[tinyman392]

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I could see it happening the way you described if the 232 had a signature that no other top tier approached, but there are so many other top tier IEMs that compete with it, so potential buyer have tons of other options. And I haven't seen the TF10's price increase although UE quit making it. Anything is possible, but I somehow doubt it since this IEM isn't a great demand now and the company seems to be folding its earphone business for lack of profitability.

 
The thing with the TF10 was that there was a surplus of supply, it was overstocked just about everywhere  Furthermore, there was no demand for the TF10 really (being such an old product)  The 232 may not be like that.  If the stock is already not too high, and demand goes up, you'll expect the price to go up.  Then again, if demand doesn't go up, the price will drop.

 

[Inks]

PFE 1st generation is great and the best of the line-up with the right tips/insertion. Engineering wise, the housing needed a longer nozzle. This model and it's variants are great, but Phonak dropped the ball with their last IEMs, 132 and 232. 
 
I don't see the point of the 132, way too high of a price from the 1st gen just to have a 3button control as they sound the same. 
 
232 is disgraceful in terms of price/performance though it sounds better with impedance, it's bass is simply muddy imo and bandwidth is no better than the 1st gen. Heck if you want bassy, you can get a W4 for less and it's simply better. 

 

[goodvibes]

Quote:

 
The thing with the TF10 was that there was a surplus of supply, it was overstocked just about everywhere  Furthermore, there was no demand for the TF10 really (being such an old product)  The 232 may not be like that.  If the stock is already not too high, and demand goes up, you'll expect the price to go up.  Then again, if demand doesn't go up, the price will drop.

Yup and there were also so many out there that new sales were competing with the used market and unpackaged replacement surplus. Look at the Sansa Fuze market right now if you want an alternate example to the TF10. Problem is that demand isn't high enough so price will likely come down but that can change quickly. I thought their single drive model was a great do all type phone.

 

[ClieOS]

The problem is never that Phonak doesn't make good products - but they rely too much on one or two companies to handle the whole operation, and they are not doing enough to push the brand out to the international market. We have seen brands with many far worst sounding and worst valued products in the market doing successfully. In a market that demands proactive marketing, Phonak is still thinking like a hearing aid company with their passive strategy. It is the failure of marketing, not R&D

 

[LFC_SL]

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232 is disgraceful in terms of price/performance though it sounds better with impedance, it's bass is simply muddy imo and bandwidth is no better than the 1st gen. Heck if you want bassy, you can get a W4 for less and it's simply better. 

 
Don't know what you are listening to. The PFE 232 has some of the best bass in a universal IEM. If you consider it "muddy" then frankly you should forget all IEM

 

[iamthem]

Quote:

 
Don't know what you are listening to. The PFE 232 has some of the best bass in a universal IEM. If you consider it "muddy" then frankly you should forget all IEM

It's easy to confuse muddy and audiophile bassy when you're not used to differentiating the two and/or you don't like the sound signature. Muddy = lots of unresolved bass, can't hear much detail in the bass, bass slam and attack is delayed and slow, decay is slow. Audiophile bassy = super tight ultra resolution head shaking pleasure. The PFE 232 is undoubtedly the former, although it isn't quite as tight as, say a TWFK. And yep it is a bassy IEM.
 
Quote:

The problem is never that Phonak doesn't make good products - but they rely too much on one or two companies to handle the whole operation, and they are not doing enough to push the brand out to the international market. We have seen brands with many far worst sounding and worst valued products in the market doing successfully. In a market that demands proactive marketing, Phonak is still thinking like a hearing aid company with their passive strategy. It is the failure of marketing, not R&D

Exactly! In the world of consumer mainstream audio, "sound quality" is marketing rubbish. Such a shame to see a great (subsidy) of company die because of bad marketing. Perhaps I will never own a PFE - the original certainly had plenty of value.

 

[LFC_SL]

Still don't hear it. In addition to the IEM in my sig I currently have the 3.Ai on loan from a UK owner. The opening double bass and horns introduction on "So What" from Kind of Blue is rendered accurately by the PFE 232, albeit delivered with the signature exhibited by the PFE 232

 

[Inks]

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It's easy to confuse muddy and audiophile bassy when you're not used to differentiating the two and/or you don't like the sound signature. Muddy = lots of unresolved bass, can't hear much detail in the bass, bass slam and attack is delayed and slow, decay is slow. Audiophile bassy = super tight ultra resolution head shaking pleasure. The PFE 232 is undoubtedly the former, although it isn't quite as tight as, say a TWFK. And yep it is a bassy IEM.

When there's too much of a bass boost, the midrange would simply darken and lower midrange detail is subdued. No matter how good the transients of the bass is, what people refer as quality. True quality bass shouldn't be boosted to such levels, the 232s are simply a culprit of too much bass, 3AI as well, though it won't matter if one is used to such a colored sound. 232s wishes it had the EX1000s bass. Even with such a bass boost in mind, the W4 has a similar boost and is better in other regions.

 

[TheGame21x]

Well, this probably means Audeo earphones are going to skyrocket in price.
 
Darn. I've never tried any Audeo earphones but they've long been on my shortlist of earphones I'd really like to listen to.

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

Well, this probably means Audeo earphones are going to skyrocket in price.
 
Darn. I've never tried any Audeo earphones but they've long been on my shortlist of earphones I'd really like to listen to.

 
I doubt it. No one in his/her right mind would pay more than what the 232 sells for right now. It's already too high. Prices will go down.

 

[TheGame21x]

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I doubt it. No one in their right mind would pay more the the 232 than it already is. It's already too high. Prices will go down.

Well, that's what I thought too but I think they have potential to become a collector's item of sorts. I wouldn't imagine the market is anywhere near as saturated as the TF10 was/is when it was discontinued so the lack of supply coupled with the appeal of owning the flagship product of a product line that doesn't exist anymore could send prices skyward.
 
Just a thought. I'd certainly hope the prices would drop so I could get my hands on a pair (maybe) but as has been said earlier, it could go either way.

 

[planx]

I'm on the same side as LFC. I don't see how the PFE232 bass is "muddy" as Inks described it as... Oddly, it seems like there's always a lot of tension between W4 owners and PFE232 owners. 
 
Without trying to get TOO off topic, I find it a shame for Phonak to stop making IEMs. As ClieOS explained rather simply, we are in no position to judge the decision of Phonak. I love their products and their innovation is top-class. Pricing wasn't their high point, but we can agree that they made stellar products. The original PFE surprised me by how much PRODUCT you can buy for under $160 at the time and the PFE232 surprised me by outperforming it's rivals at a similar price point and competing with ridiculously priced IEMs like the AKG K3003, FitEar ToGo334, and even some CIEMs. Like I stated in my review, I know people will say the PFE232 is overpriced and whatnot, but the simple matter is, it's just better than the rest. I would blindly choose the PFE232 over the Shure SE535, Westone UM3X and W4, and the UE900, which I already have. Nothing pleases me more as a universal IEM like the PFE232. It just sounds superb to me. Try to take this with a grain of salt as I use the PFE232 due to personal preference and everyone's preferences are different (duh).
 
Cheers to Phonak for giving me a spectacular IEM. It's been a good, and short, run 

 

[GN-0015]

Quote:

 
I doubt it. No one in their right mind would pay more the the 232 than it already is. It's already too high. Prices will go down.

I think it'd go up. Think of it like a "limited edition" thing. People are chasing after it while it's limited in quantity so price would likely go up. But what fears me the most about buying their IEMs right now is the filters. We know that no other people make those things other than Phonak. If they discontinue those filters as well, we're gonna be kicking ourselves when filters that we already have become unusable anymore thus rendering the investments a loss.

 

[goodvibes]

They can be cleaned. I suspect they go down in price simply because they are high to start with and it's no longer fotm.

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

They can be cleaned. I suspect they go down in price simply because they are high to start with and it's no longer fotm.

 
 
Exactly. And can someone please name me at least two universals that cost as much as the 232, and the price went up for it?