First it was cables, then Monster teamed with Dr. Dre to create the Beats lineup of headphones. Now, with a plethora of Beats headphones and speaker systems on the market, Monster's focusing on its own brand a bit more. The new Monster Inspiration headphones have a definite Beats feel to them in design and also in sound signature, although they have no actual association with Beats Audio. The $279.95 (list) headphones aren't ideal for audiophiles seeking flat response, but fans of deep bass and bright highs won't be disappointed. The Inspiration is a powerful, distortion-free pair with a highly tweaked frequency response?and comes with some useful accessories to boot.
Design
Before we proceed, let's note that PCMag is reviewing the passive headphone version of the Inspiration, not the powered, noise-cancelling model. Eventually, we hope to check that pair out as well, but the Inspiration does provide a reasonable amount of passive noise reduction without any battery-powered circuitry.
Monster's Inspiration headphones are sturdy-looking, with comfortable rectangular ear cups that are more circumaural (around-the-ear) than supra-aural (on-the-ear). Even so, the cups somehow feel like a hybrid of the two, since the pads aren't quite big enough to make a full seal around the ear, but are too large to rest only on the ear.
As with many Monster-designed products, the headphones come with some visual flair, such as the removable, replaceable headband. Our all-black pair came with the standard black leather headband (with the Inspiration logo embossed on it), which easily snaps out. One extra headband ships with each pair. Ours was a shiny black reptile leather print?definitely an eye-catcher, but definitely not for everyone. More headband styles will be on sale soon, though pricing may vary.
No one will knock Monster for skimping on accessories. First off, the linguini-esque cable, which can fit into either ear's 3.5mm jack along the lower panel of the rectangular earcups, is removable. Right there, you get some added value, since the cable, not the drivers, is usually the first thing to wear out on a pair of headphones. Normally, even with a removable cable, if it's faulty, you'd still have to spend money to replace it, but Monster provides you with three cables total. This is one of the more impressive inclusions we've seen in the headphone accessory department.
Granted, each cable is a slightly different style. You get an iPhone cable with volume control, mic, and remote button; a universal phone cable that also still works with iPhone but lacks volume controls, and a regular audio cable with no phone or volume controls at all. So technically, whichever you choose to start with will need to be purchased again if you wish to replace it exactly. But with two phone-friendly options, my guess is most users will tough it out, and by the time you burn through two of them, you'll probably be ready for a new headphone pair?though that could be several years from now, if you treat them well.
Also included: a plush, zip-up protective pouch for the headphones to fold into, and a cleaning cloth so you can keep your Inspiration looking shiny and new. The lack of any 1/4-inch or airplane adapters is a bit of an oversight, but one we're wiling to overlook since they're relatively cheap and easy to find (Radio Shack or Best Buy should do the trick), and the inclusion of three cables is much more useful.
Performance
One thing Monster is known for with the Beats line is some serious tweaking of the lows and highs. The Beats by Dr. Dre from Monster ($349.95, 4 stars) offer powerful audio, with significantly boosted bass and tweaked treble. While the Monster Inspiration doesn't sound identical, audiophiles seeking flat response headphones should probably look in a different direction, as the basic characteristics of the Beats line are represented here, as well: deep bass meets bright highs. It actually sounds, for lack of a better term, exciting, but when you compare back-and-forth with the Bowers & Wilkins P3 ($199.99, 4 stars), you get a sense of just how much brighter and crisper the Inspiration is, and that this isn't necessarily accurate reproduction. The Inspiration also provides more power, and far deeper lows, while the P3 seems to focus more on the mid-range frequencies.
There's no distortion to speak of on deep bass tracks. The Knife's "Silent Shout," which has extremely deep low frequencies, is still conveyed distortion-free even at top volumes?not that anyone should be listening at these unsafe levels. The matching boosts in the high frequencies help keep things from ever sounding too muddy, but the peaks at both ends of the frequency range mean the low-mids and hi-mids can sometimes sound a bit weak and neglected. This sound signature makes the two most prominent aspects of most pop and hip-hop mixes?the beat and the vocals?step to the forefront. Even at moderate levels, Jay Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" feels as if it's coming through a powerful club sound system.
One genre the Inspiration has a little bit of trouble with is classical music recordings, which tend to focus more on dynamics, and rarely feature booming bass or tweaked highs. The result, as can be heard on tracks like John Adams' modern classical piece, "The Chairman Dances," is not appalling, it just seems a bit removed from what the actual room probably sounded like during the recording. Low frequencies from the lower register strings have an exaggerated resonance that doesn't sound bad, but doesn't sound natural either. The boosted highs have a less negative effect, adding a crispness to the attack of brass instruments and higher-register strings and percussion. The overall sound could easily appeal to some listeners, but it's a very sculpted sound that is both brighter and deeper than what the conductor or mastering engineer would have heard.
If there were only one proper way to make quality headphones, they'd all sound more or less the same. Audiophiles may thumb their noses at the Boses and Monsters of the world, both of which are famous for tweaking the frequency response rather than delivering a flat, more transparent audio experience. The Inspiration offers distortion-free, powerful audio with some serious depth on the low frequencies and a significant boost to the highs. This sound works particularly well for modern pop music, as well as hip-hop, rock, and other modern mixes. But it's not for purists, and it's more or less up to you to decide where your tastes fall in this regard.
If you're looking for something a bit more focused on flat response, the Shure SRH1440 ($399.99, 4 stars) is an ideal pair for critical listening and mastering scenarios?it has a focus on the mids and highs that is a bit less exaggerated than the Inspiration's, and paired with far less low-end boom. If all of these headphones are well out of your range, but you want headphones?not in-canal earphones?consider the Senta-40 Wood Headphones by C. Crane ($59.95, 3.5 stars), which doesn't sound jaw-droppingly amazing, but at $60, sounds far better than you'd expect for the price. If you can audition a pair, it's worth seeing if the Inspiration is right for you. The lack of distortion and inclusion of extra cables are both positives?and if you like your highs extra crispy and favor a bit more push from the bass, the Inspiration should definitely be on your radar.
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