INTRODUCTION

   When people hear the word headphones their mind immediately thinks of well-known and established manufacturers such as Sennheiser, AKG, B&W, JBL and Koss. This is of course the natural response any person would have (especially since at first we too would think of those names) but that certainly doesn't mean that these manufacturers are the only ones capable of releasing high quality products with very good or even excellent audio reproduction. As a matter of fact the best headphones I've used to date were manufactured by Ultrasone a name which although very familiar to audiophiles around the world it's not as popular as the ones we mentioned. Noontec may not aspire to design and manufacture the best headphones money can buy but they do offer models with very good audio reproduction at extremely affordable prices and the brand new Zoro II HD Fashion Hi-Fi Headphones aim to take things a step further.

   Noontec is founded on his commitment to bring all end-users fabulous personal experiences and feelings with his own consumer electronics featured by elegance, fashion and high quality, Noontec now is presenting fashion Hi-Fi headphones, HD media players, Android TV BOX and Apple accessories; Most of them with honorable Design Awards, are well received and have gained a highly reputation all over the world. Embracing the idea of continually bringing superb personal experiences & feelings to the end-users, noontec has been strictly observing the international standards to elaborate every individual product. Hence, noontec branded products have internationalized developing management, fashionable design conception and globalized sales channels.

   Roughly one year ago we tested the Zoro HD headphones which at the end of the day performed extremely well for their price although they did lack good bass levels something which we did pass along to Noontec. Well it seems that Noontec paid attention to our input (and that of others no doubt) since the brand new Zoro HD II headphones aim to fix that by using their latest Votrik HD400 40mm dynamic stereo drivers (feature a frequency responce of 13Hz-26KHz with 32Ohm impedance and 104dB sensitivity) which thanks to an different design, higher quality components (always compared to those used in the original Zoro HD headphones) and extended tuning can produce higher clarity bass-rich audio. Noontec has also used a different design with the Zoro II HD so although the headphones are still foldable, feature a nice shiny piano coating and the frame is made out of aluminum the end result looks even better (slightly larger however). Audio quality is our primary concern however so lets check the latest Zoro II HD headphones out and see how they do.  

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Noontec ships the Zoro II HD inside a white box with a two large product picture at the front and rear right above the company logo and the main product features.

The front of the box opens up to reveal part of the headphones through a small plastic window on one side and a picture of the headphones on the other side used to showcase its main features.

As you can see the bundle includes the Zoro II HD headphones, a soft carrying cloth pouch, 3.5mm flat cable and the instruction manual.

THE ZORO II HD

The Zoro HD II headphones feature a foldable design which allows them to take much less space when stored.

Overall the Zoro HD II is not much larger compared to the original Zoro HD and weigh just 164g. The most notable design difference between the original Zoro HD and the Zoro II HD is the angle of both earcups which follows the shape of the human ear.

Once again we used the Jabra REVO Wireless headset as a counterpart in terms of size.

Noontec has placed their logo on the exterior of both earcups.

The model name is placed right at the two joints found above both earcups.

At the base of the left earcup we find the 3.5mm port.

As usual left and right markings are placed on the interior right beneath the two joints.

For the earpads Noontec has used protein cotton which i have to say is quite comfortable.

The headband extends up to 21mm on each side via 8 increments.

There are no visible increments on the exterior of the metal frame but Noontec has placed them on the interior.

Typically the company logo is printed on the exterior of the headband.

The flat cable is 1.2 meters long and features a high-sensitivity microphone and an easy to use answer/end call button.

On both ends of the flat cable we find gold plated 3.5mm plugs.

CONCLUSION

   The very first thing i did when i finished taking pictures of the Zoro II HD headphones was to go in our small warehouse and search for the original Zoro HD headphones which i did find after a while. After that i just had to sit down and listen to several of my favorite tunes with both headsets in order to spot the differences. Now i did recall that the Zoro HD headphones did a poor job in the bass department so the difference between them and the new Zoro II HD headphones was obvious right from the moment i pressed play on my MP3/MP4 player. As a matter of fact if you didn't know how small the Zoro II HD headphones are then you'd probably think you're using something a lot larger. However that's the really large difference between these two headphones since in terms of mids and highs they seemed to be exchanging blows so although the original Zoro HD headphones didn't match the new Zoro II HD headphones in mids it was the exact opposite in highs (although here the difference is really tiny). Overall however yes i have to agree with Noontec that the Zoro II HD headphones are a step up compared to their predecessor in both audio quality, bass levels and of course shape since they sit a lot better on your head and ears. Finally the in-line microphone could be better but for the most part it worked ok, besides we've yet to encounter a perfect in-line microphone.

   As i type these lines you can find the Zoro II HD Fashion Hi-Fi Headphones for USD99.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 79Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which we all feel is right on the spot for such a product. Unfortunately availability is not very good at the moment in all 4 colors since blue is the one you can find easier but we expect this to change sooner rather than later. Long story short Noontec has once again launched a very good product and although it can't compare with headphones that cost many times its price still it offers a very good bang for the buck and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Steel Reinforced Hinges / TPE Cable)
- Design
- Accurate And Crisp Mids/Highs
- Bass Levels
- Comfortable (Just 164g / Protein Breathable Earpads)
- In-line Microphone
- Carrying Pouch Included
- Foldable Design (Less Space Required)
- Gold Plated Connectors
- Available In 4 Colors

CONS

- Color Availability