Noontec Zoro

[Tyll Hertsens]

Yeah, me neither, never heard of them.

Then some distributor in New Jersey contacts me and says I should hear them.

"They're like the Beats Solo HD but better!"

Yeah right. Using those headphones as a reference sure gets me excited ... not.

Then they show up. Look a LOT like Solos. Sound and measure like pure gold though, baby!

Woot! This is a seriously good headphone.

They're available here at Amazon for $99.

[grawk]

Good good or portapro good?

[Tyll Hertsens]

Better than Porta Pro. As good as the Creative Aurvana Live! , I think. Just got them yesterday.

A really good $100 recco. These are what the Solos should have sounded like.

[Dusty Chalk]

What about AKG (K240MkII or K271MkII or whatever the appropriate corresponding headphone is) or Audio-Technica (ditters)? I know you don't like Sony's (I can still picture you grimacing and saying something to the effect of, "shrill"), so I won't even ask...but MDR-7506/-V6 are still my goto headphone for US$100 range.

[The Monkey]

For some reason, that makes me want to see an innerfidelity review of the best out of production headphones.

[Voltron]

I gotta say that they look like knock-offs and you might want to consider whether writing them up is a good idea...

[grawk]

on the droid vs ipad scale, with 1 being a fish 9 being a droid and 10 being an ipad,

these are 7s to the solo's 10...

[swt61]

I for one always want to hear about a truly good $100.00 headphone. I get so many friends and family members asking for recommendations for great headphones, which translates to "the best headphones not to exceed $100".

Thanks for the tip Tyll. They do look like knock-offs though, but still stylish enough for wanna-be pimpsters.

Maybe a great match for a Fiio amp?

Edited June 30, 2012 by swt61

[Tyll Hertsens]

I gotta say that they look like knock-offs and you might want to consider whether writing them up is a good idea...

You know, I was thinking just that. What's the downside here, Al?

[skullguise]

I'm wondering if any mention of them in a reputable e-mag, especially comparing them favorably to Beats, would cause Monster to wield the mighty legal hammer of injustice.....too much "look and feel" for their liking. Maybe not, considering how many of that ilk are out there, but one never knows....

As much as it would be poetic justice to give props to a company that does style AND sound right, it does also give me puzzling thoughts in general....

But then, it's sold through Amazon, so it has some reputable backing to it on the surface. So I just don't know. I waffle like a campaigning politician!

Edited June 30, 2012 by skullguise

[deepak]

Monster probably doesn't give a crap about this, but if they were to threaten InnerFidelity I assume Stereophile would cut them off from any future advertising or reviews. Basically what happened to Totem when they sued Stereophile over a "bad" review.

[Voltron]

You know, I was thinking just that. What's the downside here, Al?

Monster has asserted many claims of trademark and trade dress infringement over the years and my guess is that Monster would care very much about this product. I'm not suggesting that I see any legal exposure for InnerFidelity by posting a review, it just seems odd to promote what most reviewers seem to identify as a knock-off.

[The Monkey]

agree, although an interesting angle could be to listen to and measure knock-offs to see just how bad (or good) they are. I don't think that would be a well received article for many reasons, mostly understandable. But it would be interesting to know just how much we're paying for branding and R&D.

[Augsburger]

Legal issues for InnerFidelity notwithstanding, I have a number of friends and friends of my son who ask me for "good headphone" recommendations at $100 or less. and like Dinny, I would have a sort of morbid curiosity regarding how well these knock offs measured. I have always felt that for certain items below a specific pricepoint it becomes a commodity pricing decision and lowest price wins.

[Dusty Chalk]

Monster has asserted many claims of trademark and trade dress infringement over the years and my guess is that Monster would care very much about this product. I'm not suggesting that I see any legal exposure for InnerFidelity by posting a review, it just seems odd to promote what most reviewers seem to identify as a knock-off.

Except that this beats Beats.

Also, I forgot about the iGrados. Those sound indecently good for $50.

[Tyll Hertsens]

They got a pretty big dip at 4kHz with a distortion spike there as well, but square wave shapes are good, distortion is low otherwise, good bass extension, good efficiency.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/NoontecZoro.pdf

Yeah, now that Beats and Monster have parted ways one wonders whether they'll be as litigious.

[Voltron]

Forgot about the separation so who knows how the Beats company will approach possible knock-offs. Probably more likely not to care.

[The Monkey]

I agree that Monster is less likely to get aggressive re the Beats. However, I don't think the agreement between the 2 companies ends until the end of 2012, fwiw.

[bhjazz]

I gotta say that they look like knock-offs and you might want to consider whether writing them up is a good idea...

That's not a knock-off it's a Beat-off.

[The Monkey]

Meh, more like OffBeat.

[Spychedelic Whale]

Looks like the audhiphoolic didn't have any problem promoting them http://news.cnet.com/2300-13645_3-10013135-4.html

[Tyll Hertsens]

I told him about them.