Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) vs AKG K81 DJ (2004)

The Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) is an example of a great Over-Ear Headphone at its $160 budget.

In the case of the $68 AKG K81 DJ (2004), however, we weren't able to find enough data to come to any reliable conclusions. If you're considering buying a Over-Ear Headphone in the $80 range, we encourage you to take a look at some other options.

The Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) was loved by reviewers at Wirecutter (NYTimes), a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "The Best Headphones" roundup where it was named its "Top Pick", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

As for the AKG K81 DJ (2004), it wasn't able to earn a top spot in any roundups from trusted sources that conduct their own hands-on testing. Nevertheless, it managed to impress reviewers at What Hi-Fi?, Head-fi, and musicradar.com enough to make it onto their respective shortlists.

We conducted an analysis of all of the review data that we could find on these two products. First, we focused on sources that tested and rated both of them, like Head-fi, and learned that they all showed a preference for the AKG K81 DJ (2004).

Then we took a look at the highest review scores that these two Over-Ear Headphones received. We found that the Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) managed to earn a rating of 9 from Head-fi, whereas the AKG K81 DJ (2004) got its highest, 10, score from reviewers at What Hi-Fi?.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Over-Ear Headphones on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Over-Ear Headphones being 7.5 out of 10, whereas the Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) and AKG K81 DJ (2004) managed averages of 9.0 and 9.1 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) vs. AKG K81 DJ (2004) comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.