First impressions...
Build quality is decent. They dont look or feel cheap at all and the are really nicely finished. Id prefer a matte finish on the wood vs that 80's high gloss luxury car interior look but whatever.
They look much better in person than the picture on Monoprice. No L/R indicator on the cable but I know my music well so it was a 2 second fix to mark it after swapping sides. pretty silly oversight. Light and feel pretty good on the head but the droop a little and need to be lifter higher every now and then.. The headband is spring steel so it does not want to bend much to add some clamping power (first headphone I've ever had that needed MORE clamp!). Earpads are cozy and after a few hours the cans are still pretty easy to wear. The pads are magnetic and hold nicely. The headphones smell like new Nikes. The guts are all plastic (see my teardown photos a few posts up) and you can start to see the inside is where the cost savings came from.
On to the sound...
Well...unimpressive. The first time I tried planars (t50rp) I was taken a bit back at the sound. Although it was not the sound I like I could appreciate the speed and articulation. I was looking forward to a similar or better experience with these but was kinda disappointed with what I heard.
Bass - not punchy at all and distorts easily. Subdued but they definitely go low.
Mids - buried and unexciting. Id say muddy. they EQ pretty good though.
Highs - Im a Grado fan so they don't seem so bright to me
a bit harsh for sure.
Headspace/Soundstage - Pretty spacious with the caps off and I have no problem pinpointing instruments.
Details - oddly this is the first headphone I have listened to that I do NOT hear new details I have never noticed in familiar songs. In fact Im having some trouble locating little details Im used to hearing (this is improving with time).
Isolation - With the wood caps on these are pretty silent to others in the room. With the caps off not as loud as my Grados.
Amps- these things hate amps! tried 3 and the sound is bloated and dull, I Plug them directly into my Mac or phone and they sound much better and the soundstage opens up.
Caps - Take them off and leave them off! Not terrible but I'll only use them when I really need to. (Note to monoprice: the case should have a pouch for the caps!)
Update after 2 hours -- This is such an odd headphone. Some songs sound so good and others sound horrible. Im going to run my burnin over the weekend and see what happens.