When it comes to a premium listening experience, a lot of people look for headphones that can completely immerse them in whatever they listen to. Active noise-canceling technology has made that possible, and we see a lot of audio brands taking a stab at what that looks like in their products. PSB, a well-known speaker company, has recently released noise-canceling headphones, the M4U 8 MKII. They claim to have the technology to make you feel like you are listening to a pair of their high-quality speakers. This pair has a lot to offer, especially starting at a killer price of $249, so let’s go over all the fine details. 

What Comes In The Box

• M4U 8 MKII Headphones
• 3.5mm Analog Cable
• USB-C Cable
• ¼” Adapter
• Airplane Adapter
• Travel Case
• Quick-Startup Guide Booklet

Aesthetics and Functionality 

Let’s start with the look of these. This pair comes in jet black, and the matte finish on them is definitely pleasing to the eye. The headphones collapse inwards, making it easy for them to be folded and tucked away in the provided carrying case. The design of the earcups being gyro-suspended makes it easy to fit on any head, without crushing inwards or feeling too small. The control buttons are on the back of the right earcup, and the toggle switches are easy to use when wearing. I’m a big fan of the decision to forgo buttons for the controls and instead use a momentary toggle switch for volume and forward/backward. I can flip a switch upwards or downwards rather than have to find a button and hope it's the right one. The on/off/ANC mode is a regular switch, and the Bluetooth pairing light doubles as a button to open up pairing to your smart devices. 

The battery life on these is fairly short, unfortunately, where a full charge lasts you 25 hours. That's if you don’t use the active noise cancellation, and if you do use it, life cuts down to 18 hours. Compared to the competition, who are coming in with at least 35 hour battery lives, this is not the greatest performance a wireless headphone could have. 

Function-wise, it is easy to connect the headphones to any smart device. The Bluetooth connection was strong and held constant during the hours of testing. There is an app that is recommended to download to access more features of the M4U 8, but it's not strictly necessary to start listening. Having tested it out, I highly suggest using it to elevate your listening experience. With equalizer presets, noise canceling adjustments, and Personal Sound by Audiodo™, the M4U 8 really goes out of its way to make sure each listener has their own optimal desired sound. These features, while very enticing at name alone, fall short in the fact that they are very limited. The EQ is limited to only 4 presets, and a misleading front screen made me believe I could play with the settings to be whatever I wanted. Also, the transparency scale is limited to three main settings. I would have liked more customization, but for one of the first pairs of headphones from this company, it is a great start to enhancing user experience. 

Tech Specs

• Wireless Active Mode: 25 Hours Battery Life
• Wireless ANC Mode: 18 Hours Battery Life
• Frequency Responses:
• LF Cutoff -10dB: 10Hz – 20kHz
• LF Cutoff -3dB: 15Hz – 20kHz
• Within ±1½ dB: 20Hz – 20kHz
• Impedance: Passive 32Ω
• Closed 40mm Dynamic Transducer
• Dual 3.5mm analog inputs
• High Capacity Batteries
• Total Harmonic Distortion:
• ANC On (1kHz/1mW): 0.5%
• ANC Off (1kHz/1mW): 0.25%

Highlighted Features

• Wireless 24-bit HD Audio
• NFC Pairing
• Digital ANC with 4 Adaptive Mics
• Personal Sound by Audiodo™
• Two Built-in mics with Qualcomm® cVc™ Technology
• RoomFeel Technology
• atpX® Bluetooth Technology

Listening Review

Soundstage, ANC, and Personal Sound by Audiodo™

PSB had promised a pair of headphones that was equivalent to listening to a pair of their top-quality speakers. As far as I’m concerned, I think they stuck to their word. The soundstage is wide and has great depth, showcasing a range of detail and texture across the frequency range. The stereo imaging is also very detailed and provides an accurate placement of where the instruments are in the stereo field. The RoomFeel technology that has been integrated into the headphones is noticeable, especially when the noise cancelation is activated. It gives a certain warm tone to the tracks you listen to, and you are immersed in your listening like you had a pair of speakers in front of you at home. 

The noise-cancelation aspect of these headphones was disappointing, sad to say. In a lot of headphones I have listened to, the noise cancelation kicks in almost immediately when you turn it on, bringing a low hum that drowns out the rest of the outside world. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t the case. I really had to boost the volume, even with noise-canceling on, to get a good idea of what the isolation sounded like. When it did kick in, it wasn’t anything spectacular, as it was acting as though the volume was the noise canceling part and not the actual technology. The sound was impressive, I’ll give it that, but I would not boast about the ANC that these headphones are advertised to have. The transparency they give is absolutely stunning, given the four mics that pick up any outside noise to pass through the headphones. Although, it seems as though the clarity with transparency may have cost the listener more isolated noise cancellation. 

One of my favorite features of these headphones was the Personal Sound by Audiodo™. I was hesitant about it at first, as I didn’t think I’d be able to hear a discernible difference. Little did I know, once it was turned on, each song became elevated to my personal hearing. I would give the review based on my personal ears, but I think it would be more fair to give a review based on what you get out of the stock settings. The frequency range was definitely enhanced with this feature, and given it only takes 3 minutes at best to set up, it was well worth it. All that said, I highly recommend using the Personal Sound feature when you are using the M4U 8. 

Low Frequencies

The low end in these headphones is good, but only under certain circumstances. I found that when the ANC is turned off, the bass frequencies get very washed out due to the mic-pickup being enhanced for the rest of the room. I was losing that punchy kick drum or a booming sub frequency, all because the high-quality microphones were working to make the ambient noise around me pass through. When the ANC was turned on, the bass was more present and I could hear the color it was giving to a lot of the tracks. It was still a little flat in the sub-frequency range, which was a bit disappointing, but I was glad to hear the basslines of my favorite tracks come through.

Mid-Range Frequencies

Super detailed mids with excellent distinction between layers. Vocals shine in the mid-range and the various instruments that fall into this area also get a lot of good sound reproduction. Clear, colorful, and the best range out of these. Low mids don't get washed out and the high mids are able to transition nicely to those really bright higher tones. Rock songs modeled this nicely, where I could hear the drums take up a large portion of that mid to low range and then accompanied by vocals and guitar in the higher range. The Buzzcocks “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” was the perfect example of this, where every layer in the midrange was clear and detailed without feeling overcrowded.

High Frequencies

Like the low end, the high end gets a bit cut off when the ANC is turned off and blends into background noise when the transparency is too high. Conversely, when the ANC is on, there is amazing clarity and color that balances out the overall low tones of noise cancellation. It gives tracks brightness and balance, and blends together well with the prominent mid range. The vibrancy that a lot of ass heavy songs are looking for comes through, and it is not overly piercing or overwhelming in a loud, isolated pair of headphones.

It comes to my attention here that the frequency range is really like a bell curve, when the ANC is turned off. The mid ranges get all the emphasis and both ends are left to drop off on either side. I noticed this most clearly in “Asc. Scorpio” by Oracle Sisters, a song that I knew had a lot of bright high end and a substantial bass. The mid range stuck out clearly in this song, and the light triangle that I knew to be floating in the high end just wasn’t as present as it normally would have been.

Summary

To conclude, I would say PSB’s M4U 8 MK IIs are a quality piece of gear. While they may not get the battery life you may want, or the noise canceling features you were hoping for, they come in with colorful and detailed sound that is sure to impress any audiophile. The Personal Sound™ and RoomFeel technology is a nice added touch to set these apart from others, and it comes at a decent price. The ANC may not be something to advertise too greatly with these, but if you are looking for good on-the-go sound that you can customize to your own ear, these are the headphones for you. 

The PSB M4U 8 MKII are available at Audio46.