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dfkt said:

You're in for a surprise. They certainly sound better than the prototypes you heard. For me, they might already be right up there with the SM3 for my personal taste. Knowing you (a bit), I believe you might prefer the 232 to the SM3. Treble is insane on the 232, a whole new level - comparisons with the FI-BA-SS are in order.

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dfkt said:

 
The 232 are quite a departure from the 112 sound. They are quite lush, euphonic, and grand sounding, while still retaining extreme precision, dynamics, and speed.
 
Off the top of my head, I would go from 'leanest/thinnest' to 'lushest/thickest' like this, disregarding any other qualities of the phones:  ER4 > q-Jays > PFE 112 > FI-BA-SS > Westone 4 > PFE 232 > SM3 > SE530 (not 100% sure about FI-BA-SS vs. W4, haven't heard both in quite a while).

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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.

Thanks a lot for your impressions! Even thicker/lusher bass than the W4? Hmm... Not what I expected, TBH. There is no way I can ignore these. Will eventually have to audition/buy them.

Thank you for your impression james, much appreciated my friend! I'm curious however, where do the 232's stand in your current ranking (as per your signature)?

Well, going by my first impressions it's pretty obvious that I rank them roughly on par with the W4. The FI-BA-SS still rule supremely among my BAs, mainly because they're simply phenomenal with classical music (note that I value space and air more than isolation).
 
But the 232 are pretty close (except for spaciousness) and offer just a slightly different flavor of excellent sound quality. Plus, considering their better isolation, detachable cables and included mic/remote option, it's not hard to imagine them representing an ideal top tier package for many listeners.

EX1000 - PFE 232 ?

Hard to say, since my EX1000 are still touring the US and I'm unable to A/B. But pretty much the same that I've said about the FI-BA-SS also applies to the EX1000, lots of space and air, wonderful with classical, especially grand orchestral pieces, so I don't think I'd prefer the 232 over the Sonys.
 
However, if you need more isolation, get easily annoyed by wind noise, or even just want an inconspicuous pair of superb IEMs, the PFEs would be a better choice, no doubt.

I checked their website, these don't have a version w/o the controls?

They come with two cables, with and without Apple control.

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dfkt said:

They come with two cables, with and without Apple control.

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Great! One more on the list of next buys.

Hello,
 
I received my PFE 232 and I confirm everything James444 wrote when comparing them to the W4...but for me, they are a more pronounced upgrade to the W4 because they have better treble and better dynamics overall the spectrum. And considering the price and the fact that you can resell the PFE 022 (gift), price come close to the W4R specially for people living in Europe.

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for me, they are a more pronounced upgrade to the W4 because they have better treble and better dynamics overall the spectrum.

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This is great to hear, but the strength of the W4 is to be as relaxed and smooth as possible. This would not work with excessive treble and engaging dynamics, I think.
Either way, it's pointless for me to post any more comments until I actually own these babies! I've heard enough to justify spending 500 €, thanks!

The 232 are very relaxed (meaning "non-fatiguing") and smooth, despite the treble and dynamics. They are quite paradox in that matter.
 
I, too, think they are quite the upgrade over the W4, since the W4 are much closer to the PFE 112 sound signature than to the 232, in my opinion. (James444 will probably disagree with that opinion, but we're both looking for different things in phones. )

^ You called for it and here I am, disagreeing. After A/Bing the PFE232 and W4 with exceptionally dynamic recordings (e.g. Mahler - Sym. #2 Tilson Thomas, Markus Schulz - Progression, Brasstronaut - Mount Chimaera) I don't find that any of them has a clear advantage over the other in dynamics. Granted, the 232 appear a little more lively due to their slight mid-bass bump and better treble, but the W4 have an edge in overall bass quality (mainly detail and clarity, but I'd even think a tad better bass dynamics).
 
So, in my book it depends rather on sound signature preference and not actually dynamics, which one's to be considered an upgrade over the other, if at all. For Hilary Hahn I'd prefer the 232s no doubt, but for Dave Holland I'd probably grab the W4 over the PFEs. Interesting battle, I'm really looking forward to more opinions on these.

With 'upgrade over the W4' I was more talking about the overall sound presentation, the 'weight' and 'lushness', not so much the dynamics, where both are great. The comparison with the PFE 112 was also meant about the W4 sounding 'thinner' than the 232. Actually, it's basically the same thing I already said in an earlier post.

Well there's also the nicety of being able to just use the stock tips and fogettaboudit with the PFE. No manipulation required or so it seems. I may need to give these a go as I'm a fan of their baby brothers.