I took Steve up on this one and got a pair. Wow, they are fantastic for $15. I can't compare these to $60 Beyerdynamics like Guttenburg does, but among similarly priced they are easily the best sub-$50 throwaway on ear headphones I've yet heard. Last I had the MEE HT21, and these Monoprice just blow those away. Really nicely balanced with punchy sub-bass. Very smooth with no harsh treble. Detailed and relatively spacious. No midbass bloat that you might expect were these put out by the likes of JVC or Skullcandy. Really really impressed. I'm not a basshead by any means and find these to be incredibly fun to listen to. I'd be willing to pay much more for this SQ.
Got my pair today. Agree on most of the mentioned points and don't have much to add to all the positive reviews they are getting
Come in plastic bags inside of a white cardboard box. Genric, no frills that protects but doesn't add to the price. first look say cheap and generic looking but solid and light in a good balance or ratio. The headband padding is plenty and seems above the price. The pads are quite decent for the price. Maybe slightly better than first gen HT21. Cable is thick enough, a bit rubbery, and has a small L plug with a nice strain relief. The head band is actually solid but the lightly pebbled plastic look is the only thing that looks $13.34(what I paid after code). I've seen worse cables on the AKG's like the K430 and it's brothers and you'd have to spend over $50 most time to get the ample, comfy padding up top.
Very interesting as my Philips SHQ5200 are voiced the same way. Better and more refined but same signature and the little Mono's are airy enough to hold there own with the semi open backed Philips as far as stage. I paid $50 for those and they are a bit lighter and rainproof so they are great esp. for the upcoming winter. The Mono's will be good as well since they are so cheap you might not worry about putting them in harm's way whilst the Philips is built to be tough and take bad weather. great they have a similar fun sound like they are brother's almost.
As far as the first listen, I agree they are above the HT21. Even above the lower Senn and $50 Shures by a bit. Not gonna put them up with pricier stuff but $50 range this should be among the best. Maybe not quite a SM P21 but about $25 cheaper and competitive. I bet the KSC75 lovers will get a kick out of these!
I'll wait till the pads break in and be able talk about the true isolation but outside of that(and the ho-hum aesthetics) they tick most all the boxes...
Solid build - check
Cheap price - check
Comfort and stable fit - check
Performs well in many areas - check(including stage and separation/layering, detail, balance, easy to drive etc.)
Fun factor - check
These should be the next big knock-around or commute cans. They fold flat, have the mic/control, and are small and comfy and easy to live with. Maybe just spend a few bucks on some sort of case and you are all set. They should thick about adding a decent case and a few color choices and making them $20.
