Pros & Cons
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- Powerful bass depth and sculpted highs.
- Affordable.
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- Frustrating on-ear controls.
- Not fully waterproof.
- Weak mic signal.
Not everyone is prepared to pony up $250 for Apple AirPods Pro, and this creates a space for companies like Monster step in and offer a much more affordable pair of true wireless earphones. At $79.99, the Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks are part of a small class of sub-$100 wire-free in-ear models. The good news is that they sound pretty good for the price, with boosted bass and sculpted highs to motivate you during your workouts. But the on-ear controls are a mess and the mic signal is particularly weak, especially compared with affordable alternatives like the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air.
Design
Available in a matte black design, the AirLinks come with three pairs of silicone eartips in small, medium, and large sizes. The in-ear fit is quite secure and ideal for exercise.
The AirLinks have an IPX5 rating, which appears on the box next to the word "waterproof," but you should take precaution when using the earphones in exceedingly wet scenarios. An IPX5 rating means they can withstand light rain, sweat, and splashes, but they can't being submerged in water, nor can they handle significant water pressure, such as that from a faucet. Most of the gym-focused in-ears we review have IPX6 or IPX7 ratings; the lower rating here is in line with the price, just know that the earphones aren't completely waterproof.
Each earpiece has a touch-sensitive control. Tapping once on either ear controls playback or answers incoming calls. Things fall apart after these basics, however. The manual says that you control volume by quickly double tapping the button on the left ear to lower volume or the right ear to raise it. We got this to work once or twice, but often it was either registered as a single tap or instead summoned our phone's voice assistant. Trying to operate these controls while exercising will only complicate the already problematic design.
The included charging case has a unique look. It is a rather bulky cylindrical tube, but instead of a slide-out compartment, it twists open to reveal the charging docks. There's a USB-C port for the included charging cable.
Monster estimates the Clarity 101 AirLinks to have a battery life of up to 6 hours, with an additional 19 hours or so from the battery case. Your results will vary with your volume levels.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the AirLinks deliver solid low-frequency thump. There's some added oomph here for those motivated by extra bass during exercise, and it's more or less balanced with decent high-frequency presence.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature. The drums on this track sound almost thunderous, with plenty of added deep bass to beef up their presence. Callahan's baritone vocals also get some extra richness, and some crisp treble edge to maintain clarity. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits get some extra brightness and snap. The tape hiss moves forward in the mix as well, telling us this is a highly sculpted, boosted sound signature, with big bass, and bright, dialed up highs.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to maintain its punchy edge, while the vinyl crackle and hiss that's usually relegated to background status is pushed forward in the mix here. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with a solid deep bass thump that's not necessarily over the top, but definitely dialed up. The vocals on this track are delivered with solid clarity and no real added sibilance despite their higher-frequency sculpting.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound sculpted but exciting through the AirLinks. The lower-register audio is boosted to a degree that will annoy purists, but not one that upsets the balance of the mix. This is largely thanks to the reciprocal boosting in the highs, allowing the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals to retain their place in the spotlight.
The mic offers below-average intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could more or less understand every word we recorded, but there was typical Bluetooth fuzz, and the mic signal was notably weak, with occasional dropout.
Conclusions
The Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks deliver a solid bass-forward audio experience for a reasonable price. The IPX5 rating is good, not great, but the on-ear controls and mic clarity are pretty poor. If you're looking for the best audio quality in the sub-$100 price range, we're fans of the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air, which are available for the same price as the AirLinks. And if you simply want the cheapest option possible, the EarFun Free earphones are better than you'd expect for $50.
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Further Reading
Final Thoughts
Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Review
Monster's Clarity 101 AirLinks earphones deliver solid bass depth balanced with crisp highs in a true wireless form factor, but are held back by poor controls.