[iostream72]

  Little more listening.  
 
 
When pushed with bass heavy material, there is notable low end distortion.  But this is a small planar driver, so you can't expect too much.  
 
Except for the most bass heavy of hip-hop, everything else is just fine, but don't expect the fullest of low ends either.  At best, bass performance is just okay after several days of burn-in.  I would call it average performance.  Not sure how it compares to other headphones in the price bracket, though.  
 
 
Here is an INTERESTING observation.  
 
There is no L/R indications on this headphone.  It SEEMS to fit equally well in either orientation.  BUT... I noticed last night, that in one orientation vs the other, that nasty treble peak isn't quite so nasty!!  It seemed like perhaps in one direction the pads may have ever so slightly an angle, and this seems to really smooth out the response.  
 
OR, Maybe I was just imagining things.  
 
What is more likely is that pad type, pad size, seal and angle can make a LARGE difference here.  
 
I really liked what I was hearing last night with the headphone.  A very different experience than I recounted a few days ago. 
 
 
SO.... goona hold onto these a bit longer and experiment. 

Interesting, I have not heard any distortion at all at any frequency on these headphones.
 
The L/R indicator is inset on the inside of the round pieces where the headphone cups attach.

 

[iostream72]

20% off (almost) everything which is not on sale with code CM2016 until 30 Nov 2016.

Unfortunately does not apply to these headphones. They are on free shipping right now, though. That'll save you about $8 or so.

 

[MLGrado]

  Interesting, I have not heard any distortion at all at any frequency on these headphones.
 
The L/R indicator is inset on the inside of the round pieces where the headphone cups attach.

 
 
okay!! cool!!  thanks I did not see that!
 
and it makes a TON of sense in what I was hearing.  
 
Gosh, those markings are in a most inconspicuous place.. well, at least til I saw it.  NOW I can't NOT see it.. haha... of course I lose my wallet, glasses, cell all the time and usually they are right in front of me, so no surprise...
 
 
IMPORTANT UPDATE TO PREVIOUS IMPRESSIONS
 
Last night on a crazy hunch, I turned the headphones around... reorienting left and right.  Now that I have finally found the L/R indications, it turns out I corrected to the PROPER orientation.  
 
If you wear these the other way around, and that is very, very easy to do, because (at least on my head) they felt very natural and comfortable that way, it seems to really throw off the balance in a major way.  It accentuates the brightness.  
 
 
If you have these and felt they were too bright, double check and make sure you have them in correct orientation.  
 
the correct orientation on my head angles the drivers ever so slightly outward at the front.  This re-balances the sound into something much, much more listenable.  Bass increases notably.  
 
 
Right now I am listening via tidal through my laptop via the iFi iDSD Micro DAC/AMP.  
 
 
It is a nice sounding combo.  
 
 
now that I have the sound balanced out a bit by correcting my error, I will soon make further reports, and get into things like imaging and soundstage.... 
 
til next time....

 

[MLGrado]

  Interesting, I have not heard any distortion at all at any frequency on these headphones.
 
The L/R indicator is inset on the inside of the round pieces where the headphone cups attach.

 
 
Also,
 
now that I am using a better amp... iDSD Micro vs iPhone, I re-visited the same bass heavy tracks..
 
now, much better!!  The heaviest bass music is still challenging for these to reproduce with quality, but with a better amp, it is MUCH, MUCH better.  
 
So much so, that its a non-issue.  
 
So scratch another negative first impression off.  

 

[iostream72]

   
 
Also,
 
now that I am using a better amp... iDSD Micro vs iPhone, I re-visited the same bass heavy tracks..
 
now, much better!!  The heaviest bass music is still challenging for these to reproduce with quality, but with a better amp, it is MUCH, MUCH better.  
 
So much so, that its a non-issue.  
 
So scratch another negative first impression off.  

Fantastic, glad to hear it!
 
A moment ago I was listening to Stairway to Heaven, and I thought I had found an example of distortion, but it was actually in the song. Checked it with two other pairs of headphones and it's there as well. Even the remastered Mothership version has it. The part of the song is right before the guitar solo around 5:34, in the right ear, it sounds like the fizzing/crackling you hear when a speaker is blowing out. I have come to the conclusion it's just an artifact of the recording/performance.

 

[iostream72]

   
 
okay!! cool!!  thanks I did not see that!
 
and it makes a TON of sense in what I was hearing.  
 
Gosh, those markings are in a most inconspicuous place.. well, at least til I saw it.  NOW I can't NOT see it.. haha... of course I lose my wallet, glasses, cell all the time and usually they are right in front of me, so no surprise...
 
 

Nice! Glad to have helped. I got lucky in that I saw the markings rather quickly. I like that they are so subtle (easy to say when I know where they are!) because I think it allows the outward appearance a cleaner look. I actually really love the look and build of this headphone. The one thing I would change is that I would have preferred them to use their newer III logo instead of the blocky M logo. Would have been a little classier. I suspect the reason they are using the logo they are is because it looks similar to the HiFiMan logo. 

 

[MLGrado]

After another evening of break-in and casual listening, I was back to evaluating this morning.

I will reassert that right out of the box these were disappointing. Even more so because I was wearing them in the incorrect orientation. The pad angle, seal and the direction of 'play' is quite different when worn correctly. This led to better bass due to the seal, and made the peaky treble less an issue by angling the driver slightly away from the ear canal.

Over the first few days the bass has definitely blossomed. The best bass performance will come with an external amp, although they can be satisfactorily driven by an iPhone, you lose a bit of control down low.


There is still some peakiness in the treble. This headphone is going to lean to the bright, exciting side of things. Over time this has become less objectionable, though. There is still some slight unnatural tizziness and some treble grain, but how much will vary with the music.


Some other things.

Imaging is fairly decent, but not pinpoint like much more expensive designs. These are a bit more 'three blob' with most of the action occurring between the ears with some hard panning when called for.

Another note is it's musicality reproducing acoustic instruments. I was listening to Bill Evan's Waltz for Debby and the melodic bass lines were very tuneful with excellent tone.

Turning to female vocals with Norah Jones 'Feels Like Home' and Alison Krauss 'Paper Airplane' the voices seemed somewhat lacking nuance and could be just a bit rough. Female voices seem to take on just a touch of edge that I would like to see eliminated. More burn-in may be the key.

Overall I am much more satisfied with the purchase now. Seriously give these time if you purchase. They sound very little like they did at first. In this case, don't trust those first impressions!

Now as far as value, I have not heard the other planar competitors in this smaller driver class. I would love to hear a pair of Audeze Sine to assess the value.

Or honestly any headphone close to this price range. Until I hear more I can't fully assess or appreciate the value factor.

I am considering pulling the trigger on the HifiMan He-400i now that it is so cheap. I have a gut feeling this means trouble for the value proposition, since these were originally marketed in a higher price bracket. I have owned the HifiMan 400s and 560, but this will be the first hearing of the 400i

 

[ebann]

Another note is it's musicality reproducing acoustic instruments. I was listening to Bill Evan's Waltz for Debby and the melodic bass lines were very tuneful with excellent tone.



Overall I am much more satisfied with the purchase now. Seriously give these time if you purchase. They sound very little like they did at first. In this case, don't trust those first impressions!
 

Yes! On acoustic instruments they were really good.
 
If you dont need the sealed cans I would go with the 1060's. I sent these back and grabbed a few other cans to play with in the interim.

 

[MLGrado]

  Yes! On acoustic instruments they were really good.
 
If you dont need the sealed cans I would go with the 1060's. I sent these back and grabbed a few other cans to play with in the interim.

 
 
I am hearing enough good things now with the 560 to express real optimism regarding the 1060 when it is released.  I imagine most of the shortcomings, especially bass with the larger driver surface area, will be addressed in the big brother.  
 
Very interested, actually in hearing the 1060.  That will likely be more my 'game'.  Most all my other planar headphones have been/are of the much more expensive variety.  Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-X, Hifiman HE-560.  I did own the HifiMan 400S, though, and it was  GREAT sounding headphone.  My problems with it were not sound related.  They were all quality control things, like rattles and unwanted resonances.  
 
It the 1060 can exceed the sound quality of the 400s, and do so with an inert, well built housing that doesn't rattle, that would be one SWEET set of 'phones.  Could they go head to head with the HE-560?  I love the sound of the HE-560.  One of my absolute favorite headphones, and I am mad at myself for selling my pair.  But again, it had the occasional rattle that drove me nuts.  
 
It would be absolutely perfect for me if the Monolith 1060 could go head to head with the Hifiman HE-560.  That would be the best value/performance ratio I could conceive of.  

 

[Beagle]

   
 
I am hearing enough good things now with the 560 to express real optimism regarding the 1060 when it is released.  I imagine most of the shortcomings, especially bass with the larger driver surface area, will be addressed in the big brother.  
 
Very interested, actually in hearing the 1060.  That will likely be more my 'game'.  Most all my other planar headphones have been/are of the much more expensive variety.  Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-X, Hifiman HE-560.  I did own the HifiMan 400S, though, and it was  GREAT sounding headphone.  My problems with it were not sound related.  They were all quality control things, like rattles and unwanted resonances.  
 
It the 1060 can exceed the sound quality of the 400s, and do so with an inert, well built housing that doesn't rattle, that would be one SWEET set of 'phones.  Could they go head to head with the HE-560?  I love the sound of the HE-560.  One of my absolute favorite headphones, and I am mad at myself for selling my pair.  But again, it had the occasional rattle that drove me nuts.  
 
It would be absolutely perfect for me if the Monolith 1060 could go head to head with the Hifiman HE-560.  That would be the best value/performance ratio I could conceive of.  

 
So is the 1060 still tentatively $299?

 

[AJCxZ0]

So is the 1060 still tentatively $299?

You mean the Monolith M1060 Planar Headphones (Product #16050) on the Monoprice web site where they are advertised at $299.99 and [COLOR=FF0000]Out of Stock ETA: 2/9/2017[/COLOR]?



No idea.

 

[MLGrado]

Okay folks..

Wow. These really, really sound good after 6 days of break-in.

Lest it be attributed to acclimatization, I have been burning them in via my iPhone with a constant loop of varied material, and have only listened to them in short bits, spread out over several hours. During the other time, I am listening to my 2016 revision Audeze LCD-X.


They sound nothing like at first. These are keepers. Very impressive for the price. Probably not a game changer in the $200 bracket, but a very good example and highly competitive. Monoprice will sell lots of these, assuming we listeners are patient. (Like I almost wasn't)

As far as the BEST in this pricing area is still the HifiMan He-400s, and the 400i although I have yet to hear that model.

My ears have long forgotten the details, but my brain recalls the absolute satisfaction I felt when so heard the HE-400s. Now, the Monoprice M560 does not bring the same level of satisfaction and sense of value, but it's close.

Excellent effort. Shortcomings are grain and unevenness in treble, highly accentuated presence range, and small overall soundstage. Oh, and they are not for bassheads.

These are outstanding, though, for acoustic instruments, jazz, etc. if you listening preferences swing that way, and you are in the market for an under $300 headphone, these just may be your thing.

 

[Beagle]

This is very encouraging...

 

[c-atle-79bay]

So far I'm like these headphones. All observations are done closed, and I just took off the caps for the first time, wow what a difference in SPACE.   I don't necessarily see the shortcomings, might not have the words for that, more of a speaker person and even then, meh, good music sounds good....most of the time.   I do notice the lack of bass, and the mid-range shyness, but, it's not so much a lack as perhaps a voicing to account for the frequency range.  My current home speakers have almost identical frequency response, 16 Hz ~ 40 kHz.  They are TDL Reference standards, HUGE transmission lines.....and the base characteristics of these headphones are surprisingly similar.   I read somewhere that John Wright brought back the mid-range on purpose to support the base response more....I'm only quoting, not apostatizing.  My point is, the bass and mid range are there, punchy tight authoritative but not boomy or over reaching, which seems like what most speakers do.  They may sound like the have more bass to satisfy but are stressing to do such.   So for me the m560 reminds me very much of my speakers which I've been very critical of.   Not sure if they will replace the AKG K553's I'd picked up to replace my AKG K701s which I truly love, I need closed for the office.
 
Thanks for listening to my rambles, and plan to focus more on headphones as the home system is mostly done.  Yeah right.

 

[jed1mindtrix]

Just curious, did you put any burn-in time on these?