Monoprice M1070C Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones - Over-Ear Design, Removable Earpads, 3.5mm Connector - Black (Model 143236) | Perfect for Audiophiles, Studio Recording & Immersive Gaming

Wow, These headphones sound really good. I live in a craptastic apartment building for now and quickly found the wall to not contain sound well so I listen to headphone all the time. This is my first set of planars and audiophile grade headphones. I was using a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones and this was a huge upgrade. I am using these to listen to SACD, CD and records. The equipment I am using is as follows. Carver c4000 preamp, Technics SL1200 turntable, Sony UBP-X1000ES disc player. I have left Monolith 1070c headphones play while a t work and use when I get home to help break them in faster. The Monoliths sound very open and airy. The mids and highs are detailed, but silky smooth. The bass is tight and will slam hard when listening to electronic or rap music. The soundstage sounds wider than the headphones themselves with depth or perception of in front of me, behind me while listening to SACD which are either Mobile Fidelity Soundlab or Analogue Productions high quality recordings. A completely different experience compared to the Bose. The Monoliths do sound pretty neutral for the most part. I have also bought a Topping A30 PRO headphone amp to use on one of the aux outs on the Carver preamp and after using the Topping for a couple weeks it has opened up. Tight detailed bass, mids and highs. Images well but still not like the Carver is capable of. I guess it needed to break in. As far as comfort. I can wear the Monoliths all day every day without comfort issues from the weight, but they are a little heavy and bulky so be mindful of that. Wearing glasses does not interfere with comfort too much. I am only using the leather earpads for now due to how comfortable they are and how easy to they are to clean after each use with a dry cloth. I will try out the velour ones another time. You will not be disappointed with the Monolith headphones. I find that amplification will make a pretty big difference in how the Monoliths sound. They do take some power, but they will reward you with beautiful sound reproduction. I am very pleased with jumping down the rabbit hole and now understand what the fuss of audiophile grade planars were all about. I really want to try the open back planars.