Introduction
I was invited by Noontec to write a honest review of their Hammo S headphone.
I tend to be very skeptical about lower-priced headphones, since the bottom tier of headphones/speakers tend to sound anywhere from abysmal to just okay, with extremely few examples of actually sounding pretty good. At around $109 USD, the Hammo S isn’t the cheapest pair of circumaural headphones you can buy, but generally speaking, headphones around the $100 mark are relatively low in the hierarchy of headphones. Typically, you’d have to spend closer to a couple hundred dollars to get to the good headphones, few to several hundred dollars to get to the really good headphones, and go over the $1,000 mark if you want to get into the great headphones. And it’s only once you into the range of a few thousand dollars do you reach the best-of-the-best headphones available.
There have been some legendary headphones that sound quite good despite being relatively cheap, and Noontec has officially chosen the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X to compete directly against—to the point of including a comparison sheet in the packaging that lists the specifications of the Hammo S against the M50X, stating that it is both better and cheaper than the M50X (but ironically, the listed specifications have nothing to do with actual audible sound quality). Personally, I’m not a fan of that type of hostile marketing—it feels a bit petty—but I understand the logic behind it. At the same time, when you draw attention to a competitor’s product in such a way, you better bring your best game and make sure you kick your competitor’s ass in every way. Is the Hammo S better than the M50X in every way? Nope. Is it better in some ways? Yes.
(Disclaimer: I have the M50, not M50X, but the two are supposed to sound extremely similar, and Audio-Technica says there shouldn’t be any differences between the sound of the two models, and M50X’s changes don’t affect the sound.)
Ergonomics, design, accessories
Physically, I like the Hamm S’s very light weight (significantly lighter than the M50). For such a light weight headphone it also looks and feels quite sturdy. I was sent the blue/orange variant (the orange is actually a more earthy vermillion, unlike the bright orange shown in the marketing photos, unless they’ve changed the color since those photos were taken), and it’s not my first pick (I would have preferred the white/orange or black/red), but it’s not ugly either. In fact, it appears to be directly taken from the M50X’s blue/vermillion variant.
The folding mechanism feels very solid, with a sharp click that locks into place. Be extremely careful when unfolding the headphone though—I accidentally pinched the side of a finger and it hurt like hell. IMO, this can be considered a design flaw, but once you’ve been pinched, you’ll always be a little scared when unfolding the headphone, which means it’s unlikely you’ll get pinched again since you’ll be paying extra attention. The M50X does not have this problem.
The headphone fits pretty well and is fairly comfortable, with the earcups just big enough to not touch my ears. It’s not as comfortable as some of the headphones I’ve had/have, where you feel like the headphone is actually caressing your head/face with its snug softness, but it’s certainly more comfortable than some of the bad ones that you just can’t wait to get off of your head. I would say it’s about in the middle. The pleather earpads will get hot and sweaty, but then this is reasonable for the price point (the M50X has the same issue).
There are two audio cables provided—one with a push button microphone, and one without. I have no need for the microphone so I use the one without. In comparison, the M50X gives you three cable choices—two regular cables of different lengths (no mic button), and one coiled able. You also get a mini jack to ¼” adapter. Which accessories offering you prefer would depend on what your needs are.
Audio-Technica’s ATH-M50X’s physical design, ergonomics, and accessories have both pros and cons compared to the Hammo S. Other than what I already mentioned, here are a few more comparisons:
I prefer the hard-shell case of the Hammo S over the soft pouch of the M50X, since it provides superior protection. But, the soft pouch doesn’t take up as much space when storing the headphone, and if you don’t need to worry about the headphone getting crushed (these headphones are quite sturdy already), the pouch is the better choice.
I prefer folding design of the Hammo S because it’s more straightforward, whereas the M50X’s earcups can rotate so far out of orientation that it takes a moment to get them back into the correct position. If you don’t need to use the headphone with only one earcup at a time like a DJ, then the Hammo S’s folding design is easier to handle (but beware of the finger-pinching problem I mentioned—it really is very painful).
Sound
As for the sound of the Hammo S, it’s actually quite good for its price point. The first impression is that the sound is well-balanced, and don’t exhibit the typical cheap headphone problems like horribly bloated/muddy bass (or totally anemic and lacking any substance in the lower frequencies), shrill upper mids that are sibilant and make the ears hurt, and fake details achieved by boosting the treble to artificial levels of hardness (or so little treble articulation that there’s no air at all).
One noticeable issue with the sound is the slight excessive brightness in the 4 KHz region (not nearly as bad as some of the really bright headphones out there, but it's still brighter than neutral). After just a short period of time there would be a bit of listening fatigue, due to the spike in the sibilance region (particularly with music that's mastered on the brighter side). In comparison, the M50 does not have a problem with excessive brightness (though its treble is slightly hard-etched, but not fatiguing since it’s not in the sibilance region). I can tame the Hammo S’s brightness easily by using a parametric EQ and lowering the 4 KHz region by a few dB’s, but of course, we ideally prefer not to have to EQ our headphones—especially when it’s to tame a problem that causes listening discomfort. My number one rule for audio reproduction is to “do no harm.” If a headphone or speaker has to err on one side, I much prefer it to err on the side of being warmer than being too bright, as warmth does not hurt our ears, while excessive brightness feels like getting pieced in the eardrum with tiny daggers.
The other issue with the Hammo S, is the lack of articulation in the bass region. Listening to songs with the upright bass shows this problem clearly, where the pluck of the strings on the upright bass sounds muffled, lacking the clarity that should be there. In comparison. The M50 produces the attack of the upright bass notes much more clearly, despite it being a headphone known to have slightly boosted bass. Hammo S’s sub-bass extension is good, but doesn’t quite have the authoritative presence needed to create the feeling of solid grounding in the listening experience (again, M50 does this better, even if the sub-bass is slightly more prominent than neutral). Mind you, I’m not saying the sub-bass of the Hammo S needs to be excessive. For example, the Audeze LCD-2 reproduces very neutral and accurate sub-bass frequencies, remaining ruler flat down to 20 Hz, and it sounds authoritative and substantial while being neutral and articulate. But that headphone also costs almost ten times more than the Hammo S. The M50X is very close in price to the Hammo S though, and if sub-bass presence and articulation matters to you, it's the better choice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Noontec Hammo S is a pretty good pair of headphones for $109 USD. It does not beat the Audio-Technical ATH-M50X (its officially chosen competitor) in terms of sound quality, but in some ways, the Hammo S’s ergonomics is better. It’s up to you what you think is more important. For me, sound quality is top priority, so I would spend a little more for the M50X (especially that the street price is a lot lower than the MSRP).
I was invited by Noontec to write a honest review of their Hammo S headphone.
I tend to be very skeptical about lower-priced headphones, since the bottom tier of headphones/speakers tend to sound anywhere from abysmal to just okay, with extremely few examples of actually sounding pretty good. At around $109 USD, the Hammo S isn’t the cheapest pair of circumaural headphones you can buy, but generally speaking, headphones around the $100 mark are relatively low in the hierarchy of headphones. Typically, you’d have to spend closer to a couple hundred dollars to get to the good headphones, few to several hundred dollars to get to the really good headphones, and go over the $1,000 mark if you want to get into the great headphones. And it’s only once you into the range of a few thousand dollars do you reach the best-of-the-best headphones available.
There have been some legendary headphones that sound quite good despite being relatively cheap, and Noontec has officially chosen the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X to compete directly against—to the point of including a comparison sheet in the packaging that lists the specifications of the Hammo S against the M50X, stating that it is both better and cheaper than the M50X (but ironically, the listed specifications have nothing to do with actual audible sound quality). Personally, I’m not a fan of that type of hostile marketing—it feels a bit petty—but I understand the logic behind it. At the same time, when you draw attention to a competitor’s product in such a way, you better bring your best game and make sure you kick your competitor’s ass in every way. Is the Hammo S better than the M50X in every way? Nope. Is it better in some ways? Yes.
(Disclaimer: I have the M50, not M50X, but the two are supposed to sound extremely similar, and Audio-Technica says there shouldn’t be any differences between the sound of the two models, and M50X’s changes don’t affect the sound.)
Ergonomics, design, accessories
Physically, I like the Hamm S’s very light weight (significantly lighter than the M50). For such a light weight headphone it also looks and feels quite sturdy. I was sent the blue/orange variant (the orange is actually a more earthy vermillion, unlike the bright orange shown in the marketing photos, unless they’ve changed the color since those photos were taken), and it’s not my first pick (I would have preferred the white/orange or black/red), but it’s not ugly either. In fact, it appears to be directly taken from the M50X’s blue/vermillion variant.
The folding mechanism feels very solid, with a sharp click that locks into place. Be extremely careful when unfolding the headphone though—I accidentally pinched the side of a finger and it hurt like hell. IMO, this can be considered a design flaw, but once you’ve been pinched, you’ll always be a little scared when unfolding the headphone, which means it’s unlikely you’ll get pinched again since you’ll be paying extra attention. The M50X does not have this problem.
The headphone fits pretty well and is fairly comfortable, with the earcups just big enough to not touch my ears. It’s not as comfortable as some of the headphones I’ve had/have, where you feel like the headphone is actually caressing your head/face with its snug softness, but it’s certainly more comfortable than some of the bad ones that you just can’t wait to get off of your head. I would say it’s about in the middle. The pleather earpads will get hot and sweaty, but then this is reasonable for the price point (the M50X has the same issue).
There are two audio cables provided—one with a push button microphone, and one without. I have no need for the microphone so I use the one without. In comparison, the M50X gives you three cable choices—two regular cables of different lengths (no mic button), and one coiled able. You also get a mini jack to ¼” adapter. Which accessories offering you prefer would depend on what your needs are.
Audio-Technica’s ATH-M50X’s physical design, ergonomics, and accessories have both pros and cons compared to the Hammo S. Other than what I already mentioned, here are a few more comparisons:
I prefer the hard-shell case of the Hammo S over the soft pouch of the M50X, since it provides superior protection. But, the soft pouch doesn’t take up as much space when storing the headphone, and if you don’t need to worry about the headphone getting crushed (these headphones are quite sturdy already), the pouch is the better choice.
I prefer folding design of the Hammo S because it’s more straightforward, whereas the M50X’s earcups can rotate so far out of orientation that it takes a moment to get them back into the correct position. If you don’t need to use the headphone with only one earcup at a time like a DJ, then the Hammo S’s folding design is easier to handle (but beware of the finger-pinching problem I mentioned—it really is very painful).
Sound
As for the sound of the Hammo S, it’s actually quite good for its price point. The first impression is that the sound is well-balanced, and don’t exhibit the typical cheap headphone problems like horribly bloated/muddy bass (or totally anemic and lacking any substance in the lower frequencies), shrill upper mids that are sibilant and make the ears hurt, and fake details achieved by boosting the treble to artificial levels of hardness (or so little treble articulation that there’s no air at all).
One noticeable issue with the sound is the slight excessive brightness in the 4 KHz region (not nearly as bad as some of the really bright headphones out there, but it's still brighter than neutral). After just a short period of time there would be a bit of listening fatigue, due to the spike in the sibilance region (particularly with music that's mastered on the brighter side). In comparison, the M50 does not have a problem with excessive brightness (though its treble is slightly hard-etched, but not fatiguing since it’s not in the sibilance region). I can tame the Hammo S’s brightness easily by using a parametric EQ and lowering the 4 KHz region by a few dB’s, but of course, we ideally prefer not to have to EQ our headphones—especially when it’s to tame a problem that causes listening discomfort. My number one rule for audio reproduction is to “do no harm.” If a headphone or speaker has to err on one side, I much prefer it to err on the side of being warmer than being too bright, as warmth does not hurt our ears, while excessive brightness feels like getting pieced in the eardrum with tiny daggers.
The other issue with the Hammo S, is the lack of articulation in the bass region. Listening to songs with the upright bass shows this problem clearly, where the pluck of the strings on the upright bass sounds muffled, lacking the clarity that should be there. In comparison. The M50 produces the attack of the upright bass notes much more clearly, despite it being a headphone known to have slightly boosted bass. Hammo S’s sub-bass extension is good, but doesn’t quite have the authoritative presence needed to create the feeling of solid grounding in the listening experience (again, M50 does this better, even if the sub-bass is slightly more prominent than neutral). Mind you, I’m not saying the sub-bass of the Hammo S needs to be excessive. For example, the Audeze LCD-2 reproduces very neutral and accurate sub-bass frequencies, remaining ruler flat down to 20 Hz, and it sounds authoritative and substantial while being neutral and articulate. But that headphone also costs almost ten times more than the Hammo S. The M50X is very close in price to the Hammo S though, and if sub-bass presence and articulation matters to you, it's the better choice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Noontec Hammo S is a pretty good pair of headphones for $109 USD. It does not beat the Audio-Technical ATH-M50X (its officially chosen competitor) in terms of sound quality, but in some ways, the Hammo S’s ergonomics is better. It’s up to you what you think is more important. For me, sound quality is top priority, so I would spend a little more for the M50X (especially that the street price is a lot lower than the MSRP).
Listening == subjective. Measurements == objective. I don't doubt for a second that the Hammo is the brighter sounding of the two, but it still measures better overall than the M50X.
The brightness you're talking about is almost definitely the ringing on the impluse response. You could probably get rid of it if you wanted to. Different pads, open-cell foam, felt, and creatology foam surrounding the driver on the baffle plate are all things that could help tame that ringing. You could also try some internal (inside the earcup) tinkering too, provided you're allowed to keep the review sample. Mass loading the back of the baffle with blutak can reduce the amount of enclosure resonation. Surrounding the driver with it where it mounts to the baffle with blutak might help too, if the ringing is driver-borne.
Cheers.