So ive been using these almost nonstop, because its very hard to pull them out of my ears since they are so addicting. I use IEMS a LOT mostly because i dont like having "headphone hair" while at work so iems seem to get around this better.
I own a lot of iems and tehse are finding a lot of headtime from me. FYI i am not using the new Pro version. I got these refurbished for 99 dollars from groupon(refurbished by manufacturer)
Here are my impressions:
General: I am VERY happy with my purchase. I am not having any problems that anyone is saying they have with these iems that is not user error. got MUCH more than what i paid for. Check out my profile for the headphones and IEMs that im coming from.
Convenience:
These are fantastic. They connect as soon as i put them in my ear. ZERO pairing problems. Ive updated to Bragi OS 3.1 and everything is so polished. the experience is much better than using my other wireless headphones like my Parrot Zik or my Sony XB950BT(dont buy these). I put the right side in. Then i put the left side in. Then the right side says that its paired with my phone, and then they just work. no fuss. I dont have to worry about pairing the left side with the right side. When i take the left side out, the right side keeps playing. perfect. When i put them down or in the case to charge them, then place them back in my ears, they just reconnect. Ive never had it this easy before. The pairing is so fast and fluid. Edit: actually the Bragi Dash is the second best bluetooth experience ive had. The Sony Wireless Gold headset has to take the cake for quickness and easiness of use.
Disconnects? obviously. the antenna in these are tiny. if you put your player in your back pocket, the bluetooth signal has to go through your whole body to get to the iem. of course its gonna block it. The best spot is a front pocket, or your right pants pocket. (the left pants pocket puts your head and your body between the right iem which is the main receiver) if my Player is in front of me, there are no problems. if my player is on the left side of me (with my head between the right iem and the player) it will cut out. your head is thick. bluetooth signal isnt that strong when the antenna is so small. That being said, my S8+ worked significantly better than my xdp100r did with them. The s8 has a better quality bluetooth chip and the signal strength is so much better. The xdp100r's bluetooth antenna is decent, but it cut out more than my Samsung S8+. sometimes a hand over the xdp100r to cover it will block out the signal, but the same cant be said about the S8+. So if you want to use tehse with zero issues, your crappy budget phone is not gonna cut it. My HTC One M7 worked perfect. My Oneplus 3 did so-so. Ive used many a bluetooth device and these were the LEAST cumbersome to use. I used these with my own Sony Hybrid tips instead of the stock tips, and i did not use any of the "surefit" sleeves (because i think they look better without them) and they can be worn for hours and they are SUPER comfortable. i shook my head really hard and gave myself a headache, but these did not fall out. Water proof. Check.
Battery life: consistently ~5 hours.
The touch interface sucks. Ive come to only use it for increasing or decreasing volume with the swipes. the tapping and holding gestures i can only nail about 70 percent of the time, but swipes are 95 percent. i like double tapping the left side to hear the time and swiping the transparency feature on and off. its really cool. (although the highs of the mic are accentuated when using this feature and voices are not as clear as say, mouse clicks and keys sounds. This does NOT affect the music sound signature except to introduce microphone static into the sound when you both play music and use the audio transparency feature at the same time. also if you were wondering like i did, using the audio transparency feature does not turn the Bragi Dash into an open back iem. P:
Sound:
This is important. Very balanced sound. Frequency response is fairly close to neutral with zero accentuation anywhere in the spectrum. Otherwise, they have a lot of the characteristics of going with a single BA setup, and these sound very similar to the Final Audio F7200, and are generally very laid back and very comfortable to listen to, and extremely non-fatiguing. nothing is too forward, and nothing really feels like its missing.
- Subbass:There is some roll off in the subass below 50hz.
- Bass: Not much rumble, average Punch, its "there". Many reviews will say there is no bass, either they have a bad seal, or they are used to very bassy headphones.
- Mid-bass: THANKFULLY despite the fact that these are supposed to go for a general consumer grade sound, THERE IS NO MID-BASS HUMP OR BLOAT
- Mids: Mids are acceptable. Female and male vocals are equal in presentation.
- Highs: highs are acceptable with almost no sparkle in the highs and some roll off up top. The saving grace? There are no spikes anywhere and the treble isnt uneven.
- Air: There is some weird "air" here, as in theres air, but it seems funny, a bit artificial.
- Dynamics: Dynamics? its a bit flat. (probably not using that right) but thats what its kind of like. Its not soda, its not a smoothie, its water.
- Grain: there is a lot of grain. audible grain. There is a lot of grain to the sound(more on this later), which isnt such a big deal since i use these primarily at work and at the gym, when there are other things going on.
- Sound stage: narrow. you will not find that out-of-the-head sound here.
- Imaging: pretty darn good. very compact center image that extends a bit out in front of you, and placement isnt bad.
One key factor here: much of this CHANGES when you use an APT-X enabled device. The sound quality improves significantly. The grain disappears, you get some dynamics thrown in, theres more punch, the sound signature seems tighter and better executed. The imaging is sharper, soundstage stays the same, but it gets a bit taller, and overall it just seems cohesive and more convincing as an IEM.
Conclusion: Are they engaging? No. Are they high fidelity? Nope. is the sound signature pleasing, easy to listen to, and inoffensive? YES. I can listen to these for hours and i will not get fatigued.
Whats the downside? these were created with being a tech marvel first, and an IEM second. There is audible noise when they are not playing anything although this goes away when music is playing or using APT-X. If i am trying to sit down and actually listen to and enjoy music, I will not grab these, but if im moving around or doing something else, these Bragi Dash are SUBLIME. Worth every penny and i would buy these again. Color me addicted.
Advice: use a high quality bluetooth player like a flagship phone. Your body blocks bluetooth signals. use your front pockets. (right side is better). get rid of the stock ear tips. I recommend Sony Hybrids. (although you may have to take these off to charge the iems in the case. I dont really mind so much because the comfort and fit becomes 300 percent better.
EDIT: What i thought was grain was actually a noise floor. The fact that these have so many sensors and electrical components means that there is some noise which can be heard on quiet tracks, but with a normal song playing you cant even hear it. Otherwise, these are pretty smooth.
I also compared these to the Final Audio F7200 in terms of frequency response, but the F7200 remains the victor. It is more resolving, more effortless, smoother, and more airy with better soundstage and zero grain.
