Monolith Over Ear Planar Magnetic Headphones - With 106mm Driver, 50 Ohm, 10 Watt Maximum Power Handling, Open Back Design, Comfort Ear Pads For Studio/Professional, Black/Wood

I bought these at the end of January 2018 and they are the revised version with the 2.5mm connectors instead of the MMCX. I've tried a number of planar headphones, Audeze LCD3, Opportunity PM-3, AudioQuest Nighthawk, HifiMan HE560 and never kept any of them. I think that I have never found a set that had the sound I liked at a price commensurate to their quality and which I would want to spend time with rather than with my Sennheiser HD800S headphones. When I came across the 1060s at under $300 I couldn't pass up the chance to try them out.For the money, they are beautifully made and presented. Out of the box they didn't sound bad, but have certainly benefited from a 60 hour burn in. Now I have to say that they are just a very musical set of phones, warm and easy to listen to. I have compared them to the HD800S running from a Schiit Jotununheim and not surprisingly they don't compare in soundstage, clarity, high end accuracy, but at the price that isn't what I am looking for. The real use for me is as a set of phones to casually listen to music from my Fiio X7 Mkii, and for this they are great. They are comfortable, a bit on the heavy side, but not to the point where I noticed it. The pads creaked a bit when first used, but have settled down and are plush and provide a good comfortable seal. I have no complaints about the cabling which is really thin, but seems solid enough and not microphonic. With the new 2.5mm at the headphone end and 3.5mm for the player connection, this is an easy cable to replace if you do have any problems.As far as the sound quality goes, they have a reasonably wide sound stage, but with not much front to back depth. Bass is slightly accentuated and top end rolls off a bit. I've seen reviews complaining about a peak at 5KHz and other problems, but I don't notice it, and for me these are NOT a pair of reference headphones, they are something to listen to music with and for me they have a pleasing musical sound, not harsh, not super sharp, but not too muddy either. A sound you can just sit back and enjoy, maybe not with a "wow" but with a long term smile. (Amazingly some people who don't notice the 5KHz problem have been asking for advice as to how to search for it so that they can be disturbed by it, weird!).They are pretty easy to drive, certainly from the X7 AM3 stock amp module. I did buy a balanced cable on Amazon and tried that output on the X7 to the M1060s. Impossible to do an A/B comparison but my impression was that the balanced gave slightly more open highs, but slightly detracted from the bass and didn't help the warmth so have sent that cable back and happily gone back to the supplied SE cable.In conclusion I am keeping the M1060s for relaxed listening. When I want to listen more seriously I'll still use my HD800Ss or my Shure SE846s for the Fiio X7 Mkii. The fact the I can listen happily to the M1060s when I am used to the sound from TOTL headphones and IEMs, speaks volumes to the quality of the M1060s and for the price a total bargain.

I purchased these based on the seemingly endless praise they receive on headphone forums and critics' reviews. Evidently, Monoprice has continuously improved these based on customer feedback (build-quality specifically was claimed a sour-point on the first run--they've worked to improve this and my example is flawless). I believe this itself deserves special mention. A company that genuinely listens to its customers is a company worth supporting.Regarding the headphones themselves: it is common for people to compare these to $700+ headphones. As I don't believe in paying that much for a pair of headphones, I can't say whether or not it is reasonable. I will say this, though: if THIS is what $700+ headphones sound like, some people are too willing to be ripped off. These are not exceptional-sounding headphones, even at their price-range. These units are FAIRLY priced (at around $275). It's a good (not amazing) sound for the money. I can't accept paying any more, however. By my count, nothing that most reviewers praised are truly exemplary. Clarity is average-to-"good," sound-stage is good but not the best for the money; and people love to claim that planar headphones are amazing for bass... I've heard two planar models including this and I have not yet found that to be the case. Bass is light. Not much in the way of impact. Definition is good, but again, not exceptional. I have yet to realize a benefit here over conventional dynamic drivers.I A/B/C'd these with two of my most-used/favorite headphones of my collection: Grado RS2e's (MSRP ~$500) and Koss Pro4s's (MSRP ~$149). The Koss headphones impress with their abundant-but-still-high-quality low-end and otherwise flat response. The Grados, in typical Grado fashion, impress with their shimmering and incredibly-detailed highs. The Monoprice headphones offer neither of those: they lack the beautiful, endless, impactful low-end of the Koss, but they also lack the wonderful, shimmering highs and bodaciously intimate mids of the Grados. Therefore, I simply don't have a good reason to want to listen to them. They're not especially engaging.One other thing that I found is that, particularly compared to the Grados, these almost exhibit a sound like listening through a tube. There is some resonant quality that I can't quite put my finger on that is absent in most other open-back headphones that I've heard. It's not unbearable (and your ears quickly adjust to it).. but it was always noticeable after listening to the two other headsets I used for comparison.Don't get me wrong. These are good-sounding headphones. But manage your expectations. They're appropriately-priced, but these aren't the end-all that so many reviewers seem to promise.Regarding other aspects of the headphones, here are a few points:-They are only just sensitive to be powered by mobile devices. They'll barely reach loud-enough levels for some people to enjoy them on normal smartphones.-These are large headphones. They're not discrete in the least bit. You'll acknowledge this right when you see the box in which they arrive! They're somewhat heavy. Not to the point of ever causing me fatigue; but if you lay down, you may find that they want to slip off your ears.- Comfort is great. The pads surround large ears with ease and the deep cutouts ensure that your ears won't touch the grills. Temporal pressure is just right and the headband does a nice job distributing weight up top. These headphones will comfortably accommodate large noggins like my own.- Air-flow is quite good for leather/leatherette, enabling longer listening sessions (though admittedly I haven't worn these for more than an hour at a time).- Build quality is great. These have a robust feeling, materials are attractive and impressive. Cabling, while not as thick as you'd probably like to see on a higher-end headphone, still feels of good quality and is of no concern to me longevity-wise. Nice connectors at both ends.Note: Most of my impressions were formed using the devices I use most: a smartphone (Moto Z), a laptop (Alienware 15R3), and a Surface Pro 4. I did audition with higher-powered sources including an SMSL AD18 and a midrange Yamaha home-theater receiver to better-but-still-not-ground-breaking results; but because it is very rare that I use headphones in these ways, I did not form my opinions based on these situations. My personal requirements for headphones are that they work well with a variety of sources. Also, I in no circumstances (as it pertains to headphones) use EQ adjustments or post-processing. Another popular claim is that planar headphones respond particularly well to EQ; this too (that they're any better than dynamic drivers) I hold a skepticism for--but either way, it's irrelevant to my preferences so I did not explore this claim.Also, while I don't personally have a stance on whether or not burn-in is a tangible phenomenon, I've listened straight out of the box as well as after letting them play at moderate volume for 48+ hours. I enjoyed them more after the "burn in," but acknowledge the possibility of placebo. I mention this to quell the notion that mine simply weren't "broken in." I gave them a chance.Ultimately, I ended up thinking this: if I'm going to spend $200+ headphones for home/portable (non-studio) use, it's probably better if they offer something special whether it be bass (Koss), treble (Grado), noise-cancellation (Bose), etc. These planar headphones simply don't sound special enough for me to add them to my long-term rotation. They're definitely not BAD headphones. It's just that you can find more exciting sound for the money.Quality: 90Sound: 80Comfort: 90Value: 85(It should go without saying that these are all subjective matters. Some people are bound to disagree, and I fully respect that. These are merely my impressions based on my experiences and preferences. Always remember to form your own.)