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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-20 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
That is the whole decision in one line. These two products sit in the same rack case for a lot of musicians, but they solve completely different problems. One is a routing and blending box that feeds your ears. The other is what actually goes on your ears. If you are torn between them, the real question is which half of your monitoring chain is missing.
• ART MyMONITORII biggest strength: it blends a microphone, an instrument/line source and a stereo monitor feed into one personal mix you control, with a mic thru that passes phantom power from the board.
• ART MyMONITORII biggest trade-off: it is not a headphone. You still need a pair of headphones or in-ears to hear anything, and it runs on a 12V supply or a 9V battery rather than being a passive accessory.
• Audio-Technica ATH-M40x biggest strength: 40mm neodymium drivers tuned for flat response in a circumaural, sound-isolating design, with 90-degree swiveling earcups for single-ear monitoring.
• ATH-M40x biggest trade-off: it gives you no control over your mix balance. Whatever the console or interface sends down the cable is what you hear.
• Who ART MyMONITORII is for: singers, guitarists and multi-instrument players on loud stages or in houses of worship who need to hear themselves against a full band.
• Who ATH-M40x is for: studio engineers, tracking musicians, podcasters and DJs who need an accurate, isolating reference pair that folds up and travels.
The MyMONITORII is a small personal monitoring box, and the name tells you exactly what it does. It takes any microphone source and any stereo source and lets you blend them yourself, then sends the result to your headphones or in-ears. The mic input has a thru jack, so you can still feed the front-of-house console or your interface while you keep a copy for your own ears. That thru also passes phantom power from the board, which means a condenser mic works without you needing a separate supply.
Who should buy it? Anyone playing in a loud environment where the room sound is not trustworthy. If you sing backing vocals in a rock band, play keys in a worship team, or sit in a pit orchestra and need to hear a click against a live ensemble, this is the kind of tool that quietly fixes your whole night. It is also genuinely portable: you can run it from the supplied 12V supply at home or from an internal 9V battery when there is no outlet near your position.
Who should skip it? Anyone who already has a working monitor mix and just needs better headphones. The MyMONITORII does not make sound; it routes and blends it. If your problem is that your current headphones sound thin or leak, this box will not solve that. And if your rig already has a personal mixer built into an in-ear system, you would be duplicating a function you already own.
Audio-Technica ATH-M40x: Who It's For
The ATH-M40x is a closed-back studio headphone built around 40mm neodymium drivers with copper-clad aluminum voice coils, tuned for a flat response. That tuning is the headline for studio work: flat means you are hearing the material rather than a bass boost or a smiley-face curve, which is what you want when you are making decisions about a mix rather than enjoying one.
The circumaural design sits around your ears rather than on them, and that is what gives it the sound isolation the spec sheet calls out. In a live room with a drummer, or in a DJ booth with a monitor wedged at your knees, that isolation is the difference between hearing your cue and guessing at it. The earcups swivel up to 90 degrees, which enables single-ear monitoring: one ear on the headphones, one ear on the room. That is a workflow DJs and tracking engineers lean on constantly.
Practical details matter here too. The cable is detachable and single-sided, and both a coiled and a straight cable are included, so you can match the cable to the job rather than buying one separately. The headphones fold down and ship with a carry pouch, which makes them a reasonable pair to toss in a gig bag. The jack is a 3.5mm connection, and the enclosure is aluminum in black.
Who should buy it? Home studio owners, podcasters, tracking musicians, DJs and anyone who needs a reliable closed-back reference that isolates and folds flat. Who should skip it? If you want wireless freedom or active noise cancellation, this is a wired, passive-isolation design and it is not trying to be either. And if you need to control your own mix blend, remember that the M40x has no idea what your mix balance should be. It just reproduces what it is fed.
• Best for controlling your own monitor mix → ART MyMONITORII. The blend control between mic, instrument and stereo source is the entire point of the unit.
• Best for accurate, flat reference listening → Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. Flat-tuned 40mm drivers are built for judging a mix, not flattering it.
• Best for loud stages and DJ booths → ATH-M40x. Circumaural sound isolation is exactly what a noisy environment demands.
• Best for singers who cannot hear themselves → ART MyMONITORII. Blending your own mic against the band is the fix for that specific problem.
• Best for single-ear monitoring → ATH-M40x. The 90-degree swiveling earcups exist for precisely this.
• Best for condenser mic users → ART MyMONITORII. The mic thru passes phantom power from the console, so no extra supply is needed.
• Best for cable flexibility → ATH-M40x. A detachable single-sided cable with both coiled and straight options included.
• Best for portability away from an outlet → ART MyMONITORII. It can run from an internal 9V battery instead of the 12V supply.
• Best for travel and storage → ATH-M40x. It folds down and comes with a carry pouch.
Notice that these lists barely overlap. That is the honest answer: they are not competitors so much as two links in the same chain. If you are choosing between them, you are really asking whether your weak point is your mix or your ears.
If I had to buy one, I would buy the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. In my opinion a flat, isolating, foldable closed-back headphone is the more universally useful purchase: it works for tracking, mixing, podcasting, DJing and casual listening, and it does not depend on the rest of your rig having the right outputs. I would only steer you to the ART MyMONITORII if your specific, recurring problem is that you cannot hear your own voice or instrument on stage. In that case, the MyMONITORII is not a nice-to-have; it is the actual solution, and no pair of headphones will replace it.
No. It is a personal monitor mixer. It blends a microphone, instrument/line and stereo source and sends that mix to headphones or in-ears you already own. You need separate monitoring headphones to hear anything.
No. The M40x has no blend control and no inputs for a mic or instrument. It reproduces whatever signal it receives, so it cannot let you balance your own voice against the band.
The ATH-M40x. Its flat tuning, circumaural isolation and 90-degree swiveling earcups are designed for tracking and mixing. The MyMONITORII is aimed at live monitoring and mix control rather than critical listening.
Often, yes. A common live setup is a personal mixer like the MyMONITORII feeding a pair of isolating headphones. If you want to know what each costs today, check the current price on Amazon before deciding.
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