[JMT391]

Hello head-fi, I'm about to ask a question I'm afraid I shouldn't. I have and love the monster turbines for my portables, but after hearing the AD700s I am starting to like more of that deep bass without being loud and big. The PFEs really have me curious as to what they sound like - they get very favorable reviews but I just don't know if I should get them.

I'm about to go off to college and really can't spend much money ATM (laptop, USB DAC/Amp (probably the iBasso D2 boa), other collegy things etc...) but if it's worth it it's worth it. What do you guys think?

 

[koven]

If you're going unamped I'd get the RE0 for $99 instead.

 

[pi3guy]

i used to have pfe's and now have ad700s. imo pfe's are a step sideways from ad700s. lose wide soundstage for more emphasized mids. although they are very good, you will not be blown away. I returned my pfes because I kept getting build quality issues.

 

[robm321]

I've been thrilled with mine. As pi3guy said, they won't blow you away, and they are a very accurate and clean sounding IEM. So, I'm not sure if you are looking for that type of sound. They perform better when amped, but sound good both ways.

Build issues are for real, and I'm not sure if they made adjustments or not in manufacturing these.

 

[Bilavideo]

Yeah, I hear that the PFEs of several iterations ago did have build problems, but Phonak Audeo says it has fixed the problem. I bought PFEs in June of this year and sold mine by July (I bought them strictly to review them). I didn't have any build problems to report.

I was very much impressed with the balanced sound. Like the ER4P, the impedence meant you had to crank louder to get the same output as the big boys with the triple drivers. Still, once you cranked it up, the balance was terrific. With the grey filters, they sounded light and sparkly, light the ER4P. Bass wasn't much to speak of, though when I pumped these through my M^3 amp, that bass was rockin' like nobody's business. I'm talking about deep, throbbing, wonderbass.

Then, after somebody asked me if I'd tried the black filters (which come with the box), I put them in and what I got reminded me - in terms of balance - of the UM3X and TF10. You can't get all the sound with a single wide-range driver, but that balance was the right one for me. I liked much better than the SE530 (which is a great pair) as well as the Etymotics (which have a cult following). For $139, I was quite impressed.