[Currawong]

Threads merged.

 

[H20Fidelity]

I received a pair of R3 this morning thanks to Raz. (thank you)

I'll post some first impressions here and a review will come soon..

Packaging is rather intriguing, on first glance you see those aluminum housings and think wow what a design! I thought I was looking at two mini motorcycle engines on first glance. I can picture little pistons inside them thrusting up and down.

After opening the box the next thing I saw was the memory wire, 'very long' memory wire, I don't understand why it's so long? Almost reaches down to my shoulders once the IEM's are fitted, I can live with this however something that ends below the ear lobe is usually satisfactory. Then secondly the cable thickness, it seems Brainwavs have been hanging out over at RHA Team's place and gone for what I can 'military grade' thickness cable, and strain reliefs to match! This is a good thing I can dig these kind of cables no problem! I had no concerns getting a fit though with the housings by bending the wire straight > inserting the IEM's  > then bending the wire last to shape my ear. This is important and a much easier way than trying to bend the wire to fit your ear before insertion.

I do wonder though how we fit them in the case? Must we bend the wire each time after removing them from the case?








 
Regarding the sound I hear R3 as having forward mid range, rather neutral bass and slightly forward treble. the mid range is leaning a fraction bright, just a smidgen which makes them sound in no way muffled or veiled, it's not overly bright just nice and clear which I'm huge fan of and I can hear a somewhat natural but unique timbre coming from the aluminum acoustic chamber. I'm very happy with the soundstage which I think reflects the design it sounds a little different from your usual housing, the chamber is giving them a different effect, airy and nice depth on the left/right channels, rather wide and spacious. Seperation also quite strong for this price range. Another up side is they don't hiss with my Studio V 2nd Edition which is a great start as the synergy is really nice. 


I think I'll enjoy these quite a lot especially how natural they sound and will report in after a few days. If anything they may be a little to neutral in the low end and it makes me wonder if I still have a tight seal, they seem a little sensitive with the bass on your seal but I'll practice a little more on keeping them put with the tips provided. 


They sound very nice indeed.  

 

[mochill]

Subed

 

[TekeRugburn]

  I received a pair of R3 this morning thanks to Raz. (thank you)

I'll post some first impressions here and a review will come soon..

Packaging is rather intriguing, on first glance you see those aluminum housings and think wow what a design! I thought I was looking at two mini motorcycle engines on first glance. I can picture little pistons inside them thrusting up and down.

After opening the box the next thing I saw was the memory wire, 'very long' memory wire, I don't understand why it's so long? Almost reaches down to my shoulders once the IEM's are fitted, I can live with this however something that ends below the ear lobe is usually satisfactory. Then secondly the cable thickness, it seems Brainwavs have been hanging out over at RHA Team's place and gone for what I can 'military grade' thickness cable, and strain reliefs to match! This is a good thing I can dig these kind of cables no problem! I had no concerns getting a fit though with the housings by bending the wire straight > inserting the IEM's  > then bending the wire last to shape my ear. This is important and a much easier way than trying to bend the wire to fit your ear before insertion.

I do wonder though how we fit them in the case? Must we bend the wire each time after removing them from the case?








 
Regarding the sound I hear R3 as having forward mid range, rather neutral bass and slightly forward treble. the mid range is leaning a fraction bright, just a smidgen which makes them sound in no way muffled or veiled, it's not overly bright just nice and clear which I'm huge fan of and I can hear a somewhat natural but unique timbre coming from the aluminum acoustic chamber. I'm very happy with the soundstage which I think reflects the design it sounds a little different from your usual housing, the chamber is giving them a different effect, airy and nice depth on the left/right channels, rather wide and spacious. Seperation also quite strong for this price range. Another up side is they don't hiss with my Studio V 2nd Edition which is a great start as the synergy is really nice. 


I think I'll enjoy these quite a lot especially how natural they sound and will report in after a few days. If anything they may be a little to neutral in the low end and it makes me wonder if I still have a tight seal, they seem a little sensitive with the bass on your seal but I'll practice a little more on keeping them put with the tips provided. 


They sound very nice indeed.  

 
i have a step by step instruction on fitting them each time in my review.
 
link is on the page before this one; page 5

 

[Brooko]

My review up here (http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-r3-dual-dynamic-driver-earphones/reviews/10143)
 
Sonically they're pretty good - but what were they thinking with the cable?

 

[Cotnijoe]

yea... the cable's the main reason why i didnt keep mine... rly a bummer 

 not sure if they could have done any worse...

 

[TekeRugburn]

they cables weren't that bad.  yeah it could have been better but it didnt hinder me in anyway from enjoying them.  

 

[Brooko]

  the cables weren't that bad to me.  yeah it could have been better but it didn't hinder me in anyway from enjoying them.  

 
Corrected that for you 

 
To me, I haven't experienced worse cables on an IEM .......

 

[quartertone]

I agree with Teke. Not great and a weird idea, but not enough to make it a bad purchase. I think 2.5 stars misrepresents the R3, as the sound is really good (with the right source/amp).

 

[H20Fidelity]

The sounds great with Studio V ( 2nd edition ), and the cable is very much the same thickness as RHA MA750, but.... The fit for long term is giving me problems. The housing and design is great for the sound aspects it brings however, we're not getting on as well as I hoped wearing them long term, since settling in. I'll have my review up coming into new year as I'm just totally packed out with family commitments and typing from my phone while away.

 

[Brooko]

  I agree with Teke. Not great and a weird idea, but not enough to make it a bad purchase. I think 2.5 stars misrepresents the R3, as the sound is really good (with the right source/amp).

And you're entitled to your opinion, as am I.
 
But how would you rate an IEM that while sounding good, is extremely microphonic, does not fit well, doesn't fit properly in it's case, and does not have long term comfort .... ?  If Raz can fix what are (IMO) absolute show stoppers (who in their right mind would make the cable guides that long?!) - then I'd be more than happy to revisit them again - because I did think sonically they were pretty good for the money.
 
All I've done is give my very honest opinion of how it ranks in my scheme of things.  Brainwavz B2 and HM5 were excellent.  This is not.  End of story.
 
It will be interesting to see opinions on this over time - it could be polarising.  I know from my review - at least one person agrees with me (in the comments so far).

 

[Brooko]

The sounds great with Studio V ( 2nd edition ), and the cable is very much the same thickness as RHA MA750, but.... The fit for long term is giving me problems. The housing and design is great for the sound aspects it brings however, we're not getting on as well as I hoped wearing them long term, since settling in. I'll have my review up coming into new year as I'm just totally packed out with family commitments and typing from my phone while away.

 
Sounded pretty good with the Studio V3 too.  Like you - I just wish they'd put more effort into the fit / cable design.

 

[quartertone]

I definitely agree that it's the weak link, and would actually like to know why Raz went for that.

 

[Cotnijoe]

I do agree it doesnt deserve 2.5 stars and the sound is great. Unfortunately having a triple xs sized head, the cable gets in the way quite a bit.

Idk if its just me but i actually the water pump look is pretty cool haha

 

[TekeRugburn]

The cable is almost the exact same as the rha ma750. Yeah i agree it's the weak link. But it's really not as bad as you put it. But that's your opinion and I just think your opinion is wrong. To each his own