[kova4a]

Yeah, s3 is less bassy. A bit lacking in bass depth but presentation-wise it's a lot more natural sounding, especially next to s5. And yeah, also next to the Jive. Btw, I should be posting my Jive review tomorrow or on Saturday before Pandora kills me for the big delay.

 

[thatBeatsguy]

And here I am with the unpopular opinion. Jeez, I never thought I'd be so disappointed with a Brainwavz IEM before. And Brainwavz has always made good IEMs. 

 

[kova4a]

  And here I am with the unpopular opinion. Jeez, I never thought I'd be so disappointed with a Brainwavz IEM before. And Brainwavz has always made good IEMs. 

Well, you also hyped the piston 2.0, so this was bound to happen 

 

[thatBeatsguy]

 

  And here I am with the unpopular opinion. Jeez, I never thought I'd be so disappointed with a Brainwavz IEM before. And Brainwavz has always made good IEMs. 

Well, you also hyped the piston 2.0, so this was bound to happen 

Explain. What does my hype of the Pistons 2 have to do with my opinion of the Brainwavz S3? 

 

[avitron142]

  And here I am with the unpopular opinion. Jeez, I never thought I'd be so disappointed with a Brainwavz IEM before. And Brainwavz has always made good IEMs. 

Nope, I'm not happy with the S3 either. SQ sounds a tad artificial, bass is lacking (not neutral, lacking), and fit is really not that great.

 

[dweaver]

Ok I fired up Code Cool by Patricia Barber and did some A/B testing back and forth between the S5 and S3.

What I noticed was that the S5 is more V shaped with deeper harder bass and sharper treble while retaining a very clear cool sounding midrange.

The S3 was not as deep or as impactfull in the bass or as extended and sharp in the treble but has a clear but warmer midrange generally speaking. But the S3 also has some peaks in the upper midrange and lower treble so it retained most of Patricia's sharpness on her S's as well as the crash and shimmer of the drum kit.

So from this very small sample size go S5 if you want bigger bass and a cooler midrange. Go S3 if you want a more balanced signature with more warmth in your midrange without sacrificing all of the edge in the upper mids and lower treble.

One other note here, as I walked to my car I noticed wind noise on the S3 so switched to the S5 and the noise was greatly diminished on the S5.I also find fit easier with the S5 than the S3 as I like the little bend in the S5.

 

[nmatheis]

S3 are really growing on me. For me, as with all other S-series IEM, I'm preferring the included triple flanges. They keep them in my ears and isolate well, which helps me squeeze the most out of their bass response. With the triple flanges on, the bass in Björk's Biophilia sounds good. Just enough presence without going overboard and getting boomy. Not as fun as S5, but more natural.


metabaron: Dude, I personally dislike symphonic metal but listen to a lot of other metal - old-skool stuff like Iron Maiden and King Diamond, black metal, blackened death metal, and doom metal. I also listen to a lot of electronic. Where bass speed is a factor like with black metal's super-fast kick drums, I'd go with S3. For doom/sludge, I'd go with S0 or S5 depending on how much treble you want.


dweaver: You nailed it in your comparison IMHO. Personally, I see S0, S3, and S5 as very nice IEM with complementary sound signatures. If there was one S-series IEM I'd kick to the curb, it's S1. I don't think it differentiates itself as much as the others.

And if you can stand them, try the triple flanges. Without them, I find the cable drags pretty much all of the S-series (except the tiny S0) out of my ears. The triples are pretty soft and really keep them in my ears quite well.

I'd love to see a bit thinner flat cable and a mic/control-free option to make wearing these over ear easier. That would make using the single flanges much easier for me!

 

[Brooko]

I've been reading the thread - I didn't opt in on this one mainly because my "dance card is reasonably full" - but I have been keeping up with impressions as they've been posted.  Mainly because I've covered a lot of Brainwavz other offerings.
 
D2K - I got exactly the same thing Peter got out of your post, and I also disagree with what what you're saying.  I always explain my preferences and bias in every review.  I also take pains to note that I have slightly different sized ear canals.  It limits me to what I can use as far as tips go.  If I wasn't able to use after-market tips I couldn't properly review anything.  Fit is personal.  So is preference.  If we were limited to what is in the box, then some of the products I've reviewed would have been absolute howlers (including the Jive) when in reality they've been really good IEMs.
 
As long as you state your preferences and give the reader comparative triggers for where you are coming from, then I see no issues with using what best works for you.
 
Because I'm now intrigued (with the difference of opinion on these), I've contacted Pandora, and hopefully she'll still have a pair I can review, measure and compare.
 

  ....sigh....
As expected, you completely missed the entire point of that post....and I'm not going to waste my time trying to explain it to you. If you don't get it just reading it, you never will. You got FIT outta that...seriously??

 

I'm sorry to say so but I totally disagree with what you say here and find it pretty meaningless. Fit is THE most individual thing when it comes to an iem. Fit is decided to a very high degree by what tips you use. An experienced iem user has a bunch of favorite tips that fit his or hers ergonomics, not to use them would be plain stupid in my opinion.

How can we possible guess what tips would be the best for others? We simply can't, hence I find it natural to use those tips who gives the best fit for each and everyone of us.

 

  Well....
I've been holding off on saying anything about what I've seen so far on these over the past weekend. It seems that no one on here, except for me and maybe one other, like the sound straight out of the box. I am a fan of EQing, no doubt, but I'm also doing a review here and am not losing sight of the fact folks want to know how these sound with zero mods, using the included tips. That last part is the important one as most folks come on here to read reviews and don't have or even want to tip roll with tips they will never get their hands on. They want to know the real sound these make, not what they sound like all modded with machines and such....that's counterproductive  for a review, IMHO. Sure it's fun to do, just remember that your review needs to not do that to give the potential customer a real, unblemished review. I feel too many of you don't know, or honestly care, about this, and your reviews suffer for it. 
 
I'm just saying this now, as this is really getting off track, if you like them as they sit, review it that way. If not, also review it that way. No one likes a reviewer who only says nice things. No companies perfect, and just because you got these for free means nothing if you're a true impartial reviewer. You don't think these sound good, say it please, it's the only way the company can improve. 

 

[dweaver]

I think the contentious discussion in this thread hurts Brainwavz the most. The last round of contention caused a days worth of silence. I think everyone has made their point and we all should just focus on what we are hearing, and liking (or disliking) about the S3 as well as comparisons to other IEM's.

 

[Brooko]

  I like you, Brooko, but this was settled a few pages ago. We agreed to disagree, and that's fine by me. I put that up there as a suggestion, not a law, and it was taken way, way, way out of context. I'm not bothering to explain how a review should be done anymore, obviously too many of you think you're "experts", so much so you can't take critique....which says it all in my book. I'm tired of all of you on here for sure, that much is obvious, and I'll just post my reviews, as I always do, and leave you to bicker and joust amongst each other, it's funny watching it to be honest. Pity Brainwavz has to suffer for it.

 
Sent you PM - though it best.

 

[shockdoc]

Ok I fired up Code Cool by Patricia Barber and did some A/B testing back and forth between the S5 and S3.

What I noticed was that the S5 is more V shaped with deeper harder bass and sharper treble while retaining a very clear cool sounding midrange.

The S3 was not as deep or as impactfull in the bass or as extended and sharp in the treble but has a clear but warmer midrange generally speaking. But the S3 also has some peaks in the upper midrange and lower treble so it retained most of Patricia's sharpness on her S's as well as the crash and shimmer of the drum kit.

So from this very small sample size go S5 if you want bigger bass and a cooler midrange. Go S3 if you want a more balanced signature with more warmth in your midrange without sacrificing all of the edge in the upper mids and lower treble.

One other note here, as I walked to my car I noticed wind noise on the S3 so switched to the S5 and the noise was greatly diminished on the S5.I also find fit easier with the S5 than the S3 as I like the little bend in the S5.

 This describes a lof of what I'm hearing with this IEM. Definitely more, deeper bass with the S5 which I love but I feel the S3 is no slouch in that department compared to many other IEMS. And the wind issue is one of the reasons I really love wearing the S5's when I run outside in the wind. Don't know if it's the size, shape, or what but the S5's do better in wind than any other IEM I've tried.

 

[dweaver]

I think the sharpness of the edge on the hole in the S3's aluminum body causes more noise than the smoother hole in heavier metal of the S5. I will to check when I get home but I think the hole faces in on the S5 which in conjunction with the bend of the S5 would shelter the hole from wind better.

 

[Brooko]

Yep - A83 is like that too - interior facing port

 

[suman134]

  Yep, Razzer stated this will be the last in the series, and IMHO, it's the best. YMMV, of course 

It sounds good, not as dark as S5, better stage too.

 

[shockdoc]

 
It sounds good, not as dark as S5, better stage too.

I actually find the S5 to have a noticeably wider and deeper sound stage than the S3. In fact right OOTB the soundstage was noticeably narrower than the Jive as well, to my ear. Seems to be similar to the Jive now after burn in.