Let's start with this: 5 DRIVERS IEM's for $80!!! I can show you other brands that sound better for $500, $800, even $2,000 but why? These sound fantastic. Monoprice has again provided an incredible product for an insanely low price. I've been making a living doing live sound reinforcement for a couple decades now. I also passed these to two drummers, bass player, several guitarists and vocalists and a couple of keyboard players along with some of my techs. Everyone agrees, you can't even come close at this price. The review below stating a tie between the Quintet and the MP80's is flat wrong. Sorry Dude. Yeah, they have a great bottom end but they also reproduce highs beautifully. This is what EQ is for, to get the sound you want (These pass the Steely Dan test). The MP80's lack range, period. And the cable has given us no issues to date. In short, $80...are you kidding me? Buy these or spend the big bucks. While I'm at it, if you aren't buying Monoprice's XLR cables, you should be. I even use them in my studio. No buzz or hum. Thank you, Monoprice!
Monoprice usually delivers excellent value for the price. These are no exception. Sound quality is on a par with headphones that are multiple times the price of the Quintets.
For me personally, they are a bit too much on the bassy side of things, especially with the included ear tips. I exchanged the tips with a pair of SpinFit CP240, which helped. And you can also always equalize. But if you like your bass strong you will most likely be happy with the way they sound right out of the box.
As has been mentioned by another reviewer, the cable is crap, plain and simple. In my case, the piece of plastic that is supposed to follow your ear shape follows some weird spiral shape instead. Probably a problem with they way they had been stored. It is nearly impossible to get them on. Fortunately, this is a standard cable and can be exchanged easily which is what I did.
The added ear tips and the upgraded cable ended up costing me an additional 30$. Still a bargain for the sound quality they deliver.
When listening to these they sound overall good. Bigger Bass, Good Mid, Nice Highs. They are decent pair of IEM. They play well with equalization. You can make them have booming bass or nice to listen to relaxing piano music.
* Pros/Cons *
-Pros - Good overall sounds - Sound-stage is interesting. Can't tell if its the different drivers or what but it makes it interesting to listen too. - Can be equalized for better sound preference. - Mids and high don't compress when bass hits harder.
-Cons - Can be muddy-ish in sound quality without equalization - Wire is horrid. The wire is falling apart as it is just twisted together around each earbud. while closer to jack you have it braided and feels more durable-ish. - The description says its aluminum but it feels like plastic. poor construction feel.
* Comparison *
(Quintet vs MP80s)
- Build Quality (Winner: MP80)
My initial thoughts were towards the build quality. Both the wire and construction felt better and higher quality on the MP80. While both are said to be made in aluminum casing the MP80 feels sturdy and feel like aluminum. While the Quintet have a plastic type look and feel. (probably is plastic or very bad aluminum).
The wires. The MP80 is much nicer. It feels like it won't break easily and doesn't tangle. While the Quintet Wire feels cheap and like it will fall apart very quickly. In fact Mine already started un-twisting near the housings.
- Overall Sound Quality (Winner: Tie)
This one was much harder to decide on. They both have their pros and cons. When comparing the sound of the Quintet they sound very similar to the MP80 with the Silver Bass Enhanced Nozzle on. However, The Quintet felt like it had better Highs and Mids compared to the Silver Nozzle MP80s. However the MP80s had bigger bass drops compared to the Quintet. The Quintet bass drops are still nice just not as big as the MP80 Silver Nozzle. So the Quintet have a Nice Mix of the sound overall more focused on bass with still good Mids and Highs. Depending on the type of music the MP80s can be at or better for the type of music.
- Bass Heavy (EDM) (Winner: MP80 Silver Nozzle)
When listening to EDM I like to have big bass personally. Which was very distinct with MP80s Silver Nozzle. Now if you want to have a better more balance set of sound with still booming bass the Quintet has you covered. These still sound amazing but the bass impact just wasn't as high as the MP80s Silver Nozzle.
- Mids (Rock, Metal) (Winner: Quintet)
When trying to get the sound for Mids with Rock and Metal music I couldn't get the MP80s to a point where I liked it better than the Quintet. I felt the better balance of Bass, Mids, and Highs gave the Quintet the edge overall with this type of music. With the Gunmetal Nozzle on the MP80s I didn't get a good enough amount of bass to keep the Mids and Highs from hurting my ears a bit.
When it came to piano music I usually listen to Classical Relaxing Music on YouTube. When it came to this kind of music I liked the MP80s Gunmetal Nozzle better. With the sound it was cleaner and less muddy than the Quintet. I could listen to each stroke with a lot more clarity and felt more peaceful with the MP80 Gunmetal Nozzle. The Quintets had a similar issue like the MP80 with the Silver Nozzle where the bass overwhelms the Mids and Highs in the piano music making it feel muddy in sound. Now it wasn't as bad as the MP80s Silver Nozzle thanks to the better balance. But it wasn't as clean as the MP80s with the Gunmetal Nozzle. With equalization I could lower the bass enough to make it more enjoyable.
- Accessories (Winner: MP80)
Overall the MP80 has a better build quality and better accessories. The carrying wallet with the MP80 is something I would expect with the Quintets. However, They only come with a baggy similar to the MP30s but black and a little bigger. The MP80s also come with more Nozzle to change the sound quality dramatically. Silver Enhanced Bass, Gunmetal Balance, Black Extreme High/Mids almost no Bass. The ear pieces also felt better with the MP80s and came with more. Quintets have 3 sizes Rubber. While the MP80s have Foam and rubber pieces.
* Overall *
Overall the Quintets are a very nice pair of IEMs. They have a decently balanced sound but have more emphasis on Bass. They compare well to the MP80 but in my opinion loose in the price to what you get. The MP80s get you sound quality on par with the Quintet and allow for a wider range of music types you can listen to with decent quality. Now if your a person who doesn't listen to High/Mids focused music then you might consider the Quintet. The Quintets compare well to the MP80s when used in the Range from bass heavy music to Mids music.
I've had a lot of different headphones, and these are the best I've heard. I have Logitech TripleFi 10 Pros that I had molded to my ears: I have a set of 8 driver Alien Ears G16 custom molded inears... These sound better than all of them. The build quality is awesome. They sit flush in your ears (don't stick out at all...). They do get "bassy" when you turn them up, but I'd guess most will like that. The highs and mids don't compress when the bass hits. They're definitely a winner. Now, I just got them today, but if they hold up at all; and I believe they will, I'll be more than happy! They have a TSSL 3.5mm cable with a pause/play and microphone incorporated, which I don't care for, but it is a good quality braided cable.
