Monoprice Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphone with ANC Review
Affordable ANC headphones that disappoint with their sound quality
Verdict
An affordable pair of noise-cancelling headphones that deliver with good comfort and a solid performance in terms of its features, but the Monoprice Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphones are let down by an audio performance that lacks clarity and detail.
Pros
- Good comfort
- Reasonably effective ANC for the money
- Above average call quality
- Good Bluetooth performance
Cons
- Lethargic, ponderous sound
- Audio lacking in detail, clarity, and sharpness
Introduction
The Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphone with ANC is one of Monoprice’s cheaper options, boasting long battery life and the presence of active noise-cancellation.
The Dual Driver setup is the aspect of these headphones that piques my interest most. It’s not a design I’ve come across often in full-sized over-ear headphones, usually cropping up in wired in-ear monitors and a few wireless earbuds.
It’ll be intriguing to hear how it works in an over-ear pair of headphones, and whether Monoprice can make more of a mark with the Dual Driver Bluetooth than it was able to do with Sync-ANC.
Design
- Foldable design
- Cosy levels of comfort
- No 3.5mm input
These headphones are huge – even for someone like myself with a rather large head, though the experience of wearing the Dual Driver ANC is a pleasant one thanks to its padding.
They’re a bit too big for smaller heads – a pair of headphones such as the Creative Zen Hybrid might be more suitable. The clamping force is fairly tight, but the padding alleviates most of the pressure. They hug securely enough to the head that you won’t feel as if they’re going to slide about. They certainly stick to the head better than the SoundMagic P60BT.
For my large ears there’s plenty of room for them. The clamping force also helps in terms of the seal that the headphones create, which helps the headphones’ noise-cancelling performance.
Like most affordable headphones, the buttons are of the cheap-feeling variety and interacting with them is very basic. I’m not loving the placement of the buttons either, especially the volume buttons. They’re not that easy to find through feel alone, and there aren’t any indentations to tell the difference between volume up and volume down.
The carry case manages the feat of looking big but also compact, and inside you’ll find just a USB-A to USB-C cable – there’s no 3.5mm input for analogue use. The headphones can be folded, which is handy given they won’t fit in the case otherwise.
The general feeling is that build quality is solid with some nice-looking glossy silver accents. The Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphones are only available in black, but these headphones don’t have the desire to draw attention.
Features
- Good ANC/transparency mode
- Strong Bluetooth stability
- Above average call quality
Unlike say, the Sony WH-CH720N or the Soundcore Space One, the Monoprice Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphones aren’t ladened with features. In fact, there isn’t much to speak of bar the basics you’d expect from an affordable noise-cancelling pair of headphones.
There’s support for the Bluetooth 5 standard, which also includes Bluetooth multipoint to connect to two devices simultaneously. Streaming over Bluetooth is via SBC and AAC, and I’d say that the wireless stability is strong. Aside from a stutter, they got through a busy Waterloo station unscathed.
Every time you turn the headphones on you’ll hear the battery status (high, medium, low), and I imagine it’ll be a while until you hear the word ‘low’ as the Monoprice claims to have 70 hours’ worth of charge in the bank, although with noise-cancellation engaged it’s close to 38 hours. The battery drain I carried out saw eight hours pass and not a single percentage drop was noted when streaming music at around 50% volume.
Hybrid Noise-Cancellation is surprisingly effective on the commute. There’s little it can do against the unceasingly loud volumes of the London underground, but in general it thins out the wind noise effectively, reduces the noise of the carriage, and subdues the sounds of those speaking close by.
Sounds will get through (mostly screaming kids, and a few low frequency sounds), and when used above ground and outdoors, the Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphones is commendable in the amount of noise it renders less distracting. Wind noise doesn’t put much of a dent in the headphones’ armour, either.
The transparency mode is both clear and pipes in more detail (in a natural way), than I would have expected for a headphone at this price. You’ll be aware of what’s around you or catch an announcement on the tannoy. Like the noise-cancelling performance, it’s better than I expected for the outlay.
Another area where budget headphones aren’t always the most convincing is clarity of call quality, but the Monoprice is above average with its voice pick-up performance. The person on the other end said they could hear sounds around me, but in a manner that distracted from the conversation we were having. Mark the Dual Driver as good value for the money.
Sound Quality
- Lacks sharpness, clarity, and detail
- Dual driver set-up
- Sometimes crisp, mostly warm sound
Given the Monoprice doesn’t have many features, it does well with what it does have. Could the audio performance also punch above its weight? Sadly, the answer is no.
Monoprice has gone down the route of having a dual-driver setup, mixing a 20mm driver (presumably for the high frequencies), and 40mm driver (for the midrange and below); though Monoprice’s promotional video mentions a 50mm driver. It’s the kind of setup used in in-ear monitors.
In any case, the result is a sound that seems at odds with itself. It’s a warm-sounding profile from the midrange down, but the way it’s tuned for the high frequencies is sharper. However, the main aspect about this sound is its sluggishness. It’s as if the midrange warmth of these headphones is like a sonic fog.
The warmth leads to a lack of clarity and definition. Katy B’s Katy on a Mission doesn’t sound too muffled or fuzzy, but the way the Monoprice organises its soundstage makes it sound as if the song takes place in the distance. Initially I thought the midrange was recessed, but the entire frequency range is at a remove.
There’s a lack of energy to what should be thumping basslines, and music in general takes on this tempo regardless of the genre. The Monoprice largely sounds ponderous and lethargic.
It doesn’t help that the high frequencies can vary between a lack of detail and sounding a little too peaky, especially at higher volumes. The reproduction of the piano in James Francies’ 713 is alternates between sounding dull and bright, but in both cases the high frequencies are starved of detail and clarity.
In the test track fave GoGo Penguin’s Raven the lack of clarity and sharpness is obvious. With Andreas Ihlebæk’s Come Summer the piano registers as sharp and a little edgy. That edginess is somewhat removed at lower volumes, but the Monoprice struggles to find a good middle ground. Switch to its passive mode and it takes better care of the higher frequencies, but the sound still lacks detail.
Music lacks shape and its tone is almost too smooth – the amount of detail retrieved is disappointing. There’s not much dynamism, the soundstage doesn’t come across as well defined. Activating ANC narrows the soundstage, but provides a little more definition, while the headphones’ passive mode sounds bigger but looser and less defined. The Monoprice Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphones sound as if they’re not sure what they want to be.
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Should you buy it?
The noise-cancellation punches above its price
Like many affordable ANC cans, the Monoprice won’t clear out every noise they come across, but their ANC performance is an effective one for the money.
The sound disappoints
I can see what Monoprice was hoping to achieve with their dual-driver setup, but the execution falls flat.
Final Thoughts
There’s plenty that the Monoprice Dual Driver Bluetooth Headphones get right with the design and implementation of its feature set, so it’s a disappointment that the most important business of how they sound is rather shabby.
The audio lacks energy, clarity, and articulation. These headphones don’t stand up well to the likes of the Sony WH-CH720N and Soundcore Space One. While they’d be worth considering for the well-executed design and features, the audio is a disappointment. Check out our Best Headphones guide for more options.
How we test
We test every set of headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy
Tested across several months
Tested with real world use
Battery drain carried out
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FAQs
Monoprice claims to have 70 hours’ worth of charge in the bank, although with noise-cancellation engaged it’s close to 38 hours.
Full specs
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
