Monster Elements Over Ear Headphones Reviewed

Monster is known for his headphones. In addition to wired devices, numerous in-ear, on-ear and over-ear headphones are produced, which are marketed all over the world with some success. With the model “Elements” we have tested a wireless over-ear headphone from Monster.

Design and Workmanship

The headphones from Monster are visually quite striking. They have shiny, silver elements, which appear little discreet. Visually, the headphones are obviously intended to appeal primarily to younger customers. They follow a “streetwear aesthetic” and are accordingly strikingly designed – for the target group of headphones this is in all probability a plus point.

In the lower part, the headphones feel robust and are obviously solidly crafted. However, the headband is made of plastic and breaks this previously good impression of headphone quality. It feels little valuable and conveys a rather “cheap” impression. As the headphones are well made apart from this weak point, it seems not very consistent not to rely on quality for the headband.

In addition, the question arises as to how stable the headphones are overall. While the auricles are likely to withstand some strain, the headband connecting the auricles seems very fragile.

All in all, the quality of the workmanship of the “Elements” can at most be described as average. The design, on the other hand, is modern and meets the wishes of the target group.

As accessories Monster not only supplies the appropriate cables, but also a carrying bag with.

Wearing Comfort

The ear cups are made of memory foam, which is a clear advantage over other headphones. In the test, the headphones are easy to wear, the earcups do not pinch and fit perfectly to the ears. However, prolonged use can lead to heat accumulation, which is why a short break is needed.

Soft rubber was attached to the underside of the headband so that there is no impairment of wearing comfort here either. Overall, the wearing comfort of the “Elements” is very pleasant. They can be worn for hours without impairing well-being.

Sound

The heart of any headphone, however, is the sound quality. In the context of a test, more importance should therefore be attached to this than to the previously treated test points. At first, an obvious weak point becomes apparent: The auricles are very poorly isolated from noises. In this price range, over-ear headphones can be expected to provide perfect shielding against annoying noise. Unfortunately, the Elements disappoint here. In the test, disturbing external noise mixes with the sound of the music being played. A pleasant experience is not created in this way. However, it should also be remembered that the headphones do not offer active noise cancelling.

If this point is omitted, a solid sound quality can be determined. The headphones offer the possibility to choose between two sound setups. The “Club Mode” proves to be very pleasant in the test and is best suited for most pieces of music.

The bass can be clearly perceived without disturbing the drone or pushing itself too much into the foreground. Overall, the sound is dynamic and pleasant. In Club mode, songs of various genres could be played without any negative impact on audio quality. If you have other demands on music reproduction, you can achieve a lot by changing the sound setup to “Natural”. This can be operated via touch control. For example, the bass can be easily adjusted.

The basically wireless headphones can also be operated by cable. The test showed no significant quality differences between the different wired and wireless operating modes. This is also due to the aptX support.

Apart from the desolate isolation of the auricles, the sound quality can be described as quite good.

Battery, Assembly, Operation

The “assembly” of the headphones is, as expected, very simple. The headphones can be put into a ready-to-use state with a few simple steps. On the right auricle you can find the mentioned “Touch-Control” as well as the on/off switch.

The placement of the touch control is cleverly chosen. She’s easy to reach. In the test there were no problems with the usability of the headphones. The various operating options are self-explanatory. You only have to find out where the touchpad is first, because it’s not visible from the outside. If you want to get deeper into the matter and use all the setting options, you can refer to the enclosed manual, in which each individual option is described in detail.

As far as the battery is concerned, the Elements are fully convincing. In continuous operation a running time of 24 hours is guaranteed. This is not a matter of course in this price class and should therefore be noted positively in any case. In stand-by mode, the battery lasts up to twenty days. Nobody should be dissatisfied with these excellent values.

Monster Elements Over-Ear Headphone Conclusion

It should be noted that the headphones are convincing in terms of design, usability and battery, while the workmanship is rather average and the insulation of the ear cups is not convincing either. Although the sound quality is generally good, it is impaired by the desolate shielding against external noise.

In view of these quite varied points of criticism, a price of 350 Euro does not seem really appropriate. In this price class there should not be such strong points of criticism. In a lower price range, they would be solid headphones – but at such a high price, performance is barely average.