Audio firm Monster produces a large range of premium headphones that span a wide price range. The NCredible N-Tune headphones come in at the lower end of that price range, but does the price drop translate to a lowering of the audio quality bar?     

Monster’s sturdily built N-Tune headset was designed with the help of America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon (aka Mr Mariah Carey). The headphones sport an all plastic design, with small, rounded ear cups, while its thin headband can be adjusted to more easily fit bigger sized heads.Thanks to the thin all-plastic construction, users get a lightweight headset that remains comfortable during extended usage, despite not feeling as upmarket as some of its Monster stablemates.  

Unfortunately for road warriors, the unit does not fold onto itself such as other Monster- and Beats headsets, making them less convenient to pack. This issue is compounded by the fact that you do not get a travel pouch with the N-Tune.     

Audio performance

As one would expect from a pair of premium headphones, the sound quality remains pristine and free of distortion at virtually any volume level, with a fair amount of bass response. In terms of volume, the N-Tune are capable of generating a fairly loud audio output. You do not get any noise cancellation technology with these headphones.

The audio cable of the headphones sports Monster’s inline controls (ControlTalk) and mic, which enables users to answer calls and control the music playback (play, pause).

Unlike the two ControlTalk cables (one for iOS and another for Android) that come with the retail packaging of the Monster Inspiration (review), the ControlTalk remote of the N-Tune does not allow you to set the volume higher or lower. This means users still need to take their music player or smartphone out of their pocket if they need to adjust the playback volume.      

To the point

Monster’s NCredible N-Tune headphones packs decent audio quality and impressive volume, which is to be expected for a premium pair of headphones.

While it does not exude classiness to the same extent as Monster’s more expensive headsets, the other side of that coin is that your neck muscles do less work. This is thanks to the N-Tune headset being thinner and lighter than its costlier siblings that includes the Monster Diamond Tears Edge headset (quick review).

The N-Tune does however, feel a class below other more expensive earphones such as the Beats Executive headphones (review) and Monster Diamond Tears, but this is not surprising given that the N-Tune costs half as much as these headsets.

The N-Tune carries a recommended retail price of R2 000. Alternatively, users can opt for the Beats by Dr Dre Solo HD headphones, which are around R500 extra, but provides buyers with a collapsible headband, travel pouch, and extra helping of bass. For more info contact Phoenix Distribution on 011-592-9200 or the company’s Cape Town office at 021-487-4640.