Brainwavz B2 In Ear Noise Isolating Earphones

I was in the market for an analytical in-ear monitor and I saw the reviews for the B2 on the net were mostly positive. I had considered the Etymotic ER4's, but I didn't want to spend $300 when I was fairly happy with my Atrio M8's. Two hours into listening to the B2's and my M8's were happily retired. Even with some EQ tweaking to the M8's, their midrange was lacking (the reason I wanted an analytical set of IEM's). World of difference - the midrange is crystal clear with these, with sparkling detail that was usually masked in the heaviness of the M8's.I listen to a lot of rock/metal and instrumental music and the midrange was the most important thing for me. Basslines are clear, dual guitar sounds are both audible (wonderful soundstage, BTW) and vocals are incredibly easy to make out, even with higher range power metal vocalists (the Atrios struggled with this). They are perfect for metal if actually hearing everything in the song cleanly is your most important feature. Bass is fine on these - I'm running them through a Digizoid Zo amp and my Cowon players (a D2+ and an X7, currently both with no EQ adjustments) and what is there is deep enough, without penetrating the midrange. Can't really comment on the highs too much, but I have noticed cymbol crashes I wasn't noticing before.Ear insertion was extremely easy. The Shure E2c foam sleeves I used for my M8's are a perfect fit for these and they rest in the ear better than most IEM's I'm used to. Outside noise is totally blocked out, no sound leakage. The only complaint I have (nitpick) is the cord is easy to get tangled. I have a liking for the cheap look of the black and white cord - not sure why, I just like it.Buy these if you're serious about actually hearing what is going on in your music AND you want to enjoy it. Other than the cord tangling, the only bad part is having to take them out.

The B2s were disconcerting at first impression as the plastic molded bodies appeared to be very low quality with several rough spots along their surfaces. I thought they would be uncomfortable to wear in the ear because of all these rough areas, but thankfully the parts that touch the ear were all smooth. At this price point though, I expected at the very least good quality plastic housing, if not wood (like the similarly priced Thinksound TS02s) or metal (like the Monster Turbines, available at this time for half the price of the B2s).This thankfully was the low point of the ownership experience, The tip selection and accessory pack were high quality, and the braided cord was well made and attractive. Brainwavz gives you a lot for your money. These phones use dual Knowles drivers in each housing, a not uncommon configuration these days, but Brainwavz was the first company to offer this driver set at such a low price point. The literature claim that one driver is for low freqs and the other for high is not exactly accurate. but the two drivers do reinforce each other to give a nicely balanced sound.In particular, the B2s give true "audiophile sound"; that is to say, balanced, accurate clear sound. There is a very slight bass boost to help replace the tactile bass thump that makes listening to larger speakers pleasant, but the sound in general is both pleasant and carefully balanced. Note these are not for thumpheads! Unlike some other BW products, there is no extreme bass emphasis. You can hear the bass in the music, but it is proportional and not over-powering. Both IEM's mentioned earlier - Thinksound TS02 and Monster Turbines - have lots more bass, but are also less accurate by far.I listen to a lot of classical and acoustic jazz, and these B2s sound just about perfect for that purpose. A well-recorded classical piece like Rattle's Brahms Symphonies with the BPO, sounds unnatural and thumpy on the Thinksounds, It sounds like Brahms has three or four extra timpanis thumping away and a boosted double bass string section. The same recording sounds perfectly proportioned and detailed on the B2s; bass is there, but it does not wash out the mids or highs. However, modern amplified stuff like Lamb of God (metal) or Massive Attack (downtempo electronica) sounds decent on the B2s but not exceptional. If you never listen to acoustical music, you might want some other Brainwavz model.These are best worn with cable up (that is to say worn with cable wrapped around each ear) and when used as such are not at all microphonic (they do not carry friction noises when the cable bumps or rubs up against anything). Isolation is fine, with even acoustic music sounding loud and clear on the subway at moderate volume, and the long term wearing comfort factor is very good.So to summarize, if you like musical accuracy and listen to genres that do not need over-emphasized bass, the B2s are a great deal at their price point. The body's build quality is disappointing, but the phones themselves have held up well in months of use, and the accessory pack and cable quality is excellent. In particular, the cable for the B2s is way better than those used by MEElectronics. The MEE A161 is a great IEM that is wrecked by a dreadful cable. The B2s in comparison have a much better quality cable that feels sturdier and is less stringy. (Though the driver housings on the MEEs are much nicer, oh well.)Brainwavz impressed me with this product. I was expecting the usual Best Buy Bass thump that many audio manufacturers seem to be aiming for these days, and instead got a really good sound that is probably worth more than I paid for it, The company should fine tune their housing QC process a bit, especially at this price point. Other than that, all is good here!

I agree with everyone here on the sound quality that these earbuds deliver. This was the main reason I got them, as they also received a great rating from head-fi.org (Google search 'iem review head fi' then search for 'Brainwavz b2' on the page). Unfortunately, this amazing sound quality is worth nothing when the product dies so early. I got these as a sound upgrade to a pair of Shure earbuds that I've had since january 2009, and the reason that I replaced those was because the signal was starting to occasionally cut out in one side. When I put these in today, the right side wasn't cutting out, it was simply failing to produce any good sound at all; it sounds like it has shorted somewhere in the connection. The Shure earbuds I upgraded from don't cut out this bad. I have already contacted the seller about taking care of the warranty, but I just have a bad feeling that these won't last long once that warranty expires. Buy at your own risk, and prepare to have to baby them.As disappointed as I am that they are dead, and as frustrated as I am that I'm having to enact the warranty only days outside my return window, these sound so good that once the warranty does expire on the replacement ones I will be performing a cable upgrade to ensure that they last, because they do sound absolutely fantastic when working properly. It's a shame, really. I plan to bump the review rating up once I get them replaced, but for now, this is only 1 star worthy; I've had cheap Skullcandy earbuds last longer than this, and sound quality doesn't mean a thing when one half of the signal is ruined.