not with those shipping delays.  I'm glad I've got them, and I know I'll appreciate them when I have to fly next month.

 

[s0lar]

After not having them with me for weeks, because I was studying abroad, I got the chance to enjoy them again at home.
The RE0 was the IEM I had with me there.
Bass is reasonably tight and punchy and has good quantity as well as decent quality. Sometimes bass has too much body and texture. It's fast enough for most recordings. Bass can lay down if needed and is there when needed. Nothing to complain about except perhaps impact, because it can fade a bit slow.
Mids are its thing and vocals or strings are done amazingly. It does intimacy better then the RE0. Soundstage is good but nothing special.
It's waarmish sounding and brass play sounds full.
On to the highs then, it has none of the sibilance I notice with the RE0. Cymbals on the other hand are good but could be better, they don't have the quality the RE0 has here.
But the M1's still sound very good without amp and when you have heard the RE0 with amp, you don't wanna use those without amp.
Cord is good, but I miss a chin slider, now the cord just wiggles around. Microphonics are not annoying, handled better than the RE0. I can wear these straight-down or over-the-ear without fearing for microphonics. I actually prefer straight-down here because then the cords wiggles in a way it's less weird.
Another thing they are good at is low volume listening. But the shape they have, make them less interesting to sleep with.
For the money, these are great and I want to thank ljokerl for reviewing these in his thread.
Their pro's are mids and intimacy.