The Monster NTune headphones are incredibly cheap headphones. Well, at least when you compare them to the Beats and the Apple AirPods of the world. However, they are a massive step up from the headphones that you can pick up for a few dollars. But, are they worth it? We checked them out, and we have a lot that we want to tell you about in this Monster NTune review.
Are The Monster NTune Headphones For You?
If you are looking for quality headphones that won’t blow a hole in your bank account, then probably. The Monster NTune headphones offer real value for money, and they are a considerable step up in terms of quality when you compare them to their budget counterparts. So, if you want great sound and you don’t have a lot of cash to spend, then the Monster NTunes are great. As you will see from the rest of this Monster NTune review, we don’t think there is a better pair of headphones on the market at this price point.
If you are looking for studio-level audio quality, or you are a bit of an audiophile, then the Monster NTune headphones probably won’t deliver. Sure, they sound great, but we know that those demanding the best from their headphones won’t get it here. Superior quality headphones cost a lot more than what is being charged for the NTunes. They could make a great backup pair of headphones, though.
Features of the Monster NTune Headphones
The Monster NTune headphones are wired headphones. We know that a lot of the pictures of them seem to feature the headphones with no cable, but it has one. It is actually a detachable cable. There are a few advantages to that, but more on that soon.
The Monster NTune headphones are made from plastic. The plastic is solid too, which helps to keep them feeling nice and lightweight. Perfect for those that are planning to wear headphones on their heads for hours and hours on end. In fact, they weigh just a little under 1.5 lbs, which is barely anything for a pair of headphones. The plastic is even available in a variety of different colors. This is fantastic because it makes it easier to find headphones that really work with your personality.
As with most modern headphones, the NTune features noise-canceling technology, and it is pretty decent. It isn’t the best noise-canceling technology in the world, but it is good enough. Once again, we doubt that you are going to find anything anywhere near as good as this at the NTune price point.
Finally, the Monster NTune headphones boast a fantastic 40mm driver. This means more sound. Better quality sound. The driver is a bit larger than other headphones at this price. So, if the volume is what you are looking for, and you are not too fussed about overall quality, then the Monster NTune headphones may be perfect for you.
What We Like About The Monster NTune Headphones
Let’s start with the positives of the Monster NTune headphones! If you are looking for a great pair of headphones, then this is probably the part of our review where you decide whether the NTunes are going to be right for you (they probably will be).
Good Sound Quality
For the money, the sound quality on the NTunes is unbeatable. Because they boast a 40mm driver, you can get a huge amount of volume when you are listening to music. In fact, these are probably some of the loudest headphones we used at this price…and that is really saying something.
The 40mm driver is big enough to keep a great split between the instruments too. You can hear everything with crystal-clear clarity. The music just sounds great. While we are audiophiles, and we have far better headphones than the NTunes in our collection, we still love pulling them out every so often. They are great gym headphones where you want something that sounds good, but you are also a bit worried about dripping sweat all over them.
These headphones clearly have been built for people that like their music bass-heavy. These are some of the most bass-heavy headphones we have seen at this price. Of course, this may also be a negative for some. More on that soon. But, if your music goes heavy on the bass, or you love to feel the groove, then the NTunes may be right up your street.
Comfortable To Wear
We don’t lie and say these are the most comfortable headphones in the world. But, you guessed it; for the price, the comfort is unbeatable.
You have a good amount of adjustment on the headphones. There are adjustable bars, so you can adjust to the size of your head (most head sizes are catered for, of course). The earbuds swivel so you can get a good fit around your ears. There is no looseness here. Once you have these headphones on, they will stay firmly locked in place. Again, making them great for the gym where you want cheap headphones, but ones that aren’t going to slip and slide everywhere.
The ear cups are padded. Lots of padding, in fact. They will form a nice seal around your head, and you will barely feel like you are wearing something when you rock these headphones. It isn’t the highest-quality padding in the world, though. They may wear down after a few years. But, to be honest, when you are buying headphones this cheap, you probably expected that anyway.
Detachable Cable
This is actually our favorite feature of the Monster NTune headphones, although we know some people are not huge fans of it. These headphones have a detachable 3.5mm cable. This means that when the cable breaks, you can just whip it out and put a new one in.
Since the cable is the part that often breaks the most on the cheaper headphones, this is a fantastic feature. It will help you to get a few more years of life out of your headphones. After all, it is always MUCH cheaper to buy a new cable than it is to buy new headphones.
The detachable cable means no Bluetooth, which means no battery in the headphones. You don’t need to charge these. You can just use them whenever you want.
Durable
These are plastic and lightweight headphones. However, they do feel very durable. You couldn’t really imagine them breaking during normal use. They are just solid workhorse headphones. Great stuff!
We are going to talk about the disadvantages of plastic construction in the next section, though.
Can Use as a Headset
The cable that comes with the NTune has a microphone on it. This means this set of headphones can double as a headset. We see plenty of people use them for gaming, Zoom, etc.
What We Don’t Like About The Monster NTune Headphones
Now we have what we love about the Monster NTune headphones out of the way, now we come to the part of our Monster NTune review where we start to discuss the downsides. There are a few of them. No product is perfect, after all.
Do bear in mind that many of these downsides are the result of the Monster NTune headphones being so cheap. So, if you are buying these because of their price, then you probably shouldn’t worry too much about the durability or noise cancelation. Even though we see some of these issues as a negative, the Monster NTune headphones still perform better than the vast majority of headphones you would pick up at this point.
Of course, if you want something considerably more durable, and with better noise cancelation, you are probably going to be spending $100-$200+ more. This is way too much for some people.
No Bluetooth
These are wired-only headphones. It’s actually a bit annoying since Bluetooth seems to be the norm for most other headphones at this price. Although, we can see why Monster decided to ditch the Bluetooth here. By ditching the Bluetooth, it meant that there was more cash in the budget to produce a quality pair of headphones.
If the Monster NTune had Bluetooth in it, we reckon it wouldn’t be pumping out anywhere near the same sort of sound quality. Plus, a lot of people don’t really like the inconsistent connections of Bluetooth anyway, nor the battery drain it has on your devices.
Can Be a Bit Too Much Bass
Yes. We did give the bass as a pro. However, it is just as much of a con. The headphones work well for bass-heavy music. But, if you don’t want that bass, then they are woeful. The bass ends up overpowering the rest of the music.
They Are Made From Plastic
Don’t get us wrong here. The plastic on the Monster NTune headphones is decent. It will last years. However, it is nowhere near as durable as the metal options on the market. If you stand on these headphones, they are toast. They will just crack. This means that you need to take much greater care over your NTunes i.e. don’t just toss them wherever you see fit!
It is also worth noting that, at times, the plastic can feel a bit uncomfortable. Not majorly uncomfortable, but we did experience a tad of discomfort when we were wearing these for hours and hours on end. We think that may have been more down to the padding on the top of the headphones than the plastic, though.
There Are Various ‘Stress Points’ That Are Prone to Breaking
There are stress points on the headphones that are incredibly prone to breakage if you aren’t careful. These stress points are around the NTune band that can be found just above the ‘adjustment bars’ for the ear cups. If you bend the headphones too much here, then it will probably break. In fact, every single case where we have heard of the headphones just randomly breaking is around here.
Again, this probably isn’t going to be a massive issue if you learn to treat your headphones with care. It is just one more thing that you need to think about. The frustrating thing is that it probably could have been solved by Monster. They just needed to add a bit of extra strengthening here and the headphones would have been great.
Noise Cancelation Isn’t Great
The Monster NTune headphones use passive noise canceling, which is alright. However, some sounds are still going to get in. So, if you are planning on putting your headphones on and shutting yourself out from the rest of the world, then it just isn’t going to happen.
This isn’t really a problem with the headphones, though. it is a problem with passive noise canceling technology. If you want actual noise canceling, then you will need to get an active set of headphones. These will cost a lot more, though.
Monster NTune Headphones Pros & Cons
Let’s wrap up by giving you an overview of the pros and cons of the Monster Ntune headphones.
Pros
- Lightweight headphones
- Good sound quality
- Detachable cable
- Comfortable to wear for long periods of time
- Affordable
Cons
- No Bluetooth
- Made of plastic
- Poor noise canceling
- Too much bass
Final Thoughts – Should You Buy The Monster NTune Headphones?
If you are in the market for affordable headphones that still deliver on the sound quality front, then we don’t see any better option than the Monster NTune headphones. There is a reason why so many people have snapped these up over the years.
If you want something that boasts sound quality that is of a similar level to Beats, etc. then absolutely not. These headphones are great, but nowhere near as good as headphones many times the price.
For the casual user, these are some of the best headphones that you can buy. For serious music lovers, then there are better options. You just will have to pay a lot more for those better options.
