Brainwavz B200 review – dual balanced armature earphones
Brainwavz B200 dual balanced armature earphones
£90Pros
- So comfortable
- Great neutral audio
- Mids are excellent
- Good bundle
- Sub £100 asking price
Cons
- No inline controls (if that bothers you)
Dual balanced armature earphones are generally the reserve of three-figure price tags. We’ve been sent the Brainwavz B200 to see if they can convince me otherwise.
Brainwavz may not be the first name that comes to mind for great earphones. In fact, I had never heard of them before. Ever.
However, the official Brainwavz website displays over 30 pairs of earphones and headphones. So, they appear to have a decent range. Enough to prove that they mean business, anyhow.
There is also the ubiquitous claim of enabling you to “hear your music as the artist intended.”
So, are these all chat and no action? Let’s have a looksee, shall we?
Brainwavz B200 design
The Brainwavz B200 earphones use an over-ear hook design.
They have a small rubber coated section on the cable to keep them in place. Thankfully, this section is designed to follow the contours of your ear.
The earpieces are both small and light. The earpieces have a faceted design that I’ve attempted to capture. They are also marked L and R, which I always find helpful.
These are some of the most comfortable earphones I’ve worn in a very long time.
Attached to the earpieces is what feels to be a decent quality, rubber-jacketed, 1.3-metre cable. It terminates in an angled gold jack plug thus taking some of the strain.
However, there’s no in-line microphone or controller on the cable.
You do get a hard-shell carry case, shirt clip, Velcro cable tidy, six pairs of silicone ear tips and a pair of Comply foam tips.
The latter are the ones I went for straight away. Not only are they the most comfortable but they also provide the most isolated fit.
Brainwavz B200 performance
I have already mentioned this but I shall mention it again. These are really comfortable to wear for long listening periods.
I also like that you get a case and a decent bundle of tips and stuff. This is all very well but it all means nothing if they don’t sound any good.
Sound quality
Inside each of the B200 earpieces is a dual balanced armature driver. These combine a tweeter and a woofer.
Brainwavz says this has been tuned to deliver a balanced and accurate sound. Well, let’s not jump the gun just yet.
One thing is certain though. These 30 Ohm dual armature in-ear monitors can easily be driven by any portable source. I wouldn’t tax them with anything larger though.
They are nicely neutral and their mids are outstanding. The low mids in particular are clear and well presented. If you are a fan of acoustic and singer/songwriter style genres then these really put the vocals front and centre.
There is a slight roll off towards either extremities but this doesn’t mean that they are particularly lacking anything.
The treble is sweet without the sibilance endured with the much cheaper ZS6s we had the other week. Brainwavz have done well in tuning these that way. Yes, the payoff is the slightly rolled off high end which equates to cymbal crashes and high-hats losing a bit of shimmer, but they also lack the harshness that can sometimes accompany that.
Bass is punchy but lovers of sub-heavy tunes may find them a little light on thump. I do like the timbre and life that the low-end has. But driving them with bass-laden tracks I can see how some listeners could feel like they’re missing out. However, with the slight roll-off at either end, these earphones are not fatiguing at all. For me, that’s a good thing.
The soundstage is what I’d class as intimate. It’s not confined at all, and I am glad that Brainwavz have resisted trying to artificially widen the scape.
The B200 are so easy to drive that I found myself having to ramp up the volume when trying the other earphones I have here to test. They just appear to be louder than pretty much everything I have in my office right now.
Brainwavz B200 review conclusion
I really do like the B200’s sound profile. It might not be the most exciting listen, but it is truly enjoyable. I could literally wear these all day. That’s not just because of the audio though. It’s also due to them being really comfortable to have in my lugs.
Furthermore, they come bundled with Comply T-100 tips as well as everything else. That pair of tips costs $15 by themselves, by the way.
All this combined was impressive with the £150+ price tag they were RRP’d at when I first wrote about them. Now, with over £60 slashed off the price, they’re even more remarkable.
Brainwavz B200 price and availability
You can grab these now, if you’re quick, for £90 from Amazon.
It does look there’s a V2 model coming with detachable cable, etc so either grab a complete bargain or get the newer version. I am sure you’ll be happy with either.
Brainwavz B200 specifications at a glance
Drivers : Dual Balanced Armature
Rated Impedance : 30 ohm
Frequency Range : 12 Hz ~ 22 kHz
Sensitivity : 110 dB at 1 mW
Cable : 1.3 m Y-Cord, Over the ear, OFC Copper
Plug : 3.5 mm, Gold plated
