Communication is an essential component of a community and while we have our own way of communicating via different sorts of languages, other species also have their own particular form of communication. Birds for example communicate with each other by constructing either a sequence of drawn-out melodic or short bursting noises to convey whatever message they want to relay.

If you haven’t known it yet, the birds’ reference was in relation to the IEM that we will be realviewing now from Brainwavz Audio, a company that started way back 2008 and has already appeared multiple times on Audio Realviews thanks to their collection of ear pads options for various headphones. That particular IEM is the Brainwavz Audio KOEL, marketed as an “affordable audio excellence” set and priced at $69.50 (On sale for $39.50 as of 17/07/19). You can check the KOEL out in the official Brainwavz Audio website.

The KOEL is spec’d out with a single balanced armature driver with a 16Hz to 22kHz Frequency Response, 30 Ohm Impedance and a 105 dB Sensitivity. Will the Brainwavz KOEL sing and chirp as it’s marketed to be or will it just squeal and shriek like it isn’t supposed to be, let’s chime in to find out.

Packaging and Build Quality

The KOEL came in a much nicer packaging than I’ve been accustomed to seeing from a Brainwavz package, it now comes in a rectangular semi-glossy white sleeve with the KOEL name upfront as well as the highlight Comply ear tips and 24-month warranty that it comes with. Removing this sleeve reveals the gray matte flap box and the vibrant mix of colors that covers the foam cutouts that protect the textured hard case with a red zipper lining for that trademark Brainwavz appeal. Here’s a list of the included accessories that the KOEL comes with:

• 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 (12 month warranty)

The KOEL is made entirely of 3D-printed resin that either comes in the “Stay Frosty” or “Cosmic Black” colorways. The “Stay Frosty” colorway was provided for the realview and the main difference that it has against the “Cosmic Black” is that it has the Brainwavz branding in the faceplate whereas the other does not. Its shape resembles that of the famous Jelly Belly candies with a slight lip on the lower portion to provide added seal and isolation. It feels a bit uncomfortable upon initial use which made me tinker with the IEMs position on my ears longer than usual to get a decent seal and comfortable fit. The underside of the KOEL IEMs features a discreet L and R markings along with a single vent and a gold-plated MMCX connection. The nozzle is short with a narrow bore and a pronounce lip that worked great with tip rolling and securing the Comply T-100 foam tips as well as the included silicone ear tips.

The KOEL’s stock cable has no official specifications but is built solid, the black rubber insulation clearly hides a braided cable inside that has moderate tension making the cable a bit tangle resistant but retains folds easier as well and good thing there is a Velcro cable tie for that cable storage solution. The gold-plated 3.5mm plug comes in a 45° angle with great strain relief, same goes for the Y-split which now has a Brainwavz logo ending in a gold-plated male MMCX connector with an over-ear memory guide. There was minimal microphonic noise to be observed as well.

Tonality and Isolation

The KOEL sound signature diverges from the Stay Frosty colorway that was sent over for realview. The KOEL exhibited an overall warm sound with an emphasis on the midrange, an aspect that was somewhat showcased even in their BLU-300 Bluetooth IEM. I tried hard to use the silicone ear tips that was included and although I usually prefer silicone ear tips over full foams, the packaged Comply T-100 was just too hard to resist on being paired with the KOEL, it also gave the best seal and isolation among the ear tips that the KOEL came with. I used the Sony A46HN music player and the Sony CAS-1 via Foobar v1.4/MSI GF62-8RE for the duration of the realview outputting various FLAC files which would be mentioned along the realview.

Lows

Coming in with a slow burn, Jamiroquai’s Night Out in the Jungle in 16/44 FLAC was used for the low-end test of the KOEL. The sub bass lingers long with a soft thump and a slight touch of power and control. Bass drops that starts dropping on the earlier part of the track are borderline thin sounding, just a heave and those that seek a powerful and impactful low-end will feel displeased. The KOEL won’t go chasing bassheads for their approval with its presentation.

Midrange

The KOEL’s midrange is its sweet spot. Michael Learns to Rock’s Sleeping Child in 16/44 FLAC glides through with ease and clarity. The lower midrange delivery has great body and has notable coherence with the midrange male vocals, coming off as articulate and engaging. The upper midrange performance was rendered in a breathy manner with a smooth extension and lively ambience outcome. The balance of complimenting the midrange frequencies allows the KOEL to handle acoustic tracks with ease and the genre that this particular set will gladly handle all day.

Highs

Jamiroquai came high and about with the KOEL’s higher frequency test with their Carla single in 16/44 FLAC and the KOEL/Jamiroquai collaboration created a less than crisp outcome. There is not much to grasp with the treble hits and was rendered soft and easy to the ears, this allowed for a loose and non-fatiguing experience. While there is great clarity and definition on the different instrumental notes and hits, a gamble on a tasty treble bite would have been welcome. Let me sneak in an inherent KOEL build discomfort as the rather elongated shell body created minor discomfort which balances out the would be longer listening session the KOEL’s highs would have permitted.

Soundstage and Imaging

Less than intimate, less than spacious, more on here and now. The KOEL’s soundstage is a good blend of intimacy and expansive, left to right and right to left panning is observable although not exceptional. Easy to deduce that the soundstage won’t be the reason you’d be picking up the KOEL. Imaging though was another story, there is great detail retrieval and instrumental presence is on a high, they can be easily placed here and there. Layering is a much more notable aspect on the KOEL than width and expansion.

Conclusion

The Brainwavz KOEL takes on an approach that is supposed to showcase a birds overall qualities and it indeed sang with its midrange performance and chirped its way with its complete accessory set. It isn’t all bells and whistles though with the KOEL, a birds squeal was represented with its rather mediocre stock cable while the shrieks was represented by the minor build discomfort which when taking into account that ear shapes and sizes varies, is a matter of argument. The KOEL’s midrange emphasized sound signature was done cleanly and while it once again suffers the usual BA-driven dilemma of a rather lack-luster low-end, it still creates an engaging and calming musical encounter. (At the $39.50 price as of 17/07/19, the KOEL is more than worthy of being checked out)