Brainwavz B150






This and That
:

Nice carrying case.

Nice design.



Sound:

Low impedance sources, largest included silicone tips.

Tonality:

Rather warm, somewhat bassy sound with about 8 dB more midbass quantity than my Etymotic ER-4S (5 dB more than my UERM). Gentle roll-off towards sub-bass. The bass starts to climb around 650 Hz and reaches its climax somewhere around 100.
More midbass- than sub-bass-oriented.
Pretty much similar bass quantity and warmth as my Logitech/Ultimate Ears UE200.
Mids somewhat more on the warmer, darker side. Not too coloured but contribute to a laid-back, relaxed sound signature with a somewhat relaxed presence range.

The middle highs around 5 kHz and the rest until 12 kHz show more presence again but have just slightly less quantity than the midrange, adding slight darkness and relaxation to the sound, and also making cymbals sound non-offensive and lacking aggressiveness.


Resolution:

Let’s make it short here – the B150 sounds nimble and quick, lightweight and detailed, coherent and well-rendered.

The bass, while it is not as tight and fast as that of some multi-BA in-ears or the Etymotic ER-4S, definitely doesn’t lack speed and is only slightly on the softer side and still a good bit better controlled and faster than that of most dynamic driver in-ears.

The midrange has got good speech intelligibility and minute detail retrieval, as it can also be expected from a good (single-) BA in-ear.

The treble carries good details and good separation that is not elite-level but good for the price. I don’t really miss much.

The sound is, not really surprising, very coherent, wherefore I would also chose the B150 over my dual-BA Apple in-ears that, while they definitely show an advantage in the midrange and treble in terms of detail retrieval and are a bit more refined, better separated overall, don’t sound as coherent as most single-BA in-ears in the low three-digit/high two-digit price range, including the B150 that shows a coherent, harmonious sound.


Soundstage:

Neither congested/small nor open/large.
Good width-to-depth ratio and good presentation of spatial depth as well as layering.

Precise imaging with good separation. Not as much air around single instruments as higher-end multi-driver in-ears are capable of.


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In Comparison with other Single-BA In-Ears:

Etymotic Research ER-4S:


The Etymotic sounds clearly different from the B150, more neutral and much flatter. The B150 is bassier, warmer and clearly darker sounding.

The more expensive ER-4S is definitely in a higher league when it comes to resolution, separation and last but not least bass speed and tightness. Nonetheless the B150 doesn't sound like shit next to it.

The Ety’s soundstage is only somewhat larger than the Brainwavz’ but not much. In terms of precision though, the Ety is audibly ahead.
Brainwavz B100:

To make it short, both sound quite similar to me, yet they are definitely not identical.
Both have got the same bass quantity while the B100’s upper bass kick is subjectively a bit better distinguishable as it has got slightly less quantity in the lower midrange than the B150 (the B100 is a bit less warm in comparison). Both in-ears also sound rather identical to me in the treble, apart from that the B100 outputs more quantity between 12 and 13 kHz, wherefore it appears airier, better extended, less laid-back and more direct in comparison.

In terms of resolution, I definitely see both as being on-par, however the B150 appears just a bit softer sounding in general because it is tuned warmer.

Both also sound identical to me when it comes to soundstage dimensions with the B100’s being just a little airier which can mainly be addressed to it having more quantity in the starting super treble above 10 kHz.


Conclusion:

A really nice and affordably priced single-BA in-ear. However, I don't see any real reason to get the B150 over the B100, as the latter follows a very similar tuning, albeit with somewhat less warmth wherefore it sounds tighter in comparison. In addition, the B100 is priced even somewhat more affordably.