[Tom22]

got these babies in today... wasn't sure what to expect until i opened the package.
 
first impressions after 10 minutes of listening (ridiculously short for a first impression)  : surprising light in the bass (at least in comparison to say the s5,s0,blu100) 
 
its more in line with the r3, and the jives and even the m1s. its a still slightly warm, but may not satisfy those seeking a ton of bass in their recordings
 
the new eartips they're using on the s0s and the s3 is really nice, i like em lot (wide bore, hybrid design, with nice length to the stem) seals really well! 
 
i find the mids to be a bit peaky, somewhere in the upper mids? with the included narrow bore(sony hybrids) this issue seems to be reduced this
 
hm.... i wonder why it was considered an S-series earphone. (from the past experience and readings, the s series seems to be rather warm and bassy) 
 
food for thought....
 
anyways here is my unboxing.. will update with my first impression video after a few more days of listening 
 

 

[nmatheis]

razzer001: Again, great move on the moving towards smaller, more ergonomic cables and splitters. If there were a trade-in program for my old S1 & S5 which have the larger cables and splitters, I'd certainly take advantage of it.

 

[Luckbad]

Just opened these a few minutes ago. They're definitely hot in upper mids/lower treble. I immediately switched to the Sony Hybrid clones with the smaller bore to tame that a bit.
 
It helps, but it they're still hot around 4kHz, 8kHz, and 12kHz.
 
I'll burn them in before reviewing them. Good quality and overall nice presentation other than the heat in a couple places I don't love peaks (4 and 12 kHz--I don't mind 8kHz because I have some hearing loss there).

 

[nmatheis]

Gave these a listen with Iron Maiden's new album The Book of Souls. Also had some quick back & forth vs. S5. I've got S0, S1, and S5, and the S3 definitely deviate from the typical S-series sound sig to the point where (like Tom22), I was surprised that Brainwavz used this tuning in an S-series IEM.

On the pink noise machine these go...

 

[dweaver]

I noticed the peaks a bit but I actually like them. If they were any peakier though I would not. BUT I am noticing some ear fatigue so that does confirm it is there for me because I only get that from headphones with a peak in those areas. But the peak in the S3 is definitely not as strong as the RHA T20.

Tried out my S5 tonight and they are smoother. I take back that I like the S3 more for now. I will have to have a serious a/b session before I can say that. I like both though that much is clear.

 

[HiFiChris]

In my perception, those "peaks" are still lower as ground-line and yeah, as dweaver said, they are less present than on the RHA T20.
Though, they get smoothed out in my ears when I use the narrow bore tips.

 

[bruce1967]

  thats interesting you say that... i have both of those with me now...i see what your into now 

 
you like em punchy and impactful with thinner midrange and a forward lower treble? 

Yes, I would say that sums it up nicely.

 

[bruce1967]

@bruce1967: I quite enjoy S5 and A200. A250 is really nice with mid-bass EQ'ed down a bit.

That's exactly what I do with the A250 listening with my Fiio X3ii. With the mid-base EQed down sounds they sound amazing to me. I love the S5 too.

 

[bruce1967]

  I'm waiting patiently (sort of) for at least 80-100 hours burn in before comparing them to my current fav, the S5 and the Jive (not too far behind the S5). My preference for a sound sig is one that sounds like REAL instruments and vocals. I like a 'phone that removes the veil between me and the music and sounds like a live performance in a venue or the studio. Personally I find the sound that some claim to be "neutral" to be lacking...especially in the lower regions (bass). Real music has low impactful bass. Most of what I listen to is acoustic as I enjoy hearing how close a headphone gets to the nuances of real instruments and real vocals. My first impressions of the S3 are good but I miss the better low end of my S5. Late tomorrow or early Sunday I will listen to them in depth and compare and contrast.

I'll be looking forward to your impressions. Thanks!

 

[razzer001]

With the S series we don't go by the sound to put these earphones in the same family but by the design style.

The S3 will mark the last in this series (at least for now and no plans to add more).

We do have a few more earphones to be released before the end of this year before we slow down and work on our higher end earphones and new headphone line for 2016.

Dual, triple, hybrid, armature and more goodies all in the pipeline. Not sure if all will make it to see the light of day but our team has some good stuff cooking in the oven.

 

[HiFiChris]

Dual, triple, hybrid, armature and more goodies all in the pipeline. Not sure if all will make it to see the light of day but our team has some good stuff cooking in the oven.

Awesome!

 

[peter123]

With the S series we don't go by the sound to put these earphones in the same family but by the design style.

The S3 will mark the last in this series (at least for now and no plans to add more).

We do have a few more earphones to be released before the end of this year before we slow down and work on our higher end earphones and new headphone line for 2016.

Dual, triple, hybrid, armature and more goodies all in the pipeline. Not sure if all will make it to see the light of day but our team has some good stuff cooking in the oven.

That's great news! I'm really looking forward to your future offerings

 

[suman134]

With the S series we don't go by the sound to put these earphones in the same family but by the design style.

The S3 will mark the last in this series (at least for now and no plans to add more).

We do have a few more earphones to be released before the end of this year before we slow down and work on our higher end earphones and new headphone line for 2016.

Dual, triple, hybrid, armature and more goodies all in the pipeline. Not sure if all will make it to see the light of day but our team has some good stuff cooking in the oven.

  Sounds awesome to me!!

 

[nmatheis]

With the Brainwavz bang for your buck factor, I can't wait to see what your higher-end HP & IEM are like razzer001.

 

[dweaver]

That sounds very interesting Razzer001 I am excited to hear about the upcoming models. I own several hybrid IEMs and really like what they bring to the table in regards to offering a rich musical experience with oodles of detail.