I gave the Brainwavz M2 at least 50 hours of unworn burn-in time and at least 100 hours of use while at home or while doing light exercise. No noticeable changes were noted after burn-in and minimal changes when amped. These work fine through an iPod as well as my O2.

Oh boy, what to say about the M2? I honestly do not have much good to say about the M2 sound wise. The sound signature of the M2 is a warm, even leaning dark, bass focused sound that lacks hugely in detail, clarity, speed, and instrument separation. These have been some of the least enjoyable IEMs I’ve listened to in recent memory and I’ll explain in more detail why.

The bass of the M2 is the focus and unfortunately it’s not very enjoyable. The bass at times feels very loose, slow, and one-noted. When listening to James Blake’s

Limit to Your Love

for instance the bass fluctuations are there but the M2 feels like it’s trying to keep up, fortunately though the M2 do have the necessary sub-bass for bass heavy songs like this so that’s a plus. In songs like Alanis Morissette’s

You Oughtta Know

the funky bass line is very generic sounding, yeah I hear the bass, but good luck deciphering the notes. The bass line is lacking definition and sounds muddled. Fortunately though the M2 do shine somewhere and that is in the liquid drum and bass genre. Listening to Duo Infernale’s

Feeling Blue

which is a smooth liquid track I find the M2 to suit very well. The dark signature of the M2 give the bass the focus and it works for bass heavy genres like this. Genres that are bass heavy but don’t rely on quick bass will work well with these.

The mids are actually done rather well here with a slightly forward presentation and a touch of warmth. The slightly pushy and warm characteristics of the mids work rather well for female vocalists, especially those with a husky sultry voice, namely blues singers. Listening to Motorcycle’s

As the Rush Comes (Gabriel and Dresden Chillout Mix)

and the combination of the warm bass and the warm female vocals sounds great through these. To test sibilance I put one of the most sibilant heavy songs I have, Sara Bareilles’

Come Round Soon

. The M2 show every bit of sibilance in this track, though I don’t necessarily fault the M2, this track is notoriously sibilant, it should be noted for readers who listen to sibilant prone music. Lastly I put on The Reign of Kindo’s song

The Moments In Between

to kill two birds with one stone. First to check how pianos sound and how male vocals sound. Pianos suffer much like acoustic guitars and any other acoustic instrument I’ve heard, they sound like they’re being filtered through a dirty window, very fuzzy and lacking detail. The vocals sound alright in this song, maybe even a tad recessed in this song as they are presented in the middle and the instruments on the right and left bury the vocals a tad. The mids are certainly a mixed bag with acoustic instruments sounding bad on these, but female vocals sounding good for the right genre.

Oh the highs, I forgot about these. The highs are the weakest aspect of the M2 and I don’t think anyone will disagree. The highs roll off early and are hard to hear in the mix in many rock songs I tested. The biggest lack of highs I noticed was in Coheed and Cambria’s

Time Consumer

, during the intro the M2 actually do a great job providing a strong kick for the kick drum, the snare drum has a good snap to it, but the cymbals and hi-hat are only heard on the initial hit, barely, with almost nothing after. There’s no ringing from the cymbals at all. Going a bit further into the song the vocals sound great, but the china cymbal during the chorus, well I hear it being hit but it sounds like it’s 2 rooms away with doors closed. Even the guitar during its high squeals and notes simply takes a back seat. The highs are shunned in every song I’ve heard through these, which accents the dark sound of these even further.