Brainwavz B400 Earphones Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

While there are seemingly endless options of cheap earphones in the sub-£30 sector, what can you get if you are looking to spend a bit more? The Brainwavz B400 might be something to consider, with four drivers per earphone and a price of just under £170. That puts the B400 in direct competition with 1MORE's Quad Driver IEM – which, as the name suggests, also boast 4 drivers and now cost just under £130.

While the inclusion of four balanced armatures per earphone is definitely the headline-grabbing feature of the Brainwavz B400, there's plenty of other aspects to the earphones as well – including the 3D printed driver housings, a pair of detachable MMCX cables that come in the box, and a total of 7 pairs of ear tips that are also included. Currently priced at £169.50, are these worth buying?

Features

• 4 Balanced Armature Drivers
• 3D Printed Housing
• Ergonomic Design
• MMCX Cables

Accessories

• MMCX 3.5mm cable with In-Line Microphone and Remote
• MMCX 3.5mm Cable
• Earphone Hard case
• 6x Sets of Silicone Ear Tips (S M L)
• Set of Comply™ Foam Tips T-100
• Shirt Clip
• Velcro Cable Tie
• Instruction Manual & Warranty Card (24 month warranty)

Specifications

• Drivers: Quad Balanced Armature
• Rated Impedance: 30Ω
• Frequency Range: 10 Hz – 40 kHz
• Sensitivity: 115dB
• Cable: Detachable
• Cable Connector: MMCX
• Plug: 3.5 mm, Gold plated

The Brainwavz B400 ships in a pretty minimal white box, with ‘B400' printed in large bold text on the front.

The box then opens up to reveal a small, hard carry case (with the earphones and accessories inside), as well as a cable for the earphones themselves.

Starting with the accessory bundle, though, in that carry case we find 1x user guide, 1x shirt clip, and then six spare pairs of ear tips – with one pair already installed on the earphones.

For those interested, there are a total of 6 pairs of silicon ear tips – two small pairs, two medium and two large – and one pair of Comply T-100 foam tips, the latter being something I am always glad to see. That being said, the 1MORE Quad Driver does come with three pairs of foam tips, although admittedly they are not Comply tips.

Now, as it turns out, the cable which we were initially greeted with once opening the box is a spare – two sets of cables come in the box which I think is a great inclusion. Both measure 1.25m long and connect to the earphones using the MMCX connector.

What sets them apart, is that the pre-attached cable has an in-line remote with mic (more on that later) and connects via a straight 3.5mm jack. The spare cable does not have a mic/in-line remote and its 3.5mm jack is slightly angled as well.

Getting to the actual earphones now, though, the first thing to look at is the driver housing/ear pieces. The most striking thing for me is the colour as I was sent the Aqua model, and on the Brainwavz website there are also options for Stay Frosty (clear), Ruby, Black, Cosmic Black, and Green Rage colours. It looks like only the Stay Frosty model is available to buy in the UK, though.

So, the Aqua colour is very striking and I have to say it makes a change from other grey or black earphones I'm used to. The driving housing itself is also noteworthy as it is actually 3D printed using ‘liquid Resin 3D printers', which Brainwavz claims enables ‘a shape not possible by normal manufacturing methods.'

On the subject of the shape, these are IEM style earphones which loop over the top of your ears – each cable has a small ear hook to hold them in place. We talk more about comfort and build quality on the next page.

As mentioned, the standard cable has an in-line remote with an in-built mic – this is positioned on the cable leading to the right earphone. You can use the remote to adjust volume, pause/play music, as well as answer calls.

The bifurcation on this cable is also metal plated to ensure durability, with the Brainwavz logo printed onto the metal.

The last thing to note is the 4-pole 3.5mm jack which, as mentioned, is straight. The area where the cable meets the jack itself is also metal plated.To test the B400, I used the earphones for almost a month while listening to music, watching videos and even when answering phone calls on the go.

Build quality and comfort

Starting out with build quality, I have to say it is a definite plus for the B400 that it not only uses detachable cables, but you get two in the box – I find if an earphone is going to fail, it is usually down to the cable before anything else. The pre-attached cable also feels high quality, with metal plating around the 3.5mm jack area and at the bifurcation where the left and right earphone cables split.

On top of that, even if you somehow get through both of the included cables, the MMCX connector is widely used and it is very easy to find a replacement online. So generally, I have to say Brainwavz is doing very well in this regard.

The B400's driver housing is made from plastic as we mentioned, and certainly I think it looks lovely from a purely aesthetic stand point. I do just wonder about that material decision from a practical perspective though – they've held up perfectly during my testing, but I would not at all be surprised if the housing were to crack or split if the earphones were dropped onto a hard surface.

In fairness, as I said I've not had any issues like that during my testing, and I am usually quite rough with my earphones and just shove them in a pocket or backpack. There is obviously a hard carry-case included as well which only helps, but I do have to say I have less concern about breaking the 1MORE Quad Driver with its metal housings than I do for the B400.

Now, in terms of comfort, I haven't really had any issues in this regard. Obviously as we already mentioned these are IEM style earphones which you wear over the ear via the integrated ear hooks in the cable. This is not a problem for me at all and I found the overall shape of the earphones would fit in around my ear without any discomfort. Occasionally the ear hooks would snag on my glasses when taking the earphones out, but that won't be an issue for everyone and is fairly minor in the first place.

My main gripe in terms of comfort is that the cable is prone to spinning around at the MMCX connector on each earphone. That's because the cables don't lock in place – you just insert them, and they will definitely stay connected, but the cable just spins around the connector. It doesn't sound like a big deal and it isn't uncommon with other earphones, but it is annoying when you have the ear hook in the perfect position, and then it spins out of place. A small lock to just stop the spinning would help a lot here.

The last thing to talk about is the choice of ear tips. By default, a medium size silicon pair are attached to the earphones, and while I found these fit my ears quite well, I usually find silicon tips can slip out once they warm up in my ear. It's good then that a pair of Comply T-100 foam tips come included and I found these as good as you'd expect for Comply – great isolation, nice and comfy and also just the right size for me. I don't think it would've hurt to include more foam tips, but a 3-pack of Comply tips is only an extra £15.

Sound

Moving onto what we are all here for, though, and that is sound quality. Overall I would describe the B400 as a slightly v-shaped earphone, with enough bass presence to just about give it an overall warm tilt, but it is far from a bass-heavy IEM.

Starting with the bass then, like I said there is a slight emphasis on the low-end with the B400 which creates a slightly warm presentation. I am trying to be careful with my words here as the B400 is certainly not bass heavy – compared to the 1MORE Quad Driver, which has a much more prominent bump to the mid-bass, it sounds much flatter. But to my ears, there is enough of the bass coming through that I couldn't fully characterise this as a flat or neutral earphone.

So while the bass isn't ‘in your face', extension and control is very good for an earphone in this price bracket – it doesn't feel loose or bloated at all, and the overall emphasis on the bass is just enough to give tracks like ‘Gotham's Reckoning' from the Dark Knight soundtrack a bit of low-end energy that would be missing from a more neutral earphone.

With that said, the bass presentation is probably my favourite element of the B400's sound. I am less keen on the mid-range, though. It's quite clean and clear, but I have to say vocals – particularly female singers who usually have a luscious character to their voices, like Kat Gang and Stacey Kent – just felt a bit cold to my ear. What I mean by that is the B400 didn't give any warmth or emotion to vocalists, instead the mids just felt a little bit lifeless.

‘Lifeless' is perhaps too strong a word, but I am just trying to convey that these aren't the best earphones for listening if you want a warm, lush sounding mid-range. Admittedly the B400 mids do feel very transparent and clear, but for me that just came at the expense of a smoother and more emotional mid-range.

I mentioned at the start of this section that the overall sound of the B400 is ‘v-shaped', which means a bit of an emphasis on the treble too. For me, these earphones walk the line between ‘detailed' and ‘sharp' – for the most part, the high-end is resolving and adds a lot of detail to tracks, but it can be fatiguing at times. Of course, a lot of this is personal preference, while how well mixed the music you listen to is also a factor.

For instance, Owl City's latest album ‘Cinematic' is a very good example of a record that sounds great with the B400 – there is plenty of detail in the treble region without over-doing it and sounding sharp or sibilant. The high-end really complements the rest of the mix there. But switch over to something like ‘Messengers' by August Burns Red, and the treble proved to be just too much for me.

One thing I was not expecting to find when listening with the B400, though, is the sheer width of the soundstage. Simply put, for an earphone, this is undoubtedly the most spacious sound presentation I have heard. It's obviously not on the same level as a proper headphone like the HD 800 S, but it makes most other earphones I have used sound positively claustrophobic in comparison.

General separation and imaging is also very good, too – you get a very clear idea of where each different layer of the mix is coming from, so you can place the cymbals to the back-right, the snare drum just left of centre and so on. I have to say, the B400 is excellent in terms of its size and accuracy of its presentation.

These are very easy to drive, too – an impedance of 30Ω and the quite high sensitivity of 115dB means you will have no issues driving these from a phone. In fact, I did most of my listening with my Pixel 3 (with USB-C to 3.5mm adapter) and didn't go above 50% volume on the phone. A standalone amp is not needed for these.

Mic

The last area to touch on is mic quality – it is perhaps not a big factor in your buying decision, but it is worth testing since the default cable does have an in-built mic for conducting phone calls etc.

As you can hear from the short recording above – the less said about this mic the better. It's certainly audible, but the overall sound is very muffled and generally low quality. It will get you out of a pinch if required, but I'd rather use my phone's in-built mic.Having spent the last few weeks listening with the Brainwavz B400 earphone, it is certainly a good competitor at its £170 price point.

Almost immediately I was impressed that not only does the earphone use detachable MMCX cables, but you get two pairs in the box. From a build quality standpoint, this is something I want to see from every earphone manufacturer as the cable is almost always the first point of failure – so kudos to Brainwavz.

A total of 7 pairs of eat tips are included, too, though only one set of those are foam tips – so I don't think it would hurt to have a couple more foam tips in the box. On the plus side, a hard carry case is also included and I would recommend using it as the 3D printed plastic driver housing will need a bit more care than metal-plated earphones.

Now, as for sound, obviously personal preference plays a big part when reviewing earphones. For me, there is a lot I like about the B400's sound – the bass is tight and controlled without being overbearing, and I have to say I am seriously impressed with the overall soundstage and imaging capabilities of this IEM.

It's an overall slightly v-shaped sound, with just enough bass presence to keep it from sound flat. The treble is also quite lively and detailed – I found it worked well for some tracks but depending on how well your music is mixed – and what genres you listen to – I did find it a bit fatiguing at times.

The biggest downside for me, though, is the mid-range. I found it to just feel a little lacking in emotion and warmth, to the extent where vocals just didn't have as much energy and passion to them as I have come to expect from my 1MORE Quad Driver. It's a clear and overall very lucid sound, but I did find it lacking in intimacy and warmth.

So at £170, I think the Brainwavz B400 will definitely appeal to those seeking a certain type of sound. I wouldn't describe it as analytical or neutral, but for me it is not the earphone to buy if you want a warmer and smoother listening experience. If you want a more spacious, airy sound with clear mids and lively treble, though, the B400 is a good shout.

You can currently buy the B400 from Amazon for £169.50 HERE.

Pros

• Eye-catching transparent design.
• Two detachable cables included.
• Tight and controlled bass.
• Excellent soundstage and imaging.
• Easy to drive.

Cons

• Mid-range feels a little cold.
• Treble can be fatiguing.

KitGuru says: The Brainwavz B400 is a good option if you want a spacious sound with a resolving treble. The high-end can prove to be a little too exuberant at times, though, while I also found myself wanting more emotion from the mids.

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