[some1]

Quote:

Anyone knows how to improve monoprice bass? The quantity is alright, but texture of bass is kinda low.

 
As suggested the tape mod and Comply tips are the only ways i know to improve the bass, tape mod is quite dramatic.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Might want to play around with an EQ to get the right balance of midbass and subbass.
 
Poweramp player on Android has this "bug" where if you lower all the sliders on the EQ (including the lowest bass sliders) you get this awesome subbass bass boost that is at the same time powerful as a kick in your skull and very tight.  It was simply amazing with my SHE3580s.  Even with Electri-Q on my computer I haven't found any setting quite like it yet.
 

 

[jekostas]

Quote:

Anyone knows how to improve monoprice bass? The quantity is alright, but texture of bass is kinda low.

 
Only time and burn-in.  The texture of the base with these headphones will never be fantastic but it does improve over time.  The tape mod will only really improve quantity.

 

[loki993]

Quote:

Yes! Hell, if they sound like crap, scrap the driver and you have a gorgeous case for some other 40mm driver...Grados maybe...
 
I contacted them, saying that I may find a group of people interested (sounds like there is some interest!) and we could get it over on the group buy page, if it works out. I'll let everyone know as I hear!

Id be interested
 
 
 
I do have a questions about my monos though. I was taking off the tip the other day and the screen came off of the driver. No big deal I suppose. Do I really need to keep it on there? I suppose that now since its off its probably going to go missing eventually. 
 
Also has anyone tried to recase these or get rid of that hump? Would that be hard and change the sound signature too drastically? I would assume find another case that would fit the driver would be the hardest part so maybe modding the existing ones would be easier.

 

[LizardKing1]

The screen is there mostly to keep dust and dirt off the driver. I'd recommend gluing it back on if you can. And yes, it's probably easier to try and mod the existing shell than getting a new shell - although it would be amazing to see someone making a custom Monoprice 8320!

 

[mrdon]

Since I needed an HDMI cable from Monoprice, I threw in a pair of these in the order just to see if all the hype was well hype or the truth. After a little burn in and listening and adding the Comply tips, my opinion is that you get what you pay for. The 8320 are cheap earphones/IEM's and sound like it...period. The listening experience of the 8320's can't even touch my current daily go-to $99 Shure SE215 and I can't imagine the mods can dramatically close that gap.

Although part of the fun of this hobby is experimentation, given my experience with the 8320's, my recommendation is to put the tape back in the drawer and stop buying different replacement tips....save your time and money and invest in an IEM that you really want and can enjoy for a long time.

 

[bubsdaddy]

mrdon,
 
That was my experience also. I passed them on to a fellow head-fier not in the USA and his opinion was the same. I guess it's possible that we received faulty IEMs given the mania around these. It's also possible that the hype outweighs the actuality.

 

[steelgtr]

Quote:

Since I needed an HDMI cable from Monoprice, I threw in a pair of these in the order just to see if all the hype was well hype or the truth. After a little burn in and listening and adding the Comply tips, my opinion is that you get what you pay for. The 8320 are cheap earphones/IEM's and sound like it...period. The listening experience of the 8320's can't even touch my current daily go-to $99 Shure SE215 and I can't imagine the mods can dramatically close that gap.
Although part of the fun of this hobby is experimentation, given my experience with the 8320's, my recommendation is to put the tape back in the drawer and stop buying different replacement tips....save your time and money and invest in an IEM that you really want and can enjoy for a long time.

I'm sure you have a lot more IEM experience than me but I have to say I hated these phones to the point of requesting a replacement from MP. Everyone said tips, tips, tips and I said right, right, right until I received my JBUD J4's and used the large tip from them. Everything changed; the bass was there which took away from the harsh high end. I have been on a bargain bin quest, buying 5-$25 IEMs and none of the cheapies including the J4's even come close. The harshness is still there especially on less than perfect recordings or lower bit MP3's,  but you are right I could have used all the cheapie money and bought at least a decent $100 IEM.  I don't know anything about Complys but I would encourage you and others to experiment with other tips to bring out the best in these.

 

[sunjigglet]

Quote:

Since I needed an HDMI cable from Monoprice, I threw in a pair of these in the order just to see if all the hype was well hype or the truth. After a little burn in and listening and adding the Comply tips, my opinion is that you get what you pay for. The 8320 are cheap earphones/IEM's and sound like it...period. The listening experience of the 8320's can't even touch my current daily go-to $99 Shure SE215 and I can't imagine the mods can dramatically close that gap.
Although part of the fun of this hobby is experimentation, given my experience with the 8320's, my recommendation is to put the tape back in the drawer and stop buying different replacement tips....save your time and money and invest in an IEM that you really want and can enjoy for a long time.

 
 
Quote:

mrdon,
 
That was my experience also. I passed them on to a fellow head-fier not in the USA and his opinion was the same. I guess it's possible that we received faulty IEMs given the mania around these. It's also possible that the hype outweighs the actuality.

The 8320s sound far from terrible, they are quite enjoyable. However, there's a limit to what $7 can get for you. I will cautiously agree that the hype outweighs the actuality, while I do say there's far worse at $7. Many of the owners here bought the 8320s in hopes of getting decent (or at the least 'enjoyable') sound at something under ten bucks, and they did. But it's still no question the 8320s can't touch your Shures... purely from a sound perspective.

In my opinion, one who expects the 8320s to sound like more expensive, better in ears should expect to find great headphones rolling in the local dump... that is he/she shouldn't. I recall Dsnuts wrote somewhere he prefers the 8320s over one of his more expensive in ears.. I honestly think he just wanted more people to try these Monoprice earbuds out, and I can't blame him for that. And he could have simply fallen in love with the sound signature, which can for sure blur a lot of things.

Hype is a strong force in the headphone world, I think. Look at all those people feeding hundreds of hours of burn-in on their new headphones! Regardless of the existence of burn-in, perhaps they should simply enjoy their headphones first? I still fail to understand how these Monoprices are so much superior over the Apple earbuds, other than the presence of bass. I also fail to understand how the Apple earbuds are apparently so terrible.. I remember them to be quite listenable. But hey, the Apple earbuds are $29, right?

 

[some1]

Nobody ever said the 8320's sound like $100 IEMs, that is not a fair comparison.
 
Also the stock tips are not so great, until you try these earphones with Comply TX-400 and tape mod, you cannot judge how good these are, but at best they are as good as the best £35 IEMs

 

[bubsdaddy]

There are numerous comparisons to TF10s and MDTs in this thread where the poster feels the 8320 meets, exceeds, or gets 90% of the sound of these much more expensive headphones. In my opinion, that is hype. However, we all hear things a bit differently so I guess it is possible. It wasn't even close for me. I do think DSnuts is on to something with his love of Audio-Technica IEMs.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Quote:

mrdon,
 
That was my experience also. I passed them on to a fellow head-fier not in the USA and his opinion was the same. I guess it's possible that we received faulty IEMs given the mania around these. It's also possible that the hype outweighs the actuality.

That was me, I can confirm they were really bad, well they weren't really really bad, they sounded like something worth their asking price nothing more, which I found strange considering all the hype these had. I still have them here somewhere. Whether or not they're faulty is yet to be seen. 

 

[metal112524]

After buying monster super tips, bi-flanges, and a case to not lose the new lose fitting tips, then after all that not being happy...the tape mod only made it worse. The worst part about them is the horrible painful fit, the impossible to deal with tangled mess of a cable, and that I spent, $60 dollars on a $7 headphone...

 

[some1]

Tips can be used on other earphones, so not money wasted, and if you are so concerned about the money you spent on them and a case, perhaps you are in the wrong hobby?
 
I think you are being overly harsh, to be fair, they are good earphones with a reputation well deserved, maybe they are not for you, and that is the nature of a subjective hobby.

 

[metal112524]

Most of the harshness comes from the incredible amount of hype these phones receive. While they have a pleasant sound for $7 they come with a slew of problems and I would have been much better off with something else plain and simple. IMO the tape mod only makes them worse, it ruins the charm they have and turns them into any other cheap bud.