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Reviews by sirylj
You win a free pair of glasses if you can read this
Packaging
It's the happiest I've ever been to get a pizza box.
Audio Quality
My only other pair of okay headphones being the Monoprice 8323, these headphones are just amazing. I'm a huge Led head, and every song just sounds so in my face on a whole new level. Each song is incredibly clear and distinct sounding, and I don't have to play the "volume equals quality" game with these headphones. Some where in their advertising for the SR80i, they make a claim that you don't need to crank the knob to get a good sound out of these cans, and it is oh-so true. Many Zeppelin songs have a long fade out, with what was usually a couple extra seconds of silence with my previous headphones. But with these Grado headphones the song gets quieter at the end, but it sure doesn't mean I can't still hear what's going on.
At the end of No Quarter, I'm hearing the last few lines of lyrics I never heard before without changing volume, and the at the beginning of The Ocean I used to always have to crank up the volume a whole lot to hear "We've done four already but now we're steady", but with these headphones the lyrics rang out clearly in my ear without ever hurting 'em.
Comfort
As for the comfort issues that many people mention, it's all personal on how they fit ya, but unless they feel like angels are holding the things against your head while giving you a neck rub, you're bound to hear more about how they're uncomfortable then you are that they are comfortable. I'll throw in my two cents to the side saying they feel just fine. The comfies these things come with are at least one damn thing: COMFY. The headband ain't some giant block of Tempur-Pedic foam and neither are the ear pads, but for the first damn time of listening through all the Zeppelin studio albums in one go, I never felt any fatigue (regarding comfort or hearing) and genuinely felt great after taking them off, rather than relieved to be able to massage my ears like past cans that have either had a bad headband or aren't completely circumaural and end up smashing my ears.
Build quality
The very simplistic design of not having a bunch of useless crap hanging off my head appealed to me very much, but I wasn't sure how durable these would turn out to be because of this. Well, they might be mostly plastic, but they steel feel pretty damn solid. I'm not about to go on the edge with these, but I think they'll be able to survive for a while (or at least through my hands when modding them).
Design
Now as for picking on the design, if it sounds great and feels great, to hell with what they look like. But because that's not the world we live in (Hey! They're not Beats!), let me just say that they are nice looking and very low profile (which I can't say the same for many other cans). Plus, the simplistic nature of their design makes them very modifiable (I'm sure I'm not the only one with a folder full of threads on Grado mods).
Customer Service
No problems here. Paying for Saturday delivery with FedEx might have been one reason
.Overall
I'm not the biggest audiophile out there and I don't have the most respectable references/experiences/glossary, but I know that the money spent on these was well worth it, and my only regret was that I didn't buy them a day before when shipping would have been cheaper.
These are gonna be my favorites for a long time to come.
This is my second version of my review for the Monoprice MHP-839 headphones, after listening to them for a while and going through their customer service a bit. (Insert picture is finally working).
>>Few posts below about background noise on computer
>>A few more down about the PCB inside the headphones getting ruined
I won't describe stuff like bass or highs too much as I wouldn't be giving an accurate review, but I will say that the sound of these headphones is amazing for the $30 I spent on them.
Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin II) sounds great on these headphones (note: I haven't had all that many headphones though, and none over $150), though the bass could be a little heavier compared to what I hear on my computer speakers sometimes.
The second song I really listened to was Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin again, which in case you didn't know is all I listen to), and on my past pair of headphones and other cheap ear-buds the song has never been presented like it was supposed to be (heavy experimentation of stereo). After listening to it with the Monoprice headphones on, every left/right alternation sounded perfect, each roll constant and consistent (I could really track how the sound was moving from one ear to the other, reproduced it much better than past experience), and I had never really heard the song like I just have (gotten used to it now, and I love it).
I'm still moving through about 5 more hours of Zeppelin (up to In Through In Through the Out Door, Coda-onward is left alone), but I can certainly say I love these headphones for the music I listen to, and if you need a pair of cheap headphones, these are a great choice.
*Like to add in that these headphones double very well as alternative speakers (loud and can flip facing up), nice for watching news.
Packaging
Couldn't care if it came in a tissue box.
How they sound
I won't describe stuff like bass or highs too much as I wouldn't be giving an accurate review, but I will say that the sound of these headphones is amazing for the $30 I spent on them.
Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin II) sounds great on these headphones (note: I haven't had all that many headphones though, and none over $150), though the bass could be a little heavier compared to what I hear on my computer speakers sometimes.
The second song I really listened to was Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin again, which in case you didn't know is all I listen to), and on my past pair of headphones and other cheap ear-buds the song has never been presented like it was supposed to be (heavy experimentation of stereo). After listening to it with the Monoprice headphones on, every left/right alternation sounded perfect, each roll constant and consistent (I could really track how the sound was moving from one ear to the other, reproduced it much better than past experience), and I had never really heard the song like I just have (gotten used to it now, and I love it).
Basically, these aren't the best headphones out there (obviously), but they sound great and are very worth the buy.
Comfort
The ear-pads size isn't the best, and your ears can feel a bit cramped if you wear them for long periods of time (I fell asleep with them and felt like my ear was going to be torn in two), but they are still comfortable as long as you leave enough room on the headband (which is adjustable). They don't clamp too hard, but they won't fall off very easily.
A few posts down, TrollDragon recommended getting a replacement headband cushion for extra comfort. It's about $15 total and looks nice (can't vouch for it since I haven't gotten it yet), but it looks like a nice addition to these headphones if they don't feel too great on you.
Quote:
Build Quality
Besides the fact that these headphones are plastic, etc., the issue I had with these headphones was with the detachable cord area. I was getting off of my couch while listening to these a couple of days ago, and the wire got pulled out of the headphones (which seems like a better idea than damaging the headphones). Well, turns out it didn't quite save them. Upon trying to put the cable back in, nothing 'snapped' in, so I got it under a light and saw that the PCB/driver where the cable plugs in was twisted at a 90 degrees angle and destroyed.
HOWEVER, I believe this is completely made up for by Monoprice's customer service.
Customer Service
I went to their website and went on their Live Chat function to talk with someone, and in less than ten quick and courteous minutes I was being sent a replacement pair of headphones for FREE with NO extra S/H fee. They were super helpful and responsive, and just like that they had solved my problems. It's a bummer about what happened to the headphones and that I'll have to wait a few days to get the replacements, but their customer service completely makes up for it. (FYI, my headphones were still in the 30 day policy by quite a lot of time, so I won't vouch for what will happen outside of that time, but I don't doubt that results would be very similar regardless.)
Overall
Just buy them. For the price, there's no reason not too. They sound great, they're okay on comfort, probably more so if you get the replacement headband cushion, and the helpfulness of Monoprice can assure you that your safe for at least a month, and will probably get quality help if needed down the road.
>>Few posts below about background noise on computer
>>A few more down about the PCB inside the headphones getting ruined
I'll update below when image insert works
box
headphones in box
cables (long and short)
unfolded (in hand)
folded up (in hand)
showing how the headphone flips to point out
box
headphones in box
cables (long and short)
unfolded (in hand)
folded up (in hand)
showing how the headphone flips to point out
I won't describe stuff like bass or highs too much as I wouldn't be giving an accurate review, but I will say that the sound of these headphones is amazing for the $30 I spent on them.
Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin II) sounds great on these headphones (note: I haven't had all that many headphones though, and none over $150), though the bass could be a little heavier compared to what I hear on my computer speakers sometimes.
The second song I really listened to was Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin again, which in case you didn't know is all I listen to), and on my past pair of headphones and other cheap ear-buds the song has never been presented like it was supposed to be (heavy experimentation of stereo). After listening to it with the Monoprice headphones on, every left/right alternation sounded perfect, each roll constant and consistent (I could really track how the sound was moving from one ear to the other, reproduced it much better than past experience), and I had never really heard the song like I just have (gotten used to it now, and I love it).
I'm still moving through about 5 more hours of Zeppelin (up to In Through In Through the Out Door, Coda-onward is left alone), but I can certainly say I love these headphones for the music I listen to, and if you need a pair of cheap headphones, these are a great choice.
*Like to add in that these headphones double very well as alternative speakers (loud and can flip facing up), nice for watching news.
