The Monolith M565C Review by Mike From The Audioish Podcast
TOP 5 – Monolith M565C Pros:
- Low Price For Audiophile Headphones
- Transparent Sound
- Amazing Detail
- Detachable Cable
- Planar Magnetic Drivers
I ordered these on Amazon after the guys on the Beginner Audiophile podcast raved about them. The reviews on amazon were mixed and the most prominent bad review mentions a cable connector design flaw or poor quality (loose) jacks in the ear cups. When mine arrived I couldn’t wait to give them a try! Before I get to the sound and build quality, I need to address this so called “design flaw.”
I quickly grabbed my iPad, Dragonfly Red, fired up Tidal and connected the M565c’s for a proper listen. While listening to the first track I was blown away at the sound. It was truly impressive and I was so excited, then, I moved my head and BOOM! No sound in the left channel. As I jiggled the cable it returned and left again with each movement. Damn, I should have listened to the Amazon reviewers. On closer inspection I realized the cable connectors didn’t stay in the cup jacks very well, even though it was tight.
Monolith M565C Review – Loose Cable Connector Fixed
Being the handy DIY type, I headed to my workshop to have a closer look at the jacks and cable plugs. Under magnification I could see that the cable plugs were not in all the way, even though they had met a significant amount of resistance. I felt they were properly installed but it turns out they needed to be pushed in further. I pushed the cable connector in with more force than most people would ever expect necessary and they “clicked” into place. When reading any other Monolith M565C review make disregard any mention of a loose cable and just push hard. BTW – it takes a great deal of effort to remove the cables once they’re in as well.
Monolith M565C Review – How Do They Sound?
The speed and detail of a planar magnetic driver is hard to beat and these beginner audiophile headphones will teach you that straightaway. While listening to Stevie Ray Vaugh – Tin Pan Alley the level of detail is just amazing. It seemed like I was hearing information between the notes that I hadn’t heard before. Like I was in the Matrix and I was now aware of detail that was previously hidden from me. Maybe it’s due to the speed and accuracy of the planar magnetics over a traditional driver, I’m not sure but whatever it is I love it.
While the soundstage is not as open in the Monolith M565C’s as the Fidelio X2HR’s I reviewed previously, you’d have to expect that with a closed back design vs. the open back X2HR’s. Even with the closed back design, I felt the sound stage was open and airy. Tin Pan Alley has so much openness that it’s hard not to feel the massive depth of the soundstage in the track, so I moved to another one of my favorite reference tracks for comparison.
Que up: Dire Straights – Sultans of Swing. As a big Mark Knopfler fan, this track is common go to for me because I know it so well on so many different rigs. This track is available on Tidal as a “Master” file and worth the cost of entry. If you haven’t tried Tidal yet, give their free trial a spin. OK…..let me get back to the review. Mark Knopfler’s Fender Stratocaster sounds amazing on the M565C’s and the tempo of this track is well represented. Once again I think this is due to the speed and transparency of the planar magnetic drivers.
The Look and Feel of the Monolith M565C’s is exceptional at this price point. With their rosewood cups, detachable cables and incredible sound they are a genuine value at $199. If you’re a beginner audiophile and looking for your first pair of closed back headphones you will not be disappointed.
Pete and I had talked about these awesome headphones on our Audioish Podcast and you can listen below:
About the author: Mike has been an audiophile most of his adult life but it all started when his dad bought a H. H. Scott system in the late 70’s. Since then he’s been a crazy two-channel analog nut.