Monoprice Retro
Mar 19, 2019 at 5:30 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11
amsterdance

amsterdance

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Hi :)

I want to know if those headphones will work good in PC/phone without an amp (with decent volume) because they seem to be perfect for what I want but the low sensitivity worries me, that's all.

Also, what is the difference between Monoprice Retro / Superlux HD681 / Presonus HD7 in terms of sound?.

Thanks.
 
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Mar 19, 2019 at 9:38 PM Post #2 of 11
They are only 32ohms, they won't be hard to drive from a phone or PC. You don't usually start running into power deficiencies until you get up around 150ohms...or planars
 
Mar 20, 2019 at 6:50 PM Post #6 of 11
32 ohm/95db is not going to be a hard to drive headphone. I don't have them yet (I am thinking about modding a set for a friend) so I can't say for certain, but I have had headphones with similar ratings and never had an issue AND I have read numerous reviews and none of the reviews has made mention of them being hard to drive. Headphones that are hard to drive always get dinged in the reviews for it. It's a way for someone to review a product and not seem like they are slobbering all over the headphones with praise.
You shouldn't have any issues with volume, but the only way you will know for sure is to get a set.
 
Mar 20, 2019 at 7:41 PM Post #7 of 11
amsterdance said:
Yep, I know the impedance is low but I want to know about the volume (due to low sensitivity) and if it would be enough to enjoy music and maybe some gaming.
Click to expand...
You keep saying "low sensitivity" but 94 db isn't that low...at 32ohms, driven easily by laptops and phones, you should be able to achieve every last one of those 94 decibels ...do you really want to play your music at 94db?
 
Mar 20, 2019 at 8:43 PM Post #8 of 11
Cruelhand Luke said:
You keep saying "low sensitivity" but 94 db isn't that low...at 32ohms, driven easily by laptops and phones, you should be able to achieve every last one of those 94 decibels ...do you really want to play your music at 94db?
Click to expand...

Well, I said that because I never had some headphones with that "low" sensitivity. I had some Sony's with 24 ohm/102db - 24/100 and my Philips A5 have 16 ohm/105 db so as you can see they are VERY easy to drive and I never tried some like the Retro's, that's why I ask it.
 
Mar 22, 2019 at 4:56 PM Post #9 of 11
Ok so, after some reviews I see that some people says that they'll need some power and some others says they'd be ok without amp so I don't know what to do. I want to buy them because they have some nice reviews and they're relatively cheap (Z's recommend them A LOT) but even him doesn't say if they'll need some extra power so if anyone have or tried them and can give me some info I'll be grateful.
 
Dec 25, 2020 at 5:43 PM Post #10 of 11
Just got a pair of these for Christmas with the Brainwavz XL Hybrid pads and although a bit sharp in the highs they sound very good for the price.
Got the hp's for around 21 bucks and the pads were on sale for around the same.
I'm going to burn them in for a couple nights and see if the sharpness goes away if not I'll put a layer or two of TP between the driver and the Brainwavz pad and see if that doesn't calm them a bit.
 
Dec 26, 2020 at 11:27 AM Post #11 of 11
Let these play all night and although the sharpness may be a bit better it is still too hot for me.
Put the stock pads back on and it's much better so it looks like I should have gotten the Brainwavz XL leather\pleather pads, not the hybrids. I usually hate pleather pads so all my hp's have velour. As long as the velour doesn't negatively impact sound quality I go for velour pads.
I tried a piece of tp with the Brainwavz pads and it is better but the overall sig is a bit changed. Need to experiment more with suppressing the hot treble without negatively effecting the overall sound signature...
 
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