[One Fan To Another]

Could any Monarch MKII owners do a test for me: Put in your Monarchs, don't play any music, and just lightly tap the body of the unit. Do you hear that? It sounds like tapping a balloon or palm-smacking the end of a plastic tube. There's a 'tight-membrane' twang sound that rings out with an echo.

Is this annoying sound an intrinsic part of the Monarch's construction, being that body of the unit is so light (ie lack of mass to kill vibration)? With my pair it's only subtle on the left unit but immediate and obvious on the right side, as though something is supposed to dampen the ringing but... just isn't, on the right unit. I hear it from basically anything that causes suddenly vibration of the units; tapping, laughing, clanging teeth, etc.

 

[FlowLikeWater]

Could any Monarch MKII owners do a test for me: Put in your Monarchs, don't play any music, and just lightly tap the body of the unit. Do you hear that? It sounds like tapping a balloon or palm-smacking the end of a plastic tube. There's a 'tight-membrane' twang sound that rings out with an echo.

Is this annoying sound an intrinsic part of the Monarch's construction, being that body of the unit is so light (ie lack of mass to kill vibration)? With my pair it's only subtle on the left unit but immediate and obvious on the right side, as though something is supposed to dampen the ringing but... just isn't, on the right unit. I hear it from basically anything that causes suddenly vibration of the units; tapping, laughing, clanging teeth, etc.

Just tested this, no tight membrane sounds on mine on either side - definitely sounds like a QC return

Interestingly, I had the Clairvoyances, and they made a thwacking sound if I shook the IEMs, as if the dynamic driver wasn’t secured inside the body (which turned out to be the case, got a good look of inside the shell after cracking the acrylic with a heat gun by mistake)

 

[One Fan To Another]

Thank you very much. I'll definitely be getting in touch with customer service.

They are the best sounding IEMs I've ever heard so I will get them again, for sure. But, there's no way I'm just going to 'live with' an annoying "bwaaaang" on a $1000 pair of earphones.

 

[vkpilla]

Could any Monarch MKII owners do a test for me: Put in your Monarchs, don't play any music, and just lightly tap the body of the unit. Do you hear that? It sounds like tapping a balloon or palm-smacking the end of a plastic tube. There's a 'tight-membrane' twang sound that rings out with an echo.

Is this annoying sound an intrinsic part of the Monarch's construction, being that body of the unit is so light (ie lack of mass to kill vibration)? With my pair it's only subtle on the left unit but immediate and obvious on the right side, as though something is supposed to dampen the ringing but... just isn't, on the right unit. I hear it from basically anything that causes suddenly vibration of the units; tapping, laughing, clanging teeth, etc.

None on mine. How was your customer service experience?

 

[jonathan c]

Could any Monarch MKII owners do a test for me: Put in your Monarchs, don't play any music, and just lightly tap the body of the unit. Do you hear that? It sounds like tapping a balloon or palm-smacking the end of a plastic tube. There's a 'tight-membrane' twang sound that rings out with an echo.

Is this annoying sound an intrinsic part of the Monarch's construction, being that body of the unit is so light (ie lack of mass to kill vibration)? With my pair it's only subtle on the left unit but immediate and obvious on the right side, as though something is supposed to dampen the ringing but... just isn't, on the right unit. I hear it from basically anything that causes suddenly vibration of the units; tapping, laughing, clanging teeth, etc.

(a) That appears to be a defect….
(b) clanging teeth?

 

[WorksUnit]

In the spirit of curiousity...my Voyager14 does the same.
Only when I tap the shells, laughing/teeth nope.
Prefer the right for that twanging, the left less so.

I wonder if the experience for OP might change with different tips.

 

[One Fan To Another]

None on mine. How was your customer service experience?

Customer service always got back to my e-mails within 24hours, so that's good. Ultimately, they didn't really understand what the issue was so they requested I send the set in (which I have but haven't heard back, yet). In their last e-mail they sent PR boilerplate about their QC and sent a graph of the EQ, for some reason. They did say that if they don't find an issue I have to pay to have the set sent back to me and also pay for the cost they've payed to have the set sent to them for testing. Considering the subtlety of the issue I have no doubt that I'll just be sent back my set with nothing having been done.

Side note: do people realize that Linsol's return policy on their site says that all items have a THIRTY-PERCENT restocking fee? That lunacy.

(a) That appears to be a defect….
(b) clanging teeth?

By clanging teeth I mean to make a noise that causes a suddenly vibration of the earphones. Click your teeth together and you hear a clang. This clang is enough to cause the Monarch set I have make a strange 'bwaaang' sound. Tapping the unit makes the sound most obvious, but even laughing makes it happen.

In the spirit of curiousity...my Voyager14 does the same.
Only when I tap the shells, laughing/teeth nope.
Prefer the right for that twanging, the left less so.

I wonder if the experience for OP might change with different tips.

I actually suspect that the noise is caused by a driver's membrane (cone/diaphragm) vibrating and echoing in the plastic housing since the housing is so light. No mass in the housing = a longer decay on the vibration. This earphone set is the first and only one with which I've ever heard this issue.

 

[Darkeye999H]

I actually suspect that the noise is caused by a driver's membrane (cone/diaphragm) vibrating and echoing in the plastic housing since the housing is so light. No mass in the housing = a longer decay on the vibration. This earphone set is the first and only one with which I've ever heard this issue.

Did you notice this issue right away or it took some time for you to notice it? Because if it doesn't compromise the listening experience, I don't think it worth sending it back.

 

[WorksUnit]

As the OP mentioned, it seems to be really interfering with the experience
My BA set does the same and the Monarch has different drivers...
Wonder if it is related to the the venting/eartips.

 

[One Fan To Another]

Update, for anyone interested:

I finally got my IEMs back. It took three months, for whatever reason, but apparently my original set got sent back to the manufacturer to have its issue checked out. I don't know what they found but it must have been something bad because what I got back was a completely new set. This new set does not have the issue that the previous set had, or any other issue, for that matter.

So... ya. If you buy the Monarch MKII and it has a weird 'bwaaooww' sound when you tap (imagine tapping a plastic tube on one end) it there's something wrong with it and you should send it back.

 

[One Fan To Another]

New update:

The left unit, of the new Monarch set I was sent, has started making 'the noise'. This time it's pretty subtle, so I'm fine with it, but the unit certainly wasn't making the sound for the first couple of weeks I got the set.

There is definitely something suspect with the build and/or design of this series of IEMs. I'm curious if it's inherent to the type of drivers in the unit, a manufacturing issue, quality control, etc. While the Monarch MKII is the best sounding IEM I've ever heard I've now lost trust in Thieaudio devices. A $1000 set of IEMs should not have a 2-for-2 odds of getting what I would call a defect, in my opinion.

 

[Twangsta]

New update:

The left unit, of the new Monarch set I was sent, has started making 'the noise'. This time it's pretty subtle, so I'm fine with it, but the unit certainly wasn't making the sound for the first couple of weeks I got the set.

There is definitely something suspect with the build and/or design of this series of IEMs. I'm curious if it's inherent to the type of drivers in the unit, a manufacturing issue, quality control, etc. While the Monarch MKII is the best sounding IEM I've ever heard I've now lost trust in Thieaudio devices. A $1000 set of IEMs should not have a 2-for-2 odds of getting what I would call a defect, in my opinion.

How is your set holding up? I've got a new one in the mail, and I think I may have read and watched every utterance of these iems over the weekend. Worried about the quality at this price!

 

[One Fan To Another]

How is your set holding up? I've got a new one in the mail, and I think I may have read and watched every utterance of these iems over the weekend. Worried about the quality at this price!

My set is still in perfect condition. And, I don't tend to baby any of my stuff. Nothing new has come up with my pair and this IEM is still the best sounding portable audio device I've ever heard.

In my last post I mentioned that my second set of the Monarch MKII "...started making the noise". When I noticed that sound in the second set it was very subtle, especially compared to the first set where it was instantly noticeable, and it has never changed or gotten worse. I think the weird effect I heard/hear is just an biproduct of having something that naturally vibrates inside of a very low-mass piece of plastic (the housing).

The funny thing is while I did say that the seeming lack of quality control has made me suspicious of ThieAudio devices I have since purchased a set of ThieAudio Ghost headphones and I'll be damned if they aren't the best bang-for-buck (for music) headphones out there. The only set of headphones I own that competes with them is my set of Focal Clear MGs. The fact that the Ghost is only $130 is just nutty.

 

[Twangsta]

My set is still in perfect condition. And, I don't tend to baby any of my stuff. Nothing new has come up with my pair and this IEM is still the best sounding portable audio device I've ever heard.

That's good to hear, I just got mine yesterday, and proceeded to check for your issue, all good. Can you tell me what you use it with on the go, I ordered a Cayin RU6 but cancelled as I read it's not a good pairing, bass emphasis I think is what I read on here.

The only set of headphones I own that competes with them is my set of Focal Clear MGs. The fact that the Ghost is only $130 is just nutty.

That's very interesting, thanks, I'm decade or more old HD800 can't hold a candle to the MK2, I'll have to retire it, the ghost sounds like something I could use!

 

[One Fan To Another]

That's good to hear, I just got mine yesterday, and proceeded to check for your issue, all good. Can you tell me what you use it with on the go, I ordered a Cayin RU6 but cancelled as I read it's not a good pairing, bass emphasis I think is what I read on here.



That's very interesting, thanks, I'm decade or more old HD800 can't hold a candle to the MK2, I'll have to retire it, the ghost sounds like something I could use!

I usually just use either my Fiio BTR5 or Qudelix-5k, but I don't have a device I would necessarily call a 'must have' to pair with the Monarch. I use an Ovidius B1 for direct connecting to my phone, but that's just a random dongle unit I bought on sale, on a whim, at Linsole a couple of years ago and is nothing special.

My favorite thing to do for portable use with any IEM is pair them with the Fiio UTWS5. Once you start using detachable ear-hooks (you have to get either the two-pin or MMCX version or buy an adapter piece) it becomes too convenient to want to go back to cords.

I almost bought a set of HD800Ss two days ago, but ultimately decided not to spend the money, right now.