Monoprice headphones

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krizrox
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Monoprice headphones

Post by krizrox » Thu Nov 15, 2012 8:35 am

Thought I would take moment to respond to the review of the Monoprice headphones in your latest edition. I was intrigued by the glowing review so I ordered a pair of the headphones to evaluate for my studio. I'm always on the lookout for good quality, reasonably priced, tracking phones.

I was impressed by the build quality right out of the box but within seconds of listening to music through them, I came to the conclusion that these were the worst sounding headphones I've ever heard in my entire life. The midrange sounded awful. Smeared and weird. I immediately A-B'd them against all the phones I had in my studio including a cheap-ass pair of Sennheiser HD-202's just to confirm what I was hearing. Even the HD-202's sounded better and they are about the same price as the Monoprice phone. These Monoprice phones cost around $30 including shipping so I was't expecting a lot. But based on the review I expected better quality.

One last gripe: there is another annoying problem. There is a really bad amount of mechanical noise coming from the extension cable (which is detachable via 1/8" plug on the left earphone). Any slight movement sends rustling noise straight up the cable and right into the left earphone. I couldn't stand to wear these phones for more than a minute or so because of that. I wouldn't even use these for casual iPod listening. Save your money.
Larry Kriz
LnL Recording
Elgin, IL
www.LnLrecording.com

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Gregg Juke
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Post by Gregg Juke » Thu Nov 15, 2012 4:22 pm

I went to the site and noticed that they have tens (maybe hundreds?) of pairs of phones; is it possible that the TO review phones and krizrox' pair are two different models????

GJ

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Post by jhharvest » Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:19 pm

Thomann sells headphones from a Taiwanese company called Superlux. These are basically copies of well known 'phones and they perform pretty much as well as you'd expect. I ordered several pairs for our edit suites and ENG operators. No one complained.

llmonty
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Post by llmonty » Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:28 am

i bought 2 pair and I really like them. Been getting to know them with casual listening and some tracking. ymmv
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Studiodawg
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Post by Studiodawg » Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:51 pm

I bought two pair and some extension cables and 3.5mm to 1/4" adapters. The adapters kind of suck. The headphone extension cables do their job. The headphones are fine for ~$23 each. I'd buy from Monoprice again, but can't say I'm very excited about the adapters, but at <$1 each you get what you pay for.

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Post by Bro Shark » Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:21 pm

Off topic but I've bought a ton of cables from Monoprice - HDMI, various audio cable configurations, optical. I felt they were all really high quality, and super affordable too.

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Brett Siler
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Post by Brett Siler » Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:03 pm

I bought the model that was reviewed in Tape Op and they definitely sound better than my Sennheiser HD202's. Maybe you bought a different model or received a faulty one.

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Post by rodreb » Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:13 am

I bought 2 sets of the ones reviewed in Tape Op for tracking. So far, all the musicians that have tried them love them. Gonna have to get some more because nobody I record wants to use my AKGs anymore, they all want the Monoprice ones.
ROD

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krizrox
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Post by krizrox » Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:40 am

As a follow up to my original post - I went ahead and put the headphones into combat and ran about a half dozen sessions with them. Just to get client feedback. Mostly they were used by either drummers (during tracking with a band) or lead vocalists doing vocal overdubs in various styles. To date no one complained about the sound quality. I asked if they were happy with the phones and they all responded favorably.

Enough time had passed where I decided to reevaluate the phones but my original statements still apply. They're not for me. At all. The midrange sounds really unfocused to me. I consider them useless for mixing. I wouldn't even use them for general purpose iPod/laptop listening. It's possible I received a defective set but I kinda doubt it.

Having said that, I guess I have no real problem using them for general purpose client tracking. In that regard, perhaps they're perfect. Cheap, and seemingly rugged enough to withstand the wear & tear associated with a recording session. I haven't used them enough to gauge longevity but compared to my more favored set of Audio Technica ATH-M40's, I predict the Monoprice phones might outlive the AT's. The problem I have with the AT phones is twofold: 1) the vinyl material they use for the earpads is paper thin and easily torn or degraded in a short while and 2) the headband assemblies are constantly going bad (the litz wires inside the band becomes intermittent). These parts are easily ordered and replaced but I seem to replace them quite often. I'm sure I've more than paid for the price of a few Monophones in replacement parts.

So I guess the bottom line is I would (and prob might) consider buying more of them for daily client tracking use. The company in general seems to offer a lot of interesting products at reasonable prices. I would do business with them again if I found something I needed from them. My phones were shipped quickly and came boxed well. Cheers and best wishes to all. Thanks for responding!

PS - just to confirm - the item I ordered and received is listed as product number 8323 Premium Hi-Fi DJ Style over-the-ear pro headphone. I believe this is the same model as reviewed in the magazine but if you believe that is incorrect, please let me know.

PSS: sorry a couple of final comments - isolation with these phones was excellent - no bleed from the phones into the vocal mic (or at least it was on-par with my other more expensive phones). Also I noted that the phones tended to "stay put" better than my favored AT's - especially nice for head banging drummers who need a tighter-gripping set of phones.
Larry Kriz
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Gregg Juke
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Post by Gregg Juke » Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:18 pm

Yeah, tracking phones, or even general purpose/non-critical, I'm not too concerned as long as (to me) they don't outright suck. Build quality is definitely an important feature, and so is price per unit for us indie guys.

I use the Sennheiser HD 201's for basic tracking phones (and sometimes for other tasks like checking mixes after going through all the speakers and the Sony 7506's). My associate used to use the HD 202's for talent tracking, but have you seen these things? Ridiculously uncomfortable design, that might fit somebody snuggly if their head was actually in the shape of a large pointy egg.

GJ

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Post by kslight » Fri Feb 27, 2015 6:24 am

I just got a pair of these yesterday, for clients/travel/general recording with my Tascam 388.

For starters, I will say the fact that it came with two detachable cables (one shorter) is nice especially for clients. I made the mistake of letting a client use my (15x more expensive) Ultrasones in the vocal booth because the studio headphones where we were tracking bled into the mic too much. Somehow he managed to bust off the 1/8" molded connector...and these don't have a detachable cord...so I just clipped it off and put a 1/4" on there...coupled with the fact that they are over ten years old and starting to fall apart anyway...

Sound wise I wouldn't mix with them, but I think they sound better than any Rat shack headphones and other similar priced units I have owned. Good enough for client use.

Comfort wise I did find them somewhat uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Too much pressure/not enough cushion. However, I did notice they started selling replacement pads that were supposed to be improved for like $6ish...so I bought some of those too...I didn't install them yet to say if they are any better. Again though, still more comfortable than others I've used in this price range.

Monoprice is slowly winning me over I think...everything I've bought so far seems to be a good value...especially cords. Definitely better than rat shack stuff... Also a good place to be cheap batteries and coin cells. I'm still not sold on the idea of their mics (a bit reluctant to spend $350 on a monoprice microphone!)...but I would consider less expensive ones if I had a need for sure.

My favorite purchases from them so far is a pretty serious otter box style iPhone case and a couple of the clip on transducer pickups that are like $3. While they do sound honky and their response varies widely depending on their position, I find myself putting this on my junk acoustic when I need a really shitty or abstract sound, or for running my acoustics through pedals..

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Post by JWL » Fri Feb 27, 2015 9:44 am

I got a set of these a while ago and I was kind blown away by the value for the money. I have the closed back design so they are great for tracking (vocals, etc) since they don't bleed nearly as much. These cans remind me a lot of the Sennheiser HD280s, in appearance and sound. Not quite as good sounding but a fraction of the cost.

I also have a set of inexpensive presonus open back headphones that sound really good for the money. I don't use them as much for tracking because they bleed more, but I've definitely mixed with them. Often I'll get most of a mix done with headphones and then finish things up on speakers and make sure it's all right.

kslight
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Post by kslight » Sat Feb 28, 2015 2:46 pm

FYI I installed the new pads for my headphones and it they are quite a bit more comfortable, easily worth the asking price. It is a slight pain in the ass to replace them, but not rocket science.

krizrox
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Post by krizrox » Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:02 am

It's been a while. Thought I would chime in again. I double checked the model number against the original review and it's the same headphones. Also checked the Monoprice website. I see they have many model headphones but there are only a couple that one might use for studio/client use. The 8323 models are currently selling for $16.

I still have the original headphones but took them out of studio service a long time ago. The reason for removing them from service was the detachable cable kept being pulled out by clients. It was a continual annoyance. I really detest those detachable extension cables with those little 1/8" plugs. My main go-to phone for client tracking is still the Audio Technica M40fs (discontinued but I have some spares and spare parts).
Larry Kriz
LnL Recording
Elgin, IL
www.LnLrecording.com

krizrox
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Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:04 pm
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Post by krizrox » Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:02 am

It's been a while. Thought I would chime in again. I double checked the model number against the original review and it's the same headphones. Also checked the Monoprice website. I see they have many model headphones but there are only a couple that one might use for studio/client use. The 8323 models are currently selling for $16.

I still have the original headphones but took them out of studio service a long time ago. The reason for removing them from service was the detachable cable kept being pulled out by clients. It was a continual annoyance. I really detest those detachable extension cables with those little 1/8" plugs. My main go-to phone for client tracking is still the Audio Technica M40fs (discontinued but I have some spares and spare parts).
Larry Kriz
LnL Recording
Elgin, IL
www.LnLrecording.com

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