Review: Exceptionally good headphones
These headphones were sent to me by Noontec for review. Having kept them and used them pretty well daily for a year and a half now, I still think they are excellent. I make no special claim to be an audiophile, but I do listen to a wide variety of music through headphones, usually for several hours a day. I have listened to a great many different headphones and I think these are among the best I have ever heard under £100 - and that includes some dearly loved sets which I have used for years with great pleasure like Bose QC2s, Brainwavz HM5 and HM9 and others. These are up there with the best, possibly now rivalled by Cleer DU.
The sound quality is the critical thing, and it is quite outstanding to my ears. I use a playlist to test audio equipment which goes from 16th-Century choral music to London Grammar and covers most things in between. Pretty well everything sounds as good as I have ever heard it. Clarity and articulation are exceptionally good. The frequency response range on the Hammo S is 5Hz-30kHz, which is beyond the range of normal human hearing at both ends of the spectrum and gives a superb overall sound. It is beautifully balanced with crystal clear treble, wonderful rich middles and a fantastic bass response. They aren't bass-heavy or boomy, but they have a great bass kick when needed, and are incredibly rich and full even at the lowest frequencies. That great, sub-bass resonance in the second half of London Grammar's Hey Now really rolls through these, for example. Theorbo and viola da gamba really test bass response, and both have their full magnificent depth (and they have the sensitivity to allow you to hear the player breathing, too), a string quartet sounds just as though you're sitting among them, every instrument in an orchestra is crystal clear even in pieces like Sibelius's Karelia Suite which can sound horribly muddy if the equipment isn't good enough. Classic rock sounds great, acoustic music has a lovely airy, open sound...and so on. I don't mean to go on, but I really do think these are excellent.
The headphones are stylish, solid and well made, and fold up neatly. They are very comfortable indeed (I've worn them for hours at a stretch without any problem); they're also fully adjustable and provide a good sound-seal. You also get a very nice hard carrying case with a detachable clip, and two 1.2m cables, one plain and one with a microphone and switch for hands-free calls. The cables are a flat ribbon design so they don't tangle and create no friction noise at all.
I am sorry this is such a long review, but I did want to try to do justice to these headphones. I think they are truly excellent and I expect to be using them for a long time to come. Very warmly recommended.
Amazon page HERE
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