Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) vs HiFiMan HE-560 (2014)

The Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) is a great Over-Ear Headphone for its $169 asking price.

The HiFiMan HE-560 (2014), on the other hand, is not worth its $899 price tag and should be avoided by most people. We strongly suggest that you take a look at some better alternatives if you're considering spending around $920 on a Over-Ear Headphone.

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 HiFiMan HE-560 (2014) - Head-fi, a source that conducts reliable hands-on testing, has featured it in its HiFiMAN HE-560 review roundup. However, it didn't make it to any of the top spots.

When we thoroughly analyzed their review scores, we learned that all of the sources that tested both Over-Ear Headphones, including Head-fi, preferred the Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) over the HiFiMan HE-560 (2014).

We also took a look at which sources they managed to impress the most. The Monoprice Monolith M565C (2018) was liked best by Head-fi, which gave it a score of 9, while the HiFiMan HE-560 (2014) got its highest, 8.8, score from Head-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 HiFiMan HE-560 (2014) managed averages of 9.0 and 8.8 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. HiFiMan HE-560 (2014) 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.