We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-19 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a lightweight on-ear headphone you can wear all day and use for calls, choose Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear; if you need an in-ear monitor with swappable tips and a braided OFC cable for stage, studio or gaming use, choose Dpofirs 3.5mm.
• Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear — biggest strength: an on-ear design that weighs only 4.5 ounces, with an in-line microphone and play/pause controls for taking calls on Apple or Android phones.
• Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear — biggest trade-off: it's a wired-only on-ear with no folding mechanism listed and no warranty stated, so it's a straightforward workhorse rather than a travel-first design.
• Dpofirs 3.5mm — biggest strength: a wired in-ear monitor (IEM) build with three sizes of silicone ear tips and a 4-strand OFC braided cable with a gold-plated 3.5mm plug.
• Dpofirs 3.5mm — biggest trade-off: no in-line microphone or controls are listed, so it's a listening tool, not a headset for calls.
• Who each is for: Monoprice for commuters, remote workers and gamers who want one pair for music and phone calls; Dpofirs for musicians, singers and anyone who needs a secure in-ear fit that stays put.
The Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear is built around one idea: make a headphone light enough that you forget you're wearing it. At 4.5 ounces, it's in the territory where a full workday, a long flight or an extended gaming session stops feeling like a chore. The on-ear cups sit against the ear rather than over it, and the plastic enclosure keeps the whole thing from pressing down on your head. If you've ever pulled a heavier headphone off after three hours because your ears felt hot and pinched, that weight figure is the number that matters here.
Under the hood, the specs are conventional but sensible. A 36 mm dynamic driver, 32 ohm impedance, 101 dB sensitivity, and a 20 Hz – 20 kHz frequency range. That 32 ohm impedance is the useful detail: it's low enough that a phone, tablet or laptop headphone jack can drive it without a separate amp. The 101 dB sensitivity says the same thing from another angle — it doesn't need much power to get loud. The 36 mm driver is a middle-of-the-road size, which is typical for on-ear cans and usually translates to fuller low-end than the tiny drivers in earbuds.
Then there's the practical part. The in-line controller gives you a microphone and play/pause controls, and Monoprice explicitly states you can answer and end calls on Apple or Android smartphones with it. That turns this from a music-only headphone into something you can keep on for a Zoom call, a walk with a podcast, or a quick phone call without swapping devices. Sound isolation is listed as the noise control approach — passive blocking, not active noise cancellation — so it will take the edge off a noisy room but won't erase a plane engine.
Who should buy it: anyone who wants one wired pair for music, calls and gaming, and who values low weight over portability tricks. Who should skip it: if you need a folding travel headphone, active noise cancellation, or a secure in-ear fit for running and stage work, this isn't the shape you're after. And note the listing states no warranty — worth knowing before you commit.
The Dpofirs 3.5mm is a different animal entirely. This is a wired in-ear monitor — the kind of headset that pushes sound directly into the ear canal rather than resting against it. Dpofirs describes the sound as lossless HiFi stereo with full bass, precise mids and clear treble, and frames it for musicians, singers, and stage and studio use. Whether that description lives up to the marketing is something only your ears can settle, but the design intent is clear: detail and isolation over convenience.
The ergonomics are where this one earns its place. You get three sizes of silicone ear tips — small, medium and large — so you can actually match the nozzle to your ear canal instead of fighting a one-size-fits-all bud. That matters more than people expect: a proper seal is what gives an in-ear its bass and its blocking. Dpofirs also calls out a non-slip fit for activities, which is the classic IEM advantage — once they're seated, they stay seated.
The cable is the other headline. It's woven from 4 strands of OFC (oxygen-free copper) wire, which Dpofirs says resists erosion and interference to preserve the original signal. The plug is gold-plated 3.5mm. In practice, a braided OFC cable is the spec you want if you're plugging into a mixing console, an amplifier, a sound card or a game console — the kind of gear that gets moved around and where a flimsy cable becomes a problem. Dpofirs lists compatibility across smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs, game consoles, sound cards, amplifiers and mixing consoles.
Who should buy it: singers, musicians and home-studio users who need an in-ear that seals, stays put, and plugs into pro audio gear; also gamers who want in-ear isolation. Who should skip it: if you make a lot of calls, this isn't it — there's no microphone or in-line control listed. And it's strictly wired, so no wireless convenience.
• Best for all-day comfort → Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear. At 4.5 ounces with on-ear cups, it's designed to be worn for long stretches with less fatigue.
• Best for phone calls and meetings → Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear. The in-line mic and play/pause controls support answering and ending calls on Apple and Android phones.
• Best for a secure, sealed in-ear fit → Dpofirs 3.5mm. Three sizes of silicone tips (S, M, L) let you dial in a fit that won't slip during activity.
• Best for stage, studio and pro audio gear → Dpofirs 3.5mm. The gold-plated 3.5mm plug and 4-strand OFC braided cable are aimed squarely at amplifiers, mixing consoles and sound cards.
• Best for driveability from a phone jack → Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear. 32 ohm impedance and 101 dB sensitivity mean a normal headphone jack can push it loud.
• Best for cable durability and interference resistance → Dpofirs 3.5mm. OFC construction is specifically called out for erosion and anti-interference performance.
• Best for wireless → neither. Both are wired 3.5mm products. Monoprice lists Bluetooth under connectivity technology, but the headphone jack is 3.5 mm and the design is wired; Dpofirs is wired only.
• Best if you want the simpler setup → Dpofirs 3.5mm. Plug and play, no controls to learn.
In my opinion, the Monoprice Hi-Fi Lightweight On-Ear is the pick for most people, and it's the one I'd buy. The 4.5-ounce weight, the 32 ohm / 101 dB tuning that plays nicely with a phone jack, and the in-line mic with play/pause controls cover the widest range of everyday jobs — music, calls, work and gaming — from one pair. The Dpofirs 3.5mm is the better specialist: if you're a musician, singer or studio user who needs a sealed, non-slip in-ear with an OFC cable for real audio gear, it's the smarter tool. But as a single do-everything headphone, the Monoprice wins on flexibility. Check the current price on Amazon before you decide, since both sit in very different buying categories.
FAQ
No. The data sheet lists no microphone and no in-line controls. It's built for listening and monitoring, so if you need to take calls, look at the Monoprice instead.
That depends on the fit you prefer. The Monoprice weighs just 4.5 ounces and is explicitly designed for long work days, flights and gaming sessions. The Dpofirs uses in-ear tips in three sizes for a sealed, non-slip fit, which some people prefer and others find fatiguing. Neither is objectively better — it's an on-ear versus in-ear question.
Both use a 3.5mm connection, and Dpofirs lists compatibility with laptops, PCs, game consoles, sound cards, amplifiers and mixing consoles. The Monoprice's 32 ohm impedance and 101 dB sensitivity make it easy to drive from a standard headphone jack.
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