Destroyer of Headphones

At one time, I ordered 5 different earphones from Monoprice. I chose to use the 8319 model first. I must say, I really liked it. Liked the sound quality, especially if price was taken into consideration. For under $10, it delivered sound of a $50 earphone. So when I broke it last week, I didn't feel any remorse. I had given 3 of them away, but a still had one, model 8322. Alas, the car door was slammed onto it the next day. Now I have none.

The 8319 model had a cloth covered wire, which I liked. It does not tangle easily, as I just stuff them in my pocket. The 8322 has a latex wire, and it would tangle so badly, that sometimes it would take a couple of minutes to untangle. The bad thing of the cloth wire is that it kinked. I can live with that. Some of the reviews for the 8319 complain about noise from the rubbing of the wire.

So I ordered 4 earphones from Monoprice.com on Thursday. It has shipped Friday. I think the first one I will use is the 9927 model, which replaces the 8320 model. The 8320 model has gotten good press, which is why I bought from them.

Upon doing a Web search, I think almost all the good press for earphones comes from this forum thread-

Head-Fi.Org 8320

Monoprice 8319 Black and White

I lost my Sony earphones, so when the package from Monoprice came the other day, I rushed to open the box and grab an earphone. The 8319 were was the ones I grabbed. Hi-Fi Premium Noise Isolating Earphones - Black & White. Hi-Fi I get. Premium? Don't get me wrong, they are good headphones, but, premium, no. As for noise isolating, that comes sticking the earbuds into the ear canal.

The plastic housing for the speakers look cheap. They come with one size earbuds, so hopefully they fit. I would guess they would take take earbuds you may have from other earphones, but I always lose them. The cord lenth is listed as 48"/ 1225 mm. The wire is covered in a nylon cloth, which doesn't tangle when you stuff them into your pocket. Some reviews mention that the cloth transmits noise as it rubs against your clothing, suggesting that they may not be good for jogging. The stereo jack is straight, I prefer L-shaped,  and is gold plated.

The sound is rather good. It has a nice warmth to the music. Bass is not booming. They are a loud headphone, I needed to lower the volume on the PlayBook, as compared to other headphones, I have used.  It's not audiophile headphones, but I payed $6.75 for them. With shipping. Worth at least $20. Sound like $50 headphones. But they do look cheap. So, if you don't mind the looks, they are a good deal.

Monoprice Headphones

Finally I caved in and ordered earphones from Monoprice. Out of 9 different models they sell, I ordered 5 of them. Those in the boxes are models 9396 and 9697. They come with 3 sets of ear buds in the box.
Models 8319, 8320 and 8322 come in plastic bags with 1 set of ear buds. The one opened is 8319.

Monoprice recommends, for the 9xxx series, that you should break them in by using pink noise thru them. Not really sure what pink noise is, but I saw you could buy them in iTunes. I think there maybe websites for pink noise too, but I haven't looked into it.

Monoprice Headphones