AQuote:
So I can assume you are a fan of the PSB? What are your thoughts compared to other headphones you have compared?
I'm quite fond of the M4U 2, that's definite!
Before making this purchase (major one for me and my $$), I'd done a little/lot of reading and finding several very popular headphones on this site and a couple other sites that were supposed to bring my audio to new levels. The ones I got to listen to were open backed cans (Shure, AKG), and according to what I'd read, should have wowed me. Both were great sounding with the typical "pop" music (**** with singers, bass guitars, rhythm guitars, etc), but sounded very strange to me when the DnB was tested. The airy-ness from both just sounded too strange for me.
I also at the time quickly tested some cheaper "closed" Senn's which were a step or 2 up from my HD202. They didn't have many higher end closed ones, and in listening I heard nothing spectacular from them but they sounded better to me than either of the "open" cans I tested. This confirmed to me, I wanted closed cans, but these Senn's were not $200 better than the ones I currently had.
I found a stereo shop that had high-end Sennheiser, Grado, some very out-of-my-price-range electrostatics, and they'd just got the PSB. I never even bothered testing with Grado as my reading indicated to me that they'd be better for the pop fans (as described above) than an electro-head like myself.
I had my D2 with me and demo'd the PSBs quite excitedly, as I have a pair of their nicer
albeit old tower speakers. I was floored with their "almost like my home speakers" sound, and very impressed with their capabilities. I took into account that I'd never need an additional headphone amp (like would be necessary with many other $400 cans) and as long as my D2 keeps going I won't need to buy an additional DAC as the D2's is great, I walked out with them 10 minutes later.
***So I don't have a lot of comparison tests to offer. I really only A/B the Shure/AKG, I liked the Shure better of the 2, but neither was right for me. I then added a /C and quickly found out that closed cans are what I want.***
edit: considering the cans that Beagle has, it'd be nice to read some comparisons from him/her from the M4U 2 to the well regarded headphones in his/her collection.
Here's a couple quotes from him/her in this thread regarding the M4U 2, but no comparisons to his/her collection of cans:
"Possibly the most balanced headphone I've yet heard. You can really hear this in the midrange and the space that exists in the bass range."
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"Now having had them for over a month, I really love the sound of these. Balanced, exciting, midrange is right there, not drooping off into the background a la Denons. There is a sparkle and natural spaciousness to the sound without any hint of brightness.You can listen at a lower volume, then when you turn it up, the sound just gets more exciting without getting harsh or in your face. Bass is all there and it's even, not peaking in certain areas. All the frequencies hang together naturally."