[Cruelhand Luke]

It means he couldn't piggyback on zeos' review for once since he doesn't have an opinion. We'll get a review from him when someone else reviews it first.

Wipe your lip pal, you got a little Haterade on you.

 

[trellus]

It means he couldn't piggyback on zeos' review for once since he doesn't have an opinion. We'll get a review from him when someone else reviews it first.

DMS and Zeos are pals but DMS definitely does NOT just parrot Zeos’ reviews - in fact; while Zeos has raved often about the Philips SHP9500, if I remember correctly, that’s a headphone that did not impress DMS at all and DMS has a pretty rough review of those he posted.

 

[stimuz]

pictures of the insides of the amp and headphones posted elsewhere.
Amp circuit wise is an exact copy of the stax srm-001. Better power supply, much bigger usb chargeable battery.
amplifier gain is way low, need 3 to 4 volts to make the headphones loud enough. Amp says made in Taiwan on the circuit board.
when you make a 5 pin din to stax plug, the headphones work fine on any stax amp. Hard to tell whether they are made by
kingsound or not, definitely do not sound the same as the kingsound. If they would sell the headphones alone with a stax plug
on them, they would probably be worth $499.

You have a pair? I haven't been able to find any information other than the teardown of it on that stax forum.

 

[Allanmarcus]

You have a pair? I haven't been able to find any information other than the teardown of it on that stax forum.

Yes, he does

Oh, and something worth reading. Spritzer's take.

https://www.head-case.org/forums/topic/13480-monoprice-monolith-electostatic-headphones/

 

[timb5881]

In case anybody is interested, Monoprice has these on sale for $399

 

[Lulumatthew]

Now it's $350, quite interested to give it a go

 

[timb5881]

FYI Monoprice has these on sale for $349!

 

[timb5881]

Now it's $350, quite interested to give it a go

It went up to $629, and back down again to $350
I have thoughts about getting one but then again

 

[Crowow]

Pulled the trigger when it was over $600, just to hear what electrostatic sounds like. At first time listening to Monolith stats, I wasn't blown away or convinced it'd be the greatest thing I'll hear.

One problem I notice is that the portable amp that comes with it doesn't have a volume control and clips when I use line out from a DAC. Maybe not a problem if you're using a mobile device that doesn't have too much power. Another option would be to use another amp or software to lower the volume. But I just feel limited because after a certain level, audio starts clipping.

Quick notes on how sound goes, maybe it's my personal preference, but I find the bass really_really lacking and sounding overall thin to me--bass alone makes it less enjoyable for me. Soundstage sounds fine, but I'm not convinced. I can tell sounds coming from here and there, but not so much for depth. Maybe I'm asking for too much! But yeah Monolith stats sound forward; at times sounds are too close to my face. Treble is very nice without revealing too much or fatiguing.

The pads are leather with soft foam inside and very comfortable to wear. After wearing for long time, my ears get sweaty, not sure if leather is doing a good job or because it was summer or because the cups are not very open and cutting airflow.

Build quality seems okay. My pair actually has a part fall off suddenly one day. The part is secured with screws, but the inside where screws are held somehow broke into pieces and can't be secured with screws anymore. Maybe the screws were too tight? I contacted Monoprice if I could get only the part that broke but didn't get a reply so I just strapped with a velcro and doesn't come off now. Nothing big deal.



In any case, I'm not very impressed overall, except highs and comfort, for over $600. At current price at $350 (October 2019), I'm still not sure if it's worth it even for people who'd enjoy its sound.

Now that I have STAX SR-L700MK2 and SRM-353X (which blew me and my bank account away), I'm curious if there's an adapter for Monolith's 5-pin DIN to STAX plugs and see if the sound will improve. . . .

 

[timb5881]

Now down to $299 new, or if you prefer $499 for an open box

 

[timb5881]

Found one some what local to me that is for sale at $250, I might offer $200 and if they accept, I would buy them.

 

[timb5881]

The guy who has these near me still has them and I offered $100, and he said yes. At that price I am willing to gamble on them. I know spritzer made a cable to use them with stax pro bias amps, and I have a normal bias srd-7 and I am going to try that route. After I try them for a while I will postbox my thoughts on them.

 

[timb5881]

First impressions:
Excellent case, rugged and has a carrying handle.
The headphone cable seems well built
Nice clamping force, not to strong and not to weak.
Build quality over all fair, better than the Koss ESP-950's I have seem on par with the with my HD6XX
Music
These have not been broken in, the previous owner may not have even used them beyond a test drive.
Highs are a bit recessed, but what is there is fast and detailed.
Mids seem very good
bass can be heard down to 40 hz bass drum and bass guitar can be heard as different instruments.

I can drive them to a decent level with my Xduoo X10 set to high gain, more than I expected at first.

For what I paid for them, not bad. I will give an update after they have some more hours on them.

 

[SugizoYoshikiX]

First impressions:
Excellent case, rugged and has a carrying handle.
The headphone cable seems well built
Nice clamping force, not to strong and not to weak.
Build quality over all fair, better than the Koss ESP-950's I have seem on par with the with my HD6XX
Music
These have not been broken in, the previous owner may not have even used them beyond a test drive.
Highs are a bit recessed, but what is there is fast and detailed.
Mids seem very good
bass can be heard down to 40 hz bass drum and bass guitar can be heard as different instruments.

I can drive them to a decent level with my Xduoo X10 set to high gain, more than I expected at first.

For what I paid for them, not bad. I will give an update after they have some more hours on them.

How would you say the monoprice electrostatic headphone + portable amp compare with the koss esp-950 (drop version without battery pack) + the koss amp sound wise (in terms of bass, soundstage, etc?) and clipping? Monoprice worth it for the portability? (at least I can bring it to another room easier without looking for a plug).

 

[GirgleMirt]

For what I paid for them, not bad.

Thanks for letting us know that these $629.99 headphones are not bad for a pair of 100$ headphones!

How would you say the monoprice electrostatic headphone + portable amp compare with

Like dude... Your question doesn't even make any sense. I bet you only want him to tell you how bad they are. But he won't, because he's a nice guy. Why do you think he commented on case huh? Because he was trying to find positive things to say! Now you put him in a bad spot by asking him to comment more on the headphone performance. Like dude, that is not cool.