CE Pro December 2022 - 58

CE Products
FIELD TEST | EDITOR'S PICK | NEW PRODUCTS
Updated PSB Headphones
Offer All-in-One Excellence
By Andrew Nichols
THE WIRELESS noise-cancellation
headphones market
has absolutely exploded in
recent years, with more reputable
companies throwing
their hats into the ring than
ever before. While this is
undoubtedly a good thing
for consumers, it can cause
confusion for integrators and
AV showroom owners who
can only reasonably stock a
few pairs of headphones.
Is there a Goldilocks solution
out there that provides
both excellent sound quality
and highly capable noise
cancellation? It's a tall task,
but longtime audio manufacturer
PSB's latest update to
its M4U 8 MKII makes the
Lenbrook brand's headphones
a worthy candidate.
Features & Setup
Inside the box, customers will
find the M4U8 MKII in matte
black, alongside a very sturdy
faux-leather carrying case
that keeps everything packed
up conveniently for use while
traveling. Within that carrying
case is a USB-A to USB-C
charging cable, a quarter-inch
adapter, an airplane adapter,
and a 3.5mm headphone
cable for wired listening.
The MKII version of the
headphones carries an
58 | CE Pro December 2022
MSRP of $399, meaning the
product is directly competing
with similar offers from
brands like Sony, Apple
and Bose.
Setup could not be easier,
as all users need to do is
download the PSB Speakers
App (available on Android
and iOS), turn on Bluetooth
on their preferred device,
and flick on the headphone's
power button. I was able
to connect cleanly on a
Samsung smartphone, Apple
iPad, M1 Macbook Air, and a
custom-built gaming PC.
The most notable feature
of the PSB M4U 8 MKII is
the inclusion of Audiodo
Personal Sound, which is designed
to mold the listening
experience to the hearing
capabilities of the headphone
wearer. In essence,
the software is meant to
compensate for hearing loss
The PSB M4U 8 MKII headphones feature quality construction,
great performance and solid active-noise cancellation
for the $399 cost.
or hearing differences by
testing the wearer's ability to
hear both low- and high-frequency
beeps and then
tuning the sound output of
the headphones to match
the person's profile.
PSB's easy-to-use PSB
The packaging of the PSB
M4U 8 MKII is wellappointed
and ready for
travel.
Speakers App allows users
to run the Audiodo Personal
Sound function, as well as
customize the listening experience
via standby timers
and volume adjustments.
The headphones also
include a full array of
active-noise cancellation
(ANC) microphones designed
to cut out background
noise and allow for
an uninterrupted listening
experience. These mics are
spaced evenly around both
the left and right earcups
and need to remain unobstructed
to work properly.
Beyond PSB's inclusion
of ANC and some novel
software, the M4KU 8 MKII's
sport a beefy battery capable
of 25 hours of wireless playback
with noise cancellation
turned off, as well as a USB
Type C connection and a
physical 3.5mm headphone
jack that can be used while
charging.
Like many of its competitors,
PSB has opted to
futureproof the product by
including aptX HD Bluetooth
support, so users with certain
phones from brands like
Asus, Motorola, and LG may
be able to take advantage of
this option. Overall, standard
Bluetooth connections happen
smoothly and without
the need to constantly fiddle
with buttons on the side of
the earcup.
Performance &
Conclusions
It's hard not to be impressed
with the package PSB has
put together with the MKII
version of these headphones.
The M4U 8 MKII models are
built with quality materials
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CE Pro December 2022

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