CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Headphone Measurements => Topic started by: Marvey on May 14, 2015, 04:33:58 AM
-
Noontec Hammo S headphone unboxing, subjective impressions, and measurements.
I initially made the stupid mistake of listening to these from a Lenovo headphone out. This was fatal. So I was under the mistaken notion that these headphones did not sound good at first. I didn't know how bad the Lenovo headphone out sounded until I came home and plugged these in to my Theta/Yggy/ECZDs headphone listening rig in my living room. Wow!, these headphones certainly exceeded my expectations.
In short, the Hammo S are pretty darn good for what they are. I believe the MSRP is about $109. Not too sure. The styling takes a lot of cues from the old Monster Beats Studios, which I also happen to own. Nootec gets rid of the internal amp and noise cancelling crap of the Beats, and gives us a straight shot toward the drivers. In other words, The Nootec Hammo will scale with better gear since there is no internal POS amp limiting its potential.
This closed headphone provides a nice dynamic driver sound. The isolation is quite good. I had no issues fitting my ears inside the cups like with other headphones like the Focals. The Hammo's best sonic quality is its midrange rendition. Nice clean mids. The headphone sounds best at low to moderate volumes. If there are things about its performance that I'd have to nitpick (and to make things clear, we always pick on something with any headphone, even $5000 headphones), they would be a touch too much warmth (upper bass) and a bit of tizz and sizzle. Still, in the overall scheme of things, they are not serious issues, considering the low cost of the headphone.
As you can see, the measurements are quite amazing for its price range, and they reflect a lot of how they actually sound. There appears to be some ringing at 4kHz, but the ringing is short lived. I really didn't notice it subjectively; but then again, I've always said that 4k-5kHz ringing doesn't tend to bother me and most other people. TBH, the bump in the upper bass and in the mid treble were more noticeable to me.
-
Tyll's been trying to get people to listen to Noontec's new stuff for a bit now. Good to see that happening! I may have to try a pair of these out. Good price, relatively inoffensive looks.
Not Sound Related Q's: How's the build quality? Would a V-Moda cable fit in it's headphone jack or is it too narrow? Removable pads and pad materials?
I wonder how the GO version of these with ANC sounds.
-
The build is ok. Everything seems solid enough, but I wouldn't feel confident doing a stress test like the V-Modas. There's something in the color/texture of the plastic that makes it feel more low grade though.
The cable jack is reasonably sized. The V-Moda cable fits.
Weight is ok. Feels lighter because it's well distributed.
Pads are removeable, and there's an extra disk of foam underneath. The pad materials feel nice, like a protein leather. Isolation is so-so for me (PM-3 is better).
edit: website says protein cotton
I see screws to open them up, but haven't tried yet. The screw holes almost seems smaller than the screws themselves... and they're slightly offset? Strange.
I do find the cups a little bit on the small side, with my ear bottoming out as well. Not a bad fit, but feels a bit crowded.
initial sound impressions: (I did not look at the graphs above yet)
- closed sound, small stage, but not suffocating
- very warm sound, definitely humps in the mid/upper bass (feels like distortion is higher here), very good low extension (30's)
- I felt some peakiness which reminded me slightly of Beyers (though not as strong)
- feels like overall downward tilt of FR
-
Yeah, the usual nitpick I have with "beats-like" headphone style is their build quality and that I usually look like a dork wearing them. Although I'm a dork kind-of... :p
Measurements look good. I've tried their previous "gen" on-ear headphones and although they didn't do anything special, they weren't offensive. These might fall in that camp.
-
Hmm it is proving exceedingly difficult to get the pads back on...
edit: the lip to slip the pads over is quite tight. I eventually wiggled it back into place, but it wasn't easy.
There's nothing inside the cups. There seems to be some paper covering that leads to a small back chamber. I didn't notice any vents.
The screws holding down the baffle are very soft and strip easily. I've opened and closed it once, and don't think the screws would survive a second attempt. There's a plastic piece over the driver that partially obscures access to the screws, so you have to go in crooked which doesn't help. I tried prying it up but it didn't budge.
-
Yeah, the usual nitpick I have with "beats-like" headphone style is their build quality and that I usually look like a dork wearing them. Although I'm a dork kind-of... :p
Haha, they are supposed to be "fashion" headphones, at least they are marketed that way on the Noontec site. Build quality is on par with Beats Studio (same mechanisms), although the Hammo seems lighter (probably because of no batteries and extra crap.) V-Moda M-80 build is better - they are like milspec, but the Noontec's should survive as long as you don't abuse them. The Hammos are collapsible / fold-able, like in the picture above in the hard plastic case.
I haven't tried taking it apart yet. Anyways, let me know if we should start a loaner list.
-
I had the old Zoro HD which Tyll had in his WoF. For $50 they are very good. Only major problem I had with them were the very small soundstage. The Zoro HD II supposedly improves on the original with a flatter response.
-
I've been thinking of buying away-from-home-for-a-month phones. Tyll's review made me feel that going budget might not be such a bad thing. Nice to Purr1n's review.
Would probably go for the Zoro HD II, although these Hammo S look a lot more comfortable.
-
Thanks for the review and measurements!
I was actually just looking at these headphones -- I might have to pick up a pair now.
-
I was actually just looking at these headphones -- I might have to pick up a pair now.
That's quite a step forward, but still, a lesson in proceeding slowly and cautiously.
:)p7
-
Did you try to use a "normal" source with it?
Like a smarthphone ::)
-
OK. I will try my Sony Z3 phone tonight.
-
Did you try it with your Z3?
-
Hmm it is proving exceedingly difficult to get the pads back on...
edit: the lip to slip the pads over is quite tight. I eventually wiggled it back into place, but it wasn't easy.
There's nothing inside the cups. There seems to be some paper covering that leads to a small back chamber. I didn't notice any vents.
The screws holding down the baffle are very soft and strip easily. I've opened and closed it once, and don't think the screws would survive a second attempt. There's a plastic piece over the driver that partially obscures access to the screws, so you have to go in crooked which doesn't help. I tried prying it up but it didn't budge.
Ha! Pro tip: The lip that holds the pad on is actually a ring around the driver and can be removed. (When you remove it you'll see the screws are fully accessible, the ring hides part of the screw head.) It's a bit scary as it seems to be cheap plastic. I put a relatively thin, flat-blade screw driver into the lip at the top and twist to pop it off its detents. Then you put that piece inside the pad lip before reattaching it to the driver baffle plate, as opposed to trying to get the pad retaining lip into the slot.
I measured it with and without the extra pad over the driver...didn't change much in the measurements.
-
Ha! Pro tip: The lip that holds the pad on is actually a ring around the driver and can be removed. (When you remove it you'll see the screws are fully accessible, the ring hides part of the screw head.) It's a bit scary as it seems to be cheap plastic. I put a relatively thin, flat-blade screw driver into the lip at the top and twist to pop it off its detents. Then you put that piece inside the pad lip before reattaching it to the driver baffle plate, as opposed to trying to get the pad retaining lip into the slot.
Well poopsicles, I feel dumb now.
But geez, that first "pop" when it comes out sounds a lot like cracking plastic.
-
Would probably go for the Zoro HD II
I did. They are waiting for me in London. Hope to post a comment when I get back.
(Hmmm... Headphones 3. And I always said I'd never be one of those guys that owned more than one pair!_
-
Here's a brief comment on the Zoro HD II.
I very much enjoyed the music... and that was listening straight out of a low-cost Asus 7-inch tablet.
The down-side would be that I could hear the fish-tank pump when wearing them. (Yes, I spent the London part of my trip on a living-room sofa-bed).
They are comfortable, but don't grip very tight, and don't afford much in the way of isolation.