PSB M4U 2 - Page 17

Got my new warranty set today. The serial #s are from a completely different lot. There is a major difference in the flexibility of the headband on my new set. Also the hinges are much smoother and the creaking is completely gone. Overall I fell they have definitely addressed the QC issues in this new lot. If the M4U 1s are similar, no one has any worries. 

As for the sound, I am burning the new set in but I have been comparing the old set to some Sennheiser Momentums for a while. Its an interesting comparison because I like the form factor of the Momentums hands down. In doing some critical listening in passive mode driven by my E11, I find the Senns have less overall isolation. I also find that on some songs, its really hard for me to pick a winner but on others the PSBs just are better headphones. The Senns have more bass but its not as tight or does it reach as low. Also the Senns seem to be brighter but they do not resolve as much detail. Overall the PSBs just have a better balance and resolve more detail. With this new set having great QC, this headphone is hard to beat. Considering how good it sounds with the internal amp and also having NC for flights, I think these are a great deal.

Sounds like M4U 1 will be such a nice deal if the headband & hinges have been addressed for a price of $299 as they measure well, look nice and appearently sounds very well balanced with a slight bump in bass.

What I'm wondering about the M4U 1 / M4U 2 (passive) is that how would you put their sound signature? Do you find them more a relaxed listen or is it more engaging/involving? Some headphones just don't engage me into the music so I feel left out and bored, I'm not completely sure exactly what it's down to but I think it's for me down to having a forward enough midrange so that the vocals and instruments sounds like being more closer/up-front than further back in the soundstage.

I'm just a little suprised that PSB nails it so nicely for a first attempt headphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD 

I'm just a little suprised that PSB nails it so nicely for a first attempt headphone.

Well, they did have a long gestation period and have a solid company track record behind them.  Also, I recently caught a quip on Innerfidelity that Paul Barton himself is a driving force behind getting a standard in place for more accurate headphone measurements.  He's already proven that he knows his sh... err... stuff when it comes to audio and it seems he's going all-in with his headphone venture. (just another challenge for him I suppose... you have to respect ambition)

I'll agree with yomomma1 (heh) that they're an engaging headphone.  Highly neutral, but with the bit of "tip up" (still the best way I can describe it) in the bass region and individual notes/instruments are so well separated and articulated that it gives a wonderful sense of dimension to each texture.  It's a headphone that's high on accuracy/versatility without sounding completely "flat" or "lifeless."

Kudos to the early adopters.  You guys were definitely on to something. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by yomomma1 


I found them very engaging, I wasn't overly impressed by the isolation but better than some.
I wrote a few words to describe my thoughts on them.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/636551/psb-mu4-2-mini-review-plus-vs-monster-inspiration-vs-bose-qc15-my-2-cents-and-pos-a-few-hundred-more-to-buy-some
Hope it makes sense to you ;-)

I love the description of soundstage <3

Sounds like what I'm looking for! ^^

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD 

Sounds like M4U 1 will be such a nice deal if the headband & hinges have been addressed for a price of $299 as they measure well, look nice and appearently sounds very well balanced with a slight bump in bass.

 

What I'm wondering about the M4U 1 / M4U 2 (passive) is that how would you put their sound signature? Do you find them more a relaxed listen or is it more engaging/involving? Some headphones just don't engage me into the music so I feel left out and bored, I'm not completely sure exactly what it's down to but I think it's for me down to having a forward enough midrange so that the vocals and instruments sounds like being more closer/up-front than further back in the soundstage.

 

I'm just a little suprised that PSB nails it so nicely for a first attempt headphone.

I find them very engaging. The more I compare them with these Momentums the more I realize they trounce them. As I stated, the just show the fine layers of the music much better. Instruments are shown in space and can be picked out for their location much better than the Senns, UE6000s and even the Denon D600s I have tried. Its really an interesting headphone for me as I drive them mainly with my E11 at home but when I travel and use the internal amp or NC, I just get so involved in the music I get off the plane thinking why am I even auditioning other headphones against these. I am a portable audiophile. I worked in the audio/home theater industry for years in the 90's and 00's. I sold PSB speakers for a while. I closed my business in 2008 but have always been an audiophile/home theater junkie. Headphones are a nice little diversion for me that allows me to keep my passion without spending the thousands of dollars I have in the past on systems. Priorities have changed but my ears and passion haven't. My tastes may be different from others on here due to my background and knowing what proper sound is. These PSBs get me to a level that I haven't found in any other headphone and address my needs for portability, isolation and musicality. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by awtryau89 . These PSBs get me to a level that I haven't found in any other headphone and address my needs for portability, isolation and musicality. 

Amen to that! Well my mate is picking my set up Friday, I pos won't get them till Saturday as I'm busy Friday but I can't wait to get into them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by awtryau89 

I find them very engaging. The more I compare them with these Momentums the more I realize they trounce them. As I stated, the just show the fine layers of the music much better. Instruments are shown in space and can be picked out for their location much better than the Senns, UE6000s and even the Denon D600s I have tried. Its really an interesting headphone for me as I drive them mainly with my E11 at home but when I travel and use the internal amp or NC, I just get so involved in the music I get off the plane thinking why am I even auditioning other headphones against these. I am a portable audiophile. I worked in the audio/home theater industry for years in the 90's and 00's. I sold PSB speakers for a while. I closed my business in 2008 but have always been an audiophile/home theater junkie. Headphones are a nice little diversion for me that allows me to keep my passion without spending the thousands of dollars I have in the past on systems. Priorities have changed but my ears and passion haven't. My tastes may be different from others on here due to my background and knowing what proper sound is. These PSBs get me to a level that I haven't found in any other headphone and address my needs for portability, isolation and musicality. 

Thanks for sharing your input, very interesting read. Yea well I demoed the Momentums and it clearly wasn't a headphone for me, it didn't envolve me in the music due to the recessed mids and poor detail retrieval and closed-in soundstage, I actually didn't wanna listen to them for more than 2 or so mins cuz I was so bored when listening to them. At the same time I got more enjoyment with an AKG K272 HD for example which is a bit less than twice as little the price of Momentums that is a very midrange focused headphone with slightly rolled off highs and quickly rolled off bass. I think I'm more and more becoming a "midhead" than basshead, ultimately I'd wanna have lots of both at the same time but the headphones which are both midforward and bassheavy are quite rare. The PSB M4U is one of those that seems to have reasonably forward mids and still a bit of a bass emphasis but I'm not sure if I'm getting enough of some of them, either disappointed by the mids or the bass quantity but in this case I'd slightly more worried about the bass coming from a bassmonster like M-Audio Q40 whose bass I just can't get enough of, the mids aren't really that bad either when paired with ZO2.1, neutral lower mids and slight emphasis in the upper-mids making the female vocals be nicely up-front and it does also fairly good with acoustic music I've found despite packing that much of a bass.

Ok, so after owning and using my new white M4U2's for almost a month, I feel I have a solid grasp of what these things are doing....and I love them.  The headband is free of any stress, and absolutely zero creaking in the joints (white models are newer batch).  I travel 60% or more per week via plane, so I can firmly offer a review of their NC capability.  If I had to rate them based on a scale from 1-10 for NC, 10 being the best:  Bose QC15= 10; M4U2 = 7.5-8.  They do a very admirable job in an airplane environment. 

I think where people are getting a misrepresentation of the NC capability of these phones is when listening to them in a standard room with standard noise surrounding them.  This is not the type of NC they are designed for.  Yes, you can clearly hear everything going on around you still.  This is because they are designed for constant-wave types of noise, not dynamic and variant noise.  Perfect example: when on the plane, the engine and cabin noise is significantly reduced, however I can still hear the captain speaking over the intercom (this is a GOOD thing).  Like when he announces it's time to turn off electronics, it's good to hear that.  They do exactly what you need on a plane, and not what you don't need.

SQ, as described by several others in this thread, is fantastic for the price.  I couldn't be happier with the balance, clarity, detail, and soundstage for a closed headphone of this nature.  I think the imaging can be finicky at times, depending on how the phones are positioned on my head, head angle, etc.  However, for the most part it's solid enough for enjoyment.  I love the sound of these headphones, as my ears have adjusted to what they are doing.  Regardless of genre, they perform extremely well. 

For $399, I couldn't be happier.  I auditioned the ED8's, and I truly think they would be a huge waste of money.  They just sounded so congested to me.  Nice crunch/impact to them, but definitely a bit too much sizzle up top and just not expansive enough for me.  The V-curve was definitely noticeable too.  Don't get me wrong, they did sound very good, but not 3x better than the PSBs by any stretch of the imagination.

I would recommend these to anyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by awtryau89 

I find them very engaging. The more I compare them with these Momentums the more I realize they trounce them. As I stated, the just show the fine layers of the music much better. Instruments are shown in space and can be picked out for their location much better than the Senns, UE6000s and even the Denon D600s I have tried. Its really an interesting headphone for me as I drive them mainly with my E11 at home but when I travel and use the internal amp or NC, I just get so involved in the music I get off the plane thinking why am I even auditioning other headphones against these. I am a portable audiophile. I worked in the audio/home theater industry for years in the 90's and 00's. I sold PSB speakers for a while. I closed my business in 2008 but have always been an audiophile/home theater junkie. Headphones are a nice little diversion for me that allows me to keep my passion without spending the thousands of dollars I have in the past on systems. Priorities have changed but my ears and passion haven't. My tastes may be different from others on here due to my background and knowing what proper sound is. These PSBs get me to a level that I haven't found in any other headphone and address my needs for portability, isolation and musicality. 

Are you talking about M4U1 or 2? Passive or active?

Quote:

Originally Posted by miow 

 

Are you talking about M4U1 or 2? Passive or active?

M4U2 Passive with my E11 amp. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by awtryau89 

 

M4U2 Passive with my E11 amp. 

I'm looking at getting the E17 for mine, would you say the E11 is a good match? I'm about to pull the trigger so would like to hear if someone has tried others that may be better suited?