Unlike These Earbuds The Bass is Strong

Unboxing

Inside the box:

• Charging Case

• Earphones

• USB C cable

• Manual

Features

Like the XKT10, Monster is also catering these earphones towards mobile gamers with a dedicated low-latency Gaming Mode. This is ideal for titles like PUBG, Asphalt 9: Legends, and Smash Karts where minimizing audio delay is important for a responsive experience. They also have a music mode, which you can freely switch between.

On the technical side, you could expect to enjoy a reliable connection and reduced lag thanks to Bluetooth v5.3. These come with a 13mm driver promises a solid audio foundation, ensuring compatibility with the latest devices. Monster claims a total playtime of up to 16 hours with the charging case which is enough for a few day's worth of normal use. 

Design & Ergonomics

Charging Case

This charging case is an attention grabber! Think of a water bottle grenade. Love the look, but sadly, it feels about as sturdy as a plastic toy. I was hoping for something hefty and durable to match its bold appearance.

Unlike some higher-end earphones, just opening the case does not auto connect the earphones to your device. You have to remove the earphones but once you do I had no problems with them auto-connecting to my synchronised device.

Props to Monster for the unique design, but it's not exactly pocket-friendly. And getting those earphones out? Prepare for a wrestling match. The lid refuses to budge with one hand, and even two-handed attempts feel like prying open a stubborn pickle jar. This is down to the strong magnet and poor to open the lid. The hinge felt like it was ready to snap at any moment – though surprisingly, it held up even after I used some quick flip snap force. 

Earphones

These are lightweight and made of plastic but feel durable enough. They both have touch-sensitive buttons but these aren’t marked so I am not confident where to tap/press. Moving the earphones and taking them on/off can accidentally trigger the buttons. 

They have a secure fit but these don’t isolate my ears, it's a loose fit, not a snug one. Turning the volume up helps eliminate unwanted environmental noises.

Sound Quality

These earphones are all about the base...and sometimes at the expense of everything else. The bass is very heavy which makes the vocals deep. If you're into that super-boosted sound, you might enjoy it, but it's definitely not an authentic listening experience. While the vocals manage to survive the bass onslaught, they end up sounding deeper than they should.

Don't expect noise cancellation from these either, they won’t shield you from a noisy commute. However, in quieter environments, they get the job done. I was pleasantly surprised that they did a decent job of blocking out my clackety mechanical keyboard (with the volume turned up, of course).

Gaming mode seems to be more about reducing lag than tweaking the sound. Don't expect any magical audio transformation when you switch it on.

Unfortunately, there's no app for customization. Your best bet is to play with your music app's equalizer (like on Spotify) if you want to fine-tune the sound.

They have a music and game mode but I find switching between them doesn’t really impact the sound quality, perhaps it only helps reduce latency?

Touch Controls

Once you figure out where the touch-sensitive region is, which seems to be on the stem of both earphones. The controls cover the basics: music playback (play/pause, next/back), volume adjustment, and even voice assistant activation on your connected phone. A 2-second long press switches between music and game modes. I found when inserting or removing the earphones, I would keep accidentally triggering this switch. While this accidental activation can be slightly annoying, it's good to know that the music and game modes don't seem to impact audio quality.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I'm left a bit torn. The case wins style points but loses badly in the functionality and all that bass is too much for me. If you can pick these up for really cheap you might be satisfied but there are better options out there, even from Monster. I reviewed the AKT10 here which is a much better option.