PSBM4U 8 Wireless Active Noise Cancelling HD Bluetooth Headphones

I needed noise-cancelling headphones to replace an older Sony MDR-1A but didn't want to give up on audio quality. I did my research and settled on the PSB M4U 8 cans for a couple of reasons:1. PSB makes great speakers. I figured the technology used to develop those audiophile grade speakers also went into their headphones;2. Replaceable batteries: the M4U 8 is powered by a pair of rechargeable and replaceable AAA batteries. I can't recall if the ones included are NiMH or Li-Ion, but the sheer ability of being able to replace them yourself once they go bad is great. This is especially poignant given most of today's battery powered consumer electronics don't give the owner the ability to replace them without great difficulty or additional cost.As for performance, I generally tend to listen to music on my LG ThinQ using high-res FLAC files. I also listen to my audio with the EQ set to either off or FLAT, thereby allowing the music to be played as the artist and sound engineer intended. Combined with Apt-X HD, the audio rendition of the 40mm drivers are excellent. They're well detailed and controlled without excessive bass, bloat, or treble. The soundstage is also well separated and depending on the quality of your audio encodings, can really sound exceptional and life-like.This is my first pair of active noise cancelling headphones, so I can't really judge the performance of the M4U 8 against its competition. What I can say however is that they work well. I walk to work in Manhattan, and with noise cancelling on, really eliminates any background sounds except for the very loudest, thus allowing you to enjoy whatever you're listening to without cranking up the volume. The headphone also has this neat feature when you press the volume rocker down, it will pause the music and amplify audio coming in from the 6 separate microphones so you can hear what's going on around you. This is helpful if you don't want to remove your headphones when listening to an announcment, or paying the cashier at your local store.As for comfort, I have to admit that the initial, right-out-of-the-box clamping force on these felt a little much. My hat size is 7 3/4 so not overly large, but not small either. The first week of owning these, my ears started to hurt a little after wearing the headphones for more than hour. I'm happy to say though that around the second week of use, the clamping force seems to have lessened a little as the band is flexed from use. I can now wear these for at least 3 to 4 hours without any discomfort. I expect them to loosen a little more as time passes but YMMV.Finally, the little things PSB includes with the headphones are a nice touch. For the price however, I wouldn't have expected any less. What you get along with the headphones themselves are:1. Semi-hard protective case/shell2. Airplane adapter3. Extra set of ear cups4. USB cable5. 2 meter long 3.5mm audio cable (headphone can be used passively without power like traditional cans)6. User manual and warranty cardIn summary, I really like these headphones. They'd be perfect if PSB could find a way to integrate clamping force adjustments. The price is a little steep as well when compared to traditional enthusiast-grade headphones, but when compared against its direct competition with similar features, appears to be a decent value. In the end, I recommend these if you're looking for a pair of Apt-X HD compatible headphones that should last for a very long time.

I was introduced to the cans by the great Paul Barton himself at CanjamLA2018. However I had just purchased the previous model and needed to wait for my budget to catch up before purchasing this model. And I already had the Sennheiser HD1s an awesome can themselves. The 8s have great sound quality and solves a common problem with Hi end Bluetooth headphones. They have excellent sonics with the Real feel technology along with great amplification. Sonics are not better than the Sennheisers but different more dynamic. Like Magnapans versus a great dynamic speakers like the PSB T2,T3s. B&Ws. Only problem with these is the head clamp pressure on my big noogin. Good for 1/12 -2 hrs. Anyone who knows how to loosen them up please advise. Noise cancellation is good enough for airplane rides and sleeping next to a spouse without disturbing her.

Pros:- Excellent sound quality, especially in On/Active and ANC modes using either the wired connection or over Bluetooth. These are the first wireless headphones I've tried where I felt they truly had sound quality worth their price. Very dynamic sound, with plenty of bass slam but never bloated or overpowering. Off/Passive sound quality is still good but a obvious step down from the active modes, loses a bit of life to the sound.- Bluetooth functionality is very good. Connects immediately, signal has no problems reaching anywhere in my house or work office- ANC is very good, specifically I've noticed many ANC headphones get a fuzzy background noise when active and these do not. It's nice and produces much closer to a "black" background than others I've tried.Cons:- Clamping force from the headband is quite high. On my larger than average sized head I had to max out the extensions and still get some pressure on the crown of my head from the headband. Its not unbearable but compared to some other similarly priced headphones it was disappointing.- The openings for your ears are on the small side. There is a space for your ears inside the cup but it still is quite large enough for me personally and after a couple of hours my ears feel worn out.Overall these are very good headphones. The sound quality is very impressive and really on another level from the other headphones in this category I tried. The comfort for me personally isn't quite up to the level of the sound quality, the design isn't quite accommodating of my head and ears. It's not bad, far from it, the pads are all very high quality, but I'm the type of person who will use these for multiple hours a day and it wasn't quite there for me.

I would never buy a PSB product again. They are no longer a HiFi brand...they are just another boutique name-brand that doesn't live up to their reputation anymore. You can buy no-name crap from China for a fraction of the price that is better.1. Sound Quality is Highly overrated: Sound quality is so so. I have listened to headphones that cost 1/4 the price of these that sound better.2. Build quality is garbage: The battery covers on these are garbage. In terms of build quality they are not even close to being worth the price.3. Noise Cancelling is Highly overrated: Not impressed with the noise cancelling at all.....I have tried 15 year old Bose that are better.

Best sound quality for wireless headphones on the market. Great soundstage. Average noise cancelling. Comfortable for me to wear. Good build quality. Battery life so so but comes with rechargeable batteries so not a big deal. If sound quality is most important to you, these are the cans to get. I love them. If the quality of the recording is good, I Close my eyes and feel like I am at a live performance.

These don't sound good. You are better of with the Wh 1000xmk2 and paring with Power Amp build 709 and an LDAC compatible phone.

I am happy to own theses and have quite a few decent headphones which cost a lot more than these but I am a big fan of PSB and these have not let me down, worth every penny.