OneOdio Monitor 80 Review

Headphones for mixing can vary in price, but it rarely costs an arm and a leg to find a good pair. Beyerdynamic, Shure, Audio-Technica, and Sennheiser are the main players, but they aren’t the only brands to look out for when purchasing your first pro mixing headphone. I recently got to try out a Monitoring headphone from OneOdio, a manufacturer with who I’ve become familiar through their wireless selection. Surprisingly to me, they’ve also released a high impedance open-back studio headphone for only $99. Could the Monitor 80 be the budget mixing headphone you might be looking for?

What You Get

• Monitor 80 Headphones
• EVA Carrying case
• Cables
  • 3m 3.5mm to 3.5mm
  • 3.5mm to 6.3mm coiled
• User Manual

Look and Feel

The main structure of the Monitor 80 looks like the amalgamation of a few different headphone designs. It’s like they have the yoke and headband of Audio Technica’s M50x and the soft velvet earpads of the Beyerdynamic DT 770. Its ear cups and open-back grill are completely its own and present a stylish build for the price. I can especially appreciate the dual quarter-inch and 3.5mm headphone connectors that you can swap out easily while using the same cable. This made trying the Monitor 80 with different amp selections a breeze, like when switching from the iFi Signature to the Hip-Dac 2. No extra cables or adapters were necessary. As for the fit, I always enjoy this style of ear pad, and they provided me with a good level of comfort. My only issue is with the various creaks you get when moving your head around that can be a little too distracting at times.

Design 

You don’t really see a high impedance open-back headphone like this for a hundred bucks, so the Monitor 80 definitely has a unique standing in that regard. The headphones use a 40mm dynamic driver and have an impedance of 250 Ohms.

Soundstage

Open-back headphones for reference might not always bring you the vast, expansive soundstage that some headphones tend to deliver, but they do give you an accurate picture of what the mix actually sounds like. They also work to give you a dynamic image that makes the frequency response easier to work with. For the Monitor 80, the soundstage is able to deliver that type of imaging with enough space in between the sound elements to decipher the layers efficiently. However, this headphone is first and foremost a tool for mixers and a casual listening headphone second. This makes the price point of the Monitor 80 seem like it makes more sense, as a hundred bucks for a mixing tool is a lot more reasonable than one that you can use both ways.

You can hear a wider soundstage and spatial imaging with more depth on other headphones, but that’s not exactly what this is for. That’s also not to say that I didn’t find any casual enjoyment with the Monitor 80 either, as I thought the headspace of the soundstage was outward enough to really get immersed in its properties. It’s still a mostly surface-level stage, with the presentation feeling more like it’s happening in front of you than all around you, but the separation of its layers is what’s going to bring the Monitor 80 up a peg. I remember listening to the vocal harmonies on “Reeling In The Years” by Steely Dan and I felt like I got a great picture of all of the various vocal parts in the chorus, revealing themselves in a way that calls more attention to its intricacies.

Low End

This bass isn’t meant to give you a thick punch, but it does when it’s necessary. It will never call too much attention to itself and works more to balance the frequency response in a way that feels natural and true to the mix. It’s a neutral tone that gives you just enough to soak in while remaining crystal clear in both the sub and mid-bass regions of the timbre. Things start to smooth out around the mid-bass, adding a touch of warmth to its timbre that can either add or distract from its overall reference nature. I found the warmth to be subtle enough not to take away from other details in the frequency response, lessening boom, and keeping to a leaner presentation.

Mids

The midrange does its job well, offering a mostly flat response that’s even across its frequency spectrum. You have some of that warmth coming off the bass into the low-mids, but its presence isn’t destructed by it in any significant way. There are some notches here and there, but for the most part, the mids come off clean and uncompromised. I mentioned how well vocals came off before in the soundstage section of this review, but their timbre is especially crisp in certain regions. Male vocals seem to be more favored than female vocals, but they work to accomplish a similar level of forwardness and clarity.

Highs

Even though the frequency response remains even well into the highs, there’s definitely a more noticeable roll-off here. The Monitor 80 is missing some top end, but the frequencies that are there respond fairly well and keep a level of resonance that balances the sound signature to an effective degree. You don’t get as much gain in the treble, but the tone of the frequencies has no trouble revealing itself.

Summary 

For a hundred bucks you’re getting a great value with the Monitor 80’s. Not only is it a comfortable fit, but its style of reference feels right at home for mixing headphones. It’s a warmer headphone that you might be expecting, but it works for the level of clarity and balance it performs. These are also a good option to use with a good amplifier, as with the Monitor 80’s it won’t be necessary to buy a higher-priced headphone to go along with your potentially already costly system. The Monitor 80 is definitely a mixing tool worth your time.

The OneOdio Monitor 80 is available on their website here.