Saturday, March 9, 2024

2024 Annual Headphone Shootout Part 1 Over The Ear Models

It’s that time of the year when basketball teams are finishing the last of their regular season schedules. That means March Madness is soon to begin. Which also means that it’s time for our annual Headphone Shootout. While teams in March Madness are ranked into seeds, products such as headphones are given prices. But just as with March Madness, sometime products perform better than their price points. We’ll see how this year’s Shootout turns out.

 

As usual, this years Headphone Shootout is divided into two parts: the over the ears, and the second part is the In-Ear Monitors. This year the over the ears will be first. It includes the following models: Phiaton 900 Legacy + at $249 MSRP, Beyerdynamic MMX 200 Wireless, with a $249 MSRP, JBL Tour One M2 at $299 MSRP, Viwone Pure + with a $349 MSRP, and last but not least PSB M4U 9 with a MSRP of $499. We will start at the lowest price point and work our way up. Through this we will also see what is received as we move up in price point.

 

The Phiaton 900 Legacy + came in a great looking color printed box with photos and specs of the headphones. Opening the box revealed a well-protected headphone held in place in a nice zippered hard case. Materials used in the construction was mostly plastic, earpads were leatherette and foam. Quality of materials used, as well as fit and finish, were good. Also included was the zippered hard case, charging cable, audio cable, and user manual.

 

Features and specs:

Communication Network: 5.1

Output Power: Power Class 2

Max. Communication Range: Discoverable within 10 m / 33 ft.

Music Play Time: 39 hrs / 43 hrs (NC on / off)

Call Time: Max. 39 Hours

Full Charge Time: 3 hours 20 minutes

Fast Charging: Support 10 min Charging = 4 hrs Playing

Standby Time: Max. 320 Hours

Frequency Range: 2.4 GHz (2.402 GHz ~ 2.480 GHz)

Bluetooth Profile Support: HFP v1.7 / HSP v1.2 / A2DP v1.3.1 /AVRCP v1.6

Battery: Lithium Polymer DC 3.7 V / 1000 mAh

Microphone Frequency Range: 50 ~ 4,000 Hz

Microphone Sensitivity: -42 dB

Support Echo Cancellation and Talk Noise: cVc® Solution

Operating Temperature: -20 ~ 45

Size: 180 x 172 x 23 mm (H x W x D) / 7.1 x 6.8 x 0.9 inch (H x W x D)

Weight: 256 g (0.56 lb)

Audio Codec: SBC, Qualcomm® aptX™HD, aptX™, AAC (If the ‘Bluetooth Device’ can not support Qualcomm® aptX™ or aptX-HD™ audio or AAC mode, it will be connected with SBC mode.)

 

The Phiaton 900 Legacy + employs a good bang for the buck design. While you get leatherette with basic foam in the earcups, you do get Active Noise Cancelling, and touch controls on the outside of the earcup. There are also hard buttons for power and Active Noise Cancellation. And while they are light weight which can be interpreted as cheap, it seemed sufficiently well made. And the zippered hard case will help protect it. Let’s see how they sound.

 

Nat King Cole: LOVE – Vocals were pleasantly smooth, string bass was really deep and played with authority. Hi hat was crisp and clean. Piano sounded sufficiently natural. Violins were smooth with the bow going across the strings. Trumpet was dynamic, clean and very good resolution of the tone, as was the trombone. Imaging was good, and soundstage was both wide with noticeable depth.

Guns N Roses: Patience – the whistling was silky smooth with nice harmonics. Acoustic guitar strings were crisp and clean. Vocals were also smooth with good resolution of the timbre.

Brandon Beal: Drop that Booty Down Low – vocals were smooth, with good texture of the timbre. Bass beats were clean, smooth, and played with authority. And when it dropped down low, the bass hit hard! It was clean, extremely deep, and played with really good authority.

 

Next up is Beyerdynamic MMX 200.  The Beyerdynamic MMX 200 came in a nice-looking color printed box, with photos and specs of the headphones. Opening the box revealed a well-protected headphone held in place by custom molded cardboard. Materials used in the construction was mostly plastic with some metal. Quality of materials used, as well as fit and finish, was very good. Also included was the detachable mic, charging cable, low-latency wireless adapter, and owner’s manual.


Features and specs:

TRANSMISSION TYPE: Wireless via Bluetooth®

EARPAD MATERIAL: Softskin, memory foam filling

REMOTE: Clickable control wheel

NOMINAL IMPEDANCE HEADPHONES: 32 ohms

WEIGHT HEADPHONES WITHOUT CABLE: 360 g

BATTERY RUNTIME: Up to 35 hours

HEADPHONE FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20 Hz – 20.000 Hz

NOMINAL SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL: 116 dB

SUPPORTED BLUETOOTH® PROFILE: A2DP, HFP, SBC, LC3

SPECIAL FEATURES: Call Handling, Microphone Mute, Volume Control, Augmented Mode

BLUETOOTH® VERSION: 5.3

SOUND COUPLING TO THE EAR: Circumaural (around the ear)

CABLE & PLUG: 2 m USB cable, wireless dongle with USB-C, USB-C to USB-A adapter for PC, Bluetooth® 5.3

POLAR PATTERN FOR MICROPHONE: Cardioid

TRANSDUCER TYPE FOR MICROPHONE: Electret condenser - Cardioid

 


Beyerdynamic is from a quality German manufacturer, known for hi-end headphones. The MMX 200 is a quality headphone designed for gaming and includes a low latency mode, yet retains its legacy studio quality sound. It also includes high end features like detachable mic, and memory foam for comfort during long gaming sessions. For the price you get a big bang for the buck. Now let’s see how they sound.

 

Nat King Cole: LOVE – Vocals were very smooth with very good resolution of the texture of the timbre. String bass sounds smooth like honey and played deep and with authority. Hi hat was really crisp and clean. Piano sounded very natural. Violins were smooth with the bow going across the strings. Trumpet was very clean, dynamic, played with really good harmonics, as did the trombone. Imaging was very good, and soundstage was both wide and revealed very good depth.

Guns N Roses: Patience – the whistling was silky smooth with very good harmonics. The strings of the acoustic guitar were really crisp and clean with very good resolution. Vocals were also smooth with really good resolution of the texture of the timbre.

Brandon Beal: Drop that Booty Down Low – vocals again were smooth with very good texture of the timbre. Bass beats were clean, smooth and played with authority. And when it dropped down low, the bass was extremely deep and played with good authority.

 


Now it’s time for the JBL Tour One M2. It’s a quality wireless headphone with ANC and the signature JBL sound. They came in a great looking color printed box with photos and specs of the headphones. Opening the box revealed a well-protected headphone, held in place in a hard zippered case. The materials used in the construction was mostly plastic, with some metal like in the hinges. Quality of materials used, as well as fit and finish, was very good. Also included was the hard zipper case, charging audio cables, flight adapter, and owner’s manual. There’s also the JBL app.

 

Features and specs:

General Specifications

Driver size (mm): 40

Number of Microphones: 7

 

Audio Specifications

Driver sensitivity at 1kHz/1mW (dB): 117 dB SPL@1 kHz

Dynamic frequency response range (Hz): 10 Hz - 40 kHz (passive), 10 Hz - 22 kHz (active)

Impedance (ohms): 32

 




Dimensions

Earpiece Weight (oz): 9.6

Earpiece Weight (g): 278

Ear Cup External Height (in): 3.1

Ear Cup External Width (in): 2.4

Ear Cup Internal Height (in): 1.7

Ear Cup Internal Width (in): 0.8

Ear Cup Depth (in): 3.8

Ear Cup External Height (cm): 7.8

Ear Cup External Width (cm): 6.2

Ear Cup Internal Height (cm): 4.2

Ear Cup Internal Width (cm): 2.1

Ear Cup Depth (cm): 9.7

Audio Cable Length (ft): 1.2

Audio Cable Length (m): 3.9

 

Control and Connection Specifications

Bluetooth version: 5.3

Bluetooth profiles: A2DP 1.3.2, AVRCP 1.6.2, HFP 1.7.2

Bluetooth frequency: 2400 MHz – 2483.5 MHz

Bluetooth transmitted modulation: GFSK , π/4-DQPSK, 8DPSK

Bluetooth transmitter power: <4 dBm

 


Battery

Charging time (hours from empty): 2

Maximum music play time with ANC off (hours): 50

Maximum music play time with ANC on (hours): 30

Maximum play time (hours): 50

 

I really like the design of the JBL Tour One M2. Not only do you get the legendary JBL sound, it’s Hi-Res Audio Certified, and has True Adaptive Noise Cancelling. Other features included are 4 mics for clear phone conversations, using Smart Talk, and Personal Sound Amplification as well as Personifi 2.0 which improves the sound based on your person hearing test and which frequencies need to be boosted. This is controlled though the app, as well as EQ settings and ANC modes. Now that it’s set-up, let’s see how they sound.

 



Nat King Cole: LOVE – Vocals were smooth like honey with very good resolution of the texture of the timbre. String bass was also smooth and played both deep and with authority. Piano sounded really natural. Violins also provided really good resolution, sounded natural with the bow going across the strings. Trumpet was really dynamic and so crisp and clean as was the trombone. Imaging was really good. And the soundstage was not just really wide but had good depth as well.

Guns N Roses: Patience – the whistling was smoother than a dove chocolate bar, with very good harmonics. The strings of the acoustic guitar was really crisp and clean. Vocals were also silky smooth with very good texture of the timbre.

Brandon Beal: Drop that Booty Down Low – Vocals were again smooth with really good texture. Bass beats were smooth, really clean, and played with really good authority. And when he dropped it down low, the sustained bass was not only extremely deep, it shook like an earthquake!

 


Now it’s time for the Viwone Pure +. They came in a nice-looking color printed box, with photos and specs of the headphones opening the box showed a well-protected headphone, held in place by custom cardboard. Materials used in the construction was mostly plastic with some metal. Such as metal in the hinges for better quality and durability. Quality of material used, as well as fit and finish, was very good. Also included was the charging and audio cables, wired mic, USB adapter, owner’s manual and cloth bag.

 

Features and specs:

Bluetooth® Audio Formats: SBC | AAFC

Audio formats Internal memory: WAV | MP3 | WMA | FLAC | DSD

Supported Bluetooth® profiles: HFP 1.6 | A2DP 1.3.1 | AVRCP 1.6

Connectors: 3.5 mm, micro USB

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz

Transducer: electrodynamic

Impedance: 40 Ohms

Sensitivity: 96 dB

 

The Viwone Pure + has a pretty cool design. Not only is it wireless, it has 64 GB of wireless storage. That means you don’t need a source for your music. Gym people, for example, can keep all their stuff in their locker while working out, and only bring your headphones. So for source material, there are options of internal memory, Bluetooth to your phone, or the Viwone app. Another unique feature is the audio ports. It has an input so you can listen to them wired if you run out of battery. But it also has an output so you can share your tunes with someone else. Now that it’s set up, let’s see how it sounds.

 

Nat King Cole: LOVE – vocals were silky smooth. String bass was also smooth played extremely deep with really good authority. Hi hat was really crisp and clean. Piano sounded very natural. Strings were also extremely smooth with good resolution of the bow across the strings. Trumpet was sufficiently dynamic, was clean with good harmonics, as was the trombone. Imaging was very good and the soundstage was not just really wide, but also nice and deep.

Guns N Roses: Patience – whistling was silky smooth with very good harmonics. Strings of the acoustic guitar were crisp with good resolution. Vocals were also really smooth with very good resolution of the texture of the timbre.

Brandon Beal: Drop that Booty Down Low – vocals again were really smooth with really good texture. Bass beats were smooth, really clean and played with a lot of authority. And when it dropped down low, the sustained bass was extremely deep and played with a boatload of authority.



Last but now least is the PSB M4U 9. It came in a nice-looking color printed box with phots and specs of the headphone. Opening the box revealed a well-protected headphone held in place by a zippered hard case. Materials used in the construction is mostly plastic with some metal. The hinges are metal, for extra durability and longer life. Quality of materials used as well as fit and finish, were very good. Also included was the zippered hard case, charging and audio cables, cloth earcups, airline adapter, 1/8” adaptor, and owner’s manual.

Features and specs:

Frequency Response: LF Cutoff -10dB: 10Hz - 23KHz, LF Cutoff -3dB: 15Hz - 23KHz,

Within ±1 1/2dB: 20Hz - 23KHz

THD, total harmonic distortion: ANC: ON (1kHz/1mW) 0.5%, ANC: OFF (1kHz/1mW): 0.25%

Power Handling: Maximum 30mW

Impedance: Passive: 32 Ohms

Transducer Type: Dynamic, graphene-infused

Operating Principle: Closed

Size: 40mm

Ear Coupling: Circumaural

Connection: 3.5mm (1/8”) stereo jack (left or right), Bluetooth aptX™ Adaptive, AAC, USB C

Cables: Standard Cable - 2m (78 3/4") Detachable Tangle-free

USB Cable - 2m (78 3/4") Detachable Tangle-free

Battery Life: Wireless Active Mode: 25 hrs

Wireless ANC Mode: 18 hrs

Construction: Headband: Spring Steel

Driver Enclosure: ABS + Polycarbonate

Earpads/Headpad Cover: Leatherette and Cloth

Travel Case: EVA

Dimensions / Weights / Finish

Overall: 200 x 200 x 90mm (7 7/8 x 7 7/8 x 3 9/16”)

Ear Cushion Outside: 84 x 114 x 17mm (3 5/16” x 4 1/2” x 11/16”)

Travel Case: 180 x 220 x 98mm (7 1/16” x 8 11/16” 3 7/8”)

Net weight: 362g (12.8oz)0.9oz (25g) with cable

Shipping weight: 1.6kg (3.45lbs)

Cables: Standard Cable: 2m (78 3/4”) Detachable, braided Tangle-free

USB Cable: 2m (78 3/4”) Detachable, braided jacket Tangle-free

Finish: Jet Black

 

I love the design of the PSB M4U 9. Not only are they Active Noise Cancelling, upon set-up they do a hearing test of each ear separately. Once completed, a unique sound signature profile is created. Through the included app, you can further tailor the sound to your liking. And with Roomfeel, you can get the similar sound and soundstage of powered stereo hi-end speakers. Through the app, you can also control the ANC settings, which include a transparency one, so you can also hear the environment around you. Now that it’s set up, let’s see how they sound.

 

Nat King Cole: LOVE – vocals were smooth like a dove bar, string bass was also smooth and extremely deep and played with authority. Hi hat was extremely crisp and clean with excellent resolution. Violins had excellent resolution of the bow across the strings. Piano sounded very natural. Trumpet was extremely dynamic, with excellent resolution and amazing harmonics, with similar performance from the trombone. Imaging was on a dime. Sound stage was both very wide and with good depth.


Guns N Roses: Patience – whistling was smoother than honey, with harmonics that gave me goose bumps. Strings from acoustic guitar was extremely crisp and clean with excellent resolution. Vocals also had excellent resolution of the texture of the timbre.

Brandon Beal: Drop that Booty Down Low – as mentioned before, vocals were smooth like honey, with excellent resolution. Bass beats were clear, smooth, played with great depth and authority. And when it dropped down low, the bass was extremely deep, and was like an earthquake.

 

As far as sound signature goes, the Phiaton 900 Legacy+ is pretty neutral, with good resolution and cuts a few corners on build quality but gives you a hard zipper case. The Beyerdynamic MMX 200 provides very good resolution thanks to their studio quality drivers, and has a neutral signature that’s maybe just a hair on the bright side, yet manages durable construction with comfortable memory foam for long listening/gamin sessions. JBL’s Tour One M2 also has a neutral sound signature that maybe just a hair bright, with excellent resolution especially for their price point, and manages to provide memory foam for long listening sessions and metal in the hinges where it counts. Viwone’s Pure+ is also neutral in signature thas maybe just a hair on the warm side, with very good resolution just a hair behind the JBL but provides built-in memory for your songs. Lastly the PSB M4U 9 is neutral in sound signature, with excellent resolution, as well as memory foam and other unique features.

 

Now for the ANC and Bluetooth range tests. For the range tests we torture test it well above what it’s rated at, just to know it’s limits. Testing in my 2 story home with a basement, I set my smartphone in the basement see how far it’ll go before getting drops. Then I set it out on my front porch and see how far it’ll go in the open without any thick floors or walls between us. This tests it’s open air range, again much further than the rated specs. For ANC, I test it’s performance with a motor running in the background. This tells me what percentage of motor noise it can cancel. Now let’s see how they perform.

For ANC Phiaton worked both with ambient mode and ANC. Ambient gave good sound of surroundings. ANC removed around 85%. The JBL had similar performance. Ambient mode worked very well, as did ANC removing around 85%.  PSB again had similar performance. Ambient mode worked very good, and ANC removed around 85%.

 

For Bluetooth, Phiaton had no problems in basement with multiple walls up to 50 feet. A couple glitches on main floor, but useable. Too glitchy on the second floor. Outside a little glitchy at 100 feet, usable up to 125.  Beyerdynamic had no problem with multiple walls in basement and only one single glitch on main floor. 2nd floor had more glitches and was questionable. Outside a single glitch at 125 feet, could have been random as good out to 200 feet. With JBL, starting from the basement, only 1 glitch on the first floor and actually only 1 on the 2nd. So usable even with all those walls and thick floors between us! Outside was usable up to 150 feet.  Viwone in the basement, going through multiple walls in the basement wasn’t a problem. But on the main floor enough glitches to make it questionable. 2nd floor was too glitchy. Outside it was good up to 100 feet.  Now with PSB, all of the basement walls were not a problem. But on the main floor it got too glitchy and 2nd floor was the same. Outside it was good to 100 feet.

 

All in all, in this year’s over the ear part of our annual Headphone Shootout, there really wasn’t any surprises. The Phiaton 900 Legacy+ is a good starting point and provides good resolution for its price point. For the same price the Beyerdynamic MMX 200 loses ANC, but it delivers slightly better resolution along with use as a gaming headphone and much better build quality. The slight increase to the JBL Tour One M2 is probably the slight surprise in this group, providing the quality of sound closer to the PSB then it should at such a lower price. The sound quality of the Viwone Pure+ is slightly inferior to the JBL, and also lacks ANC, but does provide the unique features of 64 GB of internal memory for your tunes. Last but not least the PSB M4U 9 provides even better sound quality, with some advanced features.

 


Based on your budget all are good performers. Most also have unique features, like the Beyerdynamic MMX 200 that doubles as a gaming headset, the Viwone Pure+ has the built-in 64 GB of memory. And the JBL Tour One M2 as well as the PSB M4U 9 both has a hearing test through the app to tailor the sound to your hearing. Based on their design, features, quality, and performance, the Phiaton 900 Legacy+ has earned our Recommended Award. The Beyerdynamic MMX 200 and Viwone Pure+ has earned our Highly Recommended award. And the JBL Tour One M2 and PSB M4U 9 has earned our Editor’s Choice Awards. For more info and complete specs, check out their websites at www.beyerdynamic.com, www.jbl.com, www.phiaton.com, www.psb.com, www.viwone.com.

 

 





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