[Schonen]

I listened to these last nigh at Futureshop and thought they were quite ok for $200.00 ($50.00 off). Was not expecting them to sound good but they did. Bit bass heavy with NC on but with NC off they were flatter sounding. But they have UE6000 for $99.00 too so for my money I would probably choose the UE6000.

 

[Bobby Laurant]

I don't know about the pricing in other countries, but here in canada, the price can drop to $149.99 CAD. A rather good deal, I find.

 

[DJRSP]

On sale New today from eBay
$99
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monster-Inspiration-Noise-Isolating-Headphones-Black-/121278735097?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item1c3cc6a2f9

 

[Tripartist1]

I got these at a bargain price of $150 USD straight from monster. I've has them for a little over 2 months now. Here's what I have to say:

Build quality- Amazing. I have abused these phones quite a bit in the past couple months and they have held up well. No parts have broken, become loose, etc. A wipe with the provided cloth will have them looking brand new.

Design- Good, but subjective. This is pretty self explanatory. You'll either like them or not.

Comfort- Fair. These are fairly heavy and can become uncomfortable at the head strap after about an hour. The strap could definitely use more padding. As far as the cups go, there is a fair amount of room for medium to small ears. If you have larger ears, like me, expect some discomfort for the first couple of weeks (if used daily, your ears should get used to them) as they are kind of shallow. I have been able to listen to these for 4+ hours with no ear fatigue and minimal adjustment after getting used to them.

Sound Quality- Good-Excellent

Bass: The bass response for these are good. Nice and tight bass, with the capability to hit nice rumbling low ends when turned up. It's not too overpowering, but definitely is there.

Mids: The mids are a bit recessed, but still clear. These are definitely not designed to be used in mixing/producing, although could do the job well. A bit of EQing can get a warm, but quite flat response.

Treble: The highs really shine on these, as they are still quite clear, even while the bass boost is on. While the built in amp is on, and the device powering these is EQed properly and turned up, these get louder and clearer than most phone speakers/portable speakers.

Noise Cancelation- Fair. These are the first pair of phones that monster has tried Active NC. As such, it is subpar. If these would be your first pair of ANC headphones, you'll be quite happy. Just keep in mind they are far behind Bose. With no music playing, and ANC on they can cancel 70-80% of white/pink noise. These would be good if there is some kind of humming you are trying to block out, but not so much a noisy subway for example. Until you turn up the volume. At half volume, you could run a vacuum next to you and not notice it. At full volume, forget about any audible contact with the outside world.

Flexibility/Genres- Estimated, Great. While I have had limited experience with different genres, I expect these to shine in any. I listen to mainly bass heavy music. Hip Hop, Rap, Rock, Alternative, and many different types of EDM (Trap, DnB, Dubstep, House, Jungle, etc) have all played beautifully with multiple EQ settings. These can handle the dirty, filthy bass, sub bass, and crystal like highs at the same time, which is common in a lot of EDM. I expect these to perform in any genre.

Battery Life- Good. I can use these for 50+ hours at max volume before the batteries need changing. Keep in mind that unlike Beats, these will also work with none at all. If your batteries die while out and about, they still work with great sound.

Overall- 4.5 of 5. The overall design, build and audio quality, comfort, and other minor details make these a great pair of phones. While the retail price of $350USD is a bit steep, if you can get these for 250 or less, grab them. They are a great pair of phones, suitable for entry level audiophilia. These also have minimal leaking.

Tips:
If using these with an Android, root and flash a volume mod and use a system wide EQ for best results. If listening to a personal music collection, I highly recommend PowerAmp. With a 10 band EQ + Pre Amp, separate Bass and Treble knobs, lossless support, and lots of other settings like StereoX and gapless playback, these are awesome for mobile listening. Using this setup, the bass is sufficient for a bass head like myself, even with the amp off (turning it on can actually cause clipping).

These are a good buy, and I am extremely happy with my purchase.

 

[flightsimmer]

Hey all, long-time lurker here

.
 
Got my first full-size headphones, the Monster Inspiration, and being from Canada I got them half-price at $150

. I did see on eBay though that they were selling all the way down to $80, which is insane O.o.
 
Anyways I'll introduce myself with a review:
These are the first headphones I made a large investment on. Prior to getting them I was using 'mediocre' headphones (<$30 range) and did not care much on sound quality. I planned one day that I would invest on a solid pair of audiophile-grade entry level headphones, but due to their cost it would be sometime until I got one. However I saw these at half price (300$ down to 150$), and seemingly targeted towards audiophiles, coupled with the fact that I invested on a sound card for gaming, I decided to make the jump and get them.
 
Now I did quite a bit of research on the best headphones a while ago, and knowing that these were Monster brand, I thought they were like the Beats headphones (knowing they were associated with them in the past), which when I tried in-store had overpowered bass, okay sound but was horribly overpriced. Not to mention Monster's history of making bad headphones. However when I tried these, they were GOOD. I never tried the 'hi-end' headphones made by AKG, Grados, Senns etc... so I wouldn't know what good sound sounds like, but these seem to do very well. Bass was not dominating, yet the mid-upper range's were clear. In terms of noise cancellation, they weren't better than the Bose's QC15's I tried from a friend (which I think has THE BEST noise cancellation, but 'ehh' sound), but these shut out a fairly large amount of sound. They definitely did the job pretty well. Can't hear my overclocked computer at all with cooling fans running at full speed (sounds like a vacuum) while listening to music. As a bonus, the headphones still play after running out of batteries. Do note that when silent, there is a slight audible hiss when turned on.
 
In terms of comfort, these have some sort of synthetic leather pad with foam, and are very comfortable. I can wear them straight on for an hour while gaming, however being a glasses person they can be slightly constricting, but not annoying. Usually if I wear it for that long forget I'm wearing them, so it's all good.
 
The headphones look and feel like they will last a long time, being titanium and all, and there doesn't seem to be like there would be anything breaking. Usually I find that typically the headphone cable dies first, but with the removable headphone jack it seems like that won't be a problem.
 
With all that being said these were still overpriced at regular price, and if it weren't for the sale I would never have gotten them. However, for sound quality and noise cancelling, these are solid. They look great too, if you like good-looking headphones. You can change the headbands to personalize them.
In final, these are good solid headphones if you can get them less than the original cost, or don't mind paying extra for the Monster brand.

 

[dabtpa]

Price is down to $99 on eBay new from Monster Direct. DNAs (no noise cancelling) are $70. Both have pretty good reviews internet wide.