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PSB M4U 2 Noise-Cancelling Headphones
01 / 05
PSB M4U 2 Noise-Cancelling Headphones
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Product Description
Combining two sought-after features in travel headphones—portability and noise-cancelling capability—the PSB M4U 2 headphones are an excellent option for listening on the go. Using RoomFeel technology to create a more spacious and natural sound, these headphones come equipped with three selectable modes Read More
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Customer Reviews
4.0
(42 reviews)
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4star(18)
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keyboard_arrow_downraansire7
1507
Feb 29, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
SMOOTH, DETAILED AND SPACIOUS SOUND.
I didn't know what to expect with these headphones. All I knew was what I read in reviews, which the majority were extremely positive.
This is a ridiculously long-winded review, so steer clear if that's not your thing!
OFF position - First impression was good. I instantly liked what I was hearing. No funky tonality or presentation like the basically brand-new Sennheiser HD 630VB that I gifted my mailman back in December.
Sound is a tad sparkle-less up top, but not unpleasant or veiled-sounding. It's still detailed and full; a pleasant signature to my ears, and I spent a few hours evaluating them in this mode. I felt no need to turn on the on-board amplifier.
Everything was balanced, but without sounding boring. Nuances and little details were still noticeable. These headphones do need a lot of volume to come alive, though.
ON position - On-board amp is noisy, but not bothersome. I can hear its hiss when nothing is playing. These were $400 headphones when they came out, so I find that unacceptable. PSB could've used a better amplifier chip...or a superior implementation of the one they chose.
That con aside, in this mode, the sound becomes sparklier, heavier, more dynamic, and the aural image gets deeper, wider, and sounds outside the head, almost like listening to speakers.
Pretty cool! There is a disconnection between the position of the headphones on my ears and where the sound I'm hearing seems to project from, ha! This is on my moto g(7). It has no audiophile chip like my LG G8, which has the ES9218P SABRE HiFi SoC.
ANC position - While it won't violate the rules of physics, the external sounds get muffled noticeably and sound further away, allowing one to enjoy the music. I didn't expect to enjoy this mode so much.
I live close to the beach, in front of a main road. Even at night, cars are driving by 20 feet away from my house, and the noise of the waves and the highway is rumbling in the background at all hours.
Except the music playing, everything outside the headphones sounds as if a low-cut filter was applied. So cool! I appreciate this ANC a lot, even if it's not as advanced as the one on the Bose headphones
Even my own voice sounds muffled and bass-less, hah. My ears feel as if they had pressure inside. Weird, but nice. The on-board amp remains activated in this mode, but the music obviously sounds clearer due to the quieter background outside.
In summary, these are great-sounding headphones in my opinion...even at their current market price.
While they're not designed as studio monitors, I've also been using them to make music, since the sound is so natural and easy to get used to.
My music has translated properly to my car and smartphones. My ears hurt a bit after taking them off, though, since the ear cups are shallow and squish my ears. The pad openings are not big, so they feel more like on-ears and not over-ears. This is after three or four hours of wearing them continuously, so they could be worse.
For $80, I'm SUPER stoked by these. What a deal! A lot of value for the price.
It's weird: I got a brand new pair of beyerdynamic Amiron Home in their case right by my bed, yet, as impressive as they sound, I haven't gotten the motivation to use them after getting these.
Crazy, huh? I feel like I have to mentally and physically prepare myself for them, and, I also have to use my best DAC and amp to really enjoy them.
The M4U 2 sound good even straight out of my moto g(7). Simply, they're fun headphones. Period. No commitment needed from them.
I just put them on and hit play without any audiophilic worries further pestering my plenty pestered existence. Even using them to play background music, without paying attention, I still discover aural goodies in my favorite tracks, stuff I never noticed before.
These are in my opinion better than what I read about them. I don't partake in gang mentalities and enjoy remaining independent of everyone else's thoughts. Life is much more enjoyable and surprising that way.
To me, the M4U 2 are great-sounding headphones, and very fun and engaging. They do nothing wrong sound-wise, and could be my only pair.
Thanks for reading. God bless you!
EDIT: Build quality-wise, mine came with a lot of cracks on the gray plastics behind the ear cups. The white plastic on the outside is fine, but I'm worried that they'll eventually deteriorate and fall apart. It's a soft plastic. Of all choices of plastics, they chose to use that low quality kind. I don't want to return them, but I probably will.
EDIT: (6-6-2020)
Few months ago, after two short weeks of enjoyment, I ended up gifting these to a friend's wife. She didn't have good headphones, and I gifted him my Panasonic RP-HD10 over a year ago. In my life, I am the audiophilia enabler. 😁
I will buy them again in this current drop, though, because I've been missing their sound. 😃
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
HeadJourney
49
Nov 17, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
An unexpected audophile bargain
The PSB M4U2 arrived yesterday. It features three modes, switchable on the right speaker: ANC, ON, and OFF. At first, I listened via OFF, the passive, unpowered mode. I was disappointed. The sound was veiled, lacking dynamics.
When I switched to ON, activating the built-in amp only, the difference was dramatic. The bass had punch, the soundstage expanded, dynamics and imaging were excellent. The point is that passive listening (with power off) is possible, but SQ suffers. The difference is significantly more than just increased volume. For excellent SQ, turn the amp ON.
I haven't tested the ANC (active noise-canceling) yet. Will do so and report back. These cans, for $99, almost a third of the original price, could easily serve as my primary cans. I got it for travel and portable use, but I also wanted it to serve in general listening conditions.
At first, the fit felt tight, too tight. But the cushions softened the fit, and after a half hour or so, I forgot I had them on. They're actually very comfortable for long listening sessions. Nonfatiguing as long as I keep the volume at a reasonable level.
The PSB M4U2 is an unexpected bargain, much, much better than its price tag would indicate. The overall engineering, packaging, accesories are topnotch.
Update 10 May 2021: It's been about a year and a half since I first posted this review. In the meanwhile, I've had a chance to listen to the M4U2 under many different conditions. One impression that I need to correct is that it's actually excellent with amp turned off. In my initial review, I was critical of this mode. Now, I listen primarily without power to the internal amp. For example, I'm now listening to it on the Phonitor 2730 headphone amp via balanced XLRs in from the Soncoz LA-QXD1 DAC (USB from computer).
Nearly all my cans are open-back: Senns 800, 650, 600; AK701; Grado GS1000, HF2, SR80e; HE4XX. The M4U2 is right at home in this company. It's non-fatiguing and accurate with a warmth that doesn't stifle. Just really comfortable for long sessions. I'm not distracted by the SQ.
Most of my equipment are balanced. The Phonitor is single-ended. In the future, I'll try to update this review with tests on my other equipment. The M4U2 is SE, so I'll be using the SE on balanced rigs.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
ibereka
15
Apr 24, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Fantastically sounding product
I'm also the owner of the NAD VISO HP50 featuring the same drivers as this one. While it sounds really good I can not enjoy listening to it as no matter how hard I try a could not achieve a good fit. I do not know what shape human head should have to make the listening experience of that particular headphone somewhat pleasant. So despite the high build quality and wonderful sound signature it is not being used oftentimes. That's why I was interested to try the similar product - developed by the same great guy - PSB founder and featuring the exact same dynamic drivers. Especially for the price it was offered here on Drop. So what are my impressions:
< Build quality - very questionable, not really on par with PSB products and any other high quality headphone I own (Senns, Hifimans, Philips Phidelio2, NAD etc.). Makes me to be very careful while using it as the plastic seems not so durable and there were multiple cases of users breaking it without any abuse.
< Fit - works just great for me. there had been users reporting and complaining about the excess clamping force which is not present for me at least for up to 2 hour listening sessions. Pads are just ok but there are a lot of alternatives (I myself use brainwavs sheepskin angled ones) so would not go deep into it.
< Sound Qaulity - very balanced, without major flaws. quite resolving and musical at the same time. not for the bassheads but features much more pronounced bass compared to Nad HP50 (better fit might get the credit here).
< Package supplied - Just wonderful for the price, very generous and good quality accessories included.
All in all I highly recommend this offering for the price despite a questionable build quality and durability (reason for the 1 star off)
Recommends this product? Yes
dybmapi
13
Dec 6, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Better than I thought
Let's start by the obvious first, the style. I'm not a great fan of plastic constructions, and the white colour is less discreet than the black. But the padded faux leather is comfortable, the ear cups are the right size for my ears. One more thing about the headband, while I have a smallish head, the headphones fit me just without any extension of the headband mechanism. If you have ea small head, those headphones may turn out too large. The bag which comes in the box to transport the headphones is practical and solid, but large. There are two cables, and a set of change ear pads. Now that all this has been dealt with, let's get to the main issue, the sound! I found the sound very detailed, not extremely loud, a good balance between discreet bass, good mids and clear highs. And then I put the two batteries that came in the box, and switched to active mode and wow! the sound level goes boom! So much power, without distortion, the bass wakes up, the detail of the various instruments stays excellent, maybe some new nuances appear, what a beauty. Finally there is a last position that provides sound isolation, I use it in the metro, and it's good, even if not at the level of some of the best, but frankly I will need to test it on a plane to judge. Highly recommended at this price!
Recommends this product? Yes
SkarScalp
7
Dec 7, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Comfortable, good sound, however the noise cancelling is almost not even there
Comfortable, good sound, however the noise cancelling is almost not even there, there is almost no difference between on and off. I got these specifically to be noise cancelling, so kinda pissed.
Recommends this product? No
v.komenda
10
May 27, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Noise cancelation, at first !
So...
DON'T BUY IT, IF: You need headphones or you need headphones with amplifiers. Don't buy it, if you not need use noise cancelation - you can find better headphones for this money (or less, or more). - I am talking about all modes other then noise cancelation.
Who need it? - Noise cancelation is work, it looks good for using in open-space office, also, sound is better then in passive mode (or amplifier mode). For this money - not bad, imho. Now, all offices is closed, but i try repeat-reproduce office noises into my home - yes, it work. Hope, i not so fast return to office and check it (i am prefer work from home - i am outsourcer with remote access to my desktop in any case).
Perfectly - hard case in the box. Thanks!
One point from me - will be better use external USB-power source instead AAA battery (in office no problem with USB power, in travel - power bank).
Second point - may be i am not so smart special, but i am don't see all accessories at first time and spend a little bit time to find it in the box :)
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
Angusdru
9
Mar 6, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Owning a pair for nearly 4 years, the dramatically lower price is a NO brainer.
The design of these headphones is 5+ years old, so comparing them with newer products needs to taken into account. These headphones earned many prestigious awards when they arrived in the market place. Now, 5 + years later, the price from DROP is the weighting factor that is most important. A tremendous bargain and an even better value, given how well the cans perform.
bsds
3
Feb 1, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Good office headphones
I rarely use the noise-cancelling function as I have a Sony WH 1000XM3 that I use when I travel. Sound stage is very good. This is my primary office headphones replacing my aging Sennheiser momentum. At this price, this is a steal.
Recommends this product? Yes
bsds
3
Apr 1, 2020
Well, XM3 is best in its class. I haven't really used the NC of PSBs outdoors or while travelling.
Rowdy2026
801
Apr 1, 2020
bsdsOk.
Regarding the XM3’s....I own the XM2’s as well and still find myself grabbing them in the first instance.
Don’t get me wrong the 3’s are a great set of NC headphones and very reasonably priced considering...there’s just something about the sound from the 2’s that keep me coming back.
Both pairs have relatively flimsy head bands though so I don’t mind having a spare.
s.trykr
9
Mar 9, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Great sound at an awesome price
I love the sound of these and the noise cancelling works for my needs in an office environment. My only two gripes are they look way too cheesy for my tastes (but at this price I didn't care) and the 90° connection is too short for phones with a protective case. I don't need to take the case off to plug in, but the smallest rotation or tug at the wire tends to unplug. A straight connection or longer stand off would make this much better.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
Strongx2
24
Nov 27, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Good but not great
Sound in passive mode is not impressive - dull, not balanced frequency response, boomy. Mid-bass and mids are raised, recessed highs.
In active mode things are much better, ballanced tonality, detailed, faster sound but active amplifier produce noise that is annoying in quiet enviroments. Layering and instrument separation in active mode is not as good as in passive.
Noose cancellation is ok, not best in class.
Overall good product for Drop price, but not more than that.
Recommends this product? No
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