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Live 670NC
Company ProductName Specs




Monarch Mk II
Company ProductName Specs




What we think

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The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated April 11, 2024·

If you're mindful of your budget and need something versatile for daily use, the JBL Live 670NC offers solid comfort, built-in controls, and active noise cancelling for a variety of environments while being less expensive. They're suitable for air travel and casual music listening, but their overall sound quality might not satisfy audiophiles. On the other hand, if sound quality, particularly for music, is your top priority and price is less of a concern, the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II excels, offering best-in-class audio performance with excellent build quality. However, they lack wireless connectivity, noise cancelling, and built-in controls, which could limit convenience in portable use or noisy situations. Give Feedback

this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the JBL Live 670NC
  • Good for phone calls
  • Very good for air travel
  • Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
  • Best in class for music
  • Very good for TV and video

Key differences

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Music

6.5
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
9.5
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is best in class for music, while the JBL Live 670NC is only fair.

Gaming

5.4
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
6.7
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is only fair for gaming, while the JBL Live 670NC is poor.

Phone Calls

7.4
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
5.1
The JBL Live 670NC is good for phone calls, while the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is poor.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

8.6
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
7.9
The JBL Live 670NC is very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is good.

TV and Video

5.5
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
8.8
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is very good for TV and video, while the JBL Live 670NC is poor.

Noise Reduction

6.7
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
6.0
The JBL Live 670NC and Thieaudio Monarch Mk II are both only fair for noise reduction, though the JBL Live 670NC is somewhat better.

Battery

65.0 Hours
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
N/A
The JBL Live 670NC has 65 hours of battery life. The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II does not have a battery.

Cost

$100
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
$999
Product image
Product image

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

The JBL Live 670NC has a price of $100 and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II costs $999.

Build Quality

8.0
Live 670NC
Monarch Mk II
9.0
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II has excellent build quality, while the JBL Live 670NC has very good build quality.
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How the JBL Live 670NC and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II compare to other earbuds and headphones

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Spec Comparison

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JBL Live 670NCThieaudio Monarch Mk II
JBL Live 670NCThieaudio Monarch Mk II

GENERAL

Price
$100
$999
Brand
JBLThieaudio
Release Date
March 1, 2024October 1, 2020
Form Factor
HeadphonesEarbuds
Connectivity
Wired + WirelessWired

SOUND

Music Score
6.6/109.5/10
Phone Calls Score
7.4/105.1/10
Gaming Score
5.4/106.8/10
TV and Video Score
5.5/108.9/10
Exercise Score
6/104.5/10

PERFORMANCE

Battery life
65 HoursN/A
Wireless charging
NoN/A
Charging time
3 HoursN/A
Bluetooth version
5.3N/A

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
YesNo
Noise Reduction Score
6.8/106/10
Virtual Surround
YesN/A
Android App
YesN/A
iOS App
YesN/A
Mic Quality
7/10N/A

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
8/109/10
Comfort score
7/107.6/10
Size
MediumLarge
Weight (headset or single earbud)
217 Grams9 Grams
Microphone style
IntegratedN/A

Shopping

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Thieaudio Monarch Mk II

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Dig into reviews and images

Audiophile On

Audiophile On | August 2021
"No other earphone I have listened to in the past 12 months has given me as much joy as the Thieaduio Monarch MKII. One of those IEMs will make you question where we can go from here. The sound is jaw-dropping, leaving you wanting more and more. It makes you want to run through your entire music library and reevaluate. It makes you not feel bad about paying full price for them, especially in a hobby where buyers' remorse is genuine. For me, it's top tier, rivaled by a few but not surpassed."

Get a great deal on the JBL Live 670NC or the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II

About JBL

JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer. Owned by Harman International which is, itself, owned by Samsung Electronics. JBL markets a wide array of monitoring speakers, professional headphones and consumer market headphones and earbuds. It was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing (whose initials give the company its name) and has become one of the most prolific audio companies ever. Their products were responsible for audio during the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

About Thieaudio

Thieaudio is the in-house brand of Linsoul Audio, a Chinese earbud and headphone retailer specializing in what the community lovingly calls Chi-fi, that is high fidelity brands out of China. Thieaudio was established in 2019 as the creative engineering branch of Linsoul. As of today, they market three different lines of earbuds, Voyager, Legacy and the extremely well-received Monarch.

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Why trust us

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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.

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About the Earbuds or Headphones team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Luis Torres

Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.

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