Pairing and SoundID

As with the vast majority of TWS earphones today, the Monoprice Monolith M-TWE is still operating over Bluetooth 5.0 instead of something newer. Bluetooth 5.0 is backwards compatible with older devices as well, and I had no issues pairing it with my phone on Bluetooth 5.0, my laptop on Bluetooth 5.1, and my PC with the Intel AX210 NIC on Bluetooth 5.2. Pairing is quite simple since it comes up as a new device. It is also here that we see not much has changed as far as codec support goes, unfortunately. Qualcomm aptX is the best option on most Android devices, other than the basic SBC codec. This means you do not get any aptX HD or LDAC support. On iOS, we just have the AAC codec to go on.


We finally get to the main reason this review even happened. Available as both an Android and iOS app, SoundID aims to deliver personalized sound profiles based on your audio preferences rather than an HRTF mapping similar to what Creative did for Super X-Fi or even what Audeze did for Reveal+ in collaboration with Embody. I have gone over SoundID, as well as SoundID Listen for the desktop, in more detail here, so I am only going cover it as it pertains to the Monolith M-TWE earphones in this review. Opening the app, you will see a list of pre-populated devices with native support, of which these are one. As long as you are signed into your SoundID profile and the earphones are paired to a mobile phone, SoundID will recognize it and start uploading your specific profile to the headphones.


It takes a couple of minutes at most, and you then have the Monolith M-TWE connected to the phone as well as SoundID with your specific profile attached. If you have not created one yet, I recommended doing so first, and give it longer than usual to make sure the app has plenty of data to identify the correct preset from among those on file. You can improve it at anytime, and the built-in A/B test demonstration nets the biggest difference with such personalized audio solutions I have experienced to date. It also showcases the pre-optimized frequency response curve as provided by Monoprice, which will be handy for a comparison with my own findings on the next page, as well as the optimized flat reference line which then gets tweaked based on your preference. The Monolith M-TWE also offers up to 10 EQ points for further boosts to wherever you see fit,


SoundID Listen is Sonarworks' desktop companion program currently still in an open beta stage. It does not help create or tweak any profiles. Rather, it merely allows the profile associated with your SoundID account to be transferred to the desktop for use there with a simple on/off toggle. This way, you are not restricted to using the mobile app for music on the device itself and have far more freedom in using it with anything you want irrespective of whether SoundID has native onboard support for your headphones or not. Expect to see a subscription payment plan for this when a full release, though!