Monster Turbine In-Ear Headphones

After a six year love affair with a pair of Shure e4cs, they bit the dust & my wallet didn't allow for a similar investment. On my trip to J&R the day before an international flight, they were sold out of the Sure 215's I planned to try out. So I picked up the Turbines.
First out of the box I was greeted with several inner boxes, on my subway ride home a gratuitous pile of cardboard & plastics formed around my feet. What's that you say Turbines? "Life is too short for bad headphones." Did your CEO write that copy? What's with audio gear & embarrassing copy? Oh look, two carry cases, both disgusting.
So let me get this out of the way, within four months they were broke. Apparently this doesn't seem to be the norm so I'll try to hold my hatred at bay.

1. Bass good. When listening to tracks & genres with great bass these headphones became quite "fun".
2. Symmetrical buds means you must annoyingly use brain power & eyes to know which ear is left & right.
3. Broken

I replaced with Shure SE215. Similar price, I like them better, although the Turbine's have superior bass & comfort. But no "love" for either model.

ok first off this is my first review on ANYTHING. so bare with me if its dumb. but let me just say im no audiophile and im not rich and cant afford to try alot of different phones. im just a guy who hates getting swindled. so thats why i do tons and tons of independant research before i buy any kind of electronic. with the turbines, i would seriously say i have read at least 75-80 reviews on them AND the pro copper/golds, from alot of different websites, i researched them against different types of phones and i even looked at the more scientific side of things like ohms and output impedance and stuff like that. the monster family of phones get a overall positive feedback amungst the internet community very consistantly. so i decided to get them finally( after about 2yrs of desiring them). like i said above the packaging and the accessories are very very good. the design of the phones are awesome. now ive read enough reviews to know that iem's are a very different expirence for each person, so i just wanna tell you about mine with the turbines. the fit is wayyyyyy to finicky if you look down the sound changes, because the seal changes in you ear. and the pressure that these put in your ear is so immence that i feel it is hindering the ability to hear the music properly. when im pressing these into my ear the pressure created is so much that it can completely mute the earphone until you back it out a little. seriously, i never felt like the fit was correct and i have fiddled with them for ever. i even bought the 20 dollar set of super tips from best buy, same crap wayyy too much pressure in my ears. when ever i finally got them to feel decent, and try to analyse the sound quality i found that the bass is the only thing about these phones that even remotely stands out as being a better than the average phone. the highs are regular as hell and i think the mids are plain as hell too. and the soundstage is so small there is none. it does not feel as if your surrounded by music.its a very tight close up short sound overall and the bass sounds to me like the range is lower than ive heard from any other phone of mine. but range and impact are two very different things. the bass never blew me away at all. these did not sound like in ear speakers to me. at all. and after wearing them even with the smallest tips for 6 hrs or so they hurt. and its not the weight of them its the diameter of the bud. it felt like it was gaping my ear canal. bottom line... i wanted sooooo so baldy to like these, but that pressure in my ears killed it for me. i feel it contributed to not hearing the audio like i was supposed to. its seriously felt like the seal was so tight that the trapped air between the bud and my ear drum was creating some kind of pressure sound filter....i know that doesnt make sence but thats how it felt. 

The Turbines are so-so IEMs with muddy sound that left me fairly disappointed.
 
BUILD: 
The build on the Turbines is stellar. I purchased these before I began taking-care of my belongings, and they survived even the heaviest abuse. They've been crammed in pockets, run through the washing machine, and dropped countless times, and they still look brand new. The metal buds are extremely durable, fairly heavy, and just feel expensive. They're also very beautiful, and fun to touch. 
 
SOUND: 
This is where the Turbine falls short. The sound is not bad, but it is beat by many cheaper IEMs. The bass is very heavy, and is almost always out-of-control. The mids are the best part of the Turbine's sound, but they are often destroyed by the overpowering bass. The highs are very disappointing, to say the least. Crash cymbals, screams, and synthesizers sound as if they're being muffled by a pillow. Even though the sound quality is nothing remarkable, the noise isolation is phenomenal. Even the noisiest buses are made nearly silent by the incredible Monster Super Tips. I often stick these in my ears while I'm drumming, because they isolate noise better than ear-plugs do. 
 
FINAL THOUGHTS: 
The Monster Turbines look and feel expensive, but they do not sound the same way. To the average listener who is often in noisy places, the Turbine is a fairly decent pair of IEMs. Unfortunately, with so many other IEM options (most of which are much cheaper), I cannot recommend these to anyone.

Value:
I would obviously rate this very high since I got these from a good friend who never really used them and sold it to me for (ok, expensive ones at that) peanuts (He has a couple of Shure's that sounded much better). For the money I paid for the sound it produces though (I guess I'm spoiled by my over ear headphones) I would rate it a solid 4 out of 5 in terms of value.
 
Audio Quality:
The bass is very good, it's very solid sounding and punchy. The highs are thin and veiled sounding and the mids are darker sounding that I would want them to be.These buds do have a decent sound stage but it isn't very wide. The way I perceive it is that the bass is very slightly forward of the mids while the highs are behind the mids when listening to music. If you're a bass head this is a good set of ear buds for you. I prefer a balanced sounding type of ear buds / cans so I rated this with a 3.5 out of a 5.
 
Design:
I think the design is very cool and modern looking but still conservative in a way. It has the gun metal / chrome finish that gives it the 'jet turbine' look which it actually pulls off well. The identifying marks for the left and right side buds are very well done (blue and red markings around each bud). The wires themselves are very sturdy considering I've accidentally pulled away too far from my PC a couple of times and both ends (plug and buds) have held up well. Solid 4 out of 5
 
Comfort:
I've been able to use these buds for 4 hours straight but with some adjustments every 30-45 minutes or so to get them to where I want them to be. As mentioned in my cons, the fitment or rubber buds could have been better. It can be tiring listening to bass heavy buds so I did end up lowering down the volume to get a break now and then. I gave it a 3 out of 5
 
Isolation:
These buds are actually very good in terms of noise Isolation, so you can crank up the volume without worrying too much about the person beside you. At the same time you won't be able to hear too much noise from the outside once your jamming to your favorite tunes. Very good for traveling to and from work or where ever you may be going! Solid 4 out of 5

To be perfectly honest, when I first heard of the Turbines, I thought that they were just another Monster consumer product like Beats. That is, heavy, muddy, bloated bass, recessed mids and highs. When I first heard them, I was pleasantly surprised and I don't own these. To start with, it will be worth knowing that these are extremely sensitive to insertion depth and when it isn't perfect, the sound can be odd, so make sure that they fit properly before you judge them. I borrowed them off a friend so I don't know what it comes with etc and I will just get straight to the sound. Also, these have already been used for a few years so should be fully burnt in if you are one of those who care about burn in. 
 
Sound
If you have read any of my other reviews, you will know that I split the sound section into 3 main parts - bass, midrange and treble, so here we go!
 
Bass
The bass is certainly north of neutral, there is no doubt about that, but it is actually really pleasant and it excellent for mainstream music which are mostly bass heavy. The bass really does lack detail though and that becomes very apparent when you hear other IEMs like the Brainwavz B2s which have little bass, but very good detail. The bass however, it not as fast as I like, but boomy bass may be your type of sound and in that case, this will be an excellent choice. Also, the bass does bleed into the mids and sometimes drown them out a little, but it is quite bearable. A lot of people, including me, would call the bass a bit bloated, but it is supposed to, and Monster has done a great job at making an IEM with just the right amount of bass for basshead audiophiles while still satisfying average consumers. 
Midrange
I was expecting the midrange to be recessed like the Beats tours, but they really did remind me of the Monster Jamz which have quite a nice midrange but sounded much more natural and a bit less recessed. The vocals sound quite meaty and impressive for an IEM of it's price, but again, female vocals still sound a bit metallic and lifeless. Instruments are quite nice, but lack a bit of realism  and sounded darker than what they should sound like. As mentioned above, the bass bleeds into the mids, but it is still quite nice and I doubt that it would really affect you if you haven't heard Vocal separation is OK, but nowhere up to the level of the slightly more expensive Rockit Sounds R50. The detail level is good, but not great because of the strong bass. I actually really liked the midrange and prefer it to many more expensive IEMs I've heard. 
Treble
I am actually most impressed by the treble. I was expecting a veiled mess for the treble, but it wasn't like that at all and improves greatly on the Monster Jamz's treble. The cymbals are not just a click, but actually have a very nice decay which, while on the short side, is still enjoyable. I has some sparkle, but doesn't go over the top like the B2s and is very smooth and non fatiguing. People who are used to a bright IEM will find these very dull and veiled, but these are actually just about neutral, but may be just that few DB off. There is no odd peak which plagues many IEMs that I have tried. Also, there is absolutely no sibilance even after I pushed it well past safe listening levels which is another plus for the treble. It really isn't like any of the other Monster IEMS. 
Instrument Separation
This is where the Monster turbines do not do well at all. It sounds very coherent, but it is quite hard to tell each instrument from another on congested tracks. The B2s really do do way better than these in that aspect.
Soundstage
The soundstage was rather impressive for a $100 IEM. It was wide and quite deep, but not very tall. 
 
Conclusion
If you are looking for a very nice bass heavy and fun IEM under $100, these are an excellent choice, but maybe you will want to check out the Shure SE215s as well. I did really enjoy the turbines and please don't just think that they will be terrible sounding because they are from Monster like I did. Give them a run and you might be impressed. 

I decided to ditch my Shure E105 because they were just all midrange and even though a tight bass the bass had no presence.
 
Enter the Monster HP In-Ear Speaker. Yeah Monster is big on calling them speaker not headphone.
 
What struck me immediately was the clarity and punch. These definitely have punch and depending on the type of music you listen to it can be very easy to get enveloped in such richness. Take for example the track Monte Gargano by the Truckfighters, wow. Super kick drum and just full sound and while they are stoner/fuzz rock you could still clearly hear the highs on the high hats.
 
I have 2 tests for testing the clarity, presence for punch, clean sound, full range and crips highs:
 RUSH - Tom Sawyer
 Opeth - Windowpanes
 
Tom Sawyer tests the clear punch bass of the kick drum and bass, and the mid-range roundness for the drums and crisp highs.
 
Windowpanes has similiar attributes but the drum work and specifically cymbals and high hats is a great test for that tight cymbal sound without fatigue or loss.
 
The biggest surprise was when I put on some Oscar Peterson Trio. Yep these are great jazz IEM.
 
These Monsters passed. Great punch and the clarity on the highs is great.
 
The biggest caveat is fit. It is crucial to get a good fit in the canal to experience the best sound. I found the tips a bit awkward to find the right fit but you will find ones to settle on but you'll need to experiment on in-ear fitting. 
 
The wiring is thin, so I don't expect to use these in physical activity, so these will be office use. I liked the Sennheiser I had, very beefy wiring.
 
Lastly, I hope they burn in a bit, because the bass can be a bit much for a very long listen.
 
-- Update 28 May 2011 --
So after using these for a while I found that using the aftermarket tips made a big difference in getting them to fit more easily. I have to say though that these do not respond well to compressed music especially if you like using services like RDIO or MOG. The frequency crunch is too much and leaves these phones sounding flat. After some use as well I find they lack a bit of high frequency clarity but that can be acquainted to different music genres too (i.e. some rock lacks the high end clarity, and will emphasize the mid/bass range a bit to much).

This set really impresses me every time I use them, they have great overall presentation & ability.  Tuned for all-around use, they are very well balanced, with ample & precise bass, decent mids & decent highs.  There isn't anything snazzy about them, but they are great to just grab & not overthink.  Definitely not made for critical listening but great for just enjoying music with good quality sound.
 
I highly recommend them if you can get them on a lightning deal for $79, but they are a decent deal at any price under $100.  There are many other options out there, but this set really satisfies a niche for me, of high quality & good balance without the frills.
 
I did have a QC issue in that the left speaker quit working properly & was not putting out very much sound, I've read elsewhere of this problem.  Monster's customer service was great, no questions were asked I just mailed the set to them & they mailed a replacement, probably 2 weeks turnaround.  There are also some fit issues in getting a good seal, it is simple to get a good seal but sometimes has a sort of 'vacuum' effect where you have to play around with the position to get the seal how it is supposed to be.
 
Overall I'm very happy with these as a backup to my W4.

The Monster Turbine in-ear headphones are very good bang-for-your-buck IEMs.  The bass seems slightly more powerful than other aspects of the sound signature to me, but some people like this type of sound and to be fair the bass is not bad.  Let me explain: some cheap earbuds have one generic bass sound.  Skullcandies have a kettle-drum BOOM.  Urban Ears have a pleasent THUMP.  Turbines have it all- they replicate many different bass sounds with relatively accurate precision (and yes, accuracy and precision are too different things).  The mids on the Turbines are also good- they lack some of the crunch that make some earbuds so fun, but they are pretty accurate and certainly not in any way disappointing.
The highs fluxuate.  On hip hop, rap, R&B, and other high-hat heavy genres the highs sound good.  On some classic rock or classical, they sound less so.  They are never shrill or painful, though.
The panning is not very exciting.  Sennheiser products tend (IMO) to exagerate the soundscape, whereas these seem to underperform where soundstaging is concerned.  However, they occaisionaly sound absolutely superb (like on the Bride and Prejudice soundtrack) so really, again, these earbuds seem to live up to my summary of "quite decent."
The build is tough, but it is far too heavy as a result.  Heavy earbuds can get uncomfortable, and hanging one earbud while listening to the other doesn't work because the hanging but is so heavy it pulls the other out of your ear.
The wire could be thicker, or even removable. Mine just broke after four months of four to five hour a day use, and I'm going to sauter it this weekend.
So, to conclude, these earbuds are superbly moderate, fantasticaly decent, and pretty much worth exactly (no more and no less) than what you paid for them.
Also, the buds themselves do not stay in my ears well at all.
One last note- this earbuds have amazing noise cancelation.  They isolate more than some active noise isolating buds I've tried.
 
Sorry for the typos and I hope this helped,
-Me

This is my first time using a pair of decent IEMs, I have to say, I am not disappointed. 
 
Fit : This is the turbine's worst aspect. I have rather small ear canals and used the smallest round tips it came with, it was perfectly fine, but the smallest tri-flange tip refused to go inside my ear canal and I am stuck with only one pair of usable tips. 
 
Build: The turbine's build quality is not impressive but it is not bad either. I'd say its above average. The cable is thick, but not so thick that some one could accidentally choke you by pulling it. The Y section was ok and does what is its supposed to do, which is pretty much nothing. The housing is made some kind of metal and definitely beats the cheap plastic you normally see on cheap earbuds. 
 
Sound: The bass on the turbines extends very well, I currently don't have a good amp on my macbook so I can't test exactly how low it extends but it should be lower than 35hz. The turbines are not the most analytical IEMs ever, but you can hear everything in your recording. The bass quantity is enough to satisfy most basshead but for the most hardcore bassheads out there, I'd suggest checking out the Hippo VB, some bassheads think they have too much bass. They can be used for Classical music but they definitely not the best choice for Classical listeners, the signature for the turbines is really meanr for Hip-Hop or EDM. The soundstage on the turbines are ok compared to my Ultrasone PRO550, not as good, but not bad either. 
 
Conclusion: If you are looking for a basshead IEM, these are definitely worth $100 IMO

These are one of the best IEMs I've heard hands down. It's perfect for those who are finding fun and dynamic earphones. Of course it's not audiophile grade, but it does set a good first impression. The bass is BIG, I think it's even bigger and more controlled than beats, but maybe not as tight compared to the higher end Sony headphones. The lows are clear, the mids being in the right place, not too forward, and not too recessed as well. The highs might need an improvement, as well as the treble. 

Only complaints I have with these is the flimsy cabling. It doesn't have very good housing and thick cabling. I'm always scared of breaking the cable when it accidentally comes off. Putting on the sports clips that came with the Turbines is also difficult. Monster Supertips would be a nice addition but then again that's asking too much.

I'll say right off the bat that this is my first pair of remotely high-end headphones, and one of my first major reviews. So try to forgive incorrect terminology or generally novice-sounding terms.
 
Moving on, I'd also like to note that I received an older edition of the Turbines; mine had the right-angle connector and 2 cases (both of which were suede-esque material).
 
On to the review....
 
I first listened to these right out of the box. I was impressed. Moving up from a decent pair of Creative in-ears that came with my Zen X-Fi, I found these had much higher sound quality. The packaging itself was quite nice, a high quality box with nicely organized accessories and such. 
 
I then started a burn-in, a combination of music and pink noise. As of this writing the Turbines have a bit more than 10 hours of burn-in time. 
 
With the right fit, the bass and low end/percussion on the Turbines is excellent. Drums are powerful and felt through my head at decent volumes, and bass is pronounced. On most songs, mids and vocals sound absolutely fine; nice, not oh-my-gosh-remarkable but good quality. Occasionally, particularly with a not so great fit, mids and vocals sound a bit muffled or suppressed. Nonetheless, the overall sound quality on the Turbines is good. 
 
But that quality is dependent on a good fit. I have weird ears; I'll admit that. But getting a nice fit with these is.... trying. I'd say every other day I have to switch from medium tips to small tips. Different medium tips seem to be slightly different sizes. The wrong tip completely ruins these headphones. The smallest triple-flanged don't fit in my ears at all; they're horrible. The largest triple-flanged serve as q-tips for me (gross, I know, but that's how they are in my ears). The smallest and medium single tips are what work for me, but as I said I have to change which I use with some frequency. This may just be me, I know I'm weird, but it just means that my experience with the audio quality changes. And the metal body of these is heavy, which means a not-great-fitting tip makes the headphones fall out of my ears. Is this a constant issue? Not at all. Generally, I have no trouble with the fit. But I have enough trouble that it's a noticeable issue.
 
The cord quality is decent. Tangling isn't much of a problem, and the cases are high enough quality to help, too. I don't worry that they're going to fall apart, and if they do I feel like I could probably get them replaced.
 
Are the Turbines perfect? No. Are they probably as good as I was going to get in the $100-$150 range? I think so. Going up to $200 I could've gotten the Pro Coppers which may have been much better, but for what they are the Turbines are quite nice. I chose them over a pair of Audio-Technica's, and I'm overall happy with my choice. 
 
In closing: I like the Turbines. They sound between good and very good, based on the fit I'm getting. They have decent isolation; I can't hear normal conversations around me when I'm listening. They're not entirely comfortable, they don't have the best audio quality, but they're a solid, punchy pair of IEMs with good bass. 
 
Given that I want to mainly use these as my super-portable headphones, I'm now off to look for a mid-quality pair of on ear full sized headphones for home. For on the go or for those who want to mainly use IEMs and not spend a fortune, I'd certainly recommend the Turbines.
 
 
UPDATE:
 
So I'm returning these. But it's not an issue that will affect everyone. I have slightly weird ears, and I just cannot make these fit right due to the heavy metal bodies. They hang down slightly and cause some pain and I can't get a seal I like. So I would still recommend the Turbines to someone looking for fairly nice IEMs that has absolutely no history of fit problems, as the heavy metal bodies can cause these to fall out and be uncomfortable. Call me stupid if you must; I'm getting a 100% refund.

Would recommend if you can get for under 100

After a burn-in period over night, I have to say that these are the best IEMs I've ever listened to.  Now, to be honest, you may need to take that with a grain of salt considering I'm only coming from a pair of JVC Marshmallows, and these Turbines will be my first foray into high-end IEMs.  Be that as it may, I believe the Turbines are the IEMs to beat at their price point.  They provide an ample amount of bass as well as bright highs, however the mids are just a touch recessed if I'm being honest.  The sound stage is quite good and opened up even a bit more after being amped, and even though I do have these amped now, they really don't need it all that much.  If you can snatch these up at around $100-$125, I absolutely would.

I got a pair of Monster Turbines for my birthday about a week ago. After I opened the box, I noted to myself that the smell wasn't that bad. I read somewhere about somebody complaining that they smelled atrocious, not the case with my pair. I took them out and listened to some Kendrick Lamar with them... I was extremely surprised at how good they sound. My other pair of headphones are XB500's, and I prefer these to the XB's to the point that I am considering selling the XB500's.
 
The bass is not as quantitative, but I just like it more. I'm a major bass head, more than others. In my car the EQ on my stereo is usually at about +5-6/7 (mostly because the mid range sounds terrible at +7, some songs I turn it all the way up though) and I find that these have the perfect amount of bass for me.
 
The bad: they are heavy. Heavy to the point that they hurt my ears, but it is never bad enough to take them out. However  take that with a grain of salt, that is coming from someone who has only ever owned comfortable headphones. I don't even know what uncomfortable is, probably. ( I have owned Bose AE2, XB500, had my brothers Beats Studios for a day)
Y splitter for the separate ear pieces is dead center when I try to fold up these things and put them in a bag, which makes it impossible to fold them up that way without potentially causing damage to the cable... Heres a picture below
Also, I can't seem to find the perfect ear tip with these. I will probably end up with some Sony Hybrids.
 
Overall, I love these headphones. They sound great out of my iPhone 4 and offer everything I could want in a pair of IEM's, but I am no audiophile so I can't say if some of you veterans out there would be pleased with them. To your average listener, I think these are of an outstanding value, even if you pay the MSRP at $100 (got them $80 at amazon)
 
Here are some pictures;

 
Sleeve that they come in
 

 
 
Magnetic box inside the sleeve
 

 
 
Contents of box (I had already taken the headphones out at this point)
 

 
 
In all their glory
 

 
 
2 magnetic pouches that were included
 

 
 
Here was what I didn't like. Folded 3 times they are too big to get in either of the pouches. They wont fold a fourth time because this splitter is in the way... It does not slide.
 

 
 
Splitter and L-jack.
 

В прошлом году, после скоропостижной кончины Sony MDR-EX38 купил a-JAYS Four. Обзорщики расхваливали на все лады дизайн и обещали фантастическое количества баса. Дизайн оказался крайне спорным (кромка корпуса натирала ухо, провода были тяжелыми и норовили вытянуть наушник), а баса там не оказалось вовсе. Проносил я их недолго и с удовольствием сменил на Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic (второго поколения) купленные на пару с iPhone в Баварии.
Уши неплохие - лёгкие, имеют отличные верха, удобный пульт. Плюс это самые дешевые двухприводные арматурные наушники на рынке. Жаль, что недостатков много больше и они существенны. У них ярко выраженный аналитический звук, а значит тут больше верхов и бас жиденький (что крайне важно для меня - 95% времени я слушаю электронную музыку). Хлипкая конструкция - даже с учетом того, что я крайне бережно обращаюсь с техникой - через год отказал пульт и пришлось каннибализировать другие наушники на предмет полной замены кабеля. Они плохо держаться в ушах - даже просто при ходьбе они норовят выпасть. Это конечно решается заменой штатного силикона на Comply Whoomp! Foam Tips, но они носятся максимум пару недель и потом надо покупать новые (что довольно дорогое удовольствие - три пары стоят 15 долларов, плюс доставка).
Года полтора назад мне довелось послушать Monster Turbine Pro Copper (если вы не в курсе - Monster Cable производила печально известные Beats by dr. Dre). Случилось это в не самом подходящем для прослушивания музыки месте - в шумной серверной одного банка. Но даже там я удивился тому, как они звучат. Остановила цена - всё-таки четыреста долларов за наушники это довольно много. Даже за такие.
Время шло, появились деньги, Яблочные наушники стали раздражать и было решено закупить Монстров. Но почитав обзоры решил поубавить аппетиты и взять модель попроще - Monster Turbine High Performance In-Ear Speakers (название под стать - монструозное). Судя по отзывам баса в них запихали даже больше, чем в более дорогого собрата. Не прогадал.
На моём лице играет глупая улыбка, когда я слушаю в них Landing Force - Levels of Tension. Сочный, упругий бас сжимает голову приятными тисками. Для полноты ощущений не хватает только звукового давления на диафрагму. Это изначально не bass-driven наушники, но баса сюда завезли столько, что любой basshead зажмуриться от удовольствия ощущая эту пульсацию в голове.
Очень теплый, "полный", насыщенный звук. Не сбивающийся в кучу бас, дополняющий его центр и четко различимые на их фоне верха. Верха конечно не дотягивают до аналитических наушников, но их достаточно - они не теряются на фоне остального звука. Да, надо учитывать, что нужно эти наушники уметь вставлять и подобрать правильный силикон, благо в комплекте его идёт более чем достаточно всех возможных форм и размеров. Сейчас я использую "ёлочки" - чудовищная звукоизоляция и могучий бас. Правда по улице с такими прокладками надо ходить крайне осторожно - хоть из пушки стреляй - ничего не услышишь. Приходиться крутить башкой на 360° дабы не угодить под машину. Ну и они давят на ухо - приходится отдыхать от них периодически.
Несколько пугал их вес - всё-таки корпус у них железный, но все беспокойства оказались напрасны - сидят они отлично, при движении не выпадают, к земле не тянут.
Пугали тонкими проводами, но после Эппловских тут просто толстенные кабеля.
Огорчает отсутствие гарнитуры и пульта для управления iPhone, но это легко исправляется штуками вроде iLuv iPod Remote with Third-party Headphones Adapter for VoiceOver.

I got these things on Amazon nearly 6 years ago, and still use them on a daily basis - as such, I am insanely happy with the durability of these things. 
 
They clearly have a big bass preference, as you can see on the frequency response chart, but what's most notable about the bass is the range, extending crazy far down. The bass is not particularly tight, nor particularly fast, but has a good kick to it, and can be slightly boomy. The term that comes to mind is "springy" bass. The mids and highs are actually fairly impressive for an IEM with such a strong bass focus. Mids are a little bit muted, but not terribly so. As others have said, the bass can muddy up the mids a little bit, but it isn't much. The highs to me are somewhere on the more fun side, with a little bit of sparkle, but no trace of sibilance. The sound signature is perfect for electronic dance music as well as hip hop. They're also good with rock, albeit with a bit of EQ tweak to lower the bass a bit. 
 
Apart from the sound quality itself, these things also have FANTASTIC isolation. On the downsides, they are very heavy, making fitting a little bit tricky, and the included tips aren't great, but they do at least come with a lot of tip options, which helps.