Sharon, MA–PSB Speakers have revealed the company’s first ever headphone.
The M4U 2 over-ear headphone.
Finished in a high-gloss headband with brushed aluminum ear cups, the M4U 2 is a full-featured, over-the-ear design, incorporating a built-in amplifier and active noise canceling. The PSB M4U 2 is $400 MSRP and will be shipping in January, 2012.
The PSB headphone runs on battery power for up to 60 hours, yet still works in passive mode without batteries or power. Other features of the M4U 2 are a tangle-free cord and gyro-suspended ear pads for comfort. Easy folding for convenient travel and storage, the M4U 2 headphone comes standard with a semi-hard travel case.
The M4U 2 incorporates a built-in amplifier with active noise cancellation. Each ear cup contains a 40mm high-performance driver with a neodymium magnet structure. Voiced for a flat response, the headphones were developed at NRC (The National Research Council of Canada) using the KEMAR dummy head testing system, with the addition of low frequency room gain that one would expect to hear with normal loudspeakers in a room. This is the same room gain compensation transfer function (+3 dB/octave boost from 200Hz down to 50Hz) that was developed in the ATHENA PROJECT at NRC.
A three-position switch allows the listener to use the M4U 2 in three modes:
1) Passively – useful when battery power runs out, the phones are still operational and the listener can still listen to their music (2 AAA batteries).
2) With amplification
3) With amplification and noise canceling. In the noise canceling position, there is up to 18dB of noise cancelation below 1000Hz. This is achieved by using 4 microphones (2 on each ear cup, one inside each ear pad, near the driver and one outside each ear pad).
The M4U 2 was ergonomically designed to be comfortable even when worn for long periods of time. The ear pads are oval to better fit around the ear for comfort as well as provide a good acoustic seal, while its suspension is a flexible gimbal mechanism to further improve comfort and fit.
For additional comfort and ease of use, there are two 1/8 inch input connectors (one on each ear cup) making it easier to connect the cord near the source amplifier. This helps eliminate having the cord cross in front of the listener.
The M4U 2 can be folded for easy storage and transport in a supplied zippered travel case. Included in the package is a cord with a monitor button to listen to the outside world when pushed, useful to momentarily listen to what someone is saying. A second cord is included with a microphone and button for doing hands-free phone calls with a smart phone and to pause the music or advance the music to the previous track or the next track. Also supplied are a 1/4 inch adaptor and a dual 1/8 inch airplane adaptor.
