Lasmex H120 headphones

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Very good headphones with some limitations

I was sent these headphones for review and I think they are very good. They are well made, they have a distinctive style and very good sound in many types of music.  I think Lasmex C45 headphones are probably the best I've ever heard at under thirty quid, and these perform well at a higher level, too.

The H120 come beautifully boxed and are plainly a quality product. There is a very nice carry-case and two leads; one plain lead and one for connection to phones with a microphone and simple button control.  There is also a decent user manual, although there's no guidance on using the phone controls.  As the instructions seem to be pretty much "Press to receive and press again to hang up" this isn't a big problem.

The headphones are well made. They are quite weighty and have solid metal earcups with a nice style and a very highly polished finish (which does collect finger marks very easily, I find). The padding is very good and I have found them comfortable for several hours use. They grip well and seem to be made to accommodate a pretty large head, which is welcome.  They fold neatly and have a robust feel to them.

Connection is wired only, which suits me just fine and means that the makers' focus has been on sound production.  They have done a good job on this; I test a lot of headphones and these have a fine depth of tone and a very strong, rounded bass. They perhaps lack a little precision in articulation at the top as a result, but the overall sound, especially in modern music is very pleasing. Tops are bright and distinct, middles sound lovely and rich and the bass is strong and very deep. 

I have listened to a lot of music through these headphones, including my Test Tracks list, which gives all aspects of the sound a thorough trial. It starts with 16th Century choral music and ends with London Grammar.  I found rock and modern music in general sounded great: punchy, clear and with a real bass kick – and the really deep bass in tracks like London Grammar's Hey Now or Never Ending Circles by Churches comes over really well.  Acoustic music is pretty good and has a fair amount of space and air in it.  Classical didn’t do so well, though.  The very dominant bass can sound a bit boomy in the lower strings (really noticeable in the Karelia Suite, for example) and chamber music is clearer but can sound a bit unbalanced with an overbearing cello.

Whether these headphones will suit you will depend on your listening.  For wider listening, and especially classical, they may be a bit bass-heavy.  For more balanced sound in a similar price range I prefer Cleer DU (which I think are outstanding), Brainwavz HM5 or Noontec Hammo 2.  Sound is a very personal thing, though, and there's no doubt that these are very good headphones.  I have given them four stars because of their performance on some of my preferred music, but if you want headphones for modern music and like a good kick in the bass, I think you'll find Lasmex H120 excellent.