I was sent a couple of the ShareMe headphones to try recently for review purposes. The name of the company isn't one that I'm familiar with but I have seen various low priced offerings on Amazon, which look as though they are targeted more at the younger market than someone like me. Because of this, I've never tried any of them to be honest.

I am very interested in the current trend for Bluetooth headohones though and have had a few cheaper options from Ausdom as well as a Sony Bluetooth and noise cancelling headphone which is excellent. The Ausdom are no slouches either and embarrassingly cheaper than the Sony!



The ShareMe Pros come in a cute little box and well packaged. The back of the cups comes protected with a plastic cover so they won't be scratched. Again, looks more appropriate for a younger audience than someone like me and inside, the headphone is held in place nicely and there is a stereo lead for when you are out of power and a usb charging lead, along with a dingy little manual, which you need to keep. More about this later.
Specs don't look at all bad with a 20hz to 20khz quoted response. I didn't test this but some offerings, I noticed from the company say 20hz to just 10khz. 40mm speaker drivers and impedance of around 32 ohms. Long standby time and a usage time of 20 hours which is very good. The only disappointment that I had was that it doesn't support aptx which is a pity. Again more about that later. Testing the Bluetooth range showed that it is further than the quoted 10 metres by quite a lot. I did my usual test after pairing with just an iPod Touch by walking outside into the garden into my shed at the bottom. The ShareMe stayed locked on all the way. Very impressive and gives you a real sense of confidence in the connection. We're talking through a brick wall here, and out into the garden! pairing is dead easy. It searches as soon as you switch on and a voice in the cups tells you what is going on.
The headphone is nice looking and similar to the Ausdom style of headphones. A smart looking backplate that is glossy with a non too glary pattern on it. It will attract fingerprints though. So I don't feel silly wearing them. They are quite comfortable and I can just get my ears inside the cups with no pressure. Calliper pressure isn't too tight and isolation is ok. Pleather pads make a pretty seal. The insides of the cups are clearly marked L and R.




Controls are on the edge of the cups. One cup has 'previous track', 'next track' and 'pause' while the other has volume up and down and an on/off button.
Sound is quite good. We have to consider price and in my opinion, for the cost of these headphones, you are getting a very decent sound. It has a bass hump, but not unpleasant for most music. For my tastes, I would prefer a stronger top end, but it is non fatiguing and mellow. Music develops a lovely rosy glow when played at louder volumes and I can listen to these quite happily in the garden, with the player indoors. The useful thing with this is that the player can be charging indoors while you are listening elsewhere.





So all I all, I feel that these headphones are good value as a single headphone, but there is another trick up their sleeve. I was sent TWO headphones for a reason. One headphone becomes the 'primary' headphone, connected to the source, while the other becomes the 'secondary' headphone which piggybacks of the first. That is, TWO people can listen at the same time via Bluetooth. I've never seen this before and was very curious to see how it works. This is what you need the instruction book for. You go through a double pairing process outlined and the two headphones become linked - hence the name, ShareMe. In a word. It works superbly well. Both connections rock solid and each person adjusts their volume. It's a great idea for music but the lack of aptx is a slight problem in my opinion.

The idea of aptx is to get slightly better quality of sound from an aptx sender, but there is also another benefit. Less latency. This means that one fantastic potential use of the ShareMe is not actually possible. Having two synced headphones means that you could watch tv together, using headphones. Great if you have young kids in bed, but unfortunately, the lag is too much and lip sync is a problem. That is a bit of a pity since it is an ideal use for two Bluetooth headphones.
However, music sounds good. They look good, are built well and are a comfortable fit and the Bluetooth performance is exceptional. In the UK, they retail at £39.99 so are a good value buy. Especially considering that two will link together as well, which might well be quite unique to these headphones.

The ANC7 arrived very quickly and was well packaged. An inner cardboard sleeve as well as a bag and then the case. The headphone folds flat and fits easily into the case, making it a good travelling companion. It's a good looker with its red trim and so looks pretty good if worn in public.









The use of Bluetooth means that of course, no wires are necessary but should you run out of power, then a wire is provided so that you can continue to listen as you would a normal headphone. The Bluetooth uses aptx which means lag is less than normal Bluetooth if you have an aptx sending device and also, the sound is slightly improved via this technology. The range of Bluetooth receive is extremely good. I was able to mow the lawn with the sending device up on the decking and it was reliable with no drop out. Of course, with Bluetooth, there is often a compromise as far as sound goes. The technology hasn't been able to properly match a wired headphone sound yet, but then again, you have the convenience and mobility offered by having no wires.




Sound via Bluetooth with NC off is pretty balanced. It's not a typical 'boombox' sound and it's pretty even throughout. This is a step up in sound from the m04s for sure since the bass no longer dominates the rest of the spectrum. It's very good with podcast and speech since there is very little 'booming' with mens' voices.

Turn the noise cancellation on and there is yet more likelihood of noise via the NC circuit, let alone Bluetooth. The potential for high levels of noise is more likely. A small amount of hiss is introduced with the circuit switched in and as with many NC headphones, the timbre of the ANC7 changes. This is a common thing even with more expensive options such as the Sony mdr100abn (which I also use) and the Bose QC25. With these two, we're talking a lot more money than the Ausdom headphone and still, with the NC circuits switched in, there is a 'hissing' noise introduced. Also, the timbre of both change, just like the ANC7, although the Sony changes less.




With NC switched on, the ANC7 develops a deeper bass and mids become more recessed. It's perhaps a little 'boomer'. With some music, this is an advantage but then, you also have to think about when you are likely to use noise cancellation. I switch mine in on the Sony or the Ausdom when the TV is on or obviously, if you're on a bus, train or whatever. The effect of the NC just takes out mostly bass sounds. High sounds are managed by the pads. So with it switched in, you can hear people talking, but with low noises taken out, it in effect sounds like you're in another room. Talking is not distracting.

I get a better seal with the Sony headphone, so for me, talking sounds are taken out more than with the Ausdom, but there is quite a large price difference between them. The Ausdom does well up against the Sony.



Since the NC is being used in noisy situations, it is often a good idea to boost the bass and that hiss becomes irrelevant. It's kind of false to be testing NC in a quite room so that you can hear the circuit because in real life situations, you wouldn't hear it.

I think that we need to remember that Bluetooth and noise cancellation is a compromise that allows you freedom and the ability to listen in a noisy environment without turning up too loud.

So in a quiet situation, I turn the NC off and in a noisy situation, it goes on. No problem then with hearing circuit hiss. It is at a very low level. As a test, I mowed the lawn with NC on and it worked superbly. The noise of the mower went down to a background whir and I had no need to turn up mu music loud at all. Sitting in the garden is a quiet activity, until some neighbour decides to mow or perhaps an airplane goes overhead. With NC on, this is wiped out.

I've given this headphone five stars because of its price and listening options. It is less than half the price of the Bose or Sony and does a good job. You have choices to listen with or without wire, NC on or off or even as a passive headphone. It's convenient and yes, there is a compromise in sound, but that is to be expected with this technology. The same goes for its more expensive rivals. It depends whether you'd like to spend another £100+ than the Ausdom, so I feel that there is good value for money here and the sound is reasonable and to be honest, pretty balanced.

 

 
 
 
 
I really enjoy the freedom that Bluetooth allows with headphones. From getting up in the morning and listening to TV around the house to playing music from iPods. It can also change your listening habits since you don't need to sit in your allocated area with the amp attached by a wire to your head. It has the effect of making me a lot more 'experimental' with what I listen to since it's so accessible without the constraints of wires.


With wireless systems, sound will not be the same (yet) as wired headphones, but sometimes, you just want something convenient to listen to while just .... Getting on. A bonus is if the headphone sounds good as far as Bluetooth allows.





The Ausdom M05 arrived in a very unassuming box. Smaller than I thought from pictures and is the current 'better' one in the Ausdom 'M' series. It uses Bluetooth v4.0 which saves on power, so this headphone will go for quite a long time between charges, and it does. Mine was on all day yesterday. It has four Bluetooth profiles as well as apt-x. This last one is often just added and many overlook it. It's a step in the right direction but transmitting devices have to catch up. It basically sends data in a less compressed format which has two benefits. First of all, it minimises latency, which is very important for TVs since there is less converting going on. Secondly, it can improve the quality of sound because again, there's less converting going on Both of these things depend on one thing ..... the device sending the signal MUST be apt-x as well. Many don't realise this and think that apt-x doesn't do anything as a result. Well, it doesn't if it's not switched on at both ends!!


I have an apt-x sender and I tried it with the M05 and guess what - good lip sync and crisper sound. It does work if used properly.


Wireless range is the usual 10 meters direct line of site and the M05 basically lines up with other Bluetooth sets in this respect. Standby time is a staggering 250 hours with 20 hours music playback time. That's the benefit of Bluetooth 4.0.


It connects via a supplied wire connection and the good thing is that it doesn't need to be switched on this way. It works passively. The connection is at the back of the left earcup. I found this curious with the M04s but soon found that it was actually fine and actually, in the garden with the lawn mower was better, because it was out of the way.





Connection is dead easy and logical. Next time you switch on, it connects with the last connected device without pairing. It even talks to you in the earcup!! There's a lady in there like my sat nav. Gave me a bit of a surprise when I first heard it and I refrained from replying. She speaks English, not Chinese. If she spoke Chinese, I might have freaked out!!


It's a good looker. Quite unassuming in appearance. The surfaces are rubberised and it has good pleather headband padding and earpads. It has a 'faux' graphite type of look and the backs of the cups are slightly padded. Actually, this protects it perhaps from weather and also knocks.





Pads are nice and soft. Pleather and fit over my ears. Seal is ok. Not brilliant but this is also meant to be used with a phone. Personally, I find it difficult not to shout on the phone if I'm wearing a totally closed headphone, so for me this is better. I don't shout!! Mic is on the front of the left earcup.





Overall, I'd say build is good; just like the build of the M04s is. It's sturdy which is a good thing for a headphone that in my case, will follow me around the garden and the shed where it might take some wear and tear.


The sound of this headphone is good. With Bluetooth, I've come to expect lower standards than this and I was quite surprised at how balanced the M05 sounds. It is mellow, with no shriek in the treble, but is also actually quite extended up there. So you get good cymbal splashes and crisp consonants on speech. There is a slight roll off up there but really not severe.


Mids are really good. They sound pretty even to me and I'd say some of the best sounding mids I've heard on a Bluetooth headphone. This makes it sound more 'natural' than most. This is where most music 'sits' and gives the headphone presence. It is a warmish comfortable sound and my guess is that the mids are excellent on the M05, producing an effortless sound.


Bass is mellow and hits nicely. It's mostly upper bass and I feel that lower bass rolls away as many Bluetooth headphones do. There is a mid bass hump in my opinion.  A raise in upper bass but not a lot. So from upper bass to lower treble, this headphone seems very balanced to me.

It comes with a charging cord (Micro usb), an audio connection lead and a rather nice, cushy bag to keep it nice and tidy.





Currently, prices vary, depending on where you buy them. If you are looking for a Bluetooth headphone, now is the time to get one if you fancy a try with the M05. I suspect that the lower prices, mostly in China just might not hold for too long. It's a bargain over in Best Deals. Really cheap for what you get. In the UK, it does appear in Amazon, but other than there, I haven't seen many Ausdom headphones around.


I like these. Not only the fit and feel of them, but also, the balanced sound that you get on a headphone that frees you up from that lead that ends up choking me when I mow the lawn!!

The Edifier headphones have been tailored for sound by bass player, Phil Jones. There are two versions; the PJB H-850 and the Edifier H850. Edifier also now own Stax. Phil also designed a rather good speaker called the AE1 years ago, let alone speakers that produce decent bass with quality, for performers. He has his own company.

The PJB version, I am familiar with because I've seen it being used in 'pits', where musicians need to monitor themselves closely. For that particular job, you need something that isolates (up to a point) and gives good inner clarity. Not necessarily treble ridden but just clear. They need to play loud so you play properly into them and must be comfortable for a couple of hours. (As long as you are playing in a pit!!)

The Edifier version is cheaper because parts are not matched as closely and there may be some slight differences inside. The transducer 'might' be different and there's better damping on the PJB version so it's less 'peaky' in the treble than the Edifier version.

The interesting thing is how would a musician 'tune' their headphone? Would they go for a thinner AKG sound or a bloaty Denon sound? Whatever it is, it needs to sound what many might refer to as 'musical' whatever that is. However, for working with, they also need to be analytical in that they need to be able to pick out detail of others playing in the band so that they 'blend' as well as possible.

Well, the Edifier is a damned good looking headphone for £31. That's all it costs!! Pros don't like to spend a packet on headphones. I'm that way myself since there's a kind of point where I feel that it's really hard to justify the extra cost for minutia. I've always felt that and so does Phil Jones.

So whether an audiophile would like these is debatable. I do.... Because they are actually ......... Musical!!

They communicate nicely what's going on in the mix and they do involve you.

The Beats headphones try to produce big bass but they really don't have proper control down there, so the bass is both too much and flabby. Beats 2 are better. These have a similar type of bass (which I really find closer to people making music) but there isn't as much bass as the Beats. It's also way more under control. Not as much and way tighter grip. Listening to Genesis, Phil Collins bass drum has real substance and you can still hear the 'skin' being hit. Zep's Bonham pedal squeak can almost be a distraction with the Edifier. I can even hear that it seemed to squeak more on the way up since they follow the main substance of the bass drum. You also plainly hear that he doesn't hit hard most of the time. Even in 'heavier' numbers.

Here's the 'audiophile' description though .....

To me, they sound as though they are quite well extended in the treble with one thing; it feels as though there might be somewhere up there with a suck out. So you get extended treble without lower treble harshness perhaps? Cymbals splash and crash, but there is a slight treble hardness with some recordings To me, as an audiophile, that sounds like something taken out up there though. It gives a 'hi fi' flavour and may cause some to say that mids are reduced. Well, mids 'seem' OK with playback on voices, so imo, it's further up. Perhaps lower or mid treble that has something missing.

I don't mind that since it allows large, performing volume pressures.

Mids seem quite well placed to me. Voices are right without bloom or sibilance.

Bass is again, an audiophile problem perhaps. There is a raise in mid bass and I suspect very deep bass is rolled away after say 100 hz or so. However, bass sounds do hit hard with quite an impact. Bass is actually reproduced quite nicely. Well, he is a bass player! My own feeling is that it could do with some sub bass although there is a terrific 'grip' on bass lines, making them extremely easy to follow.

Listening to a YES album last night showed just how well the Edifier tracks bass lines. There were some really complex passages, where I could not only pick out the bass line with ease, but also hear nuances in how the notes were being played down there. It showed what an incredible bass player he was actually. I could equally pick out many other details in the mix.

I'd say it has a slight hard edge to the sound, but clarity is really good. The solid bass is its major strength I think. Many audiophiles might not like that, but I find that it really inserts guts into the music. Much more like a live bass sound actually, with better clarity than you often get in a room.

So, it might not be of interest to audiophiles but is interesting to hear how another musician might tune their headphone. Similar to my own thoughts with minor differences .....

Raised mid bass, extended treble without glare. But for me, I'd like more sub bass too ... I've been spoilt!!

Then get back in the real world. This is a headphone costing £31. Same as px100, half of px200. Similar I think, to the Creative Audio. It's a good buy and sounds great for that kind of money, although the treble dip is curious to my ears. Or perhaps it's the shape of my ear canals.

I like them and could use them in orchestral or band pit work quite happily. I adjust very quickly to headphones though and I'm not sure that audiophiles do so easily. These are not flat, but very nice; especially at that price. The PJB might be a little more refined perhaps, but at a price.

I have an old PJB H-850 somewhere, so I'll compare. I recognised the Edifier straight away. However, I've spent ages looking for my PJB and I suspect it's in one of my old work haunts. I'll go in and find it. The PJB is a pro headphone, greatly favoured by bass players and live performers.

Listening to a high rate/quality file from Peter Gabriel up loud reveals a bass that has enormous impact with vocals beautifully rendered. The Edifier works well loud and has serious impact for little 40mm drivers. Near life volume kicks them right into life. The PJB's also jump to life at high volume, I remember. I must find them. Bass is incredibly well produced on them.

http://andreweverard.com/2014/06/29/review-pjb-h-850-headphones-why-they-beat-beats-and-at-a-fraction-of-the-price/

http://www.pjbworld.com/product_headphone.html

http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Headphones.html

http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2014/11/phil-jones-bass-h850-headphones-review/

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.