Before I begin, I would like to sincerely thank Pandora at Brainwavz for providing a review sample of the Brainwavz BLU-200 in exchange for my honest opinion. I am neither affiliated with Brainwavz or any of its staff, nor was I paid to write this review. All opinions and photos shown in this review are my own unless otherwise specified. Finally, please take the opinions expressed here with a grain of salt. Thanks!

I�ve always disliked Bluetooth IEMs. It�s a dislike that is almost pathological in nature and has stuck with me long before I even entered the audiophile world. The main reason why I would avoid Bluetooth IEMs in general was the fact that having them around would mean having to deal with another battery to keep track of during the day, and unless they're actually capable of lasting the whole day, one would still have to revert to a wired backup pair if the wireless ones die out. And, well, they die out not even halfway through the day � which, for a guy whose music is pumped into the ears a third of the day every day, sucks. That, and they didn�t really sound that good. At least, not until recently.

Earphones like the Brainwavz BLU-100 changed my perspective and general opinion of Bluetooth earphones, and now that I have Brainwavz� new follow-up to that entry, it's time to cut the cord once more to hear this new installment to Brainwavz� collection.

The Brainwavz BLU-200 arrives in a minuscule box containing the hard case that contains the whole assembly � the earphones, two sets of silicone eartips, a pair of Comply foam eartips, a pair of sport hooks, a charging cable, and Brainwavz� standard 2-year manufacturer�s warranty. The package is about identical to that found in the BLU-100, so not much else is worth pointing out. Moving on.

Brainwavz took some feedback from the reviews of the BLU-100 concerning the fit and altered the design of its successor in response. Their housings are sleeker and more streamlined, with a more smoothly tapered shape as it enters the ear. How this improves the fit we will cover in the next section. The rest of the design remains unchanged, and carries most of the good and bad we have seen from its predecessor.

Build quality is also pretty good and remains unchanged from the BLU-100. Unless will be taking lots of hard impacts, they should otherwise hold up very well. As for the cable noise, The BLU-200 now includes a slider to adjust how much of the cable dangles and flies around behind your neck. There wasn�t any slider in the BLU-100 I reviewed last year, and that became a bit of a nuisance at times, so having this now is a welcome addition.

However, I noted some slight driver flex when using them, which may cause slight discomfort. Using the included Comply foam eartips does, however, resolve the issue.

Does this spec sheet look familiar? Well, it should � I copied most of it over from the BLU-100 spec sheet. And by looking at its predecessor, Brainwavz seems to have done the same in terms of internal BT tech. Then again, as they say, �if it ain�t broke, don�t fix it.�

Pairing the BLU-200 is about as easy as it gets � or as easy as your phone makes it. In real-world use, I�ve experienced very few hiccups while out and about, which leads me to believe the BT tech in the BLU-200 is�.well, just as good as the last one. It does have this new feature when you can pair the device with two sources at the same time. Personally I fail to see what situations this feature can be used for, but right now, I find it as little more than a gimmick.

Also, you cannot pair it to two sources and have the BLU-200 play two different songs from the two sources, which is a bummer. Then again, who said gimmicks needed to be useful?

The BLU-200 was reviewed using a 5^th-generation iPod Touch and an iPad Air 2, and the EQ Software used is TuneShell. As always, my test tracks are available here, although I will link specific songs in the assessment for a more direct point of reference.

The BLU-200 was listened to for about 50 hours prior to making the final assessments in this review. No changes have been noted.

Bass:

To start off, let's first listen in on the lower frequencies. The bass of the BLU-200 seems most likely geared to make a big first impression. It's big, chunky, and noticeable � good for catching the listener's attention, but not much else. It has good punch and maintains its composure during heavy bass lines. However, its unimpressive sub-bass extension does not help it much to impress the more bass-inclined listeners (Haywyre � Dichotomy; Daft Punk � Doin' It Right). It also struggles with articulation, making speedy drum passages sound muddy and wanting in detail (Megadeth � Holy Wars...The Punishment Due).

Midrange:

The midrange of the BLU-200 definitely comes across as sounding noticeably "shouty," in that it sounds accentuated in the upper midrange. This leads to the upper octaves sounding rather obnoxious and in-your-face (Anna Yvette, Laura Brehm � Summer Never Ends). Male vocals do not seem to have this problem, most likely due to the lower vocal range, but the level of midrange accentuation varies on a song-to-song basis (compare The Weeknd � A Lonely Night with above song). Unusually, they sound much more pleasing with guitars and other acoustic instruments (Sungha Jung � Coming Home; Francisco Cerda � 'Round Gunpoint), with a more natural presentation with little of the aforementioned "shouty" tonality. From a more technical standpoint, the BLU-200 struggles with conveying nuances in the music, especially in tracks where emotional expression comprises much of the appeal (Yiruma � Kiss the Rain). This doesn't do the BLU-200 much help, especially when its tonality seems more fitting for acoustic tracks.

Treble:

The treble of the BLU-200 resembles its bass quality in many ways, most prominently that it does not do much to impress the listener. Its detail and prominence is decent at best, and lacks extension in the higher frequency ranges. Overall it does the job, but one should not expect too much from it.

Soundstage/Presentation:

While listening to the BLU-200 before writing this review, its soundstage has been something of an oddity to me. I found my pair to somehow have a skewed soundstage, with sounds coming more from the left side that from the right. From testing with a tone generator, it did not turn out to be a channel imbalance, but this may be something else entirely. I even thought it to be simply my ears, but from testing other earphones, my hearing balance was fine. Nonetheless, I found nothing very noteworthy in the soundstage. Size is mediocre at best � far from spacious, but not too congested.

Genre Proficiency:

From what I found, the BLU-200 sounds quite good with music that does not use too much of the upper midrange, where the BLU-200's emphasis turns tunes to torture. For this reason, I found them to sound better with acoustic rather than electronic tracks � unusual, considering its predecessor was less picky with genre choice.

Summary:

I'll be honest � I did not expect the BLU-200 to sound so...off-putting. Its sharp upper midrange claws at my eardrums with a large chunk of my music library, while its skewed soundstage keeps me uneasy and on my figurative toes. I find it difficult to not take them off partway through a song.

Games:

Lately I have been playing a lot of rhythm games, particularly on my iPad. These rhythm games involve tapping things on a screen in time to the music, so in order to play well, one needs minimal audio latency to play. Wired headphones and earphones do the job easily, but Bluetooth earphones definitely have a hard time keeping up. The lag between seeing the notes to be played in the game and hearing the music, even if that lag is a tenth of a second, is far too great to be able to play a music game without having some trouble. In fact, one can liken playing rhythm games with Bluetooth earphones to playing darts after fifteen twirls � in other words, it's a nuisance. Of course, that doesn�t mean this is the case with all games � other games seem to sound quite fine with the BLU-200, although while gaming with Bluetooth earphones, one will need to be more mindful of their battery meters � both of the earphones and of their source devices.

Movies:

For movies, a low audio latency also is required of wireless earphones for the audio and video to remain in sync. After all, nobody likes to watch a movie where your senses receive the events in the movie one after the other in a jumbled mess. For this purpose, the BLU-200 does its job well. The audio lag is still slightly noticeable, but unlike rhythm games, they do not retract too much from the overall experience. Sonically they still aren't completely impressive, but they're definitely good enough.

When I have an issue with an earphone, oftentimes they can be fixed with a bit of tweaking with an EQ. But for this special case, I will make an exception. Yes, the BLU-200 responds to EQ � fairly well, in fact. The only problem with this particular case is that the BLU-200's problem � more specifically, its skewed soundstage � cannot simply be fixed with an EQ alone. For this I cannot give a definite score.

The BLU-200 retails for a price of $55 as of thiswriting, which is $5 dollars more expensive than the BLU-100 before it. At this price you will be receiving a pretty solid Bluetooth IEM with all the features you need, along with one of Brainwavz' trademark accessory sets. Technically it's just about as good as its predecessor.

Versus Sport-Fi X7 (~$100):

The MEE X7, like the BLU-200, a Bluetooth IEM. However, their similarities end there; the X7 is in a league of its own with its higher price, better fit, better build, and better sound. From looking at the big picture, they simply knock the BLU-200 out of the park. However, the BLU-200 does manage to hold its own against the X7, pointing out their clearer midrange, laid-back bass, and most of all, much better Bluetooth circuitry which results in very little connectivity problems, if any.

Versus Brainwavz BLU-100 ($50):

Now, let us look at the father-and-son matchup � the BLU-200 up against its predecessor. Instead of starting out long-winded as I normally do, I'll just cut to the chase � I like the BLU-100 better. Yes, I like the old one better than the new one. The BLU-100 just does what it needs to without overdoing anything. The BLU-200, as an example, has an upper midrange that does more to annoy than to amaze. The BLU-100, in contrast, does neither, but it does not end up badly. It just performs, and that's makes the BLU-100 that much more appealing than its successor � it doesn't try too hard to impress.

The Brainwavz BLU-200 is a bit of an oddity in my opinion. Its an IEM that tries its best to sound good, but in doing so, it trips over itself and ends up sounding worse than it should. The harsh upper midrange, though painful to listen to, is negligible. At least, in the face of its unusually skewed soundstage.

But does that mean it's a bad IEM? No. In fact it's factually quite decent � it still manages to retain some of the characteristics of its predecessor and still sound good in some cases. However, it does not manage to inherit the do-everything quality that I liked so much from the BLU-100. It is because of that that I would be more likely to recommend the old IEM than the new.

I�d probably suggest keeping the BLU-100 around for sale, but since they�ve already done that, there�s none I can suggest improving beyond what I�ve already mentioned in the review.

Before I begin, I would like to sincerely thank Mike at for sending me the Pinnacle P1 in exchange for my honest opinion. Please note that I am neither affiliated with or any of its staff, nor am I being paid to write this review. All opinions and photos shown in this review are my own unless otherwise specified. Finally, please take the opinions expressed here with a grain of salt. Thanks!

The MEE Pinnacle P1 is �s first flagship IEM, born after two and a half years of development. The P1 is the culmination of all the experience has gained over the past several years, and serves as their obra maestra � their masterpiece. I have been chosen as one of the lucky few to be given a sample of said masterpiece, and I will say from the get go that they are truly worth their weight in gold. Yes, they are amazing, but if that's the case, a question arises which I will answer today: just how good is the P1? Read on and find out.

Like a lot of things in life, an earphone�s first impressions often make lasting impressions. And what better way to make a powerful first impression than to make the very packaging look and feel as luxurious as the earphones themselves?

You don't need to open the package to know just how amazing it's going to be. All the marketing pitches laid over the box will tell you everything you need to know about what you're going to be dealing with. I mean, just look at it. Slide out the cardboard sheath and you're greeted by an all-black inner box that looks expensive and feels expensive. Open the two magnetically-locked doors and out comes a choir of angels announcing the arrival of the Pinnacle P1 to its new owner. (Okay, no, there won�t be a choir of angels, but you get the idea).

Past the doors are the P1 housings set in a foam cut-out, with smaller boxes housing the eartips and the two braided SPC cables (more on this in the next section). Under the foam cut-out is the 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter and the instruction manual. Oh yeah, and they come with a two-year manufacturer�s warranty in case something goes wrong.

I'm pretty sure that only very few people in this world � if any � will look at the P1 and say it looks unattractive. Because by God, the P1 is by far the most beautiful piece of audio gear I've seen in the flesh. Their die-cast zinc alloy housings are coated with a brushed metallic finish, creating a lustre I more often see in jewellery than in earphones (although in fairness they do look and feel like jewellery for the ears). I could ramble on forever about just how beautiful these IEMs are. My pictures don't do them justice. Not even close.

And if you thought these beauties would break like a sterling silver mirror, that's where you'd be wrong. The Pinnacle P1 is incredibly durable � arguably the most durable IEM I have in my entire collection. From their zinc alloy housings to their heavy-duty Y-split and connectors to their bafflingly tough braided SPC (silver-plated copper cables, they can take on falls, impacts, and cable yanks and come out in better condition than any of the components of your portable rig combined. Oh, and don't get me started on this cable. Not only is it incredibly tough, it also lacks any inclination to tangle and makes near zero cable noise. They're so good that I feel the only IEM cables I've seen that are built better are those from CIEMs and ludicrously-priced cables from companies like Moon Audio or AudioQuest.

One of the key selling points of the P1 that was revealed when the P1 was first announced sometime last year was the IEMs� capability to be worn comfortably and securely in two different ways. So unlike most IEMs which are designed be worn specifically around the ear or straight down, the P1 is designed to be worn either way and still fit comfortably (bringing a fresh spin to the term �universal fit� if I might add). Until release I mostly wondered how MEE would pull it off, but now that I do have it here, let me just say that I�m blown away by the results.

Yes, you can wear them straight down or around the ear. Even now I'm still amazed at how flawlessly they fit however way you wear them. Secure, snug, and comfortable � you really can't have it any other way.

The source equipment used for the majority of this review is my 5^th-generation iPod Touch, and a Schiit Fulla hooked up to a laptop for the amp test. The EQ software used in its respective test is TuneShell on iOS and Viper4Windows on PC. As always, my test tracks are available here, although I will link specific songs in the assessment for a more direct point of reference. I've clocked in at least 50 hours of listening time on the P1 to test for any changes through burn-in. No noticeable changes were found.

Bass:

The Pinnacle P1 is the first IEM I've reviewed in a long time that didn't blow me away. And by �blow me away� I mean make a first impression that consists solely of bass. Instead, what it does leave is a unique combination of smoothness, coherency, and balance that sounds absolutely beautiful. The P1 doesn�t boast incredibly deep extension or incredibly fast decay, but it just presents the low-end so plainly and smoothly that everything simply sounds just as it should be, reproduced to the finest detail. Whether it be the smooth, sublime upright bass of John Robert Matz�s �Electric Fedora� or Haywyre�s fierce, aggressive bass synth in �Sculpted,� the Pinnacle P1 makes short work of both of them, sounding beautifully along the way.

Midrange:

I have reviewed quite a few earphones over the years with exceptional midrange performance, but few were able to reproduce tone and timbre like the Pinnacle P1. I don�t think I�ve heard Sungha Jung�s �Fanoe� played with a tone so delicately precise and detailed until the P1. From the fingers� contact with the strings to the resonance of each beautiful note � the only experience more realistic and emotionally expressive than this would practically be listening to the song played live right in front of you. The same goes for pianos, synthesisers, vocals, strings, and everything else in the book. Trust me, I took the time to listen to my entire test tracks list, and not one song sounded short of great. Not one. WRLD�s Chase It EP? Amazing. Coeur de Pirate�s Child of Light soundtrack? Fantastic. The Carpenters� The Ultimate Collection? Absolutely spectacular.

Treble:

I�ll admit, I�ve never really appreciated an IEM for its treble until the Pinnacle P1 arrived. I guess that�s because I�ve never heard treble that extends so smoothly and rings so true until the P1. I don�t think I�ve ever heard cymbals sound so vibrant and crisp while having nary a tinge of sharpness. I�ve seen some users report some sharpness straight out of the box � this is usually because the ears aren�t used to such a treble response. I found the included Comply foam tips to do the trick � that and some time to actually get used to the sound.

Soundstage/Presentation:

The DUNU Titan 1 has the largest soundstage in an IEM that I�ve ever heard � and to this day, it kinda still does. The Pinnacle P1 is more than capable of coming really close in terms of size, though. However, the P1 does take the title of having one of the most realistic presentations of any IEM I�ve ever heard in my entire life, so much that even Daft Punk�s studio-recorded Random Access Memories sound like it was played live.

Genre Proficiency:

It takes skill to make music, but it takes true talent to move someone with it. The same goes for IEMs with balanced signatures � it�s one thing to simply be able to play everything, but making everything sound amazing at the same time is a whole different ball game. What the Pinnacle P1 can do truly is a whole different ball game. I couldn�t really believe my ears when I found myself listening for the fifth straight hour in the middle of the night. I thought the P1 would simply lull me to sleep with its meticulously reproduced melodies, but instead I was captivated more by just how amazing it sounded.

Summary:

Simply put, the Pinnacle P1 is a spectacular IEM. Even with raised expectations, these single 10mm dynamic drivers were more than able to exceed those expectations and then some. I�ve reviewed a few other IEMs that left a similar impression (we�ll cover those in the Comparison section), but when the P1 plays, it performs. When it performs, it impresses. And when it impresses, it blows away.

Games:

For gaming performance in audio gear, there are two common sides to the performance scale: fun and competitive, which should be self-descriptive enough. Surprisingly, though, the P1 seems to sit somewhere right in the very middle. Their smooth, natural tonal balance gives them a relaxed yet engagingly fun experience, while their excellent separation and spatial rendering provides the gamer with quite a bit of an edge in the game if used correctly.

Movies:

The cinematic experience is something a lot of IEMs fall short trying to achieve. Most IEMs would usually lack the ability to render a large space or lack bass power. The P1 does neither. I'll admit, it's the second IEM that has truly impressed me in terms of movie experience.

Despite having a relatively high impedance figure of 50 ohms, the P1 can be driven to high volumes even with low-power sources such as an iPod. Heck, I was even able to use the radio from a Nokia 105 and it sounded just fine. But even so, the P1 does scale up with better source components. I found hooking them up to the Schiit Fulla improved their midrange clarity, refined the bass further, and gave it an overall leaner sound.

The P1 is surprisingly responsive to some EQ tweaks, and will easily handle a bass boost to most software EQs� distortion limits. And given their already balanced tuning, this allows the P1 to be much more flexible sonically.

Versus Master & Dynamic ME03 ($160):

The ME03 has remained one of my favourites for a very long time � until now, they have maintained their place in my collection as the one earphone with the perfect balance of form and function. Of course, the key words here are �until now.� Yes, the Pinnacle P1 makes short work of them � I would gladly pay the extra $40 for the luxury, the fit, the sound, and everything that comes with it. Genuine leather case? Machined metal housings? Luxurious presentation? Both earphones have them all, but what about the sound? Both earphones share a similar sound signature, with balanced emphasis throughout the frequency range. But where the ME03 excels in its smoother, more neutral sound, the P1 edges out with better extension on both ends, a crystal-clear midrange, and more detail throughout.

Versus DUNU Titan 1 ($130):

So at this point it's obvious that the P1 is by far the best I've ever heard, but we've one more earphone left that can challenge the P1 and leave a few marks, and this earphone is the DUNU Titan 1. This titanium-armed beast looks good, feels good, and sounds amazing. Where the P1 digs low, the Titan digs lower; where the P1 claps high, the Titan claps higher; but where the Titan�s titanium-coated drivers sound tonally metallic, the P1 just sounds incredibly realistic.

The Pinnacle P1 is like a master symphony � one composed by the likes of Beethoven and played by the greatest orchestra around. Everything about it is just executed so incredibly well. Its design is impeccable; its form luxuriously exquisite; and its sound absolutely fantastic. As I said in the TL;DR, they�re the best earphones I�ve ever heard in my life, and no amount of praise will be able to measure up to its true beauty. They�re an earphone that you have to hear at least once in your life, and an earphone that sounds good enough and lasts long enough to keep for life.

One does not simply improve upon perfection.

Again, huge thank-you to Mike and the MEE team for allowing me to review such a beauty. It�s been a crazy past couple of months, and with school in full swing, I wasn�t able to post this review back in June as it should�ve been.