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.

Hello! For context I've been an audio enthusiast for a while, I enjoy home theater, car audio, all sorts of headphones wired/wireless, IEMs, gaming headphones, noise cancelling etc. I wouldn't say I'm a discerning audiophile but I enjoy the hobby, especially on a budget. I actually never had any wired headphones that weren't "gaming" headsets, so I purchased this as an entry level product to dip my toes into wired headphones. I've been more into IEMs lately having about 15 different sets of those. I am more than happy with this purchase. The overall tuning of this headset is RIGHT up my alley and generally suits my preferences, a moderate V shaped tuning. Bass is ample but not overpowering in anyway. When I was reading the reviews for this product I was worried this was a pure "basshead" headphone lacking brightness and details and that isn't the case at all. It's ample bass that extends deep, mid-bass that doesn't bleed much at all into the mids etc. The treble has average extension and clarity, with no funny business at all. I love me some good bright treble and this delivers! I found these enjoyable to listen to all types of music. I really struggle to imagine how the sound could be better at this price point. It's an enjoyable tuning that should please most. Comfort is slightly above average I would say. These are super light in weight. I love the auto-adjust headband. I never really liked the manual fixed adjustments on other types of headphones as I find I have to adjust them each time I wear them. So the auto-adjustment is very welcome to me. A lot of folks are knocking the stock pads. I expected them to be complete trash based on reviews but they really aren't that bad. The density/softness is fine, not too hard. My issue is that the pads are not deep, so my ears touch the flat inner surface near the drivers and that causes a bit of discomfort. I didn't want to spend $20+ on the Brainwavs so I found some much cheaper alternatives on AliExpress and those are incoming. Stock pads are perfectly usable IMO. I do wish they were smaller too, I see no need to have the largest 105/110mm size.... Build quality: all plastic. Not super robust feeling by any means. Expected and adequate at this price point. I doubt these would hold up to daily use thrown in a backpack, but mindful handling and storage should be fine. Amplification: Sounds much more detailed with "legitimate" sources. Easy to drive, not much power required at all. Now this is true for all IEMs/Headphones in my experience. I used these with the JCALLY JM20 USB dongle (cheap entry level dongle) and FIIO K3 desktop headphone AMP (low powered). I couldn't tell a difference between these two sources. Any other low-end source sounds like there is a towel over the drivers, loses a ton of detail/clarity. The cord is long at 10ft but I just used the twist-ties to shorten it to my preferred length. Dual 3.5mm/ 1/4inch plug is nice at this price point. Overall: Highly recommended at $30 and below. I got these for $25 and am very happy.

First thing is first, the biggest thing to take away from this, is "IT'S $30". You cant expect god-tier stuff at $30, even my personally touted $30USD Koss KPH30i is obviously not the best thing since sliced bread, but I think I found the polar opposite, sound profile-wise in the Monoprice Modern Retro. It seems like there are a bunch of polarizing opinions on this pair of cans, many people hold these up there with well made cans in the hundreds of dollars, while others are trashing on it "because its $30". I think people need to take a step back and look at things with context. This is all from the perspective of a casual audiophile, I don't claim to have golden hearing, nor to understand everything down to the minute detail. I just know what I like, and what I tend to look for in the sound from a headphone. Build: Decent The packaging is very simplistic, but I think that is fine for a $30 pair of headphones, nothing but a cardboard box, with a cardboard insert holding things in place inside, with the sensitive parts covered with plastic bags. It does the job, and it holds it securely in place, with enough room to allow for bumpy shipping to beat on the box with no worries. The cable is standard fair, with a rubberized nylon coating, somewhat easy to kink, though its not super stiff at the least. It is nice that they include a 1/4 inch to 3.5mm screw-on converter with the cable, that is really appreciated. The cable is permanently attached, no swapping. There is some stress relief built in. The headphones themselves are pretty much purely plastic. the cups are hard plastic, somewhat cheap feeling. The headband is a pair of hard nylon rods, it does the job fine. the headrest at the top is nice and wide, it adjusts as you put the headphones on. The tension for the headband is done via a pair of spandex cords, so I can see that wearing out in the future. For the earcups, they have some up-down movement that is allowed, but no front or back, instead, that relies on the nylon of the headband to flex. The clamp force is mild, not skull crushing like some closed back headphones. The pads are replaceable I believe. They are ok. They arent soft, but they arent rock-hard either. I am impressed by their build for $30, I have seen much worse examples. Sound: Competently Good This is where I think the Monoprice Modern Retro shines. When listening to this, of course, I am not blown away by anything specific, but I remember that these are $30, and that context makes them impressive. The overall sound signature is a heavy leaning towards warm, with what seems to be average mids and highs. Imaging is mediocre, you can easily tell the direction of most sounds, and get a decent sense of generally where a sound is coming from, likely due to the lack of any emphasis on the treble. Their soundstage is moderate, as they are a closed back set of headphones. There is an obvious soundstage, but it doesnt reach very far. Instrument separation is fine, its there, but it does not make itself very obvious. For the sound in general, bass is very good, the drivers do a good job of trying to hold it together when the bass hits, I have heard many a cheap pair of headphones that are a garbage with bass, where it just feels like a wobbly mess. It's not crisp and fast with the bass, but it does the job decently, which is far better than many other $30-50 "big name" *cough* Beats *cough* headphones that I have heard. The driver holds itself together when you get big bass hits, and even when you have very rapid bass. The mids are average, maybe a bit recessed, bass mostly keeps to itself, so it doesnt encroach much on the mids I feel, unlike some other, less competent headphones. You will hear the guitar and male vocals, but they never pop at you. The treble is also average, at least to me. Female vocals are relatively clear, and you can hear high-notes, but there isnt any sparkle like in an obviously V-shaped set of headphones. There are times where the way it handles treble, it does kind of fall apart, sounding harsh. Overall, this is a very warm sound, with decent performance as a whole. If I had to explain how I would say it sounds in a somewhat simple way, I would say, "It's what a pair of Beats headphones at this price SHOULD sound like, if they actually put money into the parts, instead of advertising." In the end, the Monoprice Modern Retro, factoring the price, is an amazingly competent set of headphones. If you are looking for a warm closed back set of headphones that are far in away, an amazing performer for the price of $30, really, they are an easy recommendation from me. I feel like they are a good option if you are new to the audiophile hobby, and want a cheap starter "fun" set of headphones. Edit: adding a few images.

These are good headphones, if you've never heard good headphones before. These have a big heaping lump of bass, but that bass is very blobby and woofy and imprecise, the mids are muddy and vague while the highs are piercing, haphazard and sometimes even painful. While similar headphones can generally be adjusted via EQ to compensate for a lot of this, I haven't been able to EQ these in any way to fix these problems. Even being very bass-forward, you still need to amp these and use aftermarket ear pads to really get the most out of the bass potential these have. An ordinary cell phone or computer isn't going to be able to drive these adequately to really get all the bass these have to give. And if you're okay with investing in aftermarket ear pads and an amp, you may as well start with better headphones in the first place. The problem is, I got these on sale for $20. And I have to confess, for $20, these are probably the best $20 headphones around. That doesn't say a lot, but it does have to be said. For $20, they're really pretty good. They're lightweight and comfortable, the cable is nice, and, well, if all you want is cheap bass, they certainly deliver. These are absolutely Best In Class, but that class happens to be "Cheapest of the Cheap." Most of my listening is done these days on my Sennheiser HD600s, which are gorgeous for critical listening, but I've been wanting some more laid back, bassy, fun rock'n'roll kind of headphones for casual listening. I thought I'd start here, because hey, $20. I almost returned these, but I decided to just hang on to them until I find the fun headphones I'm looking for and then hand these down to a friend or something.

I'll get sound quality out of the way and then talk about why these headphones are a great bargain. They are rather unintimate mid-bass heavy with an overall recessed signature and uneven treble as well as other variables that make these feel hard to feel engaged with in a lot of areas; they are quite average in sound quality from stock, lacking some body, clarity, separation, stage, imaging, etc, but are just okay, and aren't refined at all, and unlike their cousins, they are closed-back instead of semi-open and/or open, which can be good or bad based upon your preference. So, what makes these worth the price? I'll start with build quality. This is very subjective in the matter, in fact, most people have criticized the build on these as being "cheap", but in my opinion, they are made out of good quality materials, especially if you want to go and compare other headphones for the same price. They aren't designed with complexity, but have sturdy yet flexible parts despite being lightweight and "cheap" feeling; they don't have many parts that can break because of their simple design without many joints and lack of a foldable or collapsible structure, hard ABS-like plastic, earcups with minimal up and down swivel, and a thick, solid, nicely stitched pleather headband pad well-balanced and suspended by some spring action on the sides and a "roll cage" aka outer headband on top supporting the overall flexibility of the unit and compensating for the lack of side swivel of the earpads as well; they literally just sit on your ears with some slight adjustments, and being lightweight not only makes them have better comfort potential, but also makes them durable from accidental drops and occasional dangles aside from its ABS/ABS-like materials and flexible outer headband contorting to certain angles from mishandling or slight impact. I believe the durability and quality is underestimated mainly because of their lightweight design and hard-wired cable, which I feel isn't bad either, since the cable is dense with a quality 3.5mm male plug at the end; a detachable cable would have just been a bonus on top. The only real quality complaint I have is the stock earpads, which are firm and shallow, causing slight discomfort. They use the AKG aka SuperLux aka Samson signature design, and this is a good thing, which leads me to my next point. Pad moddable. Yes, if you want to use a variety of large pads, like ones for AKGs and other popular headphones that share similar earpads, this inexpensive pair of headphones allows you to do just that, so you can customize your comfort, and sound to some degree, and yes, sound does change with different pads; I'm sure with such a basic design, other mods can be done as well. This really is like a starter DIY headphone that's just decent out of the box. If you aren't sure if you'd like the design of the more expensive Samson, Superlux or even AKG headphones with this similar design concept, this is a great one in my opinion for testing the waters, since for its price, there's nothing to lose, and you get the bonus of having the same moddable pad options as its more expensive cousins, or, if you just want an inexpensive full-sized decently built headphone with huge 50mm drivers at such a very reasonably low price, you cannot go wrong. Buy multiple pairs and customize them with different pads and mods for each one; it's a cool project. These get my recommendation!

This review is for the "Modern Retro Over Ear Headphones"; this listing has apparently been used for other products as well before. I finally broke down and reluctantly bought a pair of headphones to replace the Realistic headphones I bought from Radio Shack in about 1983... not so much because they needed replacement but because I lost faith that they would be able to persevere. After all, they're 37 years old. How long can they possibly be excellent? After much deliberation and a great deal of comparison shopping (I'm bad that way), I settled on these headphones as my substitute. Upon using them... I'm both impressed and unimpressed. Mostly impressed, I think. They're astoundingly lightweight, and the very large earpads surround my ears very well. I have a set of Dumbos, and it takes a lot of headphone to fully surround them. These do that. They're also very soft, so I can wear them comfortably for several hours at a time. Their frequency response curve sounds very, very flat across the spectrum, with good solid bass, crisp highs, and full midrange. BUT... they're not perfect. I DON'T like their rather extreme flexibility; they're a bit like a Slinky. I'd prefer that the headband was more rigid, so that the earpads always remained more or less diametrically opposed to each other. I have no reason to want to tie these things in a knot. I'm also not overly fond of the fact that they close up fully like a disturbed pillbug when they're off your head, so the earpads rub against each other as you handle them. I'm convinced that this will result in undue wear to the bottom edges of the earpads, that resulting in a reduced life of the headphones. I cannot believe that these will last nearly as long as my old Realistic headphones have so far. Third, I'd prefer a coiled headphone cord over a straight headphone cord. I cannot make this cord stay out of the way of my chair's wheels; I'm constantly running over it. That was never much of a problem with my older 'phones with the coiled cord. I'm very strongly tempted to replace this cord with a good coiled cord. Overall... these are good headphones, and well worth the money to me. There's room for improvement, but I'd still buy them a second time and recommend them to any friend.

First time I've ever literally had my jaw drop from a pair of headphones, and that's aside from the price! Came across Z's review of these and the hype is real! REPLACING THE PADS WITH THE BRAINWAVS XL (Sheepskin or Pleather) is A MUST! Brainwavz XL Large Replacement Memory Foam Earpads - Suitable For Many Other Large Over The Ear Headphones - Sennheiser, AKG, HifiMan, ATH, Philips, Fostex, Sony (Black Pleather) The pad upgrade alone makes these instantly within the same class as $500 dollar headphones and up, I did a/b tests with the akg 712, audeze lcd-2, and it's convinced me to return my akg 702's for a refund because these are THAT GOOD. A couple caveats at this price I will explain below 1. Aside from the essential pad upgrade already mentioned, get an amp with these, i would consider it almost as essential to make these sing to the high heavens, at 32ohms these are really easy to drive without an amp but with an amp and wow, and you don't need an expensive one, the A3 from Fiio ($60) will drive these like a champ and blow your mind. 2. The cable is extremely long and is permanently attached, very loosely at that, seems like it would be easy to accidentally get the cord caught on something and yank it out, which would require soldering and disassembly to repair, there are mods to install a female jack onto these to make the cable detachable, google "monoprice retro cable mod". I found a small work-around to this by applying a little bit of super glue in the small gap that is between the cable and the housing to create a filling that stops the cable attachment from wiggling around loosely there. any sort of adhesive/epoxy or squeezable glue should do just as good of a job, Other than that, you are good to go! As far as the sound goes: I had just purchased a pair of k702's which I will use as a comparison since the 702's and the AKG brand are highly regarded as the industry standard in my profession, they sound GREAT if you are using them for what they are made for: critical listening/mastering/mixing, i work as a producer/engineer in the music industry so i have cans on my head 8 hours a day, the soundstage is amazing on the k702's but as many said, they felt underwhelmed by the lack of low end, I disagree and heard and felt plenty of low end, my problem with the 702's is how sensitive they are, they need to be at a less than "loud" volume to find the sweet spot with no distortion, and even response, but they are very quick to distort no matter what amp i used (O2, magni3, Fiio) I sense the lack of bass felt from many can be due to the open back design which lets air escape and to compensate we turn up the volume to get the low end pumping to match the pristine mids/highs and wide sound stage the 702's have, that being said, they are an amazing pair of headphones and deserve all the praise they have you just can't crank em. Now on these....since they have a almost identical form factor aside from being closed back and not open.they can keep up with everything i threw at them so far, even tried purposely double-amping a couple amps to try and get these to distort to see how much they could take and you would get hearing damage before you would hear clipping from these assuming your source is good (flac, 320mp3). I wish monoprice would hook up AKG with some pointers on how to get them to sound like these, I wanted to like the akg's so badly, but alas they have been bested by something a fraction of the price, and i'm on the fence if the "burning in" myth is a factor but if thats the case then i can't imagine the monoprice retros can even sound better than they already do! It's interesting how small changes in headphones are the difference between hundreds of dollars in cost, there are numerous models of headphones from numerous brands out there that are marketed as the company's flagship product and priced as such yet contain the same driver as the cheaper models and the only difference is tweaks to the housing/build to change the sound signature, so you end up paying hundreds more for a piece of foam added behind the earpad of a model half the price to accentuate the bass/change the mids, etc. However, with these its as if the opposite happened, as if they just "downgraded" their higher end models by swapping out the earpads for really low grade pads which changes the sound from night to day, All this is within hours of receiving them in the mail, so I will update this review if things change: TL;DR 1. Get Brainwavs XL Pleather or Sheepskin replacement pads (ESSENTIAL) 2. Cable is too long and NOT removable and is attached poorly at that, mods can be done. 3. If 1 and 2 are completed you will have possibly the best $30 dollar headphones ever made, period.