[szjwt63v]

I received my pair of copper coloured M5's today and couldn't quite believe my ears after reading the reviews. Mine sound really veiled as well, with their greatest weakness being the reproduction of snare drums. I've tried with some electronic and drum 'n bass tracks at first and found that they had really good bass extension, even into sub-bass levels, the bass being strong but not extreme, but as soon as I tried some Vocal and Rock tracks it occured to me that there must be something wrong with them. I have never heard drums sound so tinny with any headphone, ever. I have tried almost all of the tips, and can get a decent seal with half of them, but the quality of the sound barely changes. Unfortunately, the reason why I know I'm getting a good seal is driver flex. I had this issue with my Meelec M9s before and these 'phones have it, too, despite many reviewers saying that theirs do not. I will contact MP4nation about this and point them to this thread, hopefully they can do something about it. They weren't expensive but I was expecting at least a slight upgrade from my M9s. The only thing that these do better is sub-bass, the rest is just compressed sound in a tin can. No soundstage at all, voices are veiled, mids are muddy, and drums sound terrible.

PS: I am burning them in with my iPod on shuffle at the moment but I don't really expect them to change much, because I don't really believe in burn-in and it has never really affected any of my headphones in the past.

i would recommend check speaker polarity issue.
i had some unit out of phase issue on brainwavz m4 and beta.

 

[zhonghua]

If it still on the warranty period, but what he had said. The modication is done.

 

[zephyr90]

Yes, polarity is exactly what the issue is. I just checked it with the website posted in this thread ( http://www.head-fi.org/t/619858/check-your-earphone-speaker-polarity ) and when listening to the guitar tone with the M5s the out of phase version sounds more natural. Now, what do  I, other than wait for MP4nation to respond to my ticket?

 

[Disconnekt]

Quote:

Yes, polarity is exactly what the issue is. I just checked it with the website posted in this thread ( http://www.head-fi.org/t/619858/check-your-earphone-speaker-polarity ) and when listening to the guitar tone with the M5s the out of phase version sounds more natural. Now, what do  I, other than wait for MP4nation to respond to my ticket?

I had a polarity issue with an R1... it's hard to describe what it sounds like exactly, but if you know what it sounds like, it's unmistakable. I guess you just wait for MP4nation to respond. They were very quick about it when I had my issue.
 
You say it sounds all right when you do switch the phase of one ear?

 

[zephyr90]

Quote:

I had a polarity issue with an R1... it's hard to describe what it sounds like exactly, but if you know what it sounds like, it's unmistakable. I guess you just wait for MP4nation to respond. They were very quick about it when I had my issue.
 
You say it sounds all right when you do switch the phase of one ear?

It also messes with your brain and makes everything sound unpleasant, unlistenable because there is no soundstage and everything plays right in your head. I told them about it in the MP4nation forums and also opened a support ticket on friday, but no answers yet. Oh well, can't expect them to work on the weekends, too.
 
I don't know enough about audio engineering to switch the phase of a recording but it sounds good when I listen to the "out of phase"/polarity reversed recordings on audiocheck.net. Meaning that my M5s have to be wired wrong because the "normal" polarity versions all sound bad and so does everything else I play through them.

 

[zhonghua]

does all m5 have this concerns? so called factory defect? want to know from other m5 users thanks

 

[zephyr90]

Quote:

does all m5 have this concerns? so called factory defect? want to know from other m5 users thanks

Of course not all of them. There is always a chance that you can get a defective one with these somewhat cheap brands because they don't check each one before shipping them out. Of course reviewers like ClieOS or ljokerl always get perfect review samples to work with but the masses just have to see what they get. My first Meelec M9 I ordered was defective also but they were very quick to reply and eager to ship me a replacement. 

 

[Disconnekt]

Quote:

Of course not all of them. There is always a chance that you can get a defective one with these somewhat cheap brands because they don't check each one before shipping them out. Of course reviewers like ClieOS or ljokerl always get perfect review samples to work with but the masses just have to see what they get. My first Meelec M9 I ordered was defective also but they were very quick to reply and eager to ship me a replacement. 

Yeah, MP4Nation had really quick customer service when I had an issue with the R1 polarity being reversed in the right ear... I got a reply within a couple of hours, tops, and they stayed in touch until the issue was resolved.  No complaints here!  I have since purchased another R1 and I'm impressed.  It's not terribly refined out of the box, but it's easily remedied with EQ and taping over the ports in the back, and its sound signature, while quite far from neutral, is energetic and lots of fun.
 
Back to the M5... I think I'm going to return mine.  They don't get any use anymore, as my R1 is far superior, technically.  I'm pretty sure at this point that my M5 is defective, as my understanding is that it's supposed to be pretty unoffensive and problem free across the frequency spectrum, and that is not true of mine at all.  This goes beyond personal preference... my M5 is incapable of presenting music in a, well, musical fashion.  I might get a new one... I'd love to hear if anyone who has received a new M5 recently thinks I'm nuts with my description of its sound and has had a much better experience with theirs.

 

[Calroth]

Adding my feedback on the Brainwavz M5. It may shed some light on the issues in this thread. Or confuse them more!
 
I bought it from MP4 Nation a month ago. The Brainwavz M5 earbuds have a front port, a back-facing pinhole port (with the "Brainwavz" logo), and a front-facing pinhole port (not visible unless I removed the silicone tips). It also came with a smooth, dark grey "capital E" hard case.
 
The first one I got, I found that the right-hand earbud did not seal properly and was quieter. I found that there was epoxy in the front-facing pinhole port on the left-hand earbud, but not on the right. I covered the pinhole with adhesive tape, and instantly the earbud sealed in my ear and came up to the correct volume.
 
I also found that the back-facing pinhole port was "active" and the sound changed when it was blocked. (To demonstrate this, remove the tips, play some loud music in the earbuds, and block the front and back ports with your fingers. The sound cuts out.) When the front-facing pinhole was not blocked with adhesive tape or epoxy, sound leaked out of this too.
 
I reported this to MP4 Nation and said that I was happy with my "adhesive tape mod". To their credit, they insisted that I should RMA it. So I did.
 
The second pair of Brainwavz M5 earbuds was different however. The differences: the front-facing pinhole port was not sealed with epoxy (despite this, I had no problem getting a seal). Also the hard case was different: the black-with-red-zipper style that's on the MP4 Nation store.
 
I don't know which version is newer. Only there are physical differences. I don't think they sound different, however it's been a while since I had the first pair, and I can't compare them directly. They do sound relatively balanced and I don't hear any big peaks/troughs in the frequency response.
 
However this may explain some confusion in the thread. One version has a blocked front-facing pinhole port (and a smooth dark grey hard case). Another version has an active front-facing pinhole port (and a black-and-red hard case). Maybe there are even more "revisions". Or maybe MP4 Nation sent me a totally different earphone in response

 

[Fernito]

Quote:

I found the opposite... my M5 is incredibly bass heavy compared to my M2. 

 
The problem with Brainwavz is the extreme "uneveness" of the sound of their dynamic driver based IEMs (haven't anyone noticed this by the way? I haven't found any discussions on this subject)
 
I have compared several M1s, and all of them sounded very different (I'm not talking about comparisons by memory, but A-B blind comparisons). The same with the M2 and M3 models (my M2, for example, are almost analytical-souding compared to other bazooka-like M2 I've tried). 

 

[cyberden]

I just bought some M5 IEM from Amazon and I've got the same problem as Calroth.
 
When I received them, one bud had the "front facing pinhole" blocked and the other one was opened. It was really strange since one of the earbud seemed to "fit" better. It took quite some time for me to realize that! The feeling with one opened and one sealed is very unpleasant.
 
In the end, I opened the closed earbud's hole to have them both opened. I can't say that it really "seals" the ear. I can hear the outside world better than I could with my former EP630 but I like the sound. I find it clearer but it might lacks some bass. I tried to seal the front facing hole on both buds but I think I prefer the sound when they're opened.
 
The thing is, I don't know how it should sound like. Plus, it's not good to have to do such things. Both earbuds should have been the same from day 1. I don't really know what to think of it. How should they be?
 
For the record, I had them with the black case.
 
About the rear facing pinhole. When I seal them with my fingers, I can definitely see a difference in sound. It's like the basses completely disappear.
 
To be honest, I like the sound but I'm quite disappointed with the global quality. The case seems well build but these front facing pinholes bug me...
 
Edit : I tried to sealed the front facing pinholes again to try and I find the M5 VERY bass heavy like that. As already mentioned, the sound is definitely not as clear as when the holes are opened.

 

[Calroth]

Ahh. So it's not just me.

I don't like to say this, but you may like to consider returning it for a working set. It can be a roll of the dice however.

I find mine to have prominent bass, but not "too" bassy. (They're also still burning in, I suspect... assuming I didn't get a refurbished set!)

 

[cyberden]

Indeed it's not just you!
 
Does anybody know if these holes are supposed to be closed or opened out of the box?
 
About returning them, the only difference I will have with the second set is that both buds will have the pinhole sealed or opened. I can do that myself with the current set I have.
 
If the holes are supposed to be sealed, I will glue them. I tried to find pictures on the internet but none shows the front facing holes...

 

[FSNDET]

Quote:

Indeed it's not just you!
 
Does anybody know if these holes are supposed to be closed or opened out of the box?
 
About returning them, the only difference I will have with the second set is that both buds will have the pinhole sealed or opened. I can do that myself with the current set I have.
 
If the holes are supposed to be sealed, I will glue them. I tried to find pictures on the internet but none shows the front facing holes...

 
Contact mp4nation and ask them.

 

[cyberden]

Quote:

 
Contact mp4nation and ask them.

 Did that... I'm waiting... During that time I chose to do a whole day with the front facing pinhole sealed for both buds and I quite like it like that actually. It's not that bassy...