I couldn’t find a PSB MU4-1 headphone review here so I thought I’d add this for anyone considering them.
I needed a new pair of phones. I haven’t had a really good pair of full size headphones in some time.
I had some Sennheiser 414’s back in the 70’s, prior to that some white Pioneer’s with volume controls on each ear cup that crackled when you turned them up and down. Most recently I was given a pair of Bose Tri-ports which I sold shortly thereafter and have held off buying replacements. After comparing several headphones at my local HiFi shop I purchased PSB MU4-1’s, I’m really happy with them, they sound outstanding.
Comparisons made at the retail location:
AKG 701’s – smoother highs than the Grado 80’s, and a very comfortable fit, but the lows were not as strong as the PSB’s.
Klipsch Reference One, M40’s, & Image One’s – I had high hopes with the Klipsch phones, considering I have 5 pr of their speakers. But they had muddy lows and non existent highs
Grado SR80i – very comfortable, I really wanted to like these sonically more than I did. I found harsh highs in some instances, and not much bass.
Grado 125i – a moderate bump over the 80’s but not enough.
Grado 225i – smoother highs, but still not enough lows.
Sennheiser HD439 & HD449 – I liked both of these but the bass was more defined in the PSB’s. Build quality of the PSB’s seemed more rugged as well.
The PSB’s are on the heavy side, you won’t forget you have them on, and they do cover the ear so they are isolating, which may not be good for some. They are tight fitting but comfortable, a padded headband, the ear pads have some movement so they can adjust to your head. They fold for travel, but don’t swivel like a DJ might want.
Sonically, they are spectacular to my ears. The lows are crisp, tight, you feel the lows, but there is no exaggeration of the lows, they aren’t muddy, like some phones smear the lows into a singular blah that they pass off as a representation of bass. Bose tri-ports come to mind as I write this.
Highs are smooth, crisp, not crashy or irritable after an extended time listening to them. More than anything the PSB’s provide natural sonic representation of every note. They aren’t exaggerated, they aren’t boosted in any way, nor muffled. They’re true to the sound.
I know the Grado 80’s are about $100, and the PSB’s were $260 on sale, so yea they aren’t an apples to apples comparison. For my purposes, I narrowed it down to the Grado 80’s vs. the PSB’s. Save some coin and enjoy the light fit of the Grado’s I thought.
I listened to a number of lossless recordings I had brought with me, there was clearly a difference in sound between the Grado 80i and the MU4-1’s, but it wasn’t until I pulled a recording of Chicago’s first album (when they were Chicago Transit Authority) and listened to “I’m a Man”. Those that know it, it starts with a heavy bass line with just the slightest cymbal keeping time in the background, drums come in, a wood block followed by 37 seconds into the song the tambourines come in, which is smooth as silk with the PSB’s, and oh so irritating with the Grado 80’s. While wearing the Grado’s it made me reach for the volume knob to turn it down. The PSB’s, every single instrument is clearly identifiable. There’s a discernible clarity difference in every song I listed to on headphones. The Chicago recording sealed it for me.
I switched to Blue Mountain “Epitaph”, an acoustic guitar driven piece. The guitar sounded absolutely lifelike, you could hear his fingers sliding on the strings. Something else I noticed I’ve never heard before on that piece it what sounds like a metronome in the background keeping time. Chris Squire’s “Lucky Seven” sounded outstanding, tonally very different than Epitaph, but no less a lifelike representation of each instrument. To my ears, I haven’t found a weak spot in any of the songs I’ve sampled with them so far.
Drawbacks? None so far, but no headphone is perfect. These are heavier than any of the other phones I compared them to. They also make a pretty good seal around your ear, so I suspect they could be warm to wear for any extended period of time in the summer. We’ll see on both counts. When it came down to it, sound reproduction triumphed over my concerns of them being too heavy.
The MU4-1’s come in black, white, and dark red. Come with two headphone cords, one has a iPhone inline control/microphone, the other does not. The cord can be plugged into the headphones on either the right or left side. The one thing that seem out of place is the head phone cords, it’s nice they included the in line control and mic , but neither seems exceptionally heavy duty. Both function fine, but personal preference, I’d like to see a cloth covered cord included which would be more in line with the rest of the build quality.
Also comes with a semi hard case, and an extra set of ear pads. If you’re in the market for new headphones, I highly recommend you give them a listen before buying.
I needed a new pair of phones. I haven’t had a really good pair of full size headphones in some time.
I had some Sennheiser 414’s back in the 70’s, prior to that some white Pioneer’s with volume controls on each ear cup that crackled when you turned them up and down. Most recently I was given a pair of Bose Tri-ports which I sold shortly thereafter and have held off buying replacements. After comparing several headphones at my local HiFi shop I purchased PSB MU4-1’s, I’m really happy with them, they sound outstanding.
Comparisons made at the retail location:
AKG 701’s – smoother highs than the Grado 80’s, and a very comfortable fit, but the lows were not as strong as the PSB’s.
Klipsch Reference One, M40’s, & Image One’s – I had high hopes with the Klipsch phones, considering I have 5 pr of their speakers. But they had muddy lows and non existent highs
Grado SR80i – very comfortable, I really wanted to like these sonically more than I did. I found harsh highs in some instances, and not much bass.
Grado 125i – a moderate bump over the 80’s but not enough.
Grado 225i – smoother highs, but still not enough lows.
Sennheiser HD439 & HD449 – I liked both of these but the bass was more defined in the PSB’s. Build quality of the PSB’s seemed more rugged as well.
The PSB’s are on the heavy side, you won’t forget you have them on, and they do cover the ear so they are isolating, which may not be good for some. They are tight fitting but comfortable, a padded headband, the ear pads have some movement so they can adjust to your head. They fold for travel, but don’t swivel like a DJ might want.
Sonically, they are spectacular to my ears. The lows are crisp, tight, you feel the lows, but there is no exaggeration of the lows, they aren’t muddy, like some phones smear the lows into a singular blah that they pass off as a representation of bass. Bose tri-ports come to mind as I write this.
Highs are smooth, crisp, not crashy or irritable after an extended time listening to them. More than anything the PSB’s provide natural sonic representation of every note. They aren’t exaggerated, they aren’t boosted in any way, nor muffled. They’re true to the sound.
I know the Grado 80’s are about $100, and the PSB’s were $260 on sale, so yea they aren’t an apples to apples comparison. For my purposes, I narrowed it down to the Grado 80’s vs. the PSB’s. Save some coin and enjoy the light fit of the Grado’s I thought.
I listened to a number of lossless recordings I had brought with me, there was clearly a difference in sound between the Grado 80i and the MU4-1’s, but it wasn’t until I pulled a recording of Chicago’s first album (when they were Chicago Transit Authority) and listened to “I’m a Man”. Those that know it, it starts with a heavy bass line with just the slightest cymbal keeping time in the background, drums come in, a wood block followed by 37 seconds into the song the tambourines come in, which is smooth as silk with the PSB’s, and oh so irritating with the Grado 80’s. While wearing the Grado’s it made me reach for the volume knob to turn it down. The PSB’s, every single instrument is clearly identifiable. There’s a discernible clarity difference in every song I listed to on headphones. The Chicago recording sealed it for me.
I switched to Blue Mountain “Epitaph”, an acoustic guitar driven piece. The guitar sounded absolutely lifelike, you could hear his fingers sliding on the strings. Something else I noticed I’ve never heard before on that piece it what sounds like a metronome in the background keeping time. Chris Squire’s “Lucky Seven” sounded outstanding, tonally very different than Epitaph, but no less a lifelike representation of each instrument. To my ears, I haven’t found a weak spot in any of the songs I’ve sampled with them so far.
Drawbacks? None so far, but no headphone is perfect. These are heavier than any of the other phones I compared them to. They also make a pretty good seal around your ear, so I suspect they could be warm to wear for any extended period of time in the summer. We’ll see on both counts. When it came down to it, sound reproduction triumphed over my concerns of them being too heavy.
The MU4-1’s come in black, white, and dark red. Come with two headphone cords, one has a iPhone inline control/microphone, the other does not. The cord can be plugged into the headphones on either the right or left side. The one thing that seem out of place is the head phone cords, it’s nice they included the in line control and mic , but neither seems exceptionally heavy duty. Both function fine, but personal preference, I’d like to see a cloth covered cord included which would be more in line with the rest of the build quality.
Also comes with a semi hard case, and an extra set of ear pads. If you’re in the market for new headphones, I highly recommend you give them a listen before buying.
