Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) vs AKG K52

The Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) is an example of a great Over-Ear Headphone at its $180 budget.

In the case of the $49 AKG K52, 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 $45 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.

Taking a look at the AKG K52, it got featured in roundups from two reliable sources that conduct their own testing - What Hi-Fi? and Android Central - but it fell short of earning a top spot in either.

We couldn't find any sources that tested both of these Over-Ear Headphones, so we only analyzed how they performed in reviews from different sites.

We first examined which sources rated each of these best and found that the Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) got its highest, 9, rating from Head-fi, while the AKG K52 earned its best, 10, score from 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 K52 managed averages of 9.0 and 9.0 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 K52 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.