I purchased the Diamond Tears directly from Monster about 3 years ago as my now soon to be wife’s first birthday present we had together. Like most women she absolutely loved jewelry, everything about it. So much so she wants to be a gemologist. So when I got the funds to purchase these I knew they’d make the perfect gift. These beauties all but guaranteed someone coming up and asking about them and saying how beautiful they were and they they’ve never seen anything like them. From first impressions the collaboration between Monster and JYP Entertainment is that wow, these headphone really do make you stand out and draw attention like the commercial implies, hot dang.
I'm a 25 year old firefighter currently for the U.S. Army North Carolina National Guard. I was formerly a civilian firefighter in Kentucky with the Millard Fire Department before I enlisted and moved to my current location in Charlotte, North Carolina. My current goal is to begin my career again in the civilian fire service, and yes, I am the cliché of wanting to do that since as far as I can remember.
My interests/hobbies are powerlifting, fishing and relaxing to audio products and reviewing them to help other decide on what products would work for them. On that note over the years I've really came to an understanding of what it is I like and look for in audio products.
What I look for is a relaxing, warm and sensual sound that just drifts me away in the emotional experience of the music being performed. Yes, accuracy is still important but I will happily sacrifice that if I'm presented with a clean, warm sound that can wisp me away into an experience that makes me yearn for more.
My ideal signature are that of respectably forward mids and upper bass range with the bass being controlled but with some slight decay. I like my treble to have great extension and detail reveal but I don't like artificial treble in order to achieve that. Examples of products that have given me chills and keep giving me the yearning for more feels are the Bowers & Wilkins P7, Oppo PM-1/2, Empire Ears Hermes VI, Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Headphones 99 Classics & Stax SR009.
My interests/hobbies are powerlifting, fishing and relaxing to audio products and reviewing them to help other decide on what products would work for them. On that note over the years I've really came to an understanding of what it is I like and look for in audio products.
What I look for is a relaxing, warm and sensual sound that just drifts me away in the emotional experience of the music being performed. Yes, accuracy is still important but I will happily sacrifice that if I'm presented with a clean, warm sound that can wisp me away into an experience that makes me yearn for more.
My ideal signature are that of respectably forward mids and upper bass range with the bass being controlled but with some slight decay. I like my treble to have great extension and detail reveal but I don't like artificial treble in order to achieve that. Examples of products that have given me chills and keep giving me the yearning for more feels are the Bowers & Wilkins P7, Oppo PM-1/2, Empire Ears Hermes VI, Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Headphones 99 Classics & Stax SR009.
I am by no means sponsored by this company or any of its affiliates. I purchased this product with my own money and am making no monetary compensation for this review.
The Opening Experience
The closest I believe us as adults can get to a kid opening a present at Christmas. I also see this as the manufactures reaching out their hands to greet and introduce themselves. Now granted, it may be due to my upbringing for some people tell me they really don't care. But if I’m greeted by anything other than a firm, confident handshake, the individual will have to try a bit harder to earn my respect.
I relate that to the initial experience of opening a product because think about this, how often do we as consumers get the opportunity to be able to meet a manufacturer's representative? Not often right? So the best way a brand can introduce themselves is by presenting their product in such a manner that I get more and more excited about seeing just what this company’s all about.
So how does the Monster Diamond Tears (now referred to as the Monster Diamondz) present themselves? Better than almost any headphone I’ve ever opened, regardless of price. The Diamond Tears theme is high fashion jewelry and this continues throughout the entire process. Starting with the box, it’s shaped in a way similar to a designer necklace and even opens up on a hinge 90 degrees too. On that note, it’s when you open it it when the magic really begins. For when the box is opened, the headphones lift up bout 30 or so degrees (or whatever the angle is that jewelry is positioned in an expensive showroom). And I really hope my photos do this justice ‘cause, honestly I’m blown away by the presentation and thought that went into this. To this day I’ve ever experienced a similar presentations as something so simple as the headphone lifting up. It’s been more than 3 years since Christina opened this (IT WASN’T EVEN ME OPENING IT AND I’M LIKE THIS) and I still remember the level of excitement watching as the Diamond Tears were opened.
But wait, Monster’s not even finished yet. Lifting the headphones away and underneaths you’re presented with 2 boxes. The first contains 3 cables (Apple, Android [one button], and straight line) that are almost as stunning as the headphones. The second contains something I can’t remember any other company providing, but contains a cleaning solution (Monster branded of course) and 2 cleaning cloths (one silk like and the other being a microfiber [also Monster branded]) so that you can keep the beautiful sheen that these headphones have. Then lastly you’re given the carrying case that is made of a really nice velvet like material on the outside and silk like on the inside. But the case is also shaped like that of a pouch that raw diamonds are held in.
I really hope I conveyed my sense of excitement and of being overly impressed. Monster and JYP truly out did themselves and did an amazing job designing the Diamond Tears. Oh, on a quick ending note, I forgot to add earlier that the sand that the headphones sie on is also made from the same velour like material that you’d see in high end jewelry stores.
Construction
The build quality of the Diamond Tears, in terms of structural durability, are what I would expect from a mainstream company in this price point. It’s mostly consisting of plastic eith the only aluminum I’m seeing being on the hinge and interior frame. The headband, I will say I’ve never seen before. There’s no padding per say but is surrounded in a silicon casing (that I’ll discuss again in the next section). The supra aural padding is made from materials I’d expect to find on, how should I put this, entry level products. The cable now is very sturdy and hardly has any microphonics whatsoever.
Aesthetically speaking, these are breathtaking (if I haven’t conveyed that already). The padding of the ear cups and headband are a beautiful snowy white that meshes into a transparent branding at the top of the headband. The backs are where the real fashion comes into play. The shape is that of a teardrop (which is appropriate considering the name) that’s been frozen, capturing all the colors of a rainbow after a tragic storm.
It’s a real shame that no matter how I try and position these or what light I apply, I just can’t seem to get my camera to capture just how beautiful these really are. The reds dancing in exotic ecstasy with the greens and blues whilst the yellows and oranges acts as a setting Californian sun, further highlighting the stunning visual.
This is only highlighted by the translucent cables that are provided and also by the (fake) diamond placed in the center of the back. Monster and JYP yet again did a splendid job in producing a truly high fashion piece to mesh the art world into the audio enthusiasts inventory.
Comfort
Alright, so thus far the Diamond Tears have been excelling very highly in most aspects. But a headphone’s ability to look extravagant will only go so far, you still have to be able to wear them. So how comfortable are these to wear?
All but abysmal unfortunately. The supra aural ear cups, which I’m already not a fan of, are designed to look nice but they don’t cushion on the eas well at all. Add the rather, less than premium, padding inside the cups and overly tight clamping force and you’ve left a headphone that’s pretty to look at but miserable to wear after only 20ish minutes. As in just writing this review while listening to it my ears were ridiculously uncomfortable and pretty much to the point of being painful.
Usually I would be able to disclose some negative here because on my above average ear size but the results are the same for Christina, and her ears are rather small. The only time I know of someone not having an issue with the comfort are those who’ve an incredibly small head. A complement I can say at least is that the silicon headband isn’t near as uncomfortable as I’d thought it would. In fact I didn’t have any issue with it at all.
Sound
The graph attached even says PERCEIVED response. It's not the actually measured response. I added it because it aligned spot on with my own personal impressions.
So far we started on an really high note and has begun to decline. Now we’re at the most important aspect of a headphone, it’s sound quality, or personality. A brief synopsis before I describe the sections individually; The Diamond Tears sound reminds me of an escalating workout pattern you’d select on a treadmill. The treble is notably subdued which REALLY off put me for I was expecting a prominent “V” shape sound curve. The mids are quite impressive but I will also say inconsistent. The bass is bloated with a hard hit but is rather slow.
The soundstage is also interesting. It’s quite narrow from front to back. I say this because pretty much everything sounds like it’s right in front of my face with very very little depth. However, horizontally these perform admirably as I get a respectable sense of space and instrument seperation.
The imaging can be had if you let it. The Diamondz can give you great visuals into the performance if you close your eyes and only focus on the music, however, it by no means will force you into visualizing it. It’s main concern is musical enjoyment and to get the user to bob their head and dance, and to look pretty while doing it.
Treble
Beginning with the highs. The Diamondz aren’t that impressive. I love listening to artists like Lindsey Stirling because pretty much all of her music is really upbeat and full of energy, which is what I love. Though listening through the Diamond Tears, I don’t get any of the excitement that I expect. I only hear her play I don’t experience it.
This may be due to the fact that the treble peaks really early. A prime example of this is in the song “Diva Dance” from the movie The Fifth Element. The vocalist has an amazing yet potentially ear piercing voice that has wonderful emotion present from her silent whispers to her majestic screams but hardly any of that is conveyed by the Tears.
Some positives about the Diamondz treble is that they’re not harsh at all. In fact I found the transitional abilities very impressive and equally smooth. If you’re listening to these headphones as just something to listen to music with (which again is what these are mostly geared towards, audiophilia is not it) you’ll likely find great enjoyment out of them with honestly pretty much any genre of music you prefer to push through them.
Mids
The mids are, as I said in the synopsis, interesting. The mids are recessed or forward but respectfully flat truthfully. What makes them interesting is that they’re inconsistent. Sometimes I’m listening to a song and the artist sounds like they’re whispering while others they sound like they’re right in my face forward, regardless of the artist's gender. And it’s that inconsistency that I couldn’t find solace in these headphones, if you’re one who follows me and/or my reviews you know that the mids are my favorite part to audio. It’s in the mids that the vocals lie, where the emotion is present and the feelings are conveyed. But when a headphone sounds great for some artists but horrible for others, a guessing game is just not something I find interest in, especially at the Diamondz price point.
Bass
The heartbeat of the music. The bass is arguably the most mainstream of the frequency range for it seems everyone wants the thump. Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with Monster, they love the thump (Beats anyone?). Just going from memory, I can’t think of a single model they carry (or carried) that I’ve heard, that isn’t overly bassy.
With the Diamond Tears in particular they possess a really bloated bass to them that’s really fun to listen to. Actually, this analogy just hit me but the Diamondz bass reminds me of that of a two handed warhammer. They have a very impressive attack but in turn sacrifice their speed and recovery. So what I’m trying to reference (and I really thought I was being clever too) is that the Diamond Tears have a nice and deep hit however, it has an exaggerated decay that bleeds into the following notes.
The bass on these fully live up to what the Monster fan base have grown to both love and expect. They’re super fun and punchy and unapologetically sacrifice sonic accuracy and tightness for a bob your head and dance type of sound.
Conclusion
These headphones really are geared towards those who just want to enjoy themselves and look good while doing it. They’re absolutely stunning aesthetically and possess a fun and punchy sound to move your body to the funky penguin beat (Madagascar anyone?). Though these are certainly not for the audiophile world, they most certainly have a place. While wearing these out a many a women comment how beautiful they were and have never seen anything like them.
However, due to the issues with the comfort, I don’t see people wearing them on their heads for any sort of extended period of time. Instead I foresee (or rather do physically see) these being worn as a fashion accessory to stand out from the crowd. Ass the ( I believe) 5 different color options to choose from and you’ve an auditory accessory to put all eyes on you.
Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.
