BASN Bmaster5 in ear monitor headphone review
Pros:
1. V shaped signature
2. Build quality
3. High quality cable
4. Beautiful faceplates
5. Good accessories with high quality aluminium box
Cons:
1. Bass not very detailed
2. Recessed mids
3. Rolled off treble
Being a reviewer I try to give my subjective opinions on iems, in the hobby at the moment 95% of iems released at the moment are good so the differences between great iems and good iems is all about the nuances. All reviews are based on a single point in time for the reviewer next week an iem can come along and make a mockery of your previous judgement.
Ok I’m going to start with the positives, the iem shells are really well made with absolutely beautiful gold skulls design they are very comfortable to wear and very easy to drive. The accessories are superb two high quality cables both mmcx 3.5mm terminations one with a microphone one without. A decent supply of eartips. A leatherette carry pouch all inside a very robust Aluminium clasp box.
BASN Bmaster 5 are an old school chifi V shaped signature that when they were first released were probably well thought of but in today’s market place they are exposed. Over the last 2 or 3 years chifi has really moved forward with sophisticated sound signatures which are now availble below $100.
The Bmaster 5 is not bad its just a little jaded its V shaped sound signature does carry some excitement on certain slow to mid paced music the bass is elevated and does pack some punch.
The mids are recessed making vocals feel behind the dominant bass and treble The Bmaster5 plays best with hip hop and mid paced classic rock where the bassy V shape plays to its strengths. The mids are reasonably clean there is some bass bleed, male voices are thicker, female vocals seem farther away getting masked by the bass. Staging has good width above average and some height and depth too.
In the current market there seems to be a new best iem released every week.
Its difficult for an iem introduced in 20223 to compete especially at $170 the Bmaster5 is a a hybrid with 1DD and 4 ba’s the sound is reasonably cohesive there is a slight ba timbre to the upper treble.
The Bmaster5 is quite a good sit on the sofa set and kick back just letting the music play. This iem presented my entire music catalogue well enough I was able to just enjoy the music without any glaring defects. The sound presented is warm, robust the treble is rolled off not peaky or sibilant.
I'd just like to say upfront I believe we are all biased when giving our subjective thoughts about IEMs be it a particular type of signature that works with our music library or how an IEM looks and feels in our ears. On the subject of ears everyone's ear anatomy is different and this effects fit and seal which in turn effects the perception of bass response so I recommend finding the right ear tips that suit your ears to get the best of any IEM.
My review star ratings are linked to the price range of the iem eg a 5 star review of a $100 iem is not equal to one of a $500 iem.
I’m and audio enthusiast with a collection of over 200 iems, 30 different sources with a music collection that numbers over 100,000 tracks and 15 flathead buds I share my impressions as a way to share my enthusiasm for the hobby I approach from the premise of music first technology 2nd, what does this mean? For me the technicalities are not of prime importance but does the music move with this particular iem.
I’m a connoisseur of many different sound signatures. The only prerequisite is musicality I’m not a fan of analytical cold playback. My scale of success when it comes to evaluating iems is; do I get goosebumps when they playback my favourite tunes. There are many good iems but do they give me goosebumps? Unfortunately I have a draw full of just good iems.
I want the iem that I reach for without thinking because I instinctively know it will bring the thrill I’m seeking from my music. The Bmaster5 bass is fun with hip hop and 70’s rock music, mids and sprinkling of treble coming from the ba’s is competent nothing exceptional.
I have always favoured Dynamic Drivers for the tactility and organic natural playback they produce. The Bmaster5’s Dynamic Driver gives good sub bass and decent mid bass combining to give a prominant bottom end that drives the music along. The mid bass does bleed into the mids, giving a hint of thickness to male vocals, they are silky smooth and are relatively neutral, with a nice sense of air and layering. There isn’t much in the way of detail and the timbre is a natural enough with both male and female voices having a touch of added note weight presenting slightly recessed. The treble is not prominent but it is there. The leading edge of cymbals are crisp and sound quite natural. The upper range of the mids and lower treble do sound smooth but there’s not much sparkle. I was able to enjoy for 5 or 6 hours straight without any fatigue, these are supremely comfortable iems.
Now I know there are those who don’t believe in burn in of iems, all I’m going to say is, I burn in all my iems I noticed a change in the bass opening up slightly and the treble seemed to smooth out.
Disclaimer
BASN was kind enough to send a sample of the BASN Bmaster5. I am not affiliated with BASN and of course was not asked for any copy checking before publishing, they are seeing this the same time as you. All pictures taken be me or sourced from the Penon website . ALL opinions shared in this review are my subjective thoughts.
I want to really enjoy my music. Something that releases the full scope of what the artist created in the studio. The Bmaster5 is more coloured than I normally like but this is personal taste you might love this sound signature. The Bmaster5 is a warm signature, bass is not as textured as some in this price range for example the Juzear 61t has more texture and detail with more dynamics and layering. The mids of the Bmaster5 are slightly warm and coloured the vocals have a little extra body to males vocals, female vocals are recessed with a little husk to them the mids in general have a generally natural timbre. The vocals are a couple of steps back with the bass and drums pushing forward. I must qualify this is in terms of the small differences we hear on iems this is not overly exaggerated its just in comparison with the Juzear 61t.
The Transition from upper mids to lower treble is boosted slightly but still sibilance free, even with songs that have sibilance bult into the recording. The little bump in this region just edges them into excitement in this area. To be totally honest the Bmaster5 is very tip reliant I found with wide bore tips there was a much more pleasing treble and a more open sound in general with narrow bore tips the whole signature became a bit warm and thickened up. I settled on large TangzuTangSanCai wide bore tips these gave me the perfect balance of warmth and treble extension. On the subject of tips while Bmaster5 give a generous selection of tips I couldn’t get a good seal with any of them, I have very big ear canals.
When I'm evaluating IEMs I have a play list of roughly 100 songs of mixed genres. With the BMaster5, I found i could happily use them for extended listening sessions.
a-ha - Take on me the bass was full and clean with the crisp drums and clear keyboards . Morten Harket’s soaring tenor vocals sounding full with no thinness the layering in this 80s classic synth-pop song was produced with enjoyable vigour.
Steely Dan's – Black Cow, one of the best produced albums in my opinion was played with good dynamics, drums, keyboards, vocals , hi-hats and cymbals were natural with good decay space and staging with some height, depth and width enabling me to pick out instruments in the mix, there was a little warmth in this song but it still felt open and airy with the layering of the instruments presented well an enjoyable listen.
Led Zepplin – Since I’ve been loving you
The lead guitar intro is perfectly presented well the drums with that slow heavy rhythm, then as the song builds with the keyboards Plants unmistakeable vocals reaching for the sky as the song builds in intensity slightly recessed in the mix comes Plant with his high pitched vocals . The Bmaster5 presents the Zepplin vocals slightley overpowered by the drums and guitar.
The Hu – This Mogul (with William DVall) –
The dynamics of this track are huge with drums guitars and Mongolian instruments, the Horsehead fiddle, Tovashuur, Tumar Khuur, Tsuurare and Mongol throat singing with a special guest William DuVall of Alice in Chains. The power of this dense, complex and rhythmic masterpiece is reproduced with reasonably well the weight the driving rhythms are dynamic and punchy, unfortunately there was a little congestion in the instrumentation due to the density of this track. The vocals of William DuVall didn’t stand out against against the wall of instruments and were slighyley veiled but still good headbanging fun. The Bmaster5 felt a little exposed with faster tracks with instruments in the same frequency range not being given space to be heard due to the congestion.
The Bmaster5 is an easy to drive iem I had no issues using them with my phone, Daps, Dongles in getting loud enough, the dynamics and open sound was present with all sources the texture and layering they are capable of was available for all to some degree.
They sounded better with neutral sources. This is an iem that doesn’t need a powerful source but it does scale with extra power there was a difference in the dynamics and staging its a pity a 4.4mm termination cable was not included instead of the microphone.
I'm not a fan of analytical sounding IEMs that force details into your ears like a photograph with HDR and sharpening set at max a decidedly digital representation. I'm more Vinyl on a turntable, Leica manual focus, sumptuous colours on kodak colour gold film, kinda guy, where if you look really close all the details are there but it's the whole image you appreciate rather than just how sharp it is.
Sources used:
IBasso dx170
Shanling H5
HiBy R6 111
HiBy R4 EVA
Sony nw-a55
Sony Xperia V
Penon tail dac /amp
Cayin N3 Ultra
When using my different sources I did favour the more powerful ones the extra dynamics and layering and technical presentation was apparent but the overall musical signature didn’t change.
Conclusion
The up to $200 range is full of great sounding even exceptional sounding iems but it all depends on what your favourite sound signature is if you like a V shaped approach and want an iem with a truly exceptional set of accessories that you don’t get even with some 1K packages then the BASN BMASTER5 could be for you.
Article written by Andy Pickard
Reprint from website: https://www.facebook.com/