Metalspree
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
- Posts
- 87
- Likes
- 11
Introduction : There was a time I had no idea what IEMs were, and the stock earphones of my Nokia n73 were enough to please my ears .Then came the EP-630 Group Order on an Indian tech forum called Techenclave .I was thrown away by the sound quality of EP-630 .Over the years I have tried IEM’s like the PL30,RE1,RE2
Today I have the opportunity to review " Mp4 Nation's Beta Brainwavz IEMs"
Specifications :
• Driver: 11mm CCAW (copper-clad aluminum wire) dynamic driver
• Impedance: 24 Ohm (+/- 20%) @ 1kHz
• Sensitivity: 110dB @ 1mW
• Frequency response: 8Hz – 28kHz
• Rated Input Power: 10mW
• Max Input Power: 40mW
• Cable: 125cm, Y-style, 45° angled 3.5mm gold-plated plug
Packaging and Accessories :
The earphones were shipped by Mp4 Nation from Hong Kong and I got them in 4 days flat. The box is in fact one of the best I've ever seen till date, even the premium high end IEMS don’t come with such a great packing. It has a sleek black pull out and another box which opens up to display the earphone on left side and accessories in the right side. A couple of my friends did not believe that the package contains earphones.
Here is a list of accessories supplied with the earphones.
7 pair of ear tips (2 straight cones, 1 bi-flange and 2 foam tips,1 medium ear tip and 1 small eartip)
a shirt clip(detachable)
* Metal filters.
* A black velvet pouch by Mofi (Not shown in the images as I have lost it )
* 1 cable winder.
*1 pair cable guider's
I would rate the packaging and Accessories as 8/10.
Design and Build Quality.
The upper half of the Beta Brainwavz is made up of plastic which seems to be of real good quality and has a black glossy finish. The IEM looks like an egg it has a grey colored emboss with the channel code printed on it. There are small vents all around the channel code which I suppose are used for bass extension.
The lower half of the earphones which has the nozzle for the ear tips is made up of aluminum and has threading for the metal filters to be screwed on.
The nozzle for the ear tips is longer than any other IEMs. The ear-tips of most other IEMs won’t fit easily due to this reason. (had some tough time fitting the Head-Direct bi –flanges, infact broke one of the bi-flange in the process)
The cable is quite soft and thin, yet strong. The place where the cable enters the earphone piece has been covered with an additional layer of transparent plastic since it is most vulnerable to damage.
The 3.5mm connector is 45 ° angled and like most earphones is gold plated .I am still wondering why did Raz come out with an 45 ° angled 3.5mm connector. I mean it’s of no use. I wish it was 90 ° angled or straight.
Overall the build quality seems to be really good. I would give it a 3.5/5.
First Impressions:
My test setup consisted of Cowon D2+, Laptop (Creative X-Fi USB sound card), Fiio E5, JDS Labs cMoy BB v2.0
My testing tracks were of different genres like Trance /EDM, Radio shows, house, hip-hop,a bit of rock .I have used FLAC
Detail Sound Quality.
The earphones don't sound their very best out of the box and need a lot of time for the sound to get smoother. The betas sounded bad out of the box. It was only noise coming out of them. I hated using them out of the box. I had to burn them for quite long even after 100 hrs of burning they sounded bad. Went ahead and wrote a mail to Raz asking why do they sound so bad?, got an instant reply saying they need some more time in burning. The total burning time I had spent was more than 300hrs.
The Bass :
I felt that the Beta's lack bass to a large extent. It has a slight punch to it but it doesn't extend too deep. Since I am a bass head I felt the treble was overriding the bass, but felt this is few trance/EDM tracks. I paired it with the cMoy BB and Fiio E5 and yeah the bass did improve .If you are a bass head then you would certainly love them when used with an amp.
The Midrange :
The Mid range in these IEMS is kind of ok.I wouldn’t say it’s bad, it’s just ok. The Instrumentals sound decent and are above acceptable levels. Vocals sound natural,It sounds bit hollow at times. The mid range is bit recessed and you can feel that there is something lacks the detailing.
The Treble:
Most of the earphones I have come across are emphasized either on mids or bass but this is the first earphone which is emphasized on treble. The treble is pure and detailed to the maximum .It sounds a bit forward and analytical. With the metal filter caps on the treble becomes good. The detailing and clarity in this segment is just amazing.
Sound stage:
The soundstage produced by these earphones is good considering the price .It's better than the PL-30s .This is one area where one would fall in love with this earphone. The chancel separation is good. I haven’t seen any other earphone in this price range having such a good sound stage.
I would rate the overall sound quality as 7/10.
Final Verdict :
At first I didn't like them much but that was when they had not even burn-in. Soon I started liking them only after pairing them with my cMoy. Getting a good seal was very difficult initially but after using the bi-flanges of my RE 1 they were sounding good.
>>Pros:
* Attractive packaging and accessories.
* Detailed and natural Highs.
*Good sound stage
*Good build Quality.
*Foam tips are very comfortable.
>>Cons :
* A bit recessed midrange.
*Sounds a bit hollow.
* Low bass. (Subjective)
*Treble overrides the bass at times (again Subjective)
* The 45 ° angled 3.5mm connector which is of no use
Conclusion :
I wouldn't say that these are the best IEMs, because in this price range there are loads of options. So ultimately it comes down to one's personal tastes. These are best suited for someone who prefers detailed highs with above par sound stage and and a decent mid range ,of course the bass is there as well but not the kind of bass which bass-heads like me crave for.
[size=medium]
Overall Rating: 7/10 [/size]
PS:This is my first review on Head-Fi.If there are any mistakes please omit it .Thank You
Today I have the opportunity to review " Mp4 Nation's Beta Brainwavz IEMs"
Specifications :
• Driver: 11mm CCAW (copper-clad aluminum wire) dynamic driver
• Impedance: 24 Ohm (+/- 20%) @ 1kHz
• Sensitivity: 110dB @ 1mW
• Frequency response: 8Hz – 28kHz
• Rated Input Power: 10mW
• Max Input Power: 40mW
• Cable: 125cm, Y-style, 45° angled 3.5mm gold-plated plug
Packaging and Accessories :
The earphones were shipped by Mp4 Nation from Hong Kong and I got them in 4 days flat. The box is in fact one of the best I've ever seen till date, even the premium high end IEMS don’t come with such a great packing. It has a sleek black pull out and another box which opens up to display the earphone on left side and accessories in the right side. A couple of my friends did not believe that the package contains earphones.
Here is a list of accessories supplied with the earphones.
7 pair of ear tips (2 straight cones, 1 bi-flange and 2 foam tips,1 medium ear tip and 1 small eartip)
a shirt clip(detachable)
* Metal filters.
* A black velvet pouch by Mofi (Not shown in the images as I have lost it )
* 1 cable winder.
*1 pair cable guider's
I would rate the packaging and Accessories as 8/10.
Design and Build Quality.
The upper half of the Beta Brainwavz is made up of plastic which seems to be of real good quality and has a black glossy finish. The IEM looks like an egg it has a grey colored emboss with the channel code printed on it. There are small vents all around the channel code which I suppose are used for bass extension.
The lower half of the earphones which has the nozzle for the ear tips is made up of aluminum and has threading for the metal filters to be screwed on.
The nozzle for the ear tips is longer than any other IEMs. The ear-tips of most other IEMs won’t fit easily due to this reason. (had some tough time fitting the Head-Direct bi –flanges, infact broke one of the bi-flange in the process)
The cable is quite soft and thin, yet strong. The place where the cable enters the earphone piece has been covered with an additional layer of transparent plastic since it is most vulnerable to damage.
The 3.5mm connector is 45 ° angled and like most earphones is gold plated .I am still wondering why did Raz come out with an 45 ° angled 3.5mm connector. I mean it’s of no use. I wish it was 90 ° angled or straight.
Overall the build quality seems to be really good. I would give it a 3.5/5.
First Impressions:
My test setup consisted of Cowon D2+, Laptop (Creative X-Fi USB sound card), Fiio E5, JDS Labs cMoy BB v2.0
My testing tracks were of different genres like Trance /EDM, Radio shows, house, hip-hop,a bit of rock .I have used FLAC
Detail Sound Quality.
The earphones don't sound their very best out of the box and need a lot of time for the sound to get smoother. The betas sounded bad out of the box. It was only noise coming out of them. I hated using them out of the box. I had to burn them for quite long even after 100 hrs of burning they sounded bad. Went ahead and wrote a mail to Raz asking why do they sound so bad?, got an instant reply saying they need some more time in burning. The total burning time I had spent was more than 300hrs.
The Bass :
I felt that the Beta's lack bass to a large extent. It has a slight punch to it but it doesn't extend too deep. Since I am a bass head I felt the treble was overriding the bass, but felt this is few trance/EDM tracks. I paired it with the cMoy BB and Fiio E5 and yeah the bass did improve .If you are a bass head then you would certainly love them when used with an amp.
The Midrange :
The Mid range in these IEMS is kind of ok.I wouldn’t say it’s bad, it’s just ok. The Instrumentals sound decent and are above acceptable levels. Vocals sound natural,It sounds bit hollow at times. The mid range is bit recessed and you can feel that there is something lacks the detailing.
The Treble:
Most of the earphones I have come across are emphasized either on mids or bass but this is the first earphone which is emphasized on treble. The treble is pure and detailed to the maximum .It sounds a bit forward and analytical. With the metal filter caps on the treble becomes good. The detailing and clarity in this segment is just amazing.
Sound stage:
The soundstage produced by these earphones is good considering the price .It's better than the PL-30s .This is one area where one would fall in love with this earphone. The chancel separation is good. I haven’t seen any other earphone in this price range having such a good sound stage.
I would rate the overall sound quality as 7/10.
Final Verdict :
At first I didn't like them much but that was when they had not even burn-in. Soon I started liking them only after pairing them with my cMoy. Getting a good seal was very difficult initially but after using the bi-flanges of my RE 1 they were sounding good.
>>Pros:
* Attractive packaging and accessories.
* Detailed and natural Highs.
*Good sound stage
*Good build Quality.
*Foam tips are very comfortable.
>>Cons :
* A bit recessed midrange.
*Sounds a bit hollow.
* Low bass. (Subjective)
*Treble overrides the bass at times (again Subjective)
* The 45 ° angled 3.5mm connector which is of no use
Conclusion :
I wouldn't say that these are the best IEMs, because in this price range there are loads of options. So ultimately it comes down to one's personal tastes. These are best suited for someone who prefers detailed highs with above par sound stage and and a decent mid range ,of course the bass is there as well but not the kind of bass which bass-heads like me crave for.
[size=medium]
Overall Rating: 7/10 [/size]
PS:This is my first review on Head-Fi.If there are any mistakes please omit it .Thank You
