Monolith M1060C Over Ear Planar Magnetic Headphones - Black/Wood With 106mm Driver, Closed Back Design, Comfort Ear Pads For Studio/Professional

Good sound, easy to drive. These headphones sound as good or better than others available at their price. Specially now that they keep going on sale. I was expecting to have to buy a dac/amp to drive them but was pleasantly surprised how easy they were to drive. The bad parts are the headband and the cable. The cables get tangled easily, they develop kinks due to the stuff braiding, and worst of all they transfer the noise from the cable bumping and rubbing on stuff really easily. The cable is easy to replace. Monorice offers a compatible set cables in a pretty clear copper color. The worst part is the headband. It is uncomfortable and does not provide very secure support. The headphones are heavy which would be a problem with a more supportive headband. As it is it feels like my leaning forward or turning my head too quickly is going to slide the headphones off my head. The cups have a curved piece of metal attached to posts that is supposed to screw onto the headband using a nut and bolt. Somehow I always find the bolt loose. It's become a habit for me to hand tighten it before putting them on. I've seen aftermarket headbands and tutorials to swap the cups to open backs. I'll be keeping them stock but I am glad to see that there are ways to modify and improve them. Despite their flaw. These are good sounding headphones and a good introduction to higher end headphones.

Perfect, many good Bass, strong, sub bass all goes very low, mids are up and fun, treble is clear but no silibant, I listened Emu Teak and this has better and wide soundstage, Emu has more detail and clarity and pin out also is better despite small soundstage, Always keep my M1060C because the complete sound, also the biggest soundstage make a more relaxing sound, is a fun headphone, even better than Focal Elex. I made a MOD with the color of cups very easy to do.

Sound quality is phenomenal for the price, but comfort leaves a lot to be desired. If you have a large head you will need to put extra padding between the head strap and the metal band.

Compared to a much less expensive set of Bluetooth headphones (used as wired) from Monoprice, these definitely sound slightly better. The experience is more like hearing the audio in an open room, vs the somewhat "boxed-in" feel of the less expensive ones. But I admit, to my ears, the difference is very subtle. Some say these are as good as headphones costing 2-3X the price; at $300, they are at the upper bound of what I'd be willing to pay for the slight increase in audio quality. I never would pay $1000 for headphones if this is as good as it gets. For their weight, they are quite comfortable. I haven't had any problem wearing them for extended periods of time. But they are very heavy. At the same time, they don't actually block ambient noise out as well as I would've thought, given their heft. So, there's room for improvement. But if you want a really clear sound, that makes you feel like you're in the room with the performer, and your budget can handle the price, these seem to me to be a very good option.

not bass headphones, they dont go low, dont get fooled by the huge speaker size. amplifier at max volume but barely goes down to 20hz

Major disappointment. A bizarre presentation of sound. My favorite music sounded distant, boring and just... wrong somehow. Bottom end is very odd. Nothing in the low-mids. A nasty peak in vocals. Heavy on your head. Cannot recommend at all. For sale!

Opened up and modified 1060C custom headphones. Mods include: Opened up Custom 3D printed grills Hifiman copy headband w/diecast yolks Genuine Hifiman headband strap Custom machined yolk adapter pivot bushings Custom friction adjusters Driver cloth cover removed

quite enjoying the headphones had to repair the swivel headphone connector.

Nice, the wood varies. My first pair had an issue, MP sent a new pair and there are differences in wood grain, etc but hey, it?s wood. Quality appears to be high, nice sound, plenty of mods online, but they are on the heavy side.

The first thing I noticed about these was that the beautiful packaging appears to have been designed by the same people who box up Apple?s devices for sale. Just the box it comes in is a work of art in itself. One almost hates to throw it away...in fact I think I kept mine. But enough on that... These came with a very stout, Kevlar-lined audio cable and a very high quality 1/4? to 1/8? audio jack adapter. One needs to install the audio cable to the ear cups, and there is a caveat: I looked for but did not see the right and left labeling to ensure I got the left/right connection correctly. I had to go off of the color-coding and hope Monoprice used the same convention as the rest of the industry (red goes on the right - which can be confusing if you?re a pilot). I later found the labeling in better light and fortunately I have it correct. Why is this important? Because it appears the intention is that once these are inserted in the ear cups, they aren?t expected to come out again. So please take the extra time to ensure you have them right. I?ve had these for about a month now. They came with a very nice case for storage when they?re not being used. They have not been back in their case since. I mainly got them for audio referencing and monitoring during video editing, but I find myself rediscovering music that I?ve been listening to for years. The audio resolution of the planar magnetic drivers reveals hidden gems in the details of recordings that I thought I knew well after a few decades. Since I edit video that is often recorded in less than optimal conditions, there are occasional background sounds that are unintentional contributions by the filming environment. The sound itself is recorded on a dedicated device so it has higher resolution than the camera audio. The nature of these headphones and their ability to reproduce a lifelike, 3D playback has caused me on numerous occasions to stop and check out noises outside the editing studio! Now I have to rewind and replay the source to determine that such sounds were actually recorded background and NOT outside the room I?m sitting in. Yes, these are THAT lifelike. Video editing is like being in a time machine; you work at it for only a few minutes and then notice that several hours went by for the rest of the world. So, suffice it to say I have these on my head for several hours at a stretch and I don?t notice any discomfort. In fact, I tend to forget I?m wearing them. These get decently loud, but they are not overly loud. Then again I?ve only driven them by a computer sound card or a portable sound recording device so the story might be different with a full on stereo amplifier or receiver, and certainly with a headphone amp. But one can appreciate the listening experience just fine without these things. I was expecting a little more volume - it could be an impedance mismatch from the source or the fact that I don?t hear like I used to (my wife says it?s the latter). Still, the 3D aspect of the soundstage and the lifelike reproduction make these a worthy investment - and they are loud enough. They won?t disappoint. And their sound response is pretty capable across the audio spectrum. These seem to defy the laws of physics when it comes to reproducing very low bass tones with drivers only 106mm across. I can actually hear details in the way bass guitar strings are vibrating in some recordings. You can actually feel Neil Peart?s drums in your brain. Ok, I made that part up, but there is a definite ?punch? and sustain to sounds that used to just go away after the ?punch?. The only minus - and this is really pretty minor; The beautiful wood grain in the online display set has not been so faithfully reproduced on the set I received. These do have the wood closed backs, but the stain that?s applied is too dark and tends to hide the nice wood grain unless you have them under pretty bright light. This would not stop me from buying these again. I recommend these if one is looking for about the most realistic reproduction one can find in a listening experience. There may be models out there that produce slightly better, but one would likely be throwing more cash at diminishing returns. For serious headphones - in terms of pricing these hit about the middle of the road, but they really deliver more in the top end.

TL;DR: I recommend these ? they sound great ? clear, clean, accurate, and not fatiguing. They don?t require an external amplifier to sound good. The weakest aspect is the headband; it creates a hot/tender spot fairly soon. I want to fix this. Longer story and background? I?ve worked at finding better audio at affordable prices for a long, long time. For the past few years I?ve been using audio-technica ATH-M50, and was fairly happy until I heard something better, and started my search again. I?m 60 now; I started buying audio equipment at about 18, getting better stuff as I had resources to spare. Using the M1060C and the f Generator app on my iPad at 67% volume, I can hear these headphones from 20Hz (as low as the app goes) to 15.5+KHz ? I?ve lost a bit, but my hearing is still decent. I?ve driven my M1060C from 2017 iPad, iPhone 6S+, iPod Touch 4th gen, and Onkyo TX-NR575 receiver. Each can get loud enough to suit me. This site convinced me I don?t need an external amp: https://www.soundguys.com/do-you-need-an-amp-12561/ I?ve had the M1060C about 5 weeks, listening to a wide variety of music: classical, contemporary Christian, classic rock, jazz (no country, no rap, no opera). Enough recordings sound so utterly great that I?m convinced now that anything bad is a result of the recording/mastering, and not the M1060C. These will show the flaws in your music. But they will bring out amazing details ? with Gordon Lightfoot?s If You Could Read My Mind, I could tell when an acoustic (vs electric) guitar was used, and when the strings were nylon or another song part used steel. Things I?ve never noticed before now become evident, like David Bowie?s Heroes from about 1:20 to 3:00 I can hear a change of effects and it?s like he was suddenly singing in a box/glass booth. The double low C in the Intro to Also Sprach Zarathustra (Telarc) is very noticeable (about 32Hz). And the horns on early Chicago stuff ? wow ? I don?t want to take these off? Which leads me to a few less than great points ? first, the headband could really use more effective padding. It creates a hot spot after a few songs? worth of listening. Second is these are really big (see the picture of them on my wife) and fairly heavy; thankfully the clamping force is not too great to cause pressure discomfort, but they will move around if you move much. They seem made for sitting still and just listening. The cord is fabric coated and seems nice; during silent times you may pick up telephonics if the cord is rubbed. This hasn?t been a problem for me. You?ll need to remove the cable to store the M1060C in their case. Last isn?t a problem, but a difference ? as the pictures show, my 3.5mm ended in a straight bit, not the 90-degree shown in the advertisements. The screw on 1/4? adaptor seems well constructed. I went for the closed version of the M1060 for family peace. The wood cup covers are pretty, but with a too-dark stain in my opinion that covers up the nice wood grain too much. Hierarchy of some stuff I?ve had: Sennheiser HD 280 PRO < Monoprice SonicSolace BT (but crappy noise reduction) < 1MORE Triple Driver in-ear < audio-technica ATH-M50 < Monoprice HR-3 triple driver in-ear (so sadly discontinued!) < Monoprice M1060C Bottom line: I got the M1060C on a good sale; they are very much worth the price I paid. I recommend the M1060C for your consideration. And I am probably done chasing better headphone audio?

I have enjoyed my M1060 for a couple of years now and still love them. But, with more people at home (I work from home) the house has become a bit more noisy with TV's and radios and general talking. With the M1060 you can hear as if you are not wearing headphones, completely transparent. When it is quiet, I fully enjoy the detail, openness, 3-D out of your head (more so side to side than front to back) soundstage of the M1060's. When I need to reduce exterior noises, I enjoy the M1060C's. While not sound cancelling, it does muffle the exterior sound. During those times I enjoy a more punchy bass end (rediscovering Phil Collins' drums), while having a spacious soundstage it is not nearly as much as the M1060 or as front to back, more in-your-head than the M1060 but much better than any other closed backed headphones that I have tried (not many). I'm keeping both for sure and I'm done looking for better, I'm 61 yrs old. I am driving them with a Raspberry Pi with Allo DigiOne sound HAT, liquid spark headphone amp, liquid spark DAC, BBE282IR Sonic Maximizer. I think that the Sonic Maximizer helps with the hearing loss curve of older listeners.

Amazing bass, great vocals, and hi's are not bright but just right.

Closed back PM headphones are not as common as open back but these are what I needed. Headband could use a little more cushioning but still very comfortable. Highs, mids, and bass are all excellent. I won't ever go back to dynamic headphones. Got them on sale for $240 so a tremendous value. Build quality is fantastic. Headphone is not labeled left/right but the cord is. The thick earpads are angled, thin part goes in front of your ears, the thicker part behind your ears. I strongly recommend a headphone amp.

I've got these headphones for over a month now. Allthough they have some issues i'd like to see resolved in the next iteration, they are in my opinion the best closed back headphones in this pricerange. Starting with the build: Sadly, this is not the strongest point of the headphone. The materials are quite nice, I'm really impressed by the earpads. The material of the headband could be a bit more comftable. If you have no issues with the weight, then i can say it is overall pretty comftable. Taking it of an on is the real issue though. The construction can bend an twist in every direction and feels quite frankly pretty flimsy. The carry case is appreciated, but i feel it is way bigger than it needs to be. The Cable is good, but nothing special. Now to the sound: This is the strong point of the headphone. I have not heard any other closed back headphone which sounds as open and wide as these. You get enough detail, without it being fatiguing. My favourite part is the bass, which is strong, yet detailed and controlled. There may be some aspects, that are better handled by other headphones, but what i like about the m1060c's is that they have no obvious weakpoint. Overall I think the sound gives this the 5 star rating. Other than the headband construction, there is nothing to complain.

Best sounding headphones I've ever owned. They're heavy, so you'll feel a pressure point on the top of your head. You will get used to it, but they're not always comfortable headphones for long listening.

Great sound right off my iPhone even better with amp, ok build for the price. Would recommend

Sound - 9 out of 10, Caps and pads - 9 out of 10, Wires - 8 out of 10, Headband - 4 out of 10, Comfort - 7 out of 10. Overall - very satisfied!

I find my m1060's much more enjoyable to listen to. There isn't too much about the overall sound of the 1060c that makes it stand out against any other headphones in the same price range. Admittedly I own much more expensive and higher quality headphones than the 1060c's but my original plan because of all I've heard about the new and superior driver's over the m1060 was to remove the ear cups and turn them into open back as suggested by many reviews to be able to compare them to much higher priced cans. Unfortunately I can't find any aftermarket open grills to help modd these into open cans. The end result is that they don't get much use as I have other much more satisfying cans to listen to. At this point I wish I was still within the return period because I would go so far as to say that they are overpriced for what you get and many other more desirable, better sounding headphones in this price range!!

Best investment I’ve made to my headphone collection, these CANS are incredible, however they need a quality headphone amp to make them sing. Highly recommended