[NEWS / DISCUSSION / IMPRESSION] Phonak Audéo PFE232 - Page 58

Originally Posted by daniel521 

Has anyone here tried using the PFE232 in a plane? If so, does it isolate well enough, or is the engine noise a problem? 

Originally Posted by 3nenbgumi 

^ I have used the PFE 232 on a plane for a couple of times before and I think the isolation is good enough to cancel out pretty much virtually any noises...even the worst nightmare on a flight, a.k.a crying babies. Engine's noise cannot be fully eliminated, however, but will be reduced to a level where you'd be "feeling" it rather than hearing it, provided that you have achieved a good seal. 

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

 

The PFE232 generally isn't the best isolating tool.  It does fine if you want to compare to all headphones (IEMs, over-ears, on-ears, etc), but for IEMs alone, it's lower on the scale.  For isolation, you may want to look elsewhere.  

Originally Posted by daniel521 

Thanks, this is helpful. I'm afraid the engine noise will be a bit distracting, but at least I can still enjoy the music if I end up getting the PFE232.

Would you say the 3.Ai is the best alternative to the PFE232 if I'm looking for a more isolating IEM?

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

 

If you're looking for a v-shaped signature, the 3.Ai would do fine.  SQ-wise, it is a little behind though.  If you could deal with the warm signature, the Westone W4 would do well, the W3 might also be a good alternative, although I haven't heard it.  

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

 

If you're looking for a v-shaped signature, the 3.Ai would do fine.  SQ-wise, it is a little behind though.  If you could deal with the warm signature, the Westone W4 would do well, the W3 might also be a good alternative, although I haven't heard it.  

Originally Posted by daniel521 

Well, I'm not sure if I would want to sacrifice SQ for isolation, I guess I should just stick to the PFE232. I'm interested in the 4.Ai as well although it's not v-shaped.

Originally Posted by daniel521 

Is the PFE232's isolation better than the Sennheiser IE80's isolation? If so, is it just a little better or a lot better? Sorry for asking so much about isolation, I'm a bit picky :P. I'm asking this because I've owned the IE60 which is the lower model of the IE80, so it's isolation is similar.

Originally Posted by Totally Dubbed 

^ I'll try the filters, good shout.

 

I'll check within the nozzle just in case....

 

And 232's with Pseries...reminds me of a mini handheld camera with a HUGE lens lol

 

  

Originally Posted by james444 

 

Ok, thanks again for the loaner and kudos to you for getting a lot of things right (or almost so ;-) even though you had to go by memory.

 

So let's start with the best, treble is indeed insane on the 232 and out of all phones I've heard probably closest to the $1000+ FI-BA-SS, incredibly extended and resolving with lots of sparkle, but with less raw edge and aggressiveness. Compared to the W4 the highs are noticably more lively and a tad more refined but retain a similar low sibilance level, which shows that they've been very carefully tuned. In short, treble on the 232 is a masterpiece.

 

Moving down to the mids, these are neither laid back nor forward and I'd say it's a matter of personal taste whether one would consider the W4 or 232 more neutral. The W4 have a slight hint of warmth from their lower mids in comparison, but that's with my Olive tips and we all know how these tend to change their signature with tips, so it's hard to make an absolute assessment. Anyway, mids on the 232 are great quality and exactly there where I want them, very very nice.

 

For a nitpicker like me every IEM out there has inevitably some sort of shortcoming and for the 232 it's in a way the bass, or more precisely the bass in relation to treble. But let's take one thing at a time, bass per se has excellent punch, speed and precision. Compared to the W4 I'd say the Westones are a tad more linear whereas the 232 have a slight mid/upper bass emphasis, plus it's also a tiny bit harder to make out bass detail on the PFEs. Overall I prefer the W4's bass by a slight margin, just like I prefer the 232's treble by the same amount.

 

Now for the bass/treble relation, (to my ears) Phonak made some interesting tuning choice here, in that note weight isn't the same across the frequency range. The 232's lower range has a noticably lusher/thicker feel to it, whereas the highs are leaner and borderline thin. This makes cymbals and flutes sound extremely lively and airy and and bass and drums impressively full at the same time. Interestingly enough it doesn't spoil timbre when looking at individual instruments (since hardly any spans the entire frequency range), but poses a bit of an anomaly in my book when listening to classical orchestra. On Mahler's 2nd the final set starts with a drum explosion that makes you jump on the 232, whereas the subsequent horns sound a bit thin in comparison. Like I said, this is nitpicking and most likely not a problem for the majority of listeners, but well, that's how I hear it. Btw the FI-BA-SS are leaner across the whole frequency range and the W4 maybe slightly leaner in bass and thicker in treble, since they have more consistent note weight in my book.

 

Bottom line, the 232 are a definite upgrade from the 112 and without doubt top tier IEMs with possibly even the best highs out there, but overall not a clear upgrade to the W4.

Please note that these observations are provisional and may change as I'm becoming more acquainted with the 232s, make more comparisons and try different tips. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Originally Posted by daniel521 

I received the PFE232 about two weeks ago, and I am enjoying them. However, I noticed a problem with it today. The two earphones (left and right) sound different. They were both the same filter, so I tried changing the filter multiple times, yet the left earphones still sounded different. It feels like the left earphone has less "vibration" and "rumble". This makes the right earphone seem louder in comparison, it feels like 70% of the sound is coming from the right instead of the sound being equally reproduced in both sides. I thought that maybe the right earphone was inserted more deeply than the left one, but that's not the case. I tested both in the same ear, and the right earphone is definitely louder and different. Does anyone know a possible solution this problem?