By Dustin Darnell
The US$59.95 Monoprice SYNC-ANC Bluetooth Headphones with Active Noise Cancelling and aptX Low Latency has some of the best sounds I’ve heard from headphones, but they’re not perfect.
First, let’s look at the “pros.” The Monoprice SYNC-ANC have a very long battery life. The spec stated 10 hours at 50% volume with ANC on connected to Bluetooth. My experience is that the headphones far exceed this spec.
What’s more, the controls are easy to use. There are independent power and ANC buttons so you have the option to use with ANC or without ANC. During a sound test, the bass performs well all the way down to 25Hz. The treble peaks out at around 15,000 Hz. Other than the static issue I’ll look at next, these headphones have some of the best sound I have ever heard from headphones.
The ANC is better than passive noise cancellation, but not nearly as good as other ANC headphones on the market. When using ANC at low volumes, there is audible static. At higher volumes the static is drown out by the other audio, but is very noticeable at low volumes. The over the ear pads are a bit small.
I do not have large ears and it is difficult to find a comfortable fit as there is not enough room inside the pad to fit the entire ear without some of the pad to be on top of the ear.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★ (loss of 1 star due to the static)
