Monster Turbine Appreciation Thread

[shigzeo]

Yes, Monster, one of Headfi's least favourite companies outed a great earphone: Monster Turbine. They have heaps of competition from higher and lower priced products but outperform many of my former favourites.

Why? The bass does not have the typical bleed that is characteristic of underdriven dynamic phones. It remains nimble in the treble and technical and clean in the mids.

At 150$ there is no inner earphone that to my knowledge is housed completely in high quality metals: brass and aluminium. Everything about the phone reeks of quality with the exception of strain reliefs on the headphone jack and an overly energetic cable that needs restrainers to stay quiet.

Sound = Fab
Looks = Fab but bordering on bling
Packaging = Unequalled this side of 300$

Are they the best? I don't think anyone expects them to be the best, but for an engaging listen that is non-fatiguing yet detailed and lively, I am unconvinced that for the price, there is a better phone on the market.

I hope this thread will pick up steam as these phones deserve a dedicated thread that is not timid because of the Monster name.

Thank you Monster for making such a great earphone!
Please send me links to reviews that you have found to be helpful and I will try to update this title thread with those reviews.

[thechungster]

Just wondering, why is Monster one of the least favourite brands on head-fi? Is it because of those beats by dre that gave it a bad reputation?

[walkingman]

Because of their overpriced cables.

[thechungster]

Originally Posted by walkingman

Because of their overpriced cables.

Oh, I saw an article on Engadget about that a few days ago. Something about them advertising their HDMI cable as brilliant quality, but the 2nd TV had only component. I understand.

[loopsider]

Monster is disliked for their overpriced and mediocre cables, and unreliable customer support. But mostly for being overpriced. At least for me.

For that price, the Phonak PFE is also another consideration, but as the original poster noted, the Turbines are made with quality metal that the pfe is not.

[shigzeo]

right, not the best of starts! haha. price though, makes little difference here i would think when you can buy ue customs for 1500$ or others for the same. if people buy it it is worth it.

anyway, some fans now? you don't have to agree with what the thread is about, but time for fans of the monster to come out!

[ChroniCali]

Originally Posted by shigzeo

Are they the best? I don't think anyone expects them to be the best, but for an engaging listen that is non-fatiguing yet detailed and lively, I am unconvinced that for the price, there is a better phone on the market.

There is NOT a better phone on the market, is what I think you mean.

Are these recableable?

[walkingman]

Originally Posted by thechungster

Oh, I saw an article on Engadget about that a few days ago. Something about them advertising their HDMI cable as brilliant quality, but the 2nd TV had only component. I understand.

Yeah, I should also add their lame attempts at tricking ordinary everyday punters into thinking they need more than a cheap HDMI cable.

Originally Posted by shigzeo

right, not the best of starts! haha. price though, makes little difference here i would think when you can buy ue customs for 1500$ or others for the same. if people buy it it is worth it.

Well I agree, credit where it is due. I've never heard the Monster Turbine, but it sounds like a good product, so kudos to them.

[communic]

Originally Posted by ChroniCali

There is NOT a better phone on the market, is what I think you mean.

Originally Posted by shizgeo

Are they the best? I don't think anyone expects them to be the best, but for an engaging listen that is non-fatiguing yet detailed and lively, I am unconvinced that for the price, there is a better phone on the market.

Nope, pretty sure he meant what he said.

[cn11]

I have them and love them. They make a great backup to the Senn IE8's. Many similar sound qualities, just not quite as refined. They are good to the point that I can put them in and enjoy them on their own merit, even after having used the IE8's. It's only when I go back to the IE8's that I realize what they do better.

So, X2 on the kudos to Monster for stepping up quality on one of their products. Glad to see this thread btw, they deserve it.

[DTKZ]

Originally Posted by shigzeo

anyway, some fans now? you don't have to agree with what the thread is about, but time for fans of the monster to come out!

New owner chiming in. I got these a few days ago and I'm loving them. I was originally looking for a replacement for my UE 5Pros and after checking out some of the reviews here, I decided to get them. Thanks Shigezo for your review in the earlier thread. Your taste in music and headphones seem to be fairly similar to mine, so I figured that I'd like them if you did.

Initial out of the box impressions were kind of disappointed when compared to UE 5Pro (using UM2 cables). The turbines were bassy as I expected but I found that the lower sub bass was kind of overpowered by the higher sub bass and lacked punch. Excellent for hip hop, not so good for dubstep.

After some burn-in with pink noise, I found that the lower sub bass caught up with the higher sub bass and provided a much more detailed sound at the low end. I think they now beat the pants off my UE 5Pros.

I admit that I am a bit of a basshead (I listen to a lot of dubstep) hence my focus on the low end. I would be a little hesitant to reccomend them to someone looking for a very balanced neutral sound. However, I do listen to more than just bassy music (the reason why I had a UE 5Pro rather than a UE 5EB) and they still perform well with Antonio Carlos Jobim.

I would heartily reccomend them for those who like a lot of bass but want something that performs well even with music that isn't bass focused.

It might just be me, but I found the soundstage to require a little adjustment on my part. For me, most earphones have a soundstage that's wider than it is tall. Using the Turbines, the soundstage seemed taller than it is wide. Anyone experience this as well?

I also think that they sound very engaging and are excellent for watching movies with. I found myself paying more attention to scores and audio cues in movies. They provide an amount of bass that, to me, has a visceral feel somewhat akin to what you'd experience in a cinema. I live in an apartment and turning up my speakers so that they have that kind of bass when watching movies would really piss my neighbours off, so it's a very nice plus.

Originally Posted by ChroniCali

Are these recableable?

If you mean easily replacable like older UE products, then no. I'd like to know whether the cable can be replaced myself but you'd have to crack open the earpieces somehow to do it and I'm not going to try that while they're still working. Being able to replace the cables somehow would be awesome though, I could certainly imagine wanting to keep these for a long time.

[shigzeo]

my only issues are cable and tips really. if monster supplied the type of foamie that ety did, they gain in every respect.

i also love bass, and maybe it is because i have an ipod touch that i never felt the lack in sub bass to mid bass - in fact if anything, i was surprised from the start at how balanced they were for a bassy phone - wonderfully surprised.

but, i enjoy them equally on my sony players which don't have the same width of channel separation but still retain a great resolved bass. i wish i could comment on monster with other players like d2, meizu (rip) and my old irivers but... alas, im now a touch guy.

[ethan961]

Unrelated question, do you have a 1st gen or 2nd gen touch? I'm trying to figure out how my 1st gen compares to the 2nd gen. From comparing with my sister's 2nd gen, it seems the 2nd gen is warmer overall and sounds better (unsurprisingly) with most phones. Everything I have plugged into it sounded good, whereas with my 1st gen some phones paired better than others. The 1st gen seemed more cold and digital, but somehow quite full, especially when comparing to cheaper players. I like the way it sounds, and I can't want to hear the turbines with it and compare to the second gen.

[ChroniCali]

Sorry again about the false alarm on the typo. Anyone have any comparisons between the Turbines and the PK1? I'm wondering how the highs and clarity and mids fare in the Turbines.

[DTKZ]

Originally Posted by shigzeo

my only issues are cable and tips really. if monster supplied the type of foamie that ety did, they gain in every respect.

True. The cable is perhaps the biggest negative point against them. The cables themselves do seem slightly stronger than the cables on the average Japanese earphones but the almost total lack of strain relief does seem a little worrying especially since you can't replace the cables yourself. The claim on the box that they are tangle-free is an exaggeration, although they do seem to be tangle-resistant at least. As for tips, I always stick to single flange silicone so tip selection isn't as much of an issue for me.

Originally Posted by shigzeo

i also love bass, and maybe it is because i have an ipod touch that i never felt the lack in sub bass to mid bass - in fact if anything, i was surprised from the start at how balanced they were for a bassy phone - wonderfully surprised.

Might also be because your primary music is trance whereas mine is dubstep which has greater focus on bass. Burning them in seemed to have rectified my original issue with the sub bass however, so it's all good now.