Brainwavz HM5 Studio-Monitor Headphones Review

Peter Donnell / 6 years ago

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

Priced at just £89.50 the Brainwavz HM5 are very competitive given their features and specifications. You can spend many times that amount and not get much, if anything, in the way of better audio. Given that you get two cables, the adaptor, two extra ear pads, and a quality hard-case thrown in, it’s a bit of a bargain really.

But wait, there’s more. You can but memory foam ear pads, replacement leather ones, angled memory foam, and even other colours of pads if you so desire from Brainwavz. What’s cool is that many of these are sold as compatible with sets from AKG, HifiMan, ATH, and more. They are priced anywhere from £20-25 per set, which is pretty reasonable overall.

Overview

The latest headphones from Brainwavz have a lot to offer for such a reasonable price. They hit a sweet spot for sure, and if you’re more on the recording and mastering side of music, or even just playing music, they’re superb. For listening to music, if you have the right ear for it, they sound accurate, but they may sound a little flat to your everyday music fan. There’s a big market of music lovers who want a certain sound though, so I have no doubts they’ll prove a popular entry point for enthusiast audio lovers.

Built Quality

Honestly, they don’t feel like the most robust headphones in the world. They’re not badly built at all though, and really nicely crafted overall. They’re just very lightweight, which makes them feel more fragile than they actually are. However, you can bend and twist the headband a fair bit, no issues. Also, the cables are very durable, gold-plated, and have firm fitting connectors. The protective case will keep them safe if you need to chuck them in your bag. Overall, a big thumbs up for me.

At Home, The Studio, or Anywhere?

While these are the sort of headphones I would use in my home, sat on top of my guitar amp for a warm evening of rocking out to whatever takes my fancy. Brainwavz have a less limiting approach to their design. They’ve included the cables required to use them on mobile devices, console controllers, PC, your mixing deck, etc. With the protective case and all those cables, you’re free to take them wherever and listen to whatever. That’s a big bonus by any account and certainly adds to the overall value of the HM5.