Audio My first impression with Brainwavz M3.....Not so good.

[live4g4]

I just want to tell you guyz in starting that this is just my personal exprince with M3, i dont want to disrespect anyone who loves or admire M3.

I started looking for new IEM around a month back when my stock samsung wave IEM died, which was just average for my daily commute in delhi metro.I was using PL-30 before it which died around 6 months back and i still miss there awesome sound. Blame them for my IEM fever.They were my first stock replaced IEM and they blew me away.so i decide to gift myself awesome IEM on my birthday.
My Budget for new IEM was 4-5k as i wanted to see what 4-5k IEM would sound like if 1K PL-30 blew me away.
I was confused between RE-ZERO/0 and M3.I was more inclined towards RE-ZER0 first as soft rock is what i listen to about 60% of the time and remaining is electronic/trance, hip-hop, house and little bit metal.i found M3 review good enough to convince me for them as all the audiophiles on TE and head-fi listed them as all-rounded IEM and somewhere between M2 and RE-ZERO/0 so i put my hard-earned money on them and placed order with pristine note.
I was pretty excitd after receiving my courier from Pristine Note.It was nicely and very well packed.I opened the packaging as fast as i could, took out the M3, plug them in my samsung wave with default earbuds and played the first song i found in my music list which was 'Riding solo' from Jason Derulo and closed my eyes to get ready to blow away then waited for around 1 minute with close eyes to feel M3 magic but damn,they sounded exactly like my PC X-540 speakers.I know i am comparing M3 with 5.1 speakers but they sounded so much same that i was amazed. I had listened same track on X-540 several times so i knew exactly how it sound.I knew something was very wrong, i lied down on bed and started playing other tracks. My next track was 'Vicious Delicious' from infected mushrooms, then i realize bass is better and tigheter then X-540.Then i tried some soft rock, 'The End' from The Doors is one of my favorite track. Thats where i start regretting by puting my money on them. It sounded like everything was on same layer, all the vocals, guitar, drums were all coming in same layer. I thought maybe some problem with my wave EQ settings, or i still need to find perfect size earbuds for my ear or they still need some burn-in time.
I played with some EQ settings and played 'Riders on the storm' from same The Doors, after focusing hard to seprate each insturment and vocal layer from each other, i could feel them seprate little bit, but that was supposed to come natural, i am not supposed to try to seprate them, i wanted tofeel each guitar string during solo as i used to do with my PL-30, i wanted to feel the hand moving over each string, wanted to feel each drum but everything was sounding so artifical and un-natural like my stock samsung wave IEM.I was missing my PL-30 like hell. I know there sound signature is poles apart and they are not supposed to sound same but how 1k PL-30 sounds far better then 4k M3.
I was wondering is it the same sound i am listening which was listened and recomended by audiophiles around the globe or something is wrong with my M-3. I even changed the sound source and tried them with my iPod classic 30GB but only a little bit improvement was there, like 5% or so.
I just could not belive that M3 could sound like these bad so i make them listen to my friends and ask there opinion,about my friends, they never gotany IEM other then stock IEM and they know nothing about them.When i made them listen to my PL-30 when i had them, they were so amazed that how could earphones sound so good. so now when i made them listen M3, they already knew it's something big after PL-30. When they listened M3 and i ask about there opinion, they said its just fine, nothing so excited about them and other friend said set your EQ settings in phone, they didn't knew i already set it to best. I didn't told them the price as i didn't wanted to make fun of me in front of them.
So now can anybody tell me if it's something wrong with my M3 or they sound like that only.If they sound like that then it's not for me at all. Comprising with guitar solos even after spending 4k is too much for me to ask for.Even if i give them proper burn-in, i don't think it would change things drastically.I know i dont have much experince with IEM as other people's here but my ears can differentiate between good and bad sounds.

What should i do with M3 now?I am thnking about sending it back to pristone note as it's just 2 days old right now and hoping they would make the refund,and then have RE-Zero instead.

 

[Supra]

You might have gt a lemon as well....please talk it out with PristineNote...surely he will be most willing to help you out

 

[esanthosh]

Not a lemon. But, I think it's either the source or the difference in signatures between PL30 and M3 which does not gel with OP's sound preferences. I have no idea of how good Samsung Wave is, so cannot comment on that.

I don't remember PL-30 to be forward with mids, which M3 is. I'd assume that intimate sounding IEMs are not to the OP's taste. Secondly, PL30 has a wide sound stage and good separation. If M3 is not to your taste, go with RE0 than RE-ZERO. While RE-ZERO is layered, well separated, it is still intimate sounding with forward mids.

Secondly, there's such a thing called brain adaptation. You listen to it long enough, you may find certain things you like about it and eventually start liking them. But, that's not the case with all IEMs - some you hate and hate, some you hate and then like, some you like and hate later, some you keep on liking. Never know which bucket M3 would fall after a few days. If you don't like it after a couple of days, talk to PristineNote and return it when it's still brand new. No use trying to force yourself to like it.

 

[chiron]

I'm guessing its not a dud and you might need to try different tips(maybe one with a bit less seal) and give it a couple more days. I've never heard the M3's but if they are anything like the M2's then they too wouldn't be so great with instrument separation, even compared with a PL-30. I am of the opinion that burn in is purely psychological which is why all audio eq need a bit of time before you start appreciating the nuances. Weird that your friends weren't impressed with the M3 though, considering its bass.

 

[Tenzin]

I think he got used to the wide soundstage of the pl30 which he expected in the M3. Maybe you could spend some more time with it.

 

[live4g4]

@Supra

I really want them to be lemon as i had big expectations with M3.

@esantosh

Well if that sound of M3 is called forward with mids and intimate sounding then its not to my prefrence at all. I want my music to be well seprated as i want to feel the each guitar string in my head.

About source, SQ is one of the top priority i check before buying any cell as listening songs is what i do for most of the time, and samsung wave is one of the best sounding mobile available in market right now according to gsmarena. Source for my PL30 was N91-8GB music edition.

Samsung S8500 Wave review: Hello, world! - GSMArena.com

Well i expected M3 sound to be diffrent then PL30 and i was prepared for that, but it sound nothing as i expected after reading reviews all over the net.I don't think i am gonna like them sooner or later even after using few days.

I can also get RE-262 if it's worth the money as i really want my next IEM to sound awesome.I actually expected alot from M3. Please tell me is it worth the shot for going to RE262 as i would be stuck with them for a looooong time.

@chiron

I am currently using large silicon tips after trying all silicon tips as i dont like foam tips much after using them with PL30.

My friend liked the bass, no doubt about that. Only thing my friends liked listening on M3 is Trance and electronic music due to bass. But we all listen to various sub-genre of rock music most of the time which sound just so ordinary on M3.

@Tenzin

I already knew that M3 not gonna have wide soundstage like PL30.but i didn't expected them to be like this.Lets give them couple more days and see what happen.

 

[deathvirus_me]

Well coming from a Samsung Wave .. i can definitely say one thing : it's NOT one of the best sounding devices .. i had spent quite a few hours and a few thousand bucks initially just to get some balanced sound out of it .. i really don't care about reviews, i've used it and i can definitely say don't bias your opinions on this phone's sound quality .. try the iem's on some better audiophile devices before passing your judgement ... it could be a very specific compatibility issue between the M3 and the Wave ..

PS : did u burn-in the iem's for 40-50 hours ?? Some might say its a placebo but it sure did work for the M2's

 

[FaH33m]

First of all you shouldnt really be using the M3 with a source like Wave . Before upgrading your IEMs to this level you might as well have got a Clip+ which sounds amazing and doesnt burn a hole in the pocket . No matter what people say , a cellphone can never be the best source for a mid/high end earphone . The iPhone comes close to PMPs but thats a different story altogether .

Secondly for initial try outs I wouldnt suggest using an EQ . Try listening without EQ . A lot of times these mobile / pmps EQ mess up with the sound real bad .

Another possibility is that you are acustomed to the PL-30 sound & not really liking the way M3 sounds . I agree the M3 might not sound as open as PL-30 but they are far superior to them in terms od detailing of instuments , the treble sparke etc. You should actually be able to hear a good amount of detailing which PL-30 would have never revealed before .

Its also possible that you have actually got a lemon . If anyone else on TE from your city has an M3 you could meet up with him and cross check . Also dont forget to try it with a capable source .

If nothing works , send it back to the seller . He can check and provide a solution

 

[RS4]

^^I agree samsung wave is not a good source, sansa clip+ easily trumps it.

 

[live4g4]

As i said pals,I also tried M3 on my iPod classic 30GB. There was some improvemnt over samsung wave for sure but only little bit which was not worth carrying the 2 devices together.But if everybody says so then i would carry my iPod along with me for next couple of days.

@FaH33m

I am not sure bro if i get accustomed to PL30 or not, but only thing i know now is how i like my music. I want each insturment and vocal to be in seprate layer and feel the hand moving over each string of guitar in my head. Which i am not able to feel in M3 for sure.

I don't know if anyone else from Delhi-NCR got M3, that would make the things so much easier for me to compare. Any way to find out that?

 

[esanthosh]

If you don't like M3 even after giving it sometime, I say go for E30, the newer release from SoundMagic. It seems like a good upgrade to PL-30 with a similar wide sound stage, but more bass. No need to upgrade to higher priced IEMs if what you want can be found at a lower price.

Before that, you could at least try it with Clip+ (No EQ) / Fuze / Fuze+ if one of your friends has them. Most mobiles are designed purposes other than music. As a result, their headphone jack is not designed to work well with all the IEMs out there. Secondly, most of them would aim for 'pleasant' SQ, something that works for the very casual listener in the streets, not necessarily neutral / balanced. I still can't comment on either of your sources, but you can try it with different sources if you can before sending them back.

 

[chiron]

@chiron

I am currently using large silicon tips after trying all silicon tips as i dont like foam tips much after using them with PL30.

My friend liked the bass, no doubt about that. Only thing my friends liked listening on M3 is Trance and electronic music due to bass. But we all listen to various sub-genre of rock music most of the time which sound just so ordinary on M3.

Try using the medium silicone tips in that case; might shift the focus from the bass a bit.

 

[bennysachdev]

As i said pals,I also tried M3 on my iPod classic 30GB. There was some improvemnt over samsung wave for sure but only little bit which was not worth carrying the 2 devices together.But if everybody says so then i would carry my iPod along with me for next couple of days.

@FaH33m
I am not sure bro if i get accustomed to PL30 or not, but only thing i know now is how i like my music. I want each insturment and vocal to be in seprate layer and feel the hand moving over each string of guitar in my head. Which i am not able to feel in M3 for sure.

I don't know if anyone else from Delhi-NCR got M3, that would make the things so much easier for me to compare. Any way to find out that?

It doesn't seem that you have a bad piece from a batch of good M3's, it seems that its just you that needs to realize that the sound is less colored than the PL30.
Thats more or less the 1st thing your paying for when you jump out of entry levels is, a less colored, flatter/neutral sound. If you don't like that, your not ready for an upgrade or your upgrade shud've been towards a bose / monster beats(muddy bass) rather than a audiophile product, good for ur wallet

Where as your source is concerned, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a JVC Marshmellow and a JH16 if you use crappy bitrate and a crappy source. Ok maybe that was a bit too harsh but get a decent FLAC player like a Sansa Fuze or a Sflo2 and try the IEM with that before you pass judgement.

 

[strategy]

where in ncr are you.

i have hm602 and sflo 2 ....for few days with me.

you can try the m3 with those if you like .

 

[FaH33m]

^ That's a good idea . Probably Strategy could test the IEMs also

 

[red dragon]

Even I did not like SM3 at first,give it some time dude!!
Totally off topic-I have found a brilliant equalizer for ipod touch from Audioforge..with it the touch can be a real good source
Sorry couldnot help it,i feel o happy!!

 

[artikle]

Ok. I own both Wave and M3 and these are my primary audio gear. And I dont think either of them is crappy. The Wave does play FLAC files( i listen mostly FLAC) and the M3 does make me hear the thumps and vibes from drums and the sounds from the guitars and vocals pretty well and seperated enough. The soundstage is pretty wide too(though not huge). M3 for me feels balanced, a little on the warmer side. And anyway I ordered a Fuze+ for my friend and will be seeing how much difference it would make. I feel OP has a different preference of sound signature.

@OP: Though you already said you tried the EQ settings, please try again. I usually prefer changing EQ for every song and I usually use Auto+Music Clarity, Classic+Music Clarity, Rock+ Music Clarity, Auto+Externalisation, Auto+Bass Enchacement etc. depending on the song. And rock songs always dont benefit from the rock eq setting in my experience. Also I hope you are using FLAC or 320kbps mp3 atleast.

 

[Faraz]

Even i upgraded from pl-30 to M3.

And even i didnt liked them much as i was used to wide soundstage of pl-30.

But i definitely noticed superior detailing in the M3's

I would advise you to give them some time.

PS. My source was a sansa fuze.

 

[live4g4]

@esantosh
Well E30 seems to be good bro, might go with that if M3 failed to impress me even with all the audiophiles sources i can get in my hands. Going to check it very soon.Only thing that worry about me about SoundMagic IEM is there plasticky build quality after my exprince with PL30.

@chiron
My first impression of M3 was with medium silicon tips only as it was already pre-fit in M3 when i opened the box.I tried remaining two small and large silicon tips and found large one to be better fit in my ears for isolation.
@bennysachdev
Well as i said buddy i dont have much exprience with IEM's as other people's around here.I can only tell what sound my ears felt pleasent and what sound they felt unplesant.As i said i liked the bass of the M3 already, i am not looking for bass IEM, what i am missing in M3 is insturment detailing and sepration.

Well hopefully m gonna try them soon with audiophiles sources which you mentioned if things with strategy work out.

@strategy
I am very thankful bro that you offered to help me out. It would mean alot to me. I reside in I.P Extension, nearest metro station is Preet Vihar. Where do you reside in Delhi? That's not a problem as I would travel any part of the city to make my M3 check. I will PM you my cellphone number. Let's plan something out soon.

@Faheem
Well hopefully things work out with strategy and I finally come to know the mystry behind my M3.

Thanx all guyz for your help.

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@ Faraz

Problem is that i am not able to get as much detailing and sepration as i used to get in PL30. I dont have problem with soundstage as i was already well prepared for that after reading all the reviews. Well let's hope giving time make things better like it did in your case.

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@red dragon

Well giving time is all i can do right now. Lets hope it make things better.

@pranaywhiz

Thanx for your expreince with WAVE+M3. I started to think my wave responsible for the sound and was planing to upgrade to iPhone as i hate to carry 2 devices around.Though i didn't tried any FLAC file yet but most of my MP3 is also 256-320 Kbps. Gonna try FLAC tonight then will see how it make things change for better or worse.

I also preffer to change EQ, but not for every song, i only change for each genre. ROCK+WIDE or ROCK+MUSIC CLARITY or NORMAL.