Among the many affordable headphone options in the market, Maono is one brand that delivers what you pay for. In for review is the AU-MH501 over-ear headphones, which has some serious audio chops and it punches above its price point.

First things first, AU-MH501 comes for Rs 1,599, which makes it compete with the likes of Sennheiser HD 206 and AKG K52, both of which are good options from established brands. Let’s dive straight into music because that’s what these “studio headphones” promise.

With 50mm drivers, one should get a good soundstage. First we tried Tori Amos’s new single, Speaking With Trees, which is a breezy number with some surreal imageries. The slight quiver in her voice easily comes through and so does the instrument separation. A far more complicated affair is Prince’s Welcome 2 America. His scorching vocals on Hot Summer or the silky jam of When She Comes plays out absolutely fine, especially the spaces between the beats on the latter can be felt.

The album that I enjoyed most on these headphones is The Lockdown Sessions by Elton John. Cold Heart is a pure dance-pop song but the bass doesn’t overwhelm on the AU-MH501. And that’s one of the great qualities of this pair of headphones — instead of winning audiences with overpowering bass, Maono keeps the sound fairly natural. No, it doesn’t reach the level of Sony WH-1000XM4, which is far costlier than the review unit (and the comparison is unjustified). Be it country, hip-hop or rap, the output is quite good.

Where I found AU-MH501 falling behind is while listening to Western classical music, something on the lines of The Blue Danube (Philedelphia Orchestra release) or Flight of the Bumblebee (Isaac Stern version). In both cases, I was left looking for better seperation and on the latter, the sound layering couldn’t be felt. That doesn’t take anything away from AU-MH501. If you are a podcaster, this works well. And it also serves the purpose of making mixes on the road. Overall, it gets you started on the right path.

Helping the cause of AU-MH501 is the adequate padding on the earcups, which fit snugly. The headband too has quite a good amount of padding and sits comfortably on the head for hours. The headband is adjustable while the overall build quality is quite good even though everything is made from plastic. There is some heft to the headphone, which adds to the comfort factor. Nitpicking moment: At times hair tends to get stuck to the adjustable part of the headband.

The other advantage of getting this pair is the long three-metre coiled wire that attaches to the sound source. The 3.5mm plug has a threaded section on which sits a 6.35mm adapter connector, meaning you can simply unscrew the latter and use the 3.5mm jack with your phone. If you need to attach the headphone to a console, go ahead and use the 6.35mm option. One end of the wire is hardwired into the headphone but that’s fine.

You can easily fold the earcups and carry the headphone in your bag but there is no microphone on this set, so you can’t take calls. It’s purely for listening to music. Though I wouldn’t like to use the words “studio headphones” but Maono is definitely on the right path by coming up with products that offer more than enough for its pricing. If you are looking for over-ear headphones that offer a good soundstage and frequency response, Maono AU-MH501 indeed delivers in heaps.

At a glance

The over-ear headphones come with enough cushioning on the ear cups

Device: Maono AU-MH501

Price: Rs 1,599 (Amazon.in)

High notes

• Good finish

• Decent soundstage

• Comes with a long three-metre cord

• Affordable

Muffled notes

• Western classical music is not its forte