Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless vs Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple AirPods (2nd generation)
Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Apr 19, 2024 06:39 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.4
Updated Jan 15, 2024 08:54 PM
SEARCH
Amazon.com
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeIn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- AirPods (2nd generation) (With charging case)
- AirPods (2nd generation) (With wireless charging case)
- Clarity 101 Airlinks
Our Verdict
Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless
Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless
The Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless and the Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless are quite differently designed, so they each have their own pros and cons. The Monster have a more traditional in-ear design that's not always the most comfortable, but they provide good bass and isolate quite a bit of noise. The Apple, however, have an open-back earbud design that struggles to deliver much bass and lets a lot of ambient noise in, but they're more comfortable for many people.
Check Price
With charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
Amazon.comWith wireless charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
B&HStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
BestBuy.comStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
Walmart.comNotice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.
Main Differences for
Threshold
Mixed Usage
6.7
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Earbuds
In-ear
Enclosure
Open-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.02 lbs
0.03 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
4.3
6.1
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Subpar
Okay
Feedback
Subpar
Mediocre
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
No
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
9.2
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.8 °C
Portability
9.6
9.5
Portability Picture
L
1.7" (4.3 cm)
1.5"
W
1.0" (2.5 cm)
1.1"
H
0.6" (1.5 cm)
0.7"
Volume
1.00 in³ (16.39 cm³)
1.2 in³
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.5
8.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.1" (5.3 cm)
3.7"
W
1.7" (4.3 cm)
1.2"
H
0.7" (1.8 cm)
1.1"
Volume
2.50 in³ (40.97 cm³)
4.9 in³
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
7.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-8.65 dB
3.08 dB
Treble Amount
0.39 dB
-4.48 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.6
9.9
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.13 dB
0.03 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
5.8
8.5
Std. Err.
6.68 dB
2.2 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
70.25 Hz
18.08 Hz
Low-Bass
-13.78 dB
0.89 dB
Mid-Bass
-1.58 dB
-2.88 dB
High-Bass
2.09 dB
-1.89 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.4
6.7
Std. Err.
2.17 dB
4.35 dB
Low-Mid
1.31 dB
0.02 dB
Mid-Mid
0.07 dB
-4.47 dB
High-Mid
3.01 dB
-5.72 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.4
2.2
Std. Err.
3.89 dB
10.42 dB
Low-Treble
3.83 dB
-10.23 dB
Mid-Treble
3.78 dB
-9.05 dB
High-Treble
-2.62 dB
-9.7 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.2
7.2
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.97 dB
1.66 dB
Dips
1.12 dB
1.86 dB
Imaging
8.5
9.2
Phase Response
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.28
0.26
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.28
1.11
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.37
0.2
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.28
1.24
Passive Soundstage
2.9
0.6
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
9.6
2.4
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.2
0.4
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
No App
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.8
7.2
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.358
0.426
WHD @ 100
0.104
0.203
Test Settings
Firmware
1A673
Unknown
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.2
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
1.0
7.6
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-1.95 dB
-21.86 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
0.32 dB
-8.19 dB
Mid
0.98 dB
-21.55 dB
Treble
-6.94 dB
-37.12 dB
Leakage
7.2
9.7
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
38.25 dB
22.88 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.4
6.8
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
261.43 Hz
250.34 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.34 dB
2.97 dB
HFE
3,319.91 Hz
6,088.74 Hz
Weighted THD
27.169
1.442
Gain
38.23 dB
-5.58 dB
Noise Handling
6.9
5.6
SpNR
13.93 dB
7.88 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
6.6
5.9
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
4.1 hrs
7.3 hrs
Additional Charges
5.0
5.0
Total Battery Life
24.6 hrs
43.8 hrs
Charge Time
0.5 hrs
1.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Standby mode
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
No
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
Lightning
micro-USB
App Support
5.0
0.0
App Picture
App Name
No App
No App
iOS
Yes
No
Android
No
No
macOS
Yes
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
6.8
6.8
Bluetooth Version
5.0+H1 chip
5.0
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
149.00 ft (45.42 m)
161 ft
PC Latency (SBC)
176 ms
244 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
80 ms
47 ms
Android Latency
165 ms
264 ms
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connection
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
Wired USB
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
No
No
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
Lightning
USB
Check Price
With charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
Amazon.comWith wireless charging case
AirPods (2nd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
B&HStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
BestBuy.comStandard
Clarity 101 Airlinks
SEARCH
Walmart.com
Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless
Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless
Comments
Apple AirPods (2nd generation) vs Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.