[dstarr3]

If you ARE going to get them, do it now, because I think the sale ends Labor Day.

Are they on sale? Where at? Monoprice's own website shows $600

 

[Chastity]

Are they on sale? Where at? Monoprice's own website shows $600

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392836505489?epid=4039481117&hash=item5b76e15f91:g:wOwAAOSwxllhGJeN Monoprice Store Front

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Monopric...nd-Removable-Earpads-Low-Distortion/858604908 another Monoprice Store front

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

If you ARE going to get them, do it now, because I think the sale ends Labor Day.

Why am I laughing so much at this photo , but I do absolutely agree with it. People saying the Sundara is the best Planar at around 300-400 ... how about the Monolith M1570 on sale..... sorry Sundara. Sorry to crush your dreams

 

[Kate Ang]

If you ARE going to get them, do it now, because I think the sale ends Labor Day.

The price is already back to $599. Next sale probably black friday?

Edit: oh just saw the ebay link

 

[Chastity]

Why am I laughing so much at this photo , but I do absolutely agree with it. People saying the Sundara is the best Planar at around 300-400 ... how about the Monolith M1570 on sale..... sorry Sundara. Sorry to crush your dreams

It stems from my disgust of r/headphones and r/HeadphoneAdvice. There, the sweetheart models are Sennheiser HD-6xx models, because according to the zealots, ONLY the HD-6xx models can offer you lush, intimate vocals, AND NOTHING ELSE. And when you offer up something, like say the M1570, that can do the same, but be better at it, downvote city! And somehow the Sundara is the darling recommended when someone wants the best performing planar for the price. Sure, if you like an airy, somewhat cold, and laid-back sounding headphone whose cups will eventually peel off their mounts. feh!

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

It stems from my disgust of r/headphones and r/HeadphoneAdvice. There, the sweetheart models are Sennheiser HD-6xx models, because according to the zealots, ONLY the HD-6xx models can offer you lush, intimate vocals, AND NOTHING ELSE. And when you offer up something, like say the M1570, that can do the same, but be better at it, downvote city! And somehow the Sundara is the darling recommended when someone wants the best performing planar for the price. Sure, if you like an airy, somewhat cold, and laid-back sounding headphone whose cups will eventually peel off their mounts. feh!

Personaly for me, the Sundara are decent, I much prefer the Avantone Planar over them. There was a time when I wanted clarity, heaps of detail and a bit more treble. But then I realised, this sound does not sound realistic at all..... It sounds fake, shrill and boring. Where is the emotion, where is the grunt WHERE IS THE REALISM. Go listen to a band live, what do you feel? Grunt. You can feel the drums thumping on your chest, you can feel the guitars swinging and reverbing in the room. A proper live set up should be clear but also powerful. The Sundara and HD-6XX aren't any of that for me. While they are good headphones, they sound far from realistic to me. The M1570 is much much much more closer to realism. And certainly much closer to realism than headphones way above their price range. After collecting and letting go of so many headphones and also my sound engineering days. I realised, musicality for me personally, is the key to a great headphone. But if that headphone can also have great technicalities, that is a keeper for sure. I sold my LCD-X, Focal Clears and many other headphones because of this. While they were great, they really lacked that realistic sound I craved. That realistic sound of truly being live. Expample. The Senn HD800/800s. They have a grand soundstage. But they sound bland, cold and anemic to me. Where the hell is the low end. Where is the impact of the drums. This does not sound realistic at all. They sound more like studio/mastering headphones rather than proper headphones for musical enjoyment. Yes they are hyper clear and hyper detail.... But at a live performance, do you hear all that insane amounts of detail. No. So from my experience, what I heard with my short time with the M1570, it was very very special. Very realistic indeed. Guitars had bite, drums had omphh and vocals had emotion. Just like a true live performance. Now getting that sound for a great price but also getting the technicalities of a headphone costing far more. It's hard to say no.

 

[Kate Ang]

Personaly for me, the Sundara are decent, I much prefer the Avantone Planar over them. There was a time when I wanted clarity, heaps of detail and a bit more treble. But then I realised, this sound does not sound realistic at all..... It sounds fake, shrill and boring. Where is the emotion, where is the grunt WHERE IS THE REALISM. Go listen to a band live, what do you feel? Grunt. You can feel the drums thumping on your chest, you can feel the guitars swinging and reverbing in the room. A proper live set up should be clear but also powerful. The Sundara and HD-6XX aren't any of that for me. While they are good headphones, they sound far from realistic to me. The M1570 is much much much more closer to realism. And certainly much closer to realism than headphones way above their price range. After collecting and letting go of so many headphones and also my sound engineering days. I realised, musicality for me personally, is the key to a great headphone. But if that headphone can also have great technicalities, that is a keeper for sure. I sold my LCD-X, Focal Clears and many other headphones because of this. While they were great, they really lacked that realistic sound I craved. That realistic sound of truly being live. Expample. The Senn HD800/800s. They have a grand soundstage. But they sound bland, cold and anemic to me. Where the hell is the low end. Where is the impact of the drums. This does not sound realistic at all. They sound more like studio/mastering headphones rather than proper headphones for musical enjoyment. Yes they are hyper clear and hyper detail.... But at a live performance, do you hear all that insane amounts of detail. No. So from my experience, what I heard with my short time with the M1570, it was very very special. Very realistic indeed. Guitars had bite, drums had omphh and vocals had emotion. Just like a true live performance. Now getting that sound for a great price but also getting the technicalities of a headphone costing far more. It's hard to say no.

I do agree with you, I like more texture in my music too, the timbre to each instrument and emotion to the vocals. Reading what you said about M1570 got me even more interested in them.

Just food for thought, a live performance often will dial up the bass to get the crowd hyped. We can't hear all the details due to limitation of the mics and speakers in the venue. I do love attending concerts, but do I want my tracks to all be on the bassier side or miss out some details that I get from studio recordings? Not necessarily. So it's really down to library and personal preference!

But yes great sharing of your opinion on M1570, it has gotten me really interested in them now! Something to complement my other headphones. Out of all the headphones I own, he6se v2 gives me the best balance between details and realistic sound!

 

[DTgill]

It's probably been asked already, but how do these cans stack up against the Ananda? Too lazy to search.

Not sure I like the balanced cabling.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

I do agree with you, I like more texture in my music too, the timbre to each instrument and emotion to the vocals. Reading what you said about M1570 got me even more interested in them.

Just food for thought, a live performance often will dial up the bass to get the crowd hyped. We can't hear all the details due to limitation of the mics and speakers in the venue. I do love attending concerts, but do I want my tracks to all be on the bassier side or miss out some details that I get from studio recordings? Not necessarily. So it's really down to library and personal preference!

But yes great sharing of your opinion on M1570, it has gotten me really interested in them now! Something to complement my other headphones. Out of all the headphones I own, he6se v2 gives me the best balance between details and realistic sound!

Haha thats why I said, if that headphone can also have great technicalities. It's a keeper. The M1570 is musical yet very very technical. It doesn't shove the detail into your face. But does have heaps of detail. From my short listen, it certainly sounded more detailed than an LCD-2 and on par with a LCD-X or maybe even better. Yet, to my ear it was more musical than the LCD-X and much more enjoyable to listen. Where do you find a combo like that? Musical yet very technical? If there is one headphone, it is the Meze Empyrean. I'm not saying the M1570 sounds like a Meze Empyrean, but it has very similar characteristics. Reminds me alot of it. The only reason why I personally said no to the Meze Empyrean was it's price. And while very musicaly enjoyable, yes I loved listening to it, I just felt the technicalities for the price could have been better. But I mean, "For the price". Over here in Australia it costs $5000 Aud. So I'd expect a damn good amount of detail. But I honestly felt detail wise, it wasn't giving me $5000 worth, but yes musicality and build were amazing. But now that I found the M1570, it is no Meze Empyrean, build is far from it. But the sound, oh the sweet sound. It's as enjoyable as a Meze Empyrean, it has that same musicality but for the price I wished for, if not even better.

 

[dstarr3]

Ah, hell, I pulled the trigger and bought one. I look forward to getting my first planar headphone and listening to the technology for the first time.

Does it come with a balanced cable, or do I need to get one, and if so, which one? I know there's the weird XLR pinout controversy on this headphone.

 

[Kate Ang]

Haha thats why I said, if that headphone can also have great technicalities. It's a keeper. The M1570 is musical yet very very technical. It doesn't shove the detail into your face. But does have heaps of detail. From my short listen, it certainly sounded more detailed than an LCD-2 and on par with a LCD-X or maybe even better. Yet, to my ear it was more musical than the LCD-X and much more enjoyable to listen. Where do you find a combo like that? Musical yet very technical? If there is one headphone, it is the Meze Empyrean. I'm not saying the M1570 sounds like a Meze Empyrean, but it has very similar characteristics. Reminds me alot of it. The only reason why I personally said no to the Meze Empyrean was it's price. And while very musicaly enjoyable, yes I loved listening to it, I just felt the technicalities for the price could have been better. But I mean, "For the price". Over here in Australia it costs $5000 Aud. So I'd expect a damn good amount of detail. But I honestly felt detail wise, it wasn't giving me $5000 worth, but yes musicality and build were amazing. But now that I found the M1570, it is no Meze Empyrean, build is far from it. But the sound, oh the sweet sound. It's as enjoyable as a Meze Empyrean, it has that same musicality but for the price I wished for, if not even better.

I'm sold! Thanks for the sharing!

 

[hottyson]

Does it come with a balanced cable, or do I need to get one, and if so, which one? I know there's the weird XLR pinout controversy on this headphone.

I know you already have an amp, so you probably need XLR balanced. But, for anyone else out there reading this that does not yet have an amp, I can make this really simple for you.

1. Buy the Monoprice M1570 on sale $400
2. Buy the Rebel Audio RebelAmp for $500
3. Use any decent $100 dac like the Schiit Modi 3 plus

I own around 50 amps and 50 headphones, and this combo blows EVERYTHING ELSE that I own out of the water in terms of sound quality and at a fraction of the price. The exceptions are my tube amps, which the Rebel matches. The money spent on a balanced cable can be applied to the RebelAmp because it does not require one. The people that should not take this advice are the people that need a better built and more comfortable headphone like the Hifiman Sundara.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

I'm sold! Thanks for the sharing!

Haha, it's a very good sounding headphone. I'm still actually waiting for my own so day by day my nerves just keep making me check my email for an update of shipment. But from that short listen I had with my friends pair, I was very impressed. The low end has this big feel, it doesn't slam as hard as an Audeze but rather engulfs you and surrounds the whole sound. It's hard to explain, but I loved it.

 

[dstarr3]

I know you already have an amp, so you probably need XLR balanced. But, for anyone else out there reading this that does not yet have an amp, I can make this really simple for you.

1. Buy the Monoprice M1570 on sale $400
2. Buy the Rebel Audio RebelAmp for $500
3. Use any decent $100 dac like the Schiit Modi 3 plus

I own around 50 amps and 50 headphones, and this combo blows EVERYTHING ELSE that I own out of the water in terms of sound quality and at a fraction of the price. The exceptions are my tube amps, which the Rebel matches. The money spent on a balanced cable can be applied to the RebelAmp because it does not require one. The people that should not take this advice are the people that need a better built and more comfortable headphone like the Hifiman Sundara.

My sig doesn't reflect it, but I have a Schiit Modius + Singxer SA-1 in the mail at the moment that I expect will pair quite well with this headphone and several others I have. So yes, I'll need an XLR balanced cable, but I know the pinout at the cup makes finding them difficult. Any pointers on where to get one?

 

[Shane D]

It stems from my disgust of r/headphones and r/HeadphoneAdvice. There, the sweetheart models are Sennheiser HD-6xx models, because according to the zealots, ONLY the HD-6xx models can offer you lush, intimate vocals, AND NOTHING ELSE. And when you offer up something, like say the M1570, that can do the same, but be better at it, downvote city! And somehow the Sundara is the darling recommended when someone wants the best performing planar for the price. Sure, if you like an airy, somewhat cold, and laid-back sounding headphone whose cups will eventually peel off their mounts. feh!

I signed up on Reddit to check out a new headphone hangout. Wow! They are broken down into two very distinct groups: 1) absolute newbies that don't know anything and 2) people who think they know everything there is to know about headphones.
In less than a week, I removed the app. I'll try anything once but...