Ausdom M04S-B Wireless Bluetooth Headphones for Smartphone, Tablet, PC, Mac and Laptop - Retail Packaging - Black

I am very keen on cordless headphones, although current Bluetooth standards can impact on sound quality. The problem is that the sending device compresses what is often an already compressed file and then the headphone has to uncompress at the other end. This can result in latency, which makes watching films, for instance a little difficult. Lip sync can be a bit curious.
Other methods have been looked at, such as the use of FM by Sennheiser, which gives a good range but we are then also faced with the problem of interference and hiss.
There are quite a lot of Bluetooth headphones on the market and the idea of excellent audio with a wireless connection still has some way to go but over the past couple of weeks, I've been playing around with Bluetooth senders and headphones in order to compare what they do in real life applications. It seems that they are not all the same.
One thing that I have tried is to connect say, an AKG K545 (really nice drivers) to a Bluetooth receiver in order to see just how good Bluetooth audio can get. So, using Bluetooth 4, it sounded actually, pretty good. You can indeed, hear compression artefacts, but the quality of sound is really not too bad, due to the real quality of the headphone itself. It does show artefacts, but the basic quality is very acceptable. Problem is, we don't really want the wire and attached receiver in our pockets, unless maybe watching TVs, but then latency makes that slightly odd. Audio is fine though.
So if we had drivers up to the quality of an AKG k545, Bluetooth as far as I'm concerned starts to become a really good option for someone who wants mobility while listening. So where would we need mobility? A discreet headphone outside means that DAP's could be hidden away. No wires to get caught on anything. I like that idea a lot, but even better for me, mowing the lawns or just working at the bottom of my garden in the garage or whatever. Headphones without wires are brilliant for that, but there's another problem built in to Bluetooth.
The range is very limited. That mostly means it's better to stay put mostly, in the room where the sound is coming from, which negates the mobility thing. This is where Bluetooth has problems;
a) quality of sound being compromised.
b) range being very limited.
That leaves Bluetooth in a bit of a mess as far as an audiophile is concerned.
I consider myself more a musician than an audiophile and can accept compromise if a device serves a purpose, so for me, Bluetooth does make sense both in headphones and speakers. The Bluetooth standard needs tweaking though.
Up until now, I've used a generic Bluetooth headphone that is sold by Henson. It's ok. Does the job but is, as I said, a generic headphone. That is, a headphone sold by a distributor and then rebadged in a company name. I don't mind if the headphone is ok. I actually have a Beats copy here that I bought in Tenerife just to see what the copy was like. (Awful!!)
I'd never heard of Ausdom until a few weeks ago and I bought a very cheap headphone, the M04s. Because Ausdom are new, curiosity got the better of me. These headphones cost me somewhere in the region of £29 so I really didn't expect much. It's Bluetooth 4, which means it might be better than my Henson as far as battery life goes and it has the NFC chip to just touch and connect to phones. The headphone can be used both wireless and wired, plus, the cable can be disconnected which is nice. It doesn't have to be powered up to be used with a cable either, so you can save your battery if you want. The positioning of the socket is a little strange at the back of the cup, but in use, it's fine and actually, when I was mowing the lawn (last one before Winter), the cable would be out of the way.
First seeing it made me instantly feel confident that it was tough. Build quality is way above the Henson, although it doesn't fold. Plastic frame, almost 'turtle' shaped ear cups. Nice padding on headband plus some rather nice, soft pleather pads. The adjusters are metal, not plastic as well.
They fit over ear and are comfortable. Controls are easy to get at and there's a phone mic on the front of the left cup. Not ideal for phone clarity, but I didn't intend to use it for that. I find it difficult, speaking while wearing a closed headphone since it kind of makes me shout!
The sound is very bass focused. (As the adverts for it say) The other thing about the sound is that it doesn't extend very much up into the treble. It  sounds a little enclosed as a result. So for me, it needs more clarity although the build at this price level is pretty good actually. I checked figures for it and one set that I found confirmed that it only reaches 10 kHz, which is basically what I was aware of apart from the hefty bass.
So for me, it's a general quick shove on your head, tough little headphone, that has an 'OK' sound.
What really got my attention was the Bluetooth range. I was walking about the house, fully aware of the dead spots from my Henson, but there were no dead spots. It continued to work in duff areas where I expected blank outs. So I got daft, and walked out into the garden with them on. They continued to receive to my garage with the transmitter in my house. That's more than 10 meters. In this respect, it outperformed everything else that I have. So now, I have a wireless headphone that I can use while working in the garage!!! Nothing else does that as consistently as the Ausdom M04s. It's not the transmitter, it's the sensitivity of the circuit in the headphone. It's one of the best I've seen.
That drove me to even dafter conditions! I tried mowing the lawn while using Bluetooth. It worked up to a point. My garden showed dead spots, but I'm amazed that it even tried to work out there. I went back to a cable which did show the socket positioning to be fine with the cable put out of the way.
Because of that, I became interested in Ausdom and what else they might have that might have a more extended treble. With that range, they could have some good 'uns for sound, as far as Bluetooth is concerned.
In my search, I found some newer things that I'd not been aware of.
First of all, as Ausdom headphones are currently numbered, the numbers don't represent the quality. For instance, the M08 isn't the best in their range. I contacted the company because I was quite confused about pricing and model numbers and found that the M04s is about their 'middle of range' and there was a better one called the M05 which is better sounding than the higher model numbers. It was the top of this particular range.
So, my daughter is now using the M04s quite happily with her tablet. She doesn't mind it and I have to say, it's a tough headphone. I should have reboxed it as a 'cheap' Christmas present I think, because she uses it all of the time.
I'm about to receive an M05 which is (after I did some research on Tyll's site) another headphone in disguise. They come from the same place and he has it on his 'Wall of Fame'. This headphone has APT-X and I also have an APT-X transmitter. This means that there is no compression in the same way as standard Bluetooth going on at the source which does two things;
a) less latency.
b) maybe, better quality.
Put these two things together with decent drivers (it would be nice if they were k545 standard drivers) and it may well be a great headphone.
Even better, I also have a so far 'unreleased' Bluetooth headphone on the way soon, called the Ausdom ANC7 which not only has APT-X but noise cancelling.
More soon on the M05 which looks to be a nice Bluetooth headphone.
The M04s though, is a sturdy little headphone that would make a great Christmas present for tech type kids. My daughter loves them, but for an audio person, perhaps a move up the chain might be better.

The last several years, companies have been taking notice that more and more of their consumers have an affinity for wireless technology.  From Wifi, to wireless data, and now wireless/bluetooth headphones!
 
Getting rid of the cable has never felt so liberating. However, often times these are features are only found in $100 or several hundred dollar headphones.
 
Enter Ausdom, a company that’s specializes in making affordable Bluetooth accessories, stationed in Shenzhen, China.
 
Needless to say many head-fiers myself included, experienced a lot of confusion trying to making sense of their headphone naming system.
With that I had contacted Ausdom to learn more information on how they rank their headphones, this is their reply.
 
1) in fact the M05 is the best among M -series, then comes the M08 (the most expensive ) and M04, M06, M07. 
 
Its certainly difficult to understand their numbering system (I don’t see a pattern do you?)
Nevertheless, it does appear that the M04/ M04S($$49.99-59.99) is the middle child of the family, and it takes a lot of design and physical cues as the M06s that I looked at previously (but have yet to “officially” review).  Click here for the link:
 
*disclaimer- I want to thank Ausdom for sending the M04S out for review. And likewise to all my reviews in the past, I will evaluate the merits of the product with the price in consideration.
 
for more information click here: http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Over-ear-Headphones-Microphone/dp/B00VUHNCRU
http://www.gearbest.com/headsets/pp_229555.html
 
     
 
(M06 on the Left, M04S on the right)   (M06 on the bottom with the M04S on top)
 
Accessories: Rather Sparse:

1. Micro USB Charging cable
2. 3.5mm Cable (for wired listening) (i would have liked two right angled ends due to the odd placement where the cable goes into the left earcup)

Overall: 6/10 (a small carrying pouch would've been nice
 
  
Features
A nice additional feature the M04S has over similarly priced competitors, is NFC. Which allows the M04S to pair effortlessly to my Samsung S3 (yes I’m still using an S3 in this day and age), by easily by tapping the phone on the left earcup.
 
Also for those devices that don’t feature NFC, you can still pair them via Bluetooth 4.0, providing a wireless range up to 10m. (A secured connection is indicated with a continuously lit blue light on the left earcup). (it will flash red when the battery is low).
 
Lastly, the included 3.5 mm audio cable provides a backup solution when you forget to charge or run out of battery.  
More specs: The headphones have a charge time of 2-3 hours via micro usb, a standby time of 250 hours, and a usage time of 20 hours for music/calls/videos. A battery indicator is found on iOS devices on the top right corner.
 
They also fold flat for easy storage and transport (perfect for messenger bags and suitcases)
Overall: 10/10
       
Design:
The M04 have a more urban-like design with the widely popular red and black colour scheme (also available in all black) . It’s reminiscent of some gaming headphones I’ve seen based on the “scale-like” designs of the earcups.
Overall: 7/10
 
    
 
Build Quality:
 It’s lightweight but feels nicely built for a headphone with an all-plastic construction (with exception of the metal headband). They should hold up well for daily usage. They feel almost identical as their younger brothers the M06. 
Overall: 7/10
     
 
 
Comfort: Listed as over ear headphone, the M04S is still quite compact. Those with larger then average size ears may run into some issue. The earpads and the headband are nicely padded (it doesn’t appear to be memory foam) but to compensate by lightly hugging against your head.
Overall: 8/10- the swiveling earcups are a bit stiff so you do have to manually adjust them a bit after you put them on.
         
 
 
 
Isolation:
The M04s are better suited for around the home, or in relatively quiet neighborhoods. They don’t isolate in particularly isolate noise well, but this can be a plus in certain scenarios, for example if you need to hear a crying baby in the other room, or you need to hear the phone/doorbell ring.
Overall: 6/10
 
Sound:
Similarly to their design, Ausdom takes a slight tweak at the smooth, rich sound of the M06. It’s neither overly bassy nor bright. It’s inoffensive sound signature will garner a lot of fans in the general public for casual music listening. The key differences, however between the M04S and the M06 lie entirely in the bass.
To easily understand the sound of the M04S, you can think the “S” stands for “smooth”.  
 
Bass: The bass on the M04S is slightly more emphasized then the M06. The bass has a soft impact, rich with a bit of bloom.  The warm sound makes them a nice companion to just relax and enjoy your music rather then for critical listening.
 
Midrange: Due to the bass emphasis the midrange does takes a step back, but it remains smooth and laid back, making them an ideal choice for those streaming or watching less then ideal quality recordings or videos. The M04s aren’t the most revealing headphone, but at this price range, its really slim pickings.  In fact, I think that works to their benefit, as users won’t find the M04S harsh or hard-to-listen to.  
* I quite enjoyed the M04s when watching videos on youtube or on other websites especially on those shaky, hand-held videos, taken from smartphone.
 
Treble: Again, the M04S is smooth with a rolled off treble. For what the M04S are lacking in energy, they compensate in terms of “fatigue free” listening.
 
Wireless vs Wired: in wireless mode, the bass gets a boost, giving it more low-end grunt, with a bit more bloat but it works well when watching movies. Thus making the midrange a bit more recessed, but not buried underneath the bass.
Overall: 7/10 (both for wired and wireless)
 
In conclusion:
The M04 is versatile, with all the bells and whistles of a high end Bluetooth headphone, especially with the inclusion of NFC. It’s also coupled with a rich, non-offensive sound that will find itself many fans. While not intended for critical listening,  they do a nice job for casual music listening.
Overall: 51/70= 73%