We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-24 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a proven studio-tracking tool with a flat, neutral tuning and genuinely useful monitoring features, choose Audio-Technica ATH-M40x; if you need a straightforward, great-sounding pair of studio headphones for everyday listening, mixing and on-the-go use, choose OneOdio Monitor 60.
• Audio-Technica ATH-M40x — biggest strength: purpose-built studio design with 40mm neodymium drivers, a flat-response tuning, 90-degree swiveling earcups and a detachable single-sided cable system (coiled and straight cables included).
• Audio-Technica ATH-M40x — biggest trade-off: it's a work tool first. The flat, analytical sound is exactly what you want when mixing, but it won't flatter bass-heavy playlists the way a consumer-tuned headphone does.
• OneOdio Monitor 60 — biggest strength: a simple, professional-leaning proposition — studio-grade sound with clear highs, rich mids and deep lows, plus a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box for modern phones and laptops.
• OneOdio Monitor 60 — biggest trade-off: it's a much more bare-bones package. There's no swiveling-cup monitoring feature and no detachable multi-cable system described, so it's less of a studio utility piece.
• Who each is for: pick the ATH-M40x if you're tracking, mixing or DJ monitoring in a loud room and want the hardware to match; pick the Monitor 60 if you want one good pair of headphones to mix, listen and travel with.
The ATH-M40x is the more specialized of the two, and that's not an accident. Everything in its design points at the studio: 40mm neodymium drivers with copper-clad aluminum voice coils, tuned for a flat response rather than a fun one. That flat tuning is the whole point. When you're tracking or mixing, you don't want the headphones adding bass that isn't in the recording — you want to hear the track as it actually is. The circumaural, around-the-ear fit adds sound isolation, which matters if you're working in a room with a drum kit, a noisy computer fan or a band warming up.
The hardware details are the real story here. The earcups swivel up to 90 degrees, which lets you flip one ear off for single-ear monitoring — the classic move when you're tracking a vocalist or cueing up the next track as a DJ. The cable system is detachable and single-sided, and both a coiled and a straight cable come in the box, so you can swap depending on whether you're at a desk or moving around. It all folds down into a carry pouch when you're done. The enclosure is aluminum, the weight sits at 8.5 ounces, and the connection is a wired 3.5mm jack with volume control and sound isolation listed as the noise-control approach. This is a headphone built to survive a working life in a studio.
Who should buy it: recording musicians, podcasters, bedroom producers and DJs who need single-ear monitoring and isolation, and anyone who wants a neutral reference rather than a colored, bass-forward sound. Who should skip it: casual listeners who mainly want big, thumping bass for commuting or gaming, and anyone who wants a wireless or adapter-driven setup out of the box. The ATH-M40x assumes you're plugging into real gear and care about accuracy.
The OneOdio Monitor 60 takes a different angle. It's positioned as professional studio headphones for audiophiles and DJs, and the pitch is all about sound character: crystal-clear highs, rich mids and deep, punchy lows, described as studio-grade sound that works just as well for mixing and mastering as it does for listening on the go. That's a broader brief than the ATH-M40x's flat-response mission. Where the Audio-Technica is tuned to be neutral, the Monitor 60 is described as delivering a fuller, more musical low end — which is exactly what a lot of people actually want when they're not doing critical reference work.
The other notable thing in the box is the USB-C to 3.5mm adapter. That's a genuinely practical inclusion in a world where phones and laptops have dropped the headphone jack. If you want to plug headphones into a modern laptop or a USB-C phone without hunting for a dongle, that adapter is a real quality-of-life feature rather than a gimmick. It also signals who this headphone is aimed at: someone who moves between a desk setup and a phone, and wants one pair to cover both.
What the data sheet doesn't describe is the studio utility hardware you get on the ATH-M40x — no mention of swiveling earcups, a detachable cable system, multiple bundled cables or a folding design. So if your workflow depends on single-ear monitoring or field-swapping cables, this isn't the headphone making that promise. Who should buy it: listeners and home producers who want a rich, punchy sound signature, plus anyone who wants an adapter included so the headphones work with USB-C devices immediately. Who should skip it: engineers who need a strictly flat reference, and anyone who specifically needs the swivel-and-monitor hardware.
• Best for studio reference work → Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. The flat-response tuning and copper-clad aluminum voice coils are designed for accuracy, not coloration.
• Best for single-ear monitoring and DJ cueing → Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. The 90-degree swiveling earcups exist for exactly this.
• Best for loud rooms → Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. The circumaural, sound-isolating design is built to cut through ambient noise.
• Best for cable flexibility → Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. A detachable single-sided cable system with both coiled and straight cables included covers desk and mobile work.
• Best for a richer, more musical sound → OneOdio Monitor 60. Its described signature — clear highs, rich mids, punchy lows — is tuned to be enjoyable, not clinical.
• Best for modern devices out of the box → OneOdio Monitor 60. The included USB-C to 3.5mm adapter means it plugs straight into current phones and laptops.
• Best for simple, no-fuss ownership → OneOdio Monitor 60. Fewer moving parts and no cable swapping to think about.
• Best for travel and storage → Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. It folds down and ships with a carry pouch.
If I'm buying for studio work, I'd take the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. In my opinion, the combination of flat-response tuning, sound isolation, 90-degree swiveling cups and a detachable cable system with two cables in the box is a complete toolset that the OneOdio simply doesn't claim to match. The Monitor 60 is the better pick if your priority is a rich, punchy sound and plug-and-play convenience with USB-C devices — it's a friendlier everyday headphone. So: reference and monitoring, ATH-M40x; listening, mixing and modern-device convenience, Monitor 60. Before you commit, check the current price on Amazon, since that's the one factor that can tip a close call.
FAQ
The ATH-M40x lists a wired 3.5mm jack connection, so a USB-C phone without a headphone jack would need an adapter you supply yourself. The OneOdio Monitor 60 comes bundled with a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, so it's ready for those devices as-is.
For DJ monitoring, the ATH-M40x's 90-degree swiveling earcups and sound-isolating circumaural fit are purpose-built for cueing one ear while the room plays on. The Monitor 60 is marketed toward DJs and audiophiles for its sound, but the data sheet doesn't describe swiveling or isolation features.
Yes. The ATH-M40x folds down and includes a carry pouch, which makes it easier to pack than a fixed-frame headphone. The OneOdio Monitor 60's data sheet doesn't describe a folding design or carry case.
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