INTRODUCTION

I’d never heard of the PerfectSound brand, and to be honest I still wouldn’t know about them until George from Gear Best contacted me about reviewing a headphone.  We duly arranged for me to be sent a pair, and they arrived in the first week of March.
 
I hadn’t done any prior research on them, so I guess I was a little surprised when I saw the M100 in person – I guess it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Anyway – I had a quick listen and then an extended session with them for about an hour.  At that point I contacted George with a few reasonably frank observations and gave him the opportunity of me returning the headphones without reviewing them (you’ll get the gist as you read the review).  Anyway – to his credit George asked me to proceed – and I’ve always found that a refreshing approach – real honesty, even when you know the reviewer isn’t overly enthused.
 
So I’ve managed around 14 or 15 hours listening with the M100 – more than enough time to form a reasonable impression, and my 12yo daughter laughing at me quite often, and telling me how “goofy” I look.
 
ABOUT PERFECTSOUND
The PerfectSound audio company was formed in 2012 by President James Lin and Art Director Kris Chang.  The company is based in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, and their philosophy seems to be achieving perfect balance in an overall sound signature, alongside making the headphone fashionable.  They have 3 series of headphones currently listed on their website – S, D and M – with the D series being their luxury line, and the M series being portable and modular (you choose the way you listen).  Their philosophy from their Facebook site is:
 
With an experience of Audio innovation since 2003, Perfect has turned the passion for making fashion and elegant into the Headphone field.
Perfect continue to stand on provide high quality sound and to maintain the best service for customer no matter where you are.
High quality Voice, High quality Headphone and High quality service, to find your sound at Perfect-Sound.
 
The PerfectSound website can be found here
 
DISCLAIMER
The PerfectSound M100 was provided to me gratis as a review sample.  I have made it clear to George (Gear Best) that I still regard any product they send me as their sole property and available for return any time at their request. But I thank them for the ability to continue use of the M100 for follow up comparisons if required.
 
The Perfect Sound M100 can be sourced from Gear Best for USD 184 with free shipping.
 
PREAMBLE - 'ABOUT ME'.
(This is to give any readers a baseline for interpreting the review).
 
 
For the purposes of this review - I mainly used the M100  straight from the headphone-out socket of my FiiO X3ii or iPhone 5S.  I have noticed no significant changes in the overall sonic presentation, other than becoming more used to the signature of the M100 as I used them more often (brain burn-in). And although I used the M100 coupled with several different amplifiers, they are easily driven, and will pair nicely with most sources straight from the headphone out.
 
This is a purely subjective review - my gear, my ears, and my experience.  Please take it all with a grain of salt - especially if it does not match your own experience.
 
FURTHER NOTES

1. From this point until the summary I will refer to the PerfectSound M100 simply as the M100 – for the sake of brevity more than anything else.
2. Other portable on-ear headphones which I have extensive experience with include the Beyer T51P, Sennheiser Momentum, Alessandro MS1, Grado SR325i, Grado RS1, and the XTZ Divine.
3. For the purposes of comparison I simply have used the portable headphone (on ear and over-ear) I have available at the moment.  These include the XTZ Divine, UE6000 and Brainwavz HM2

 

THE REVIEW

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES  
The M100 arrived in a largish retail 221 x 226 x 94mm maroon coloured retail box. The box has PerfectSound’s butterfly logo on the front (designating perfect harmony of lows, mids and highs), and a description of the contents, headphones and specifications on the rear panel.  On opening the box, a canvas carry case is revealed, along with an accessory box and simple warranty card.
 
 
The canvas bag is fairly sturdy, but won’t offer any hard protection.  It has 2 open pockets (for replacement drivers) and one zipped pocket for cable or other accessories. It is a pretty well made bag, and should be perfect for taking in a backpack or tote-bag. The accessory box contains a 3.5-6.3mm adaptor, airline adaptor and the removable cable.
 
 

So it’s a pretty good first impression as far as accessories go – but as you’ll find out further into the review, the one thing (at this price point) they could have included to go some way to justifying the price would have been  including the alternate drivers.
 
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
(From PerfectSound)
 
 
FREQUENCY GRAPH
There is no frequency graph out there that I could find, so I was left to try my own very inaccurate rig.  A few things before I proceed:
 
Although the measurements do work, I know I get a spike between 4-5 kHz which isn’t actually present, and the upper mid-range and treble areas are patchy.  Nevertheless I wanted to use my rig (you can read about some of it here) – which is made up of the very simple Veritas (+ my own basic head simulator with no outer ear compensation). It is raw data only.
 

 
One thing to note is the excellent channel matching! 
 
But let’s record (subjectively) what I’m hearing:

1. Reasonably linear bass response with emphasis in the mid-bass and especially lower bass (it has some warmth in the bottom end)
2. Relatively flat and slightly recessed mid-range (relative to the bass), but cohesive in the transition from lower to upper mid-range.
3. Clean lower treble – but with one or several peaks (giving a bit of heat to the upper end) one of which I suspect might be about 6-7 kHz (tested with a sine wave sweep). There is also a slight hint of haze about the upper mid-range/lower treble (it’s not entirely crystal clear).
4. Overall a relatively clean and clear headphone, which lends more toward lower end warmth, but not at the expense of overall clarity.

 
BUILD QUALITY / DESIGN / AESTHETICS
When I first saw the M100 I had two thoughts (and I’m being completely honest here):

1. Grado design!
2. Looks fairly cheap and a bit tacky

 
 

You’re greeted with a very retro/Grado type design with black cups, dark grey yolks and a red (almost with a tint of orange) headband. It’s definitely not my type of design.  I’ve loved the Grados I’ve owned, but they were a good kind of retro.  There is something about the clean retro design of Grado that works. To me – the plastic and colours don’t.  But who am I to judge – so I showed them to my wife, 12yo daughter and 14yo son.  The two girls definitely don’t like the looks.  My daughter even laughs at me every time I wear them.  My son may become a convert – on him they looked OK.
 
Getting back to build, the head band is 31cm long, nicely curved, and has very good padding throughout.  It is also reasonably wide (35mm at its widest point), and I’ve found it devoid of pressure spots.  The foam padding is covered with a soft pleather.  The headband is very flexible, and I suspect there is some sprung steel inside.
 
 

The headband is connected to the cups via a plastic block with a slot for a fully plastic yolk assembly. The plastic itself looks reasonably sturdy, and is adjusted by sliding up or down.  And this is where the “modular” part comes in. You can slide the entire yolk and ear-cup off the headband, and essentially either replace the headband (different colour), or replace both drivers – different yolk and cup assembly.  But I have just the one – so all I can do is show you how it works.
 
The cups swing freely on a single access (up and down), but there is no side-to-side adjustment.  To me this is a poor design, as it doesn’t allow the full adjustment necessary for individual physiques. The cups are plastic, 70 mm diameter at their widest point, and about 50 mm deep from the rear of the cup to the outer edge of the pads. On the exterior side of the cups is a silver circle with the black and red butterfly motif/logo and the channel indicator (L/R). The problem with this is that they are just stickers – and one of mine was completely out of alignment (that’s how I discovered they were stickers).  At the price point, again it doesn’t make me thing value for money – actually quite the opposite.  The pads themselves are pleather over memory foam, and they aren’t the softest I’ve come across. They are replaceable though – although getting them on or off was a bit of a mission. The pads have a 75mm outer diameter, 35mm inner diameter, and are about 20mm deep.  Because the inner enclosure is small, they are definitely on-ear.
 
 

Both cups have a 3.5mm socket at the bass of the cup for the removable cable. This is 1.3m, flat wound, OFC copper. The jacks are standard 3.5mm stereo jacks to the headset, with no locking mechanism. They do have colour co-ordination on the jacks though so it is easy to see which is which (a nice touch). On the left hand cable is a combined microphone and single control button which worked on both my X3ii and iPhone 5S (one push play/pause, two pushes next track, three pushes previous track).  With my iPhone, if you push and hold you get Siri – which makes it easy for controlling what you are playing or searching for a track. The microphone is reasonable quality, and is a good height for voice calls. I did make one call with it, and it is very clear – both talking and listening.
 
The cable has a Y split approximately 40 cm from the cup (so it is relatively low) and the cable is terminated in a 4 pole 3.5mm TRRS gold plated jack. The jacks all have slightly flexible rigid rubber strain reliefs, but there is no relief on the y-split. The cable seems pretty solid though.
 
Overall the build is sturdy, but there is a lot of plastic and rubber, and it just seems “cheap” (this may be a combo of the plastics and the colours), and when you’re talking about a headphone in the USD 180 bracket. I’d be expecting a bit better build.
 
FIT / COMFORT / ISOLATION
The fit is interesting because they do clamp fairly solidly.  You could “head-bang” with these, and they should stay on your head.  If you’re a fan of on-ears, you’ll probably have no issues with the fit and overall comfort, but I’ve never been a great fan of on-ears for long term comfort.  Any more than about an hour and my ears are starting to revolt. The biggest issue they have is the lack of sideways rotation, and this means getting a perfect seal is down to twisting the cups manually to try and get the perfect fit. The clamp does help the fit, but it shouldn’t be this hard.
 
 
Isolation is actually pretty good for a closed on-ear portable, but will be dependent on the seal you achieve.  With music playing, I couldn’t hear the keyboard as I was typing.
 
SOUND QUALITY
The following is what I hear from the PerfectSound M100.  YMMV – and probably will – as my tastes are likely different to yours (read the preamble I gave earlier for a baseline).  Most of the testing at this point (unless otherwise stated) was done with my FiiO X3 gen 2.
 
Tracks used were across a variety of genres – and can be viewed in this list http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks.
 
Thoughts on General Signature
If I was to describe the signature in a few words – I’d say that the M100 is a little V shaped with prominent bass and a clear and relatively clean upper mid-range.  The prominent bass brings a little lower end warmth.
 
Detail / Clarity / Resolution
Tracks used: “Gaucho”, “Sultans of Swing”
 
With both tracks, the bass guitar comes through pretty strong comparative to the mid-range, but it isn’t overpowering things, and both the vocals and sax in Gaucho seem nicely balanced.  Cymbals have nice presence with Sultans, and good sense of decay too.  There is a little more recession with the vocals on this track, and although it is clear, there is that very slight hint of haze I talked about earlier.  Overall detail is OK without being great.  Some of the usual micro details I hear (drum stick clicks etc.) are masked.  It’s pleasant and easy to listen to – but for someone who appreciates detail, you may be left wanting.
 
Sound-stage & Imaging
Tracks used: “Tundra”, “Dante’s Prayer”, “Let it Rain”
 
Tundra is up first, and the first thing I noticed was a little extra “boom” from the drums. The stage is quite narrow and very intimate – definitely inside my head space. Imaging is pretty good, but slightly smeared by the lower bass impact. Overall though, a nice presentation of the track. Dante’s prayer was next and the presentation of piano, cello and McKennitt's vocals was pretty good (albeit very slightly muffled on the vocals).  Again, no issues with imaging – it just continues to be a pretty small projected stage.  My usual check for immersion when the applause started was what I had expected – there simply isn’t enough stage to provide the immersion I can get with some other headphones.  That isn’t a huge negative though – few headphones can manage it. The final track is Amanda Marshall’s “Let It Rain” and I use it for two reasons – it has been miked to give a holographic feel – which is actually pretty flat this time on the M100. It’s also a good track to test sibilance (I know it is in the recording). The sibilance is there but not emphasised in this test, and again the vocal presentation is very slightly recessed.  Not a lot but worth mentioning.
 
Bass Quality and Quantity
Tracks used: “Bleeding Muddy Waters”, “Royals”
 
Lanegan’s moody track is up first and the M100 handles it well.  Good bass impact, and good overall tonality. Bass texture is pretty good too – just the right amount of gravel in Mark’s vocal performance. The mid-bass is giving good thump with only a slight muddiness but no real signs of bleed. Next was the sub-bass test, and for this I switched to Lorde’s “Royals”. The M100 delivered well with very good impact and reaching appreciably low. Ella’s vocals came through clear – and overall it was a pretty good rendition of this track.
 
Female Vocals
Tracks used: “Aventine”, “Strong”, “For You”, “The Bad In Each Other”, “Howl”, “Safer”, “Light as a Feather”, “Mile on the Moon”
 
I suspected this test would be interesting because the slight recession I was hearing was more in the 2 kHz area, which means my female artist’s overtones sit back a little. Starting first with Agnes Obel and the usual euphony is not quite there. It’s definitely not a bad presentation, but there is that very slight hollowness to her vocals, which would normally have me reaching for EQ.  London Grammar’s “Strong” was better and the M100 seems to gel with Hannah’s slightly deeper vocal presentation (although I would still give it a bump at 2 kHz).  The best in the line-up was Feist and FaTM – both tracks having some good dynamic bass slam.  They were thoroughly enjoyable, as were Cilmi and Norah with their slower jazzy tracks. All in all, the M100 handles female vocals really pretty well.  For my own personal tastes it isn’t perfect, but I think a lot of people will like this presentation.
 
Male Vocals
Tracks used: “Away From the Sun”, “Art for Art’s Sake”, “Broken Wings”, “Diary of Jayne”, “Hotel California”, “Keith Don’t Go”, “EWBTCIAST”
 
I expected better things with my rock tracks, and the M100 definitely started hitting its stride with my classic rock, acoustic rock tracks. 3 Door’s Down’s “Away From the Sun” has its usual rock anthem feel, and showed some really good overall balance and coherency throughout – bass quality, lower mid-range with Todd’s vocals, and upper mid-range with the guitar crunch. Next on to some older classic rock, and 10CC was really very good – especially the vocals. The clarity was exceptional, and the only thing I would have liked to do is dial back the bass just slightly. I next contrasted this with the much faster guitar based hard rock of Breaking Benjamin, and this is where the drivers started to get just a little smeary/blurry (in the really fast paced “wall of sound” guitar sections). This track will often overwhelm drivers though – but it is interesting to note. Switching to acoustic music (Eagles / Lofgren) and this is much better.  The M100 does acoustic guitar really well – I love the tonality here.  It’s almost Grado like in its sonic signature as well as its looks.
 
Finally I get to Pearl Jam – Vedder is my ultimate test for timbre and tonality. The M100 don’t disappoint here, and the first thing to notice is the decay on the cymbals – really well presented. As far as Vedder's vocals go, the tone is great, but the actual texture is just very slightly smoothed over.  It is still thoroughly enjoyable though.  Great – but not faultless.
 
Other Genre Specific Notes
Again for tracks, albums, artists – please refer to this list:  http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks
 
Alt Rock – DSOTM’s Money has good directional cues, and for the most part is pretty clear. Bottom end is still fairly warm – but enjoyable none the less. PT’s Trains is just pure dynamic fun, and beautifully presented. Wilson’s vocals are brilliant.  Loved this presentation.
 
Jazz / Blues – Pretty good, and I think it is the contrast between decent bass impact and the detail in cymbals.  Brass sounds really good with the M100s as well – in both PQ and with Miles. For Blues, I played a little Bonamassa, and the combination of guitar tonality and the way the M100 portrays male vocals which was really good.
 
Hip-hop / EDM / Trance – As expected, the M100 delivers and delivers well with all 3 genres. Very good impact and depth of bass extension.  Eminem was very clear, but also visceral in its impact. Switching to Little Dragon and the feeling as similar – really dynamic and fun presentation – and I do think the M100 would have a lot of fans for the more bass heavy genres.
 
Pop / Indie – Again the M100 delivered well. Some of Adele’s music really isn’t that well recorded, and even though I adore her vocal range and presentation, sometimes a little more bass / warmth to smooth things over can really help the recording.  Coldplay was likewise smooth, warm, bassy and pretty enjoyable. I’ve become a real Indie fan over the last couple of years and the default slightly V shaped signature worked well with band of Horses and Yesper.  There is enough warmth to smooth imperfections in the recording, and enough upper mid and lower treble to ensure good balance overall.
 
Classical / Opera – This actually surprised me because I didn’t think it would work well, but it did. Solo violin and full orchestra was lovely – just occasionally peaky. Solo piano (Kempf) was sublime (great tonality and texture), as was Zoe Keating with her modern cello. Netrebko and Garanca was OK but they really need a headphone with more balance (less peakyness in the lower treble), and a bigger presentation of sound-stage.
 
The M100 are actually tuned pretty well in my opinion.  PerfectSound knows their stuff.
 
 AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
The M100 is easily powered straight out of the portable devices I have, and although I tested it with both the X3ii – both unamped and amped with the E17K and IMS-HVA, I haven’t noticed any difference in actual dynamics. On my iPhone 5S most tracks were perfect at around 35% volume. The M100 is designed to run perfectly out of a portable device – so amping isn’t a requirement, but a choice for those who’d like to.

 
 
RESPONSE TO EQ?
As you might have guessed, the one area I wanted to tweak was in the 2-3 kHz area – the presence area where I seem to be quite sensitive to any dips, and the area which gives female vocals a lift. So with the X3ii I applied a very simple +3dB at 2 kHz.  The result – for my tastes – perfection now with the female vocals.  I revisited a lot of the tracks I formerly had issues with, and this time I was more than satisfied.
 
QUICK COMPARISON – OTHER HEADPHONES
This is simply going to be a very rough comparison with the other portable headphones I have on hand – the Brainwavz HM2, UE6000, and XTZ Divine.
 
M100 ($184) vs HM2 ($49.50)
 
If I look first of all at build quality and aesthetics, I’d have to give overall sturdiness to the M100, but looks and design (folding portability and four way swivel of the ear-cups) to the HM2.  The HM2 takes the comfort stakes for its larger oval ear-cups. Sonics are interesting – the M100 is a much warmer richer sound with more upper end, so a lot more V shaped. The HM2 sounds a lot more distant, and spacious, and also a little more distant. It’s difficult to say which is better as they are quite different in their mid-range presentation. For value though, the HM2 skunks the M100, and highlights the M100’s main issue – it’s pricing for what it is offering as a whole.  I do think that the M100 has the superior sonic signature for my preferences – but not at more than 3 times the price.
 
M100 ($184) vs UE6000 ($160 / now discontinued)
 
I tested it with the UE6000’s ANC off (they sound better that way anyway).  On build quality and design, both are relatively sturdy (this pair of UE6000 have stood the test of time), but the UE6000 has far better design and features with its inclusion of ANC, volume control on the cable, and foldability / compact storage. For comfort, it isn’t even remotely close – the UE6000 is miles ahead of the M100, and that goes for aesthetics as well – they still are a very classy looking headphone.
 
Sonically the two are actually very similar, with both possessing a warmish and bassy bottom end, very clear mid-range and bright and clear upper end.  Both are V shaped in their overall presentation. The UE6000 has a bit more distance in its vocal presentation and comparatively bigger stage, while the M100 is just a bit narrower and more intimate. The UE6000 is a bit more laid back and relaxed, the M100 a bit more vivid. And when we take value into account, whilst they are comparable sonically, the additional features, and design points on the UE6000 simply make it the better prospect.
 
M100 ($184) vs XTZ Divine ($179)
 
For this comparison I used the XTZ wired rather than using the Bluetooth. On build quality the XTZ shows it superior craftsmanship in its choice of materials and design features.  It looks fantastic too, and folds completely flat. The features aren’t close either with the XTZ’s on ear controls, and DSP for even better fidelity. Comfort goes to the XTZ (softer pads), but neither is ideal for long listening sessions.  Sonically it is a no contest – they are completely different headphones, and the XTZ Divine has superior balance, fidelity, and ability.  And it’s not that the M100 is a bad headphone – it sounds pretty good. It just isn’t in the same league.
 

PERECTSOUND M100 - SUMMARY

The PerfectSound M100 is an interesting headphone, and it has been difficult to review for me. It actually has a lot of good qualities – a very sturdy build, the ability change its sound or looks by swapping the headband or drivers, and a pretty good sound signature which will suit most genres, and especially pop, rock, and bass heavy genres which are perhaps favoured by a younger audience. And while it looks pretty silly on me, my son actually wears it pretty well.  It has a very Grado’ish retro look and bold red and black colours which will suit some people.
 
But where it has good points, there is also some not so good. The supra-aural design along with the clamp force and slightly firmer pads means comfort for many will become difficult after an hour or so.  Almost the entire headphone is made of plastic or rubber, it doesn’t fold for compact use, the cups don’t swivel on all axis, and some of the finish leaves a little to be desired. And I think that is the M100’s main fault.  It is simply in the wrong price bracket.  When I look at the materials used, it simply doesn’t look like a $180 headphone, and when compared with headphones at that level it starts falling a long way behind in features. If you told me this headphone was in the $60 or $70 bracket, I’d probably be recommending it.  For $180 go out and buy the XTZ Divine – and you can thank me for it later.
 
 
Unfortunately at its price point I can’t recommend the M100, and it is a pity because it is a very good sounding headphone – just not at this price. 2.5 stars from me, and that makes this review appear negative, and really it isn’t.
 
FINAL THANKS
Thanks George – I appreciate your candour and honesty in asking me to go ahead anyway.  I really wish I could give this headphone a higher score.  Unfortunately it is the value of the available competition which is the M100’s biggest downfall.