MartinLogan Mikros 90 Review

MartinLogan is best known for making electrostatic speakers, but have lately started to expand their catalog with other types of products. The Mikros headphones series is one of those additions.

The Mikros 90 makes a strong first impression, which indicates that MartinLogan does not want to be just another headphone manufacturer. The idea was apparently to create a sophisticated product on the same level as their speakers. This is also evident in the packaging of the Mikros 90 as they come in a nice gift box - a hard case with high quality print and capital letters in silver.

In the box you find a stylish carrying case with a visible relief forming the characteristic MartinLogan logo. The case is hard, so it will fully protect the headphones from any possible physical damage. Besides the headphones, the package include a piece of paper with instructions, a cable and 1/4-inch adapter. The cable is about 4 feet long, and on it is a control device with three buttons for managing phone calls or music.

Mikros 90 are certified for iOS devices, but MartinLogan does not guarantee that the keys will function properly with all phone models. We tested the headphones with a selection of different phones from different manufacturers and in some cases only the middle button (pause) would work. This is however quite a common phenomenon caused by the wide range of Android phones.

Some of the details, like the thin rings on the earcups and the section where you adjust the headband, is nickel-plated. The headband can be extended about an inch, which should be enough for most heads. MartinLogan informs us that the ear pads can be changed, and that the headphones provide good noise insulation and reduction up to 92 percent.

The first time you put the headphones on you may be a bit surprised as the Mikros 90's provide a very strong and firm pressure, which is almost entirely directed to the ears, and not so much on the top of the head. This may at first seem to be very uncomfortable, but this is not the case. The high pressure more or less forces the headphones to stay in place no matter how much you move your head and it requires some serious headbanging for them to slip off. The pressure does take some getting used to and we realize that some people (those with a large head) may find them too uncomfortable.

The built-in driver is 35 millimeters, and the ear cups can be rotated about 90 degrees, allowing them to be flattened. The headphones are lightweight and will not bother you unless you a find the higher pressure on the ears a problem. This is however a problem with most on-ear headphones, and the sound reproduction is affected very much depending on how the ear cups are placed on the ears.

The bass is quite powerful, with a nice body, weight and control, but you´ll never have to worry about the bass being too overpowering, as is often the case with many modern headphones. The midrange is natural and detailed, although it could benefit from a little more warmth. The treble is very clean, and we must say that it is very fast and dynamic, and handling transients excellently - much like MartinLogan's electrostatic speakers.

If you like to listen to acoustic music or 'snappy' percussive songs, the Mikros 90 will surely make you happy. We also listened to more 'aggressive' music to see if the headphones would cause any problems with added harshness or distortion, and fortunately it never happened - unless the 'noise' was already present on the recording. MartinLogan have certainly made these headphones sound balanced, and we believe they put in as much effort in the Mikros 90's as they have in their electrostatic speakers.

The Mikros 90 squeezes the most out of its relatively modest dimensions, and is in some areas approaching the quality of even more expensive headphones. Sound insulation is at a very impressive level, although we prefer an active system, like the one in the Bose QuietComfort 25, if you want to reduce noise.