Monoprice 8320 IEM

I've been a headfi stalker for many, many years, joining when the ER4 and whatever Shure or UE equivalent were just accepted as king, in fact the single most expensive thing I ever bought was with my own money in high school was a pair of brand new ER4P's. With the exception of the custom UE10's, these were basically the most highly regarded IEM or even headphone/earphone, this side of an Orpheus at the time.
 
However this is the first time I've felt compelled to post a review as by and large I think my hearing has deteriorated (I became an attack helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army for several years, the combination of turbine engines are 5.56 just ruined my hearing, and as such I've generally been more attracted to bass centric headphones lately- but, for whatever reason, recently seem to have been regained my high frequency hearing or at least the appreciation of what I have left..
 
So why am I reviewing the Monoprice 8320? Well, they're absolutely terrible, at least without the right fit. I'd read an insane amount on amount on them but still bought them and they'd always sounded terrible to me, the other night my RHA T10i's failed on me again (not a well made headphone despite the looks) and I was left with either my 7506's which I couldn't find, earpods or the monoprices, so I grabbed the monoprices after already having them written them off as being terrible, despite trying 5 or 6 different tip combinations and...suddenly I found one that fit, sillicon earbuds that I think I actually got from jabra bluetooth earphones. 
 
For whatever reason they fit perfectly, even without  playing music playing the isolation was exceptional and this benefitted a very specific type of rock, mainly, low-fi recorded rock, a good example is Interpol, who despite having great music, seem to have initially terrible recordings on their first two albums. The Monoprices' strength seem to be in digging up enough detail and melodic mids to sound good but without being able to resolve the flaws. There's no doubt they sound terrible without the right fit but once you do get it, I honestly think it's one of the most enjoyable rock music IEMs I've ever had for lower-fi recordings..
 
Cheers
Alex

I got some of these based on their crazy-good reputation. Even for the $6 I paid I feel ripped off. Worst pair I can remember. What in the world is everyone talking about? These are so gaudy looking, and feel cheaply put together. I could overlook those things if they sounded like everyone says. But they don't. I can't remember disliking the sound quality of an IEM this much. These are just awful. I feel like I am in a Twlight Zone with these things. Their reputation can't be real. No amount of "breaking in" will fix this garbage. They were six dollars, and sound like one dollar. 

I bought my first set of 8320 two years or more back. They were very flat in the beggining then someone sugested these should be burned in for a few days with white noise. An old cell phone and white noise generator helped break these things in. Man o man what a difference. Made my bose IEM look like dollar store headphones. Sound is a relative thing IMHO just like taste in food. Some like certain foods more or less. I stopped buying other types of IEM's. Simply put these are the most durable IEM's I have ever had, once you perform some choice upgrades they can be awesome.
 
I wore these for more than 2 years daily for at least 3 hours a day. They have never let me down.
 
My suggestions would be as follows.
 
1 - Get some better tips for these.
2 - Get a set of earplugs and cut them short and puch out a hole in them. Put them behind the tips for extra spring.
3 - do not forget to wrap the cable behind your ear to reduce microphoning of the cable. (Helps tremendously)
 
I even designed a 3d printable holder for these so you can store them in style. Here is a link. -> https://www.youmagine.com/designs/monoprice-8320-headphone-holder
 
I Even bought two more pairs to keep as spares as these after 2+ years are looking raged, but they are still 100% functional. If I bought 10 pairs I could have a lifetime supply of these. 
 
-Bruno