Budget Electrostatic Headphone? Monolith Estat System Review

Electrostatics are an interesting beast. Not a ton of affordable over-ear options out there (although there seems to be more and more cheaper IEMs coming out with this technology). As far as I can tell this Monoprice Monolith Portable Electrostatic Headphone and Amplifier is about the cheapest you can find (at least on the used market). I bought mine for around $150. The next closest thing would be the Koss ESP95X, which can usually be found for around $400 or a little less on the used market. So, is the Monolith system any good… well, that’s debatable. You’ll have to watch for more details.

Here’s links to stuff mentioned in the video (some affiliate):
Monoprice Estat System: https://qa2.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33455
Koss ESP95X: massdrop.7eer.net/Jro6o2
Hifiman 5XX: massdrop.7eer.net/BXe3eB
Apple Dongle: https://amzn.to/34Ha1gz
Schiit Fulla 4: https://www.schiit.com/products/fulla-2
Schiit Bifrost 2: https://www.schiit.com/products/bifrost-1
Singxer SA-1: https://amzn.to/33bGnje

Here’s a link to my 5XX review: https://youtu.be/WCmPfyI8N4k

Here’s Max Richter’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert: https://youtu.be/oNLDJp83YAQ

A playlist of my favorite NPR Tiny Desk Concerts: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN1Qn6zz1plQHGmCZp6nchbRkHtL8JBs7

Here’s a link to Hifiman directly if you want to buy from them. Sometimes they can have some pretty killer open-box deals.
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/open-box.html

Check this playlist for more open-back headphone reviews: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN1Qn6zz1plRYbVQ12xukSYfH_c2CxSb5

Check out this playlist for more closed-back headphone reviews:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN1Qn6zz1plQus-aE7WbH8Hb0RSEYo5Z9

Check out this playlist for more Amp & DAC reviews:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN1Qn6zz1plTQy_-xSV5zsIck56XtS4Y0


Look down below for links to all that gear and some other recommendations.

Of course, I always recommend you take a look at the used market, below are some sites that are great for that.

Head-Fi: https://www.head-fi.org/
HifiGuides: https://forum.hifiguides.com/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AVexchange/
Hifi-shark: https://www.hifishark.com/
US AudioMart: https://www.usaudiomart.com/


Some of my favorite equipment for various niches (some links are affiliate):

Super Budget Headphone: Koss kph40: https://koss.com/products/kph40-utility
Need these pads for the kph40 though: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002971087244.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.250c4c4dEHGLbT
Cheap Gaming Headphone: AD700X: https://amzn.to/3b4ACUS
Super Cheap Closed-Back Gaming: Recon 500: https://amzn.to/3numqem
Cheap All-Around Headphone: SHP9600: https://amzn.to/3b6aUiP
Entry Level DAC: Modi 3+: https://www.schiit.com/products/modi-1
Entry Level Amp: IEMagni: https://www.schiit.com/products/magni-1
Entry Balanced DAC: SMSL SU8: (look used)
Or Modius: https://www.schiit.com/products/modius

My Main DAC: Soekris 2541: https://soekris.modhouseaudio.com/soekris-audiophile-line/dac-2541
My Main Amp: Burson Soloist 3xp: https://amzn.to/3oCPd0K
Tube Amp: Bottlehead Crack: https://bottlehead.com/product/crack-1-1-otl-headphone-amplifier-kit/
Headphone #1: HE6SEv2: adorama.rfvk.net/4eydoo
Headphone #2: Focal Elex w/ Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin: https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-focal-elex-headphones?utm_source=linkshare&referer=YBNMSR
Headphone #3: OG NIghthawks: (look used)
Headphone #4: Hifiman HE1000v2:
TOTL: Focal Utopia: (look used)
Gaming Headphone: HE560v4: adorama.rfvk.net/6bnGoG
Bluetooth Portable DAC/Amp: XCan: https://amzn.to/3vJG8WA
Wired Portable DAC/Amp: Mojo: https://amzn.to/3CbYWQs
TWS: Sony XM4: https://amzn.to/3Glr7Py

Cables:
Hart Audio Cables: https://hartaudiocables.com/
Worlds Best RCA Interconnects: https://amzn.to/3pB2Oa7
Worlds Best XLR Interconnects: https://amzn.to/3vEdwxO

Recording Gear:
Canon M50: https://amzn.to/3ba7KKJ
Sigma 16mm 1.4: https://amzn.to/3vF6SaB
Beyerdynamic Fox Mic:
Canon M100 (overhead): https://amzn.to/31lZAxT
Canon 22mm 2.0 (overhead): https://amzn.to/3dowiAO

#focal #utopia #headphones #totl