A dozen years is quite a lifetime for studio headphones, especially ones used for artist monitoring. Joseph Lemmer’s 2012 review [Tape Op #91] of the Monoprice 8323 DJ-style headphones <monoprice.com> is what convinced me to purchase six of them. Twelve years later, half of them still work. I paid $23 each, and they top my list of bang-for-buck purchases. Not only did they survive countless drops to a hardwood floor, cables getting stepped on, and being violently pulled out of jacks – they still sound better and more neutral than other affordable headphones I’ve tried. Plus, their PU [polyurethane leather] earpads haven’t disintegrated like many other headphones I’ve owned. Unfortunately, they’re no longer available, and the newer model (8324) seems to be forever out of stock. Last year, I started looking for a suitable replacement, first purchasing two models from well-regarded pro audio “value” brands, before I landed on a $28.49 no-name one that is now my low-cost recommendation for use during loud, full-band performances. As with most otherwise-unknown Amazon-exclusive items, these headphones are listed under a description that reads like multiple hopeful use-cases rather than a simple product name: Wired Over Ear Headphones, Studio Monitor & Mixing DJ Headphones with 50mm Neodymium Drivers and 1/4 to 3.5mm Jack for Guitar AMP Podcast Piano Keyboard (Black) <amazon.com/dp/B0D14FBD59>. In small type, the brand is listed as Rumoon. Their round, closed-back earcups with multi-articulating yokes make donning these headphones an exercise in 3D puzzle solving, but otherwise they’re comfortable to wear over long periods of time. Smartly, each earcup has a 3.5 mm TRS jack, and you can use either of them to connect a headphone cord depending on which side you want the cord to fall. Two cords are included. One is terminated with a 3.5 mm TRS plug on the earcup end and a 3.5 mm TRRS (4-conductor) plug on the other end, with an inline microphone along its straight length. The other cord is longer and is partially straight, partially coiled, with 3.5 mm TRS connectors and a screw-on 1/4-inch adapter. Neither cord seems especially durable, so I’m re-using the indestructible ones that came with the Monoprice headphones, but any standard 3.5 mm TRS cable should work. The PU material used for the earcups and headband is thick – not as substantial as the material used by Monoprice, but not the thin stuff that ends up flaking after a couple of years of hard use. A search of the 850+ Amazon reviews for “flaking” resulted in zero hits, so I have my fingers crossed for now. Sound-wise these are neutral, without any “lifestyle” emphasis on bass or treble. Lows reach down to 25 Hz and highs are beyond the limit of my hearing. There is audible harmonic distortion within the octave below 50 Hz (typical of most headphones), as well as resonance at 75 Hz, a slight dip surrounding 5 kHz, and distortion in the 6.5 to 9 kHz region that tends to emphasize sibilance; but none of these traits detract from the headphones’ ability to remain relatively clear even at the extreme volumes required for in-studio artist monitoring. I’ve had no complaints so far. And what about the two models that I mentioned earlier from established brands? TASCAM TH-02 headphones <tascam.com> are an absolute steal for less than $20. Frequency response rolls off significantly below 80 Hz and above 9 kHz, and their earcups don’t seal over bigger ears, so they’re better suited for putting focus on vocals in a quieter environment. The $39 M-Audio HDH40 headphones <m-audio.com> exhibit high build-quality and are comfortable to wear. They have plenty of volume while emphasizing lows and lower-mids, with highs starting to roll off at 7 kHz, which makes them a good pick if you need to hear bassy instruments.