Monoprice Monolith: A new planar?

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by MrTie, Sep 13, 2016.

  1. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    So initial impressions are these aren't half bad!
    • Very pleasing sound with appropriate weight.
    • There is a gentle downward slope after ~1kHz with high mid/low treble being the lowest point.
    • Some energy up above 10kHz giving air and sizzle to percussion.
    • Vocals are pushed back and guitars don't quite have that aggressive bite.
    • There is some serious modding potential with these.
    • Imaging seems pretty good, although i'll need to do some gaming to really see what these cans are about.
    • Depth is also good due to how the frequency response is setup
    I'll add more impressions after I get more head time with these.

    Measurements:

    HD650M for reference
    [​IMG]

    Monoprice M1060
    [​IMG]

    M1060 CSD R
    [​IMG]

    M1060 CSD L
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  2. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    Those things are as flat as a pancake until the 2k range!

    That's gotta make them sound a little bit funky for sure.
     
  3. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    That looks like a decent tuning, but closer to Audeze than I would like. The 6-9kHz region looks very recessed. Do you get more 3-4kHz than the measurements suggest as I've found with the planars that I heard and measured on a coupler?

    EDIT: It's also hard to see differences because of the 100db range. I use 35db.
     
  4. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Most planars measure pretty flat up to around ~1kHz. My measurement rig measures almost exactly like Marv's so that our measurements can be comparable.

    B and K Curve on my rig is what to shoot for. Speakers like my Philharmonic AA's measure almost perfectly flat out to 20kHz but there is the natural taper of high frequencies due to listening position. Headphones need the downward slope to not be bright as shit.

    Here's my modded HE-6 for reference:
    [​IMG]

    f**k for $300 these are a STEAL! Pad rolling will be really interesting.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  5. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Does that seems like a particularly *thick* wall to anyone else?
     
  6. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Yes. Here is my modded HE-6 CSD (look at time scale)
    [​IMG]

    M1060 L side which is worse than right
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  7. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Probably just a visualization thing. Not enough frequency resolution with ARTA. Can't change it in the settings, either. The FR looks similar to what I've seen for other planars.

    I don't want to derail this thread with a measurement method accuracy discussion, but here's opinion:
    I don't agree here. The coupler is a simplification that doesn't apply to the real world. B&K target works for some headphones and doesn't work for others. The FR measurements for two different headphones aren't comparable because the acoustics involved aren't the same as on the head. The same goes for modding one headphone, the mods could change how the headphone interacts with the ear and skin, in a way that it doesn't on the coupler.
    I think that's mostly the off-axis response, different reflective surfaces in the room, longer paths, etc. (You'll find that when you window the signal to only include some of the first reflections the balance will look much more flat.)
    Our head brings it back in balance. The head has a similar shape as a sphere and diffraction losses raise the treble. Really just a different way of looking at the same thing.
    Again, I think this depends on the headphone type. With on-ears we probably don't need as much of a slope.

    Measurements are tricky and I think they can mislead you just as easily as they can help you. Does this mean I'm for measuring speakers with a dummy head? Maybe, but interpretation would get extremely difficult. I'm mainly for measuring less and listening more.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
  8. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    First, I respect your opinion and get where you're coming from. However, based on my experience I stand by my statements. I can hear a headphone and draw a graph by hand and be largely correct in the overall shape. The point of the coupler is to eliminate as many variables as possible to be able to compare different headphones in an apples to apples fashion.

    The reason I use a larger scale (like Marv) is because overall, headphones don't sound that different if they are done at all correct. I can pull up all of my headphone measurements and they will all be within 10dB of each other unless they are absolute shit. Of course there will be errant spikes and dips etc but overall there is a common curve that is agreeable to most just like speakers.
     
  9. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I saw this on Head-Fi and had to post it. I commented saying this is a Chinese reverse engineered Audeze headphone, probably LCD-2. This picture is worth so many lolz! Audeze left, M1060 right.
    [​IMG]
     
  10. Decomo

    Decomo Almost "Made"

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    Only gripe on m1060 is that they used MMCX connection for such a large earcup. I never seen full sized headphone using MMCX connection before... It would been awesome if they use same connection type that M560 has.
     
  11. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Yeah, I think it was a space constraint. That's why Audeze use the extended section for the connectors. Hard wiring will be a breeze though. Needs a different cable anyways.
     
  12. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    Makes it convenient too since you don't need to stock different cables for your IEMs and headphones now. ;)
     
  13. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    Shure use that connector on the 1540 and 1840. I'm told Westone does as well
     
  14. Decomo

    Decomo Almost "Made"

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    Are you sure? As far as I know Shure 1540 and 1840 use stereo 3.5mm jack on both earcups like M560, not MMCX on M1060.
     
  15. Valolilol

    Valolilol Acquaintance

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    Guys, quick question, I know Marv referred to the ortho wall this 5k thing we are seeing on the CSD. Is there any way to mod the headphones in order to down it ?
     
  16. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Nope, they use the mmcx connectors.
     
  17. Decomo

    Decomo Almost "Made"

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    Yes. My bad. Thank you for clarification.
     
  18. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    So I just ripped the pads off. Pull them up a little and make sure you don't pull the protective cloth over the driver too. Very easy. It seems like the inside is just like the back side but with a thin cloth-like material instead. Pad rolled with what I have available and my favorite so far is the Audeze Leather Free Pads. They keep the same frequency response but smooth it out and add a touch more warmth with mid bass. Technicalities also go way up.

    [​IMG]
    L
    [​IMG]
    R
    [​IMG]

    These sound so good! Monoprice is getting ripped off selling these at this price.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  19. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    These are very close to perfect now. Imaging, and depth are vastly improved, and they weren't slouches to begin with. They should have shipped with leather free versions of the pads.

    Left Spectrogram
    [​IMG]

    Right Spectrogram
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  20. Decomo

    Decomo Almost "Made"

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