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Monoprice SYNC-ANC Bluetooth Headphones Review

Not perfect, but these headphones impress at only $60

If you’re looking for headphones that are well under a hundred bucks, there are certainly things that you’re willing to forego to achieve that attractive price. Thanks to Monoprice, ANC doesn’t have to be one of them. I’ve had the Monoprice SYNC-ANC Bluetooth headphones for a little while now, and while they aren’t perfect, they are able to deliver in some ways that few others can at this price point.

PROS
    • Great sound quality
    • Impressive passive noise cancellation
    • Big Bluetooth range
    • Decent battery life
    • Low latency
    • Multipoint connection
    • Amazing price

CONS
  • ANC kills sound quality and battery
  • Ear cups may be small for some
  • Micro USB port
Sound Quality

These cans sound great, especially for the price. Of course, they aren’t going to compare to a pair of studio headphones that run you a couple grand, but their sound quality is certainly batting above its $60 price tag. They can put out more than enough volume, and the sound itself is well-rounded. This is important because there are no built-in EQ or mix options. Also, my compliments on the sound only apply to when the ANC is toggled off, but more on that in a bit. Thankfully, the passive noise cancellation on these headphones are effective enough for my needs except in the most noisy of situations. Unless you’re listening right next to a construction site, I think you’ll be fine with the ANC off. Lastly, these headphones ship with Qualcomm aptX Low Latency, which is a great addition and goes a long way towards a heightened experience when watching video.

Build and Design

These are $60 headphones, and while not unattractive, the build more or less reflects the price. They are lightweight and pretty comfortable, but I must point out that the ear cups do not completely envelop my ears, which leads to the cups just resting over my ears. This hasn’t affected the way the headphones sound in any meaningful way, but I find that they would be a bit more comfortable if they were just a bit bigger.  Fans of tactile buttons will be pleased that there are no “touch” controls here, just good old-fashioned buttons and switches. I would be amiss to not mention, however, that charging is done via a micro USB port. This is probably my biggest complaint, as I wish all newer accessories utilized the modern-day standard of USB-C, but I understand that this was most likely a cost-cutting measure, and helps keep these headphones at their attractive price point.

 


Features

I’ve already mentioned the great low latency, and now it’s time to dig into the ANC. While I understand that the ANC is a big selling point, especially at this price, I can’t help but feel like Monoprice was a little too ambitious trying to pack it into these headphones. Does it work? Well, technically, yes. There is some more noticeable noise cancellation with ANC turned on, but I feel like the sound quality suffers as a result. The mix becomes flattened out, almost tinny, when you toggle the ANC switch on the left side of the headphones. As a result, I don’t see myself ever using this feature except under the most dire circumstances, which is disappointing, as it is such a big selling point. Thankfully, as mentioned earlier, the passive noise cancellation is good enough to handle the job 99% of the time. Other handy features include play/pause and volume controls on the right headphone, a built-in microphone for phone calls, multipoint connecting for seamless switching between devices, and an audio jack for the times you’d rather have a wired connection to save on battery life.

Connection and Battery Life

The Bluetooth range on these is fantastic, which Monoprice bills as 32 feet. In my experience, the true range might even surpass this estimation, which makes these great for walking around the house or the office. Charging the battery fully takes about 2 and a half hours, and the company bills the battery life as “up to 20 hours.” Using the ANC feature cuts this in half, but as mentioned earlier, hopefully you are only using that mode a small portion of the time.

Final Thoughts

Monoprice have done a great job here at creating a very budget-friendly set of cans that are great all-purpose daily drivers. If I had any critiques, it would be that I wish they had forgone the ANC and used that budget to include a USB-C port instead of micro USB. I understand that it’s a big marketing point, but the ANC missed the mark a little bit and I feel some adjustments could have been made. $60 is $60, though, and if you are looking for a set of over-ear Bluetooth headphones that sound great and don’t break the bank, you could do much worse.

 

 

See also: Urbanista Seoul Earbuds Review: Not Just For Gaming

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