The Monoprice Enhanced Active are a superb set of in-ear earbuds, with great noise isolation performance and balanced audio reproduction. The in-ear design is not always the most comfortable fit and build quality could be slightly improved, but those are the only drawbacks to an otherwise outstanding pair of headphones.
Our Verdict
The Monoprice Enhanced Active are a versatile pair of earbuds, with a decent enough sound and isolation performance to handle most use cases.
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Excellent noise isolation.
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Accurate audio reproduction.
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Tight seal, low sound leakage.
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In ear fit not always comfortable.
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Thin cabling.
Average for critical listening. The closed back in-ear design is not ideal for long listening sessions and limits soundstage.
Good for commuting. The in-ear fit coupled with decent noise cancelling is sufficient for most loud environments involved in commuting.
Above-average for sports use. They're compact and easy to carry around on your person. They also have a stable in-ear fit and a good sound, but they might not be comfortable for everyone.
Above-average for the office. They barely leak even at high volumes and they block a surprising amount of office chatter with their in-ear seal.
Above-average for home theater use. They have no latency but they also have a short audio cable. They have the range to watch TV from your couch unless you have an extension cord for the audio cable.
- 7.2 Mixed Usage
- 6.8 Critical Listening
- 7.4 Commute/Travel
- 7.2 Sports/Fitness
- 7.2 Office
- 6.9 Home Theater
Changelog
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Feb 26, 2016: Review published.
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Test Results
The Enhanced Actives look great. Their design is understated, simple and appealing. The angled ear buds are also well designed and match the overall color scheme, which is accentuated by the glossy metallic brown.
Comfort with an in-ear design is always an issue. They will feel quite comfortable if you can get the right fit, especially since the angled design of the earbud fits snugly to the shape of the ear. However, they may sometimes fall out from a gentle tug on the cable, which can be frustrating.
Button layout is quite good on the Enhanced Active. The noise control module is simple and easy to use, with only one button to enable isolation. The rest of the controls are relegated to the inline controls, which although flat, offers control over volume, a multipurpose play/stop button and a mic.
The Monoprice Enhanced Active are decently stable in-ear headphones. They stay in place during casual listening sessions and are stable enough for moderate physical activity. However, the control module and long cable can easily get hooked on something and yank the headphones out of your ears. They also don't offer any special tips to help maintain a stable fit, which is slightly disappointing.
The Monoprice Enhanced actives are very portable headphones. They comfortably fit into most pockets, purse or bag and don't take up too much space. The control module makes them a little larger than basic in-ear headphones, but not enough to be cumbersome or reduce their great portability.
Comes with rugged, fabric soft case that will protect the headphones from scratches and from getting tangled while transporting them. It adds a bit of bulk but will still fit into most pockets. However, the fabric will not shield the headphones from water damage or high physical stress like accidently walking on them.
Build quality is quite good. The noise cancellation generator is small, very portable and built out of tough, durable plastic. The cable could be a little more rubberized and the in-ear design may not be for everyone.
- Monoprice Enhanced Active Headphones
- Airline adapter
- Extra Earbud tips (x2 sizes)
- AAA Battery
- 1/8" stereo adapter
- Carrying case
- Manual
Excellent isolation performance. With noise-cancelling set to Off, these headphones outperform some other headphones with noise cancelling enabled. Overall, these headphones provide about 20dB of reduction in the bass region, 20dB in the mids, and reach -50dB at 20KHz
In-ear headphones usually excel at leakage, and these are no exception. Leakage should not be an issue, even at high volumes. The profile of the leakage is quite narrow-band also, limited to 3KHz-7KHz.
The Enhanced Active deliver more than two days of continuous play time at average volumes. This makes them a good option for long flights or road trips. They also can continue playing audio when the battery is completely drained by switching off the noise-cancelling. Unfortunately, they do not have any battery saving features like an auto-off timer
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