Monoprice BT-600ANC Headset Review

thesixthaxis.com:

You’ve heard that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but with the BT-600ANC, Monoprice may just have looked at Sony’s WH-1000XM4’s, taken them out for dinner, had a shotgun wedding, and eloped to another country. Still, if you’re going to model your headphones on another design, it makes sense to emulate one of the best on the market. The real feat here though is that they’ve emulated its feature set, comfort, and audio quality, and while there’s still a difference between the two, Monoprice have managed to turn in an outstanding pair of noise-cancelling headphones for less than $100.

The BT-600ANC comes in a rectangular hard case, and while Sony and Bose have decided to go in another direction with the Bose 700 and the WH-1000XM5, these neatly fold up into a smaller space, making them just that little bit more portable. This is a good thing.

Taking them out, it’s clear to see that visual influence from the WH-1000XM3 and XM4, with the same tapered earpieces and flat exterior surface. Just as with Sony’s offering, this plays host to a touch-sensitive control panel for interacting with your music or movies, though rather than being smooth it’s coated with a leatherette-like texture which I’m not wholly convinced by. That said, it’s difficult to see any difference unless you’re a few inches away from it, so visually it doesn’t cause any issues.

The right earpiece plays host to the main controls, and it’s here that the budget constraints of the BT-600ANC are most obvious. A large, raised ridge features the power button, Bluetooth pairing and ANC toggles, and while it’s easy enough to find in the heat of the moment it really does feel cheap in comparison with the rest of the unit.

You’ve also got the touch panel on the