Brainwavz B150 In Ear Headphones Review
Brainwavz B150 Pros&Cons
Pros
- Price-point
- Included accessories
- Relatively balanced sound signature
- Value
Cons
- Lacks a bit of bass control
- Lacks some detail and clarity
Brainwavz B150 Specs
- Impedance: 30Ω
- Driver configuration: Single Balanced Armature driver
- Frequency response: 16 Hz ~ 22 kHz
- Sensitivity: 105 dB/mW
- Cable length: 130cm
- Weight (incl. cable): 14g
Packaging
Brainwavz did a pretty decent job with the exterior packaging of the B150, combining various colours and textures to create quite an eye-catching design. The front and rear of the box is nearly identical, with clear and bold text displaying the Brainwavz logo and “B150” text. The difference for the front and rear of the box is that the front has 4 lines that give a brief description of what is to be found inside, whereas the rear simply has the bar-code and specific model codes. The 2 sides of the box are identical, and Brainwavz used this space to boast about the 24-month Warranty on the B150.
However, it’s when we open up the exterior box and have a look inside that it becomes clear where there has been some cost-cutting. On the inside you’ll find a thin plastic tray and clear lid in which you can see the B150’s protective case. The protective case is where the actual IEM and and accessories are stored. So, clearly nothing premium in terms of packaging, not like you’d find from the likes of Fiio at least.
What’s in the box?
- B150
- Storage case
- 1x Pair of Comply foam eartips
- 6 x Pair of silicon eartips
- 1x Shirt-clip
Accessories
The case included with the B150 is actually pretty nice and sturdy. It features 2 seperate pockets on the inside which cane be used to keep addition eartips secure, as well as keeping the cable in one place.
Brainwavz included a total of 7 pairs of eartips, 1 pair of which are genuine Comply foam eartips and are colour matched to the red Brainwavz colour. The shirt-clip is also a handy inclusion.
Read: IFI-Audio Micro iDSD Black Label Review
Design
The B150 doesn’t offer anything exclusive or revolutionary, but at an asking price of $80 we don’t expect it to either.
For the most part, it seems reasonably well-made and durable, pretty much on par with what you could expect from the likes of MEE Audio or Skullcandy.
The design of the B150’s housing is a bit more interesting though, featuring some subtle angles and contours to give it a bit more aesthetic appeal. Thankfully Brainwavz didn’t go for form over function, and these design elements do not influence the fit and comfort of the B150.
Speaking of comfort, Brainwavz did a fantastic job with the B150, resulting in what is one of the most comfortable designs out there. Granted, to really get the most comfort out of the B150, we suggest ditching the stock silicon eartips, and opting for something along the lines of SpinFit eartips. Generally we prefer the JVC Spiral Dot eartips for their sheer comfort and sonic improvements, but due to the narrow nozzle of the B150 the Spiral Dot tips simply wouldn’t work.
The actual housing is on the smaller side, which means that more people would find it easy to get comfortable with this IEM, and should make longer listening sessions bearable too.
The cable is on the thin side, but does feature a formed earhook section. This is great, as it’s more manageable than memory-wire, without sacrificing comfort.
Sound
The B150’s sound actually came as a bit of a surprise to us. No, it doesn’t have the most wonderuflly detailed high end, or wide sound stage; but what it does have is a surprisingly well balanced sound signature.
Usually, in this price range, manufacturers opt for a “fun” v-curve signature, which bloats the bass and can make the highs sound clear at first, but in reality actually kills the details.
The B150, on the other hand, keeps things balanced. It reaches pretty deep into the sub-bass region without sounding bloated. No, it’s not the most textured or well-controlled bass, but we’d take a natural (albeit not very detailed) bass over artifically boosted bass any day. It’s only when you engage a bass boost like the IFI Micro iDSD Black Label‘s XBass+ that the B150’s limit on handling bass becomes apparent.
The upper registers are also really well done on the B150 (especially at this price point). Everything sounds reasonable clear, without becoming sibilant or introducing any artifical sparkle. However, it is within the mid-range that the B150 shines. Not in the sense that the b150 is mid-centric, but rather that the overall well-balanced signature makes you realise how recessed the mids are on other IEMs in this price-range.
However, in order to really get the most out of the B150’s sound, we highly recommend that you try them with SpinFit eartips. As noted in the design section of this review, the SpinFit eartips work great for the B150. Normally we’d shy away from the SpinFits as they tend to make the sound darker and more congested on other IEMs. However, they actually have a wider bore than the silicon tips that are included with the B150. This wider bore, along with a more comfortable fit and secure seal results in a bit deeper bass, and more open high frequency extension.
Read: Fiio F5 In-Ear Headphones Review
Value
Apparently the introductory price of the B150 was $110, but can now be found for around $70 online. If the B150 was still at the $110 price, we’d be a bit more hesitant to splash some cash on it, as we’d be inclined to label it as falling out of the “budget” section. Although we should add that even at a price of $110, the B150 would still have one of the most well-balanced signatures. However, at online prices of around $70, the B150 is a fantastic value, and falls well within the “budget” segment.
Sure, there are other options out there, such as the Fiio F5, which will give you a slightly more “fun” approach to sound, but where we feel the B150 is of great value is to act as an introduction to a more mature sound signature. The best IEMs out there don’t offer out-of-this-world bass, but they do control everything from the lows to the highs very, very well, and offer a detailed, natural-sounding presentation. The B150 will give you a healthy helping of that refined signature, but at a fraction of the price.
Rating
The TECH MERIT rating system is designed to take as many aspects of the device into account as possible. As such, we have a basic rating, as well as a final rating. The basic rating rates the product purely as a high quality portable audio device, and is generally a good indicator of how it stacks up to its rivals in terms of standard features and specs. The final rating, however, grants bonus points for any extra features and specs that aren’t quite as common, and is a great way to judge the product as a complete package.
Packaging
Look and feel: 6 / 10
Included Accessories
More than 3 pairs of eartips included: YES
Protective case: YES
Build
Quality control: 9 / 10
Seems durable: YES
Microphonics: 7 / 10
Comfort: 10 / 10
Sound
Relatively balanced signature: YES
Soundstage: 7 / 10
Detail retrieval: 8 / 10
Sibilance: 9 / 10
Instrument separation: 7 / 10
Isolation: 9 / 10
Hiss: 8 / 10
Portability
Small size: 10 / 10
Relatively low power required: 9 / 10
Weight: 10 / 10
Value
Competitive price-point: YES
Relative value: 9 / 10
Basic Rating: 8.5
Bonus points
Removable cables: –
Number of cables included: –
Premium cables: –
Pairs of eartips above 3 pairs: 4
How premium the case looks and feels: 8 / 10
Battery life above 8 hours: –
Bluetooth: –
Apt-X: –
Volume/remote controls: –
Metal body: Partly
Interchangeable filter system: –
Premium look and feel: –
Use of exotic materials: –
Bluetooth connection quality: –
1/4” adapter included: –
Cable management: YES
Aircraft adapter: –
Final Rating: 9.1
The Competition:
