Monoprice 8320 earbuds [AKA $6 earbuds]

[Zipppy]

Brand & Product: Monoprice 8320 "Enhanced Bass Hi-Fi Noise Isolating Earphones"
Price: $6 US Dollars (excludes shipping).
Monoprice is a company known for making and selling great products, such as high-quality cables and other related accessories for your gadgets for a low price. Their 8320 "Hi-Fi Enhanced Bass" earbuds have been hyped a fair bit by many audiophile websites, because of their quality for such a low price, and was the most popular choice on Lifehacker's Top 5 earbuds article.



From my first impressions, the earbuds themselves looked odd, and seemed like that they wouldn't fit well enough to isolate sound and have some comfort before "breaking them in". I do have to admit, they aren't the most comfortable, but I have experienced far worse for the same price range (Airline earbuds included.)



However, wire routing has to be done behind your ear for more comfort, and it has annoyed me a bit when it wasn't routed.


The earbuds are considered IEMs, which stands for Internal Ear Monitor. They isolate background noise well and usually have either a rubber or foam earpiece.



The 8320's are basically a bargain, they offer $40 sound for the fraction of the cost, or to put it into perspective, it's similar to the price of a Starbucks coffee and a bagel. This high quality is partially because of the rather large (14.2mm) driver inside. The headphones give a high quality and a healthy amount bass, and a smooth mid-range sound. Some sources have been saying that the bass is equivalent to Apple's newly released EarPods, the difference being, the EarPods have less detail in their high and medium ranges.



This is a big step up from my old Panasonic RPHS33D Earclips (left) which had to be replaced every few months because the driver's diaphragm kept collapsing while in my pocket. They cost me $35 each. The build quality of these new ones looks and feels much better than my previous earbuds. ..all for a lesser cost, and they look better too, with the chrome finish, vs the metallic that scrapes off during one use.

A big problem with the shipment of these is, I had the choice to either pay $3.99 for the United States Postal Service to ship it and forward it to Canada Post, or pay at the minimum $20 to ship via DHL or UPS. I went for the cheaper option, because it costed far less. I was expecting it to be a bit quicker, but it didn't take too long (20 days seems enough?). The headphones themselves even are worth buying in bulk.

An inconvenience, but fairly minor, the earbuds have only one pair of medium-sized earpieces, that seems to be the right size for me. The wires are very easy to tangle, yet another inconvenience, but it's not that big of an issue for me.



The bottom line: These earbuds are great, despite the easy to tangle wires, and the earpieces aren't the most comfortable ones out there. They offer great sound for a small cost. The shipping service is expensive as heck if you want it quick. I do recommend these IEM's myself. despite it having no microphone, it's pretty good for your mobile device, such as a smartphone.


Pros
Inexpensive
Great value
Great sound balance
They look cool
Fairly durable

Cons
Not the most comfortable
Shipping is expensive
Not sold in most stores
Easy to tangle wires