Libratone Too review

 ? WHAT IS THE LIBRATONE TOO

The Libratone Too is a small wireless speaker that belongs to a class where price, portability and sound quality converge. Little "tube" speakers such as this are often great buys.

This model is another strong contender, but one that favours style and a clean sound over the sort of room-filling bass you get with the Bose SoundLink Mini II and others.

Related: Best Bluetooth Speakers

Libratone Too – Design and Features

The Libratone Too is a cute little tube speaker. There are plenty of rivals sporting a similar shape, but few have the sheer charm of this one.

First, there are no hard edges to the Libratone Too. The smooth weaved grille curves into the soft-touch rubberised plastic of the base, with the rubber carry-handle popping out of the end. Nothing looks out of place here, and all its parts are colour-matched.

The controls on the Too’s top have plenty of Libratone special sauce, too. The lightly indented power button all-but blends into the shell and the light-up Libratone logo is actually a smart touch-sensitive panel that lets you control playback with a tap, or alter volume with a circular sweep.

Among small wireless speakers it stands out, but in use I’ve found it a little annoying at times. When you carry the Libratone Too around, it’s far too easy to accidentally knock the touch panel, which will result in pausing your tunes. I’ve done this a lot, more times than I’ve actually used the touchpad deliberately. It doesn't help that's positioned so close to the carrying handle.

Since the Libratone Too uses a relatively hard rubberised underside rather than a full rubber foot, the speaker tends to transmit far more vibration than much of the competition. This means it can actually use the surface it's on to improve the bass; unfortunately, it also results in some unwanted noise if you rest it on the wrong object.

These are niggles rather than big problems, however, and the Libratone Too has both a microphone for calls and a solid battery life of up to 12 hours. It has splash-proofing too – it’s certified to IPX4, meaning it will handle the odd splash but not being submerged in water. Other than the water-resistant grille, it’s the rubber clasp covering the micro-USB charge socket and 3.5mm input that make this possible.

LIBRATONE TOO – SOUND QUALITY

The Libratone Too’s design is largely a success. It’s prettier than the competition, without upping the price or sacrificing many important features. However, sound quality is a little more mixed.

Positives include that the sound is nicely balanced and that it has “360-degree” dispersal. What this really means is that, contrary to what you’d guess, the drivers actually face upwards, the sound then being routed through both sides of the grille.

Most speakers of this type have front-facing drivers. There are two 1.5-inch active drivers and a passive radiator, used in little speakers like this to increase bass power.

This is precisely what the Libratone Too lacks, however: bass. Playing next to the Bose SoundLink Mini II, the Too sounds meek and reserved, without anything like the fun low-end punch of the Bose speaker. It’s a much smaller sound that doesn’t get close to the room-filling capabilities of the best at the size.

On a surface that won’t resonate sympathetically to improve the low-end, the Too sounds like one of the less exciting speakers in this class. For example, the Jam Heavy Metal has more crisp treble, and bass somewhere between the Libratone and the Bose.

In the Libratone Too’s favour is that it's £60 cheaper than the Bose SoundLink Mini II, but alternatives from Creative and Jam Audio aren’t weighed down by the same price difference.

A few years ago the Libratone Too would have seemed like a bit of a revelation. Nowadays, sonically, it’s a middleweight – if one that’s still perfectly satisfying.

The scenarios in which it will flourishe are when you’re not having to deal with a sound “sweet spot”, or you don’t want to disturb people nearby too much with your tunes.

A picnic in the park is native ground for the Libratone Too. Bung it in the centre of your spread and everyone sat around it will be able to hear properly, where with most speakers of this style, one side get a better deal than the other.

 ?SHOULD YOU BUY THE LIBRATONE TOO

The Libratone Too scores better on design than sound quality; it's a sensibly priced and pretty portable speaker, with no glaring feature gaps.

Alternatives tend to sound bigger, bassier and more energetic, so if you’re out to fill your kitchen or living room with music that you’re going to want to dance to, consider the options.

These include Libratone’s own Click speaker, although it suffers from bass that isn't quite as tight and well controlled as some. Other favourites worth a look include the seriously beefy-sounding Bose SoundLink Mini II, the crisp Jam Heavy Metal and the Creative iRoar Go.

None of them quite have the colourful style of the Libratone Too, though – so if a fun, low-maintenance speaker is what you’re after, you’ve found one here.

Denon AH-MM400 review

Denon is no industry lightweight when it comes to headphones, but we've spent very little time covering its recent offerings. These Denon AH-MM400 cans, though, have demanded we sit up and start paying attention again.

Now, your first reaction to seeing that American walnut finish is probably either going to be one of abject horror, or a creeping sense that maybe your ears would look better cocooned in wood.

• Buy Denon AH-MM400 at Amazon for $285.23

Chances are there's little middle ground between the two.

In a world where pretty much only black headphones get bought – outside of the Beats ballpark – it's a fairly brave move for Denon to be flirting with such a divisive look for its high-end headphones.

But it's also indicative of Denon looking to a more mature audience for these more audiophile-friendly cans than the sort of people who hang on Dre's coat-tails with his red, white and blue Beats.

Build quality

Those walnut earcups are connected to a robust, though impressively lightweight, aluminium frame. There's a lot of movement in the chassis, so they can fit comfortably on different shaped skulls, but there's still a very definite feeling of solidity.

The headband isn't the most plush or padded you'll ever wear, but the design is comfortable and still manages to hold onto the head without a fatiguing crush around the ears.

It should be noted, though, that I do have rather diminutive ears, and so I found the circumaural design perfect for me, but if you have larger lobes then you might find the MM400s a little too tight for comfort.

The MM400s come with a detachable cable as standard, and two different versions in the box. You can have the straight audio cable, or one with an inline microphone and controls to plug into your mobile phone.

It's a neat touch, especially coming as standard, and it makes the MM400s a versatile option to fit in with your daily life, as well as for kicking back at home, closing your eyes and really listening to music.

There's also a 6.35mm adapter to jam into your amp at home.

The MM400s don't feel like the sort of headphones that are going to fall apart any time soon. The build quality is truly excellent – which is a good job considering these Denon cans cost $319 (£195).

That's not an entirely unreasonable price tag, but it puts them in direct competition with Sennheiser's Momentum 2.0 headphones.

Aural performance

But the comparison with such a outstanding set is a fair one, considering what Denon has done with the MM400s – and the comparison might even come out slightly in favour the Denons.

The AH-MM400 headphones have an incredibly broad range to their frequency response. With a range of between 10Hz and 40,000Hz there's a great deal of detail to the audio you can get out of them.

The consensus is that the human ear is only really capable of processing sound between 20Hz and 20,000Hz – but that doesn't mean the audio we can hear isn't shaped by sound frequencies we might not be able to discern overtly.

By comparison, the Sennheisers are rocking only a 16Hz-22,000Hz range.

That breadth of frequency response, as well as the proprietary 40mm dynamic drivers Denon has kitted its MM400s out with, gives them a beautifully rich, deep sound. Even listening to sub-CD quality audio on Spotify gives a great, detailed sound.

The clarity at the low end is really impressive. There's no lack of power to the bass, but it's tightly controlled and not overwhelming, and doesn't bleed into or muddy the crispness of the mid-range. It feels natural, not forced, and has a definite warm timbre.

Listening to strings or woodwind through the MM400s sounds glorious – you can really hear the subtle nuances of the physical instruments. And at the other end of the scale they handle vocals with aplomb; there's no harshness to the high-end notes, and that same aural clarity means you can hear all the tonal inflections in an artist's voice.

And even though the MM400's are rocking a wood-clad, closed-back design they still manage to recreate an impressively wide soundstage.

We liked

From the sound to the build to the overall design, the Denon AH-MM400 headphones just ooze quality, like a bottle of Patron Anejo with a dodgy cork.

The audio those 40mm drivers produce is as beautifully controlled as it is deep, natural and warm. The MM400s haven't been tuned specifically to cater to any one facet of music in particular, and sound great no matter what you're playing through them.

And the robust aluminium chassis sits tightly, but never uncomfortably, around your head.

We disliked

This is where things get a mite tricky – finding something we don't actually like about these solidly impressive cans.

The only reservations we'd have would be on a purely aesthetic basis – that walnut finish is only ever going to be divisive. But when you're listening to them, not looking at them, you'll quickly forget any misgivings you might have about how you look.

Verdict

Denon's AH-MM400 headphones really impress. They're not being aimed at any one demographic in terms of musical preference, able as they are to cope with soaring vocals as well as punchy bass.

They do just miss out compared with the more expensive Oppo PM-3 headphones in a straight fight on separation and complete audio detail, but at this rarified end of the audio market the differences are marginal; you'd have to listen hard to discern where the planar magnetic drivers of the Oppos pull ahead of the standard dynamic drivers in the MM400s, but audiophiles will be able to tell.

But that doesn't stop the MM400s from being a lovely pair of headphones, with great, natural sound and a warmth of tone that easily justifies their price.

Sony MDR-ZX770BT review

It's a difficult task to stand out in the headphone market these days. Having a killer feature helps, be it awesome sound performance or wireless capabilities. But value remains the most important item on many listeners' checklists. The more packed into the offering, the better.

Sony enters 2015 guns a-blazing with a new set of wireless over-ear headphones for just $150. (This model isn't currently available in UK or AU regions, though Sony's MDR-ZX770BN, a step-up in specs including noise cancellation, is available in the UK for £129.)

Awkwardly dubbed MDR-ZX770BT, Sony's naming convention lacks grace. But these cans represent a steady focus on fusing value with a boatload of features, impressive sound and battery performance.

Design

Considering that a headphone's design is as important as its sound performance, Sony's MDR-ZX770BT may seem at first like a safe bet. But upon closer inspection, these over-ear headphones are decked out with unique design effects that spice up their stuffy executive vibe.

The MDR-ZX770BT that Sony sent to TechRadar for review is equal parts black and blue, echoing a similar play on colors found in the firm's gaming brand,PlayStation.

The unit's headband is stocked with two flavorful layers of color. On the outside, matte-textured black plastic makes up the sidearms. Reaching toward the top, an all-leather wrap is in place where the headphones make contact with your noggin. Similar to the sidearms, the outer layer of the headband is also black.

On the inner band, the MDR-ZX770BT takes on a sporty splash of blue coloring and design touches. The materials mirror what's outside, but the matte plastic and leather are decked out with a dotted texture that gives off a fun vibe.

Extending the size of the headphones, a blue plastic frame reinforced with a thin layer of brushed aluminum reveals itself. These cans stretch over my head, which is large enough for me to consider this a feat. But what's more, there were adjustments to spare, meaning that those with an even larger head can find a safe place under these headphones.

Moving on to the earcups, the design flourishes continue to impress. Along with shiny branding, the outside of the cups are also speckled with a sparkling plastic coating that looks dashing. Their insides are pumped with cushy padding and coated with a thin layer of leather.

On the left earcup, you'll find the power button, which doubles as a Bluetooth pairing button if you hold it for a few seconds. Nested up against that button is a status LED that flashes in various frequencies and colors. On its bottom, there is a micro USB charging port.

Finally, around its front, there are two features, one being a reset button in case all goes wrong and the other being the mic for picking up your voice. You can tap your phone to this cup to connect via NFC, if your phone supports it.

Switching over to the right earcup, we find the ever-important volume rocker. It's dotted with a protruding finger guide that helps to differentiate the volume increase from decrease with ease.

Next to it is the multi-function button. Moving it side-to-side changes to the next or previous song. Pushing it in acts to pause and resume playback or to pick up a phone call. It's dead simple compared to most wireless headphones, which have you tapping the play button two to three times to skip songs.

Performance

The Sony MDR-ZX770BT rocks a design that makes it easy to get listening in style and, thankfully, the guts packed inside power a generally satisfying experience.

The comfy design allows heads of all sizes to listen all day long without a gripe. Its headband gently presses against the crown and the closed-back earcups create a secure seal that blocks out a decent amount of sound. My ears inside did get a little sweaty during a brisk walk and some household chores, so a small break was required after about an hour of use.

These headphones are capable, at best, of encoding music with the aptX Bluetooth codec. Out of the box, however, they operate at the subpar SBC codec, which is the more compressed option of the two. How you go about adjusting the sound quality is well-hidden, a little too well-hidden. I had to open up the online instruction manual to figure it out.

Even once I "upgraded" the sound quality, the soundstage generally sounded more cramped than over-ear headphones should ideally provide. The sound signature is quite balanced in temperature, which makes them versatile across genres. Adding to the mix, clarity and mids and highs response trump all else. The lows are well represented, but bass presence is lacking.

The battery packed inside the MDR-ZX770BT is a workhorse, easily meeting its advertised seventeen hours of battery life at a moderate volume. During testing, these lasted almost three full days – just over 20 hours – in a work week before needing a charge.

Rounding out the headphones' performance, Bluetooth connectivity and call quality are fine. At the very least, they perform precisely to my satisfaction.

Final verdict

Sure, the Sony MDR-ZX770BT won't win any awards for astounding audio quality. That said, these headphones will receive well-deserved accolades for its stellar battery life, comfort and premium design. Even the smallest details, like the button interface, are thoughtfully implemented.

If sound performance is key, putting down another $50 can get you the superior-sounding Koss BT540i. While I do prefer its bass response, these Sony cans take the cake every other way while costing much less.

Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7 review

Wireless headphones are all the rage, and for good reason. Listening to music wire-free is simply more convenient, as you don't even need to touch your music player to change songs. That said, there will always be a loyal crowd of headphone enthusiasts that refuse to snip the cable. Why? Sound quality.

At its current state, wireless technology can't stream true audiophile-level sound without costing a fortune. Going wired is the cheapest way to get anything close to that level of audio quality, but even that can cost a fortune.

• Buy Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7 at Amazon for $199.99

Until now. With the $250 (£199, AU$349) ATH-MSR7, Audio-Technica is providing wired listeners with a complete, relatively affordable way to take a dip in Hi-Res audio. These over-ear cans don't offer much in the way of features, but the set is such a strong performer that it's minor design flaws are easy to overlook.

Design

Audio-Technica's ATH-MSR7 – I'll just call them the MSR7 from here on out – are quite the flashy take on your everyday over-ear headphones. The earmuff style is still in full effect, but just about every detail that comprises the set is lathered in modern style.

The thick headband is coated on each side with deep tan leatherette. Its insides are stuffed with just enough padding to keep you comfortable during long listens.

The leatherette gives way to some sharp, gunmetal-colored plastic pieces that assist in the adjustment of its brushed steel sidearms. The ease in which Audio-Technica transitions between build materials is seamless. Fully extended, the sidearms can stretch nine notches to make the fit much more accommodating than its default sizing.

Moving down, another solid piece of plastic marks the site of the MSR7's pleasantly flexible earcup hinge. On their outside, two brushed metal pieces with "Right" and "Left" laser-etched onto them show the right way to put these on your head.

These hinges offer smooth gliding action for a generous 90 degrees of movement, which makes resting the cups on your chest during pauses in playback a breeze. However, these headphones don't fold up to be compact.

Harnessing the earcups to the hinges are two wishbone-shaped pieces of plastic, lined on their inside with metallic red detailing. The earcups themselves are pretty big, harnessing 45mm drivers inside, and consist of a mix of plastic and anodized aluminum. The Audio-Technica logo is embossed on their outsides and looks fetching. At least, as far as logo placement is concerned.

Design nerds will love the various shapes, colors and angles Audio-Technica experiments with on these earcups. It's pretty safe to say that they didn't play it safe here. Flipped over, the plush leatherette ear pads are large and well-stocked with padding.

The MSR7 come stocked in a large box that's packed with goodies. First, you'll find a soft leatherette bag to tote them around in. This welcome addition will keep the MSR7 scratch-free for a long time.

Next up, a few different 3.5mm cables you can switch out. The one I used most during testing, as it aligns with my listening habits the most, is the 3.9-foot cable with inline controls. You'll also find two others in the box: a 3.9-foot cable sans inline controls and a larger 9.8-foot cable, in case you enjoy listening from a source that can't be put in your pocket.

Performance

The MSR7 certainly look the part, but where these cans really shine is with its immensely satisfying audio performance. The company put its 45mm "True Motion" drivers inside, and these Hi-Res Audio-pushing drivers excel at everything I throw at them.

I spend a lot of my time listening to music on the subway and other places that aren't too quiet, so I was a little worried that my listening experience with the MSR7 would be spoiled. Thankfully, the closed-back design of the cups, in tandem with the dense leatherette in the earpads, created a quiet environment. Once I turned music on, the sound was focused to my ears, clear of outside noise – an impressive feat for a set of headphones without active noise cancellation.

But they aren't the most comfortable. Comfort is a really subjective topic, but I'm confident that listeners who try out the MSR7 will agree: these earcups make a very tight seal around your ears. The seal creates excellent noise isolation, but two slight problems arise.

First, if it's summer, your ears are going to cook. Next, the headband will give you horrible headphone-hair. You know, that headband-shaped line pressed into your hair? It's a given then that the headband can really press hard on your cranium, but making a sidearm adjustment should fix that problem.

Coming back to the sound, listeners will be treated to balanced audio regardless of genre choice. Driver response is incredibly accurate here, full of attack when needed, but versatile enough to gently deliver calmer songs with equal care.

The soundstage inside these cans is expansive and enthralling. That's something I can say about several sets of headphones, but what sets the MSR7 apart here is that the sound elements don't step on one another. Each rendered sound layer compliments the others, revealing flourishes in songs that I hadn't heard before.

Final verdict

Serious listeners that still have an eye for value should know that the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7, although not cheap, are packed with enough stellar qualities that render the cost almost a non-issue. I'll take a second to knock against Audio-Technica for the lack of inline volume controls, which is a feature that I love seeing in headphones.

Also, the amazing sound quality comes at the very minor expense of a very tight-fitting set of earcups. These gripes aside, I can't recommend the MSR7 enough for music lovers who want an upgrade that looks good, offers strong performance and won't set your wallet on fire

Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro review

Let's cut to the chase: £430 / $600 / (around AU$800) for any pair of headphones is a lot of money for most people. Unless you're deep within audiophile circles, and happy to drop a great deal of your hard-earned cash on the latest amplifier and DAC setup, it's not going to be a purchase you make lightly.

And when you do commit to such a purchase there are going to be certain brands you trust: Sennheiser, Shure, Audio-technica and Beyerdynamic spring to mind. I don't include Beats, as while its headphones may act as a gateway drug for some, drawing them into the silky depths of auditory ecstasy, it's a brand that doesn't hold a candle to the big boys, and with good reason.

Those companies have earned their reputation through thousands of hours spent labouring within the deep dark corners of audio R&D.

The DT 1770 Pros are a step away from what we're used to reviewing. They're a pair of studio-class reference headphones, built from the ground up to operate in the professional recording dens of the world.

Why should you be interested then? Well, simply put, they provide some of, if not the best audio reproduction you can get at this price point. And they have the specs to back it up. Frequency Response? 5Hz-40,000Hz. Impedance? 250 ohms. Transducer type? Beyerdynamic's own Tesla Dynamic tech. Whetted your appetite yet?

Build quality

The overall design of the DT 1770 Pros speaks to that studio pedigree. They're not as classy as, say, the Oppo PM-3s or Denon's AH-MM400s – far from it. It's all about function, about precision, about making sure the sound is as enjoyable, accurate and clean as possible.

The aluminium housing holds the drivers in place, ensuring minimal movement; the adjustable support bars, connecting the two ear cups to the upper headband, are sturdy and secure; the dual-layered memory foam padding lining the top of the leather headband is comfortable yet taut.

Included are two sets of swappable ear cups, velour and leather; although they're troublesome to swap out, it's nice to have the choice. And they provide a phenomenal amount of noise dampening or comfort, depending on your preference. They're big – not huge, but noticeably big. You wouldn't wear them about town, or at the gym, as much as you might want to – but then that's not what they're designed for.

The cable is removable, and Beyerdynamic has included two options here as well, either your standard 3M cord or the more studio-style, coiled wire, both with a gorgeous soft-touch rubber finish, both with detachable (screw-on) 3.5mm to 6.35mm jacks, and both connecting to the headphones themselves via a miniaturised XLR input, to reduce noise and improve stability.

You even get a swanky black carry case to carry everything in.

Auditory perceptions

I tested the DT 1770 Pros thoroughly over the course of two months, alongside a plethora of other headphones from the likes of Oppo, Shure, Sennheiser and Audio-Technica.

I ran all the headphones separately through Denon's respectably-priced DA-300USB DAC while listening to YouTube, Spotify's AAC streams, and 1411Kb/s FLAC files thanks to Tidal, all at 192kHz 24-bit sample rate, with the aim of getting as wide a scope as possible for almost all listening scenarios.

Ultimately, the 1770 Pros impressed the most. The sound profile was exceptional. The range, thanks to that phenomenal frequency response, was expansive, crisp and clear; nothing was missing. The bass was incredibly powerful, yet it remained so without touching the mids at all. The treble was crunchy, vibrant and, thanks to that phenomenal headroom, had its chance to shine.

Neo-orchestral score and classical orchestra shone with these around my ears, and listening to the likes of Rodrigo y Gabriela for acoustic track testing felt akin to having the two gifted guitarists in the room with me – you could hear every nuance as their fingers slid up and down the fretboards.

Metal, rock, pop, punk, synthetic and indie were equally as joyous to listen to, sweet delights to the ears. I sound like a press release, I know; but honestly, given all the other headphones I had in house, there was very little competition to these when it came to soundscape. It was enough to make the soul sing; it left you sitting there, your hairs tingling on end, as if you'd just heard your favourite songs again for the first time.

Ultimately I could speak volumes as to how these headphones made me feel, but it's truly something you ought to experience for yourself.