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Noontec Zoro II HD ($99)
In late 2011 I reviewed the Monster Beats Solo and found it simply horrible. Knowing there were a bunch of Chinese knock-offs, I set out to find one better than the original. I eventually stumbled onto and reviewed the Noontec Zoro. I found it much better. The subsequent Noontec Zoro HD was better yet. Fast forward to the middle of last year, and Beat releases their next generation headphones including the Solo2, which I loved.

Proving the game is still afoot, Noontec has recently released…

Sound Quality
The overall tonal balance is truly excellent—among the best in the category. I'd characterize the general character as polite or mid-forward, lacking a little in both bass and treble...but just a little. There is some slight measured bass accentuation, probably not quite enough to my ears, but it also bleeds into the mids a bit making the Zoros sound very slightly thick in the lower mids. They're also slightly laid-back through the mid-treble, though the upper-treble is about where it's supposed to be, making these cans sound relaxed but articulate up top.

Even…

Raw frequency response is very close to the Harman target response. Problem areas are in the bass boost going up to about 400Hz, when it should stop at about 150-200Hz. Fortunately, the boost is modest and just a very slight thickness in the upper-bass/low-mids is apparent. The rise to 3.5kHz is fairly long and desirable with a peak about 10dB above baseline—this delivers a good sense of…

Sennheiser Momentum Wireless M2 AEBT($499)
The audiophile in me was disappointed when I learned that Sennheiser's big reveal at CES this year would be some physical changes to, and wireless versions of, their Momentum and Urbanite lines. What hot blooded headphone enthusiast doesn't yearn for the next Sennheiser flagship? The pragmatist inside me understood the move perfectly, Sennheiser is invested in the two brands and is strengthening them for the long haul. Fair enough.

To my eyes the changes and additions to the…

Sound Quality
In my experience, I've never heard a noise canceling headphone that sounded really good...and the Momentum Wireless M2 isn't going to change that. But I've also never heard a noise canceling headphone that had even remotely consistant sound quality in all its modes of operation...and the Momentum Wireless does change that.

In wired passive mode the Momentum Wireless M2 sounds similar to the original Momentum, but falls short with a somewhat looser bass and more colored/recessed mid-range. On the other hand, the Momentum Wireless does have a bit more emphasis in…

Wired Active

Bluetooth Active

As we go through this you may want to have a look at measurements of the original Sennheiser Momentum; Parrot Zik 2 active and passive; Beats Studio 2 Wireless; and Bose Quiet Comfort 25 active and passive.

Let's first talk about the M2 in wired passive mode, and compare it to the original Momentum. One…

On Friday, three days before the Headphone Slutz group meeting, I received my demo headphones from the Cable Company. The Xs and the 3s they sent are in mint condition, in perfect physical shape. The demo 3s are the newest model with Fazors and the Xs have always been equipped with Fazors. Then I dropped in at Charlie's to borrow his LCD-2s (new models with Fazors) and his Schiit Magni headphone amp, so I could set up all the connections. I use Mogami AES cable exclusively for all analog and digital interconnects in my studio. Mogami cable…

Skullcandy Grind ($59)
I do keep my ear out for Skullcandy headphones. Not because I think they're going to produce an amazing sounding headphone—though it's possible—but because they sell a lot of headphones and I want to know if they're treating all those sk8ers right. With the Grind, I think they sure 'nuf are.

That's not easy to do with a $59 headphone, I mean, how much can you really expect for $59? The answer is "not much". The trick is to know what to deliver, and what not to deliver. If there's genius in these…

Sound Quality
At this price point I'm not looking for a headphone that does a lot of things right, it's more about not doing anything terribly wrong. Cheap cans sonically fail in one of two ways: they're either too far from neutral overall and sound un-natural, or they horribly over-emphasize some spot in the response making them unlistenable—like a bloated bass or a screeching treble. I know that virtually amounts to the same thing, but there does seem to me to be a difference between something that sounds really weird, and something that causes you to wince in pain when listening…

Measurements

Raw frequency response plots show the Grind fairly close to the Harman Target Response. Bass boost is somewhat excessive and bleeds into the mids above 200Hz, which makes for a "thick" sounding mid-range response. Rise to the peak at 3kHz should start slowly much sooner, causing these cans to be a little laid back in the upper mid-range. Peak at 3kHz is a few dB too high, and remains so until about 10kHz where it comes down to an appropriate level. The overall shape of the curve, though close to…