Monoprice - 116150 Modern Retro Over Ear Headphones with Ultra-Comfortable Ear Pads Perfect for Mobile Devices, HiFi, and Audio/Video Production Black

Most likely you're here on this page because you saw a hype review from a headphone reviewer on YouTube, or someone suggested them on an audiophile forum you were on. In my case, it was Zeos. Can Zeos over-hype things from time to time? Yes, he can. We can also over-hype things to ourselves and find that two weeks later, we're no longer as enchanted as we were the first few weeks after we opened the box. That's why I waited eight months to review these. I own headphones that range anywhere from $30 to $350. I purchased these alongside a pair of DT770 Pros from Beyerdynamic, which I ended up returning. I had purchased the DT770 Pro as a potential working headphone because at that time I was doing a lot of audiobook recording, but on my system, and to my ears, the highs on the DT770 Pro were fatiguing. I am sensitive to enhanced treble, and again, they were a contender for a working headphone. These headphones had to be on my head for several hours per day. My working headphone of choice ended up being the ATH-M40X, which I had to buy an extra headband pad for because they are extremely uncomfortable out of the box, but sounded perfect for monitoring. The DT770 Pro, on the other hand, was like a cloud on my head. Why am I mentioning that on this review, you may ask? Read on. These headphones were more of an experiment than anything else. I was prepared to return them, and had no reservations about doing so, but the way Zeos had described them in his review made me want to experience them for myself. Out of the box, yes, the stock pads are uncomfortable. The sounds is, as many others have said, shockingly good. Knowing my own sensitivity to headphone discomfort, I purchased the Brainwavz pads he recommended in the same order. The ones you're likely to see Amazon recommend as a "buy together" suggestion on this product page. They're $25 dollars, and they're a decent choice. They solve the comfort issue. They make the bass hit harder. What's not to love? Well, I own a pair of Sony MBR-XB500s. Out of everything I've tried, those are the bass headphones of choice, and nothing else I've listened to has come close. I don't need another pair of super slamming bass canons blowing my eardrums out when I was in the mood for that, so what was I to do? Return them? Nay, my friends, this is what I did instead, and what I suggest you do: Still on the closed-back headphones comfort quest, I ordered a pair of Beyerdynamic EDT 770 ear pads, intended to put them on another pair of headphones, that I can't even remember now, because they never made it that far. Out of everything I've tried that is designed for a closed back headphone, these are the most comfortable ear pads I've ever put on my head. They are much more dense than the typical velours, and I wondered if I could make them fit. At first glance, it looked like probably not. I did some internet searching and found that others had managed to stretch them on some slightly larger AKG headphones, so I gave it a shot. It took probably ten minutes the first time I did it, but you can stretch them slowly and carefully to fit these headphones. If you do this, be sure to use the round velvet thin padded disc that comes with them. What you end up with is something truly exceptional. With these ear pads you end up with a sound that isn't the best of class at anything, but close. You get fantastic, punchy bass. You get great mids, and you get clear, but very tolerable treble. Best of all, you now have a headphone you could put on in the morning and probably not have to take off the entire day, at least not for comfort reasons. On top of all of this, these are some of the most responsive headphones to EQ I've personally tried. You can EQ brain obliterating bass into them, if that's what you insist on, and they will absolutely deliver it. Ear bleeding treble? If that's what you want (seek help), they'll give it to you no questions asked. I'm not sure how this works. Maybe it's the size of the driver, and the spaciousness the large openings give, the combination of the two, or something completely different. All I know is that I have not experienced these drastic changes on other headphones, out of the dozen or so I own or have owned. As for cons, I really hate this cord. It's way too long for a cord that isn't detachable. That's it. They're $30, and I can't think of anything else I dislike about them. I've been using them for eight months, and I've really tried to find things wrong with them. There just isn't. Although not a con, I will give you a small warning on the power it takes to drive these. These sounds noticeably better when you have the power to drive them. On my phone, they don't blow me away, so I don't use them on my phone. For that I use Sony WH-1000XM3s, but it's an apples to oranges comparison overall so I won't make it. For my built in motherboard sound output, they were fine. For my daily use they stay plugged into a Sound BlasterX G6, and sound, as I said before, exceptional. So what would I recommend you use them for? Well, anything that isn't portable. I've listened to a huge variety of music on these, from EDM to classical, and probably anything else you can think of. Exceptional. For gaming? Exceptional. Note that I am not a competitive gamer, but with how these respond to EQ, I'm sure they could be tuned for excellent footstep depth and direction. The huge space inside these create some kind of magic. I play mostly single player games, including games with a big focus on music and environmental atmosphere, like Witcher 3. They are just unmatched. I'm sure something in that $350+ price range beats them. I know they're not "the best headphone". On that note, and to my final point: Let's step back a minute and recognize something you may have forgotten as you read this. These are $30, and they're know to go on sale from time to time. About $65 total if you buy them at regular price with the Beyerdynamic pads. They are the cheapest headphones I own. They make me scared to spend money on more expensive headphones, out of fear I'll be disappointed. Buy these. You will not be disappointed.

* I did have a hard time deciding whether to give a 4 or 5 star rating. If they were always on a steep sale (like when I bought them), I would easily have given them a 5. Considering they aren't perfect (but still good) - a 4 is probably more accurate. First - get better ear pads (unless they started supplying these with better pads by the time you read this...doubt it) Going off other reviews, I tried the Brainwavz XL pads - they work great. I got the red ones - pretty cool looking. Generally speaking, I also like Dekoni earpads (more expensive, but usually better quality...I use Dekoni pads on my more expensive sets.) The XL earpads are not only more comfortable, but do seem to help the sound a bit. It's worth the upgrade. If these were always the price I got them for (about a third of the original price if I'm not mistaken - a screaming deal!) --- Id probably give them 5 Stars. At the regular price, they aren't as good of a deal - but still ok I suppose. I will say however - the headphones market is getting flooded with low price alternatives and many are pretty good...so I would recommend that you wait until they are on a sale or do some research first just to be sure. You can always return them. * Note - As of late - I'm using them with a decent headphone stack (external DAC+ EQ + tube Amp)...so they are enhanced. They CAN sound good (out of box) depending on what equipment you may have. Also note - I don't use them much since I have a collection of headphones and earbuds. I rotate them. Using them without half way decent equipment may be a different story. You may have to use an EQ to get them sounding the way you want. Then again, maybe not. Actually...let me be honest ... - At first, I wasn't too excited about these. I had a hard time getting them dialed in with my phone and or PC EQ until I found professional EQ pre-sets designed for the Modern Retro. Once I found those pre-sets - no issues. Now, using them with my main headphone stack (DAC/ Amp) I don't need to EQ them. The out of box sound (at first) wasnt exactly what I had hoped for (not that I really knew what to expect in the first place...plus - for twenty something dollars, I wasn't going to complain one bit.) Luckily, I got them to work the way I want. *** Wait - ...as I already said - right now, I'm using them with my headphone stack. I'm also NOT using my EQ - it's just straight up out of box sound...so they CAN sound good out of box, depending on what equipment you may have. They aren't perfect...but they have great potential if you can get them dialed in. Once you have them sounding the way you like, they become worth it. *Wait - don't get too worried - you may like the out of box sound without any modifications whatsoever. Everyone is different. Personal audio preferences are as personal as one's toilet behavior - a very personal thing. Equalizer APO - on PC, there is (if I remember correctly) a professional pre-set EQ for the Modern Retro. That helped out a bunch - at the very least, it gets the sound to a more manageable spot, from which you can fine tune (many people may like the pro pre-set as is) --- typically, a pre-set will either EQ the headphones to either the Harmon Curve or to a neutral setting.) My Android EQ app - Poweramp Equalizer - which is my fav android EQ app - also has the Monoprice Modern Retro pro pre-set EQ -- several to EQ settings choose from. Those settings also work really well (or at least get you to a starting point for fine tuning.) The out of box sound is basically a V-Shape sound. This is for a friendly "fun" experience. Personally, I think it's a good thing. These aren't for detail and nuance - more for casual listening...not for Audiophile critical listening. Mids may be a weak point (depending on what you have it hooked up to) and may seem a little recessed. They aren't too buried or muffled, but it can depend on the audio source and device it's hooked up to as to how clear and prominent the mids are. I'm not noticing any major bleed from Bass into Mids, but your experience could be different. Most won't likely have an issue. Vocals are clear - or at least clear enough. Vocals are better than instrumental separation however. Instruments are a hit or miss - meaning some will be easily picked up...others not so much. I do notice some instruments getting a little buried. So separation isn't the greatest, and some instruments get buried in the mix. I really do think EQ can assist in this area. Maybe not perfect, but good enough. A DAC may help as well (depending.) Although the Mids can sometimes seem a little cluttered, the overall soundstage isn't too bad for a closed back. The issue is with certain parts of the frequency range. Again - try EQ if having issues. Bass has some prominence. Most will likely be ok with it. Those who are pickier about bass and like tight, controlled bass - you may think it's a bit bloated...or maybe a bit muddy...or boomy. Most people will probably be ok. I dont mind a little extra bass (depending), so I'm good with it. I'm not sure exactly how far the sub-bass extension goes, but it's likely enough for most. From what I can tell, I wouldn't rave about the sub-bass...it does struggle a little with the lowest of frequencies - it will push low freqs, just not the way I prefer. Sub-Bass sounds muddy. The Modern Retro is more about the Mid-Bass bump and thump, rather than precise subs and layered quality bass. I can say with certainty, the mid-bass definetly has some weight, punch and slam. Definitely a bump up in the mid-bass. I wouldn't say it's all that layered though. It's more about quantity than quality...but hey - these aren't that expensive. So how much can we really complain about nuances.... Professional EQ settings take care of most issues. These don't need extra power (low power output devices can run the Modern Retro) I will say though - just about all heaphones can benefit from an amp - and especially a DAC or DAC / Amp combo. I would suggest using an amp or DAC Amp to get the best out of these. Not required though. The drivers in these headphones seem to handle a good bit of power. Monoprice/ Monolith do usually have powerful drivers. Treble is there. It's not too Mello or dull. However, it also depends on your preferences. There's a little bit of sparkle - but not a lot. If you like a lot of high end detail - it may not be quite enough. I'd think most would be ok with the Treble. It's in a decent medium spot. This is also dependent on what it's hooked up to. As I started off with, you really need upgraded earpads for best comfort. The stock pads bother me after while. Sound may also improve (maybe) by changing out pads. Different types of pads can effect the sound differently. If you want strong Bass - usually leather or fake leather is best. If you want more controlled Bass or potential boosted Mids - try velour or jersey knit fabric or something other than leather / fake, faux leather. Soundstage can also be effected. The density of the foam in the pads also makes a difference. There are a bunch of caveats to all this. You can always ask AI for advice on this (always be careful with AI - remember, it's just a suggestion. Double check with other sources. I've argued with AI about headphone specifics and found AI to be wrong at times - and if I took it's advice without already knowing OR didn't double check - I could've made bad decisions.) No issues with the cord. The headband fits good. I will say, after a couple hours, I do have to move the headband around a little - it can get a little uncomfortable on the crown of my head. I may get more Dekoni Nuggets - elongated cube shaped cushions that stick on the headband. They are easy to install. Very comfortable. I already have these Dekoni Nuggets installed on 6 other headphones. Those cost around 25 for a pack of 4 nuggets. Most heaphones only need 2 nuggets. The only pair that needed 3 nugget cushions, is my Hifiman Edition XS (one of my absolute favorite pair of headphones...) I guess that's about it. The Monoprice Modern Retro is a decent set of budget heaphones. They aren't perfect, but you can get them to sound good. Once you're there - they are worth every penny. Hopefully this helps.

Los mejores graves que he oido en unos auriculares de este precio.

These (Retros) are great for the price. Sounds decent enough, nice and bassy, and easy to mod on the cheap. They are made of hard plastic which has the downside of being noisy/creaky when handling them (fine once on your head) and feeling a bit cheap. However this has the upside of making them really easy to modify if you are looking to replace the cable with a 3.5mm jack so you can use your own cords or modmic. You can easily use a file or drill to do whatever you want with them, and there's just a couple of screws under the stickers to take them apart. The pads on these are garbage though, definitely replace them. You can use the stock one's for a couple weeks but you will quickly see why everyone replaces them. Amazon has Brainwavz XL pads but considering that'd double the price of these headphones I went with something much cheaper elsewhere. These are AKG clones so anything that fits those should work, just look for round 110mm pads. Overall great for what I needed them for. If someone was looking for headphones that sound better than the $10 garbage they got at Bestbuy, but were balking at the $200+ price points of better headphones, then these are what I get for them. Nice entry headphones.

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5 stars simply from a value perspective. Sound is amazing for the money. Earpads are terrible though, really stiff and cannot seal around my ears properly hence resulting in a weakened bass response. By changing to something like the brainwavz XL pads definitely makes them shine and worth 3 times it's price

Monoprice Modern Retro - never heard this name before. Someone suggested and I ordered. Took long time to get the delivery due to customs as per the seller. The headphones have huge form factor due to its 50mm drivers. They sit comfortably over your ear. The stock esrpads are good but pretty thin. They does thier job fairly. I upgraded the earpads to Brainwavez XL suede and they truly made great difference. The performance, as they are kinda entry level low budget headphones, you can't really expect much from them. But for this price they are quite exceptional. They sounded little warm to me. The lows are boomy and fairly tight, not very accurate but sounds just right. The sub base is not that great. The mids are great. The highs are not great. Vocals are loud and clear with good tonality. These headphones lacks clarity. This can be overcome by some EQing. The midrange overlaps the highs. Hence they lacks clarity and detailing. Soundstage is good and feels little wide as drivers are sitting little away with Brainwavez pads. Loudness is best in category with very less distortion. The cable is too long for mobile use. We get 6.3mm connector in the box. Apart from this, there is nothing in the box.