[ghost87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi /img/forum/go_quote.gif How is the isolation using the various tips on the Turbines? The fact that they don't go deep into the ear has kept me from trying them. Good bass and lots of isolation are important to me (long international flights). I tried the PFEs but they were very disappointing and are getting returned quickly.

I agree...the isolation on the PFE's were not good at all. Clarity was excellent, but musical separation was lacking.

You may want to take a look at the Ety ER-4Ps. Except for a little light on the bass, they provide everything you are looking for.

A quick tweek on the EQ, and you can bump the bass slightly. Thus, a perfect IEM

 

[shigzeo]

the er4 is the most isolating iem i have ever ever tried. comfort issues aside, amazing indeed. the turbine can isolate heaps with a comply for instance but with the stock tips it is just normal i guess.

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghost87 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree...the isolation on the PFE's were not good at all. Clarity was excellent, but musical separation was lacking. You may want to take a look at the Ety ER-4Ps. Except for a little light on the bass, they provide everything you are looking for. A quick tweek on the EQ, and you can bump the bass slightly. Thus, a perfect IEM

Bumping the EQ for the ER4Ps really isn't much different than bumping the EQ for the PFEs (black filters help the bass too), and with the Comply foamies (T130 large work best), the Phonak isolation really isn't that bad. Even with the stock silicone tips I get decent isolation. No, not ER4P isolation, but who wants to have their head drilled by the Etys to get a good seal?

 

[midget]

not to hijack the thread, but can anyone compare the turbines with the jvc/victor fx500s?

 

[toughnut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midget /img/forum/go_quote.gif not to hijack the thread, but can anyone compare the turbines with the jvc/victor fx500s?

U might need to refer to shigzeo as he owned both before. But based on his Turbine review, i guessed u know who the winner.







Hint: It's Monster

 

[jrazmar]

With the PFE & Turbines being rated equally for two different sound sigs, have you ever heard a phone that is both excellent in the mids & highs like the PFE has (not saying that PFE bass is not very good) plus with the bass of the Turbines regardless if it's a BA or dynamic? Does such a phone exist?

P.S. The PFE has never disappointed me so far. I just wonder what sound will make kobayashi happy.

 

[shigzeo]

haha! i love both of them. however the fx500 are harder to drive. they are more sensitive and reveal hiss in almost any source. they are also darker unless you can find really thin silicon tips to use or a good portable amp to open up the stage and bass response.

i loved both. the monster is more disappointing for cable and microphonics and stress relief but it provides a more transparent bass to treble experience.

both are bass monsters. which is better? the fx500 has a more focused bass but the monster never overpowers (imo) the other frequencies; rather the bass exists strong but in its own channel.

if i were into more natural music on physical instruments rather than ones and zeros, it would be hard to declare a victor as they are both very good but as i prefer electronic and trance, the monster with its less veiled upper end is the winner. the victor have a much better stage however and with low density foamies, lose much of the veil.

for the price, they are both winners. for the walkabout, the victor is better. for the home, the monster edges out the victor. the victor has fallen in price about 20% since introduction so can be had for around 110-130$ usd and are a very real bargain in that price bracket.

long winded but... both for their price are amazing, but just for sound, i would prefer the monster and not by a small margin. when i reviewed the fx500 i was completely impressed considering they were cheaper and had some very good construction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrazmar /img/forum/go_quote.gif With the PFE & Turbines being rated equally for two different sound sigs, have you ever heard a phone that is both excellent in the mids & highs like the PFE has (not saying that PFE bass is not very good) plus with the bass of the Turbines regardless if it's a BA or dynamic? Does such a phone exist? P.S. The PFE has never disappointed me so far. I just wonder what sound will make kobayashi happy.

what you ask is impossible. BA phones use much smaller drivers that don't move air in the same way. dynamics are just like speakers and move lots of air for their size. the impact you feel from them cannot be matched by any armature of today.

 

[tstarn06]

To jrazmar ... Well, the IE8s may be the ticket, but they are $250-$449, depending where you get them. He says he has them on order, so I guess he will be happy. I have the IE8s and so far, they are very nice phones, big bass, details, etc. I need another 100 hours to burn them in some more. But I also am keeping my PFEs.

 

[kobayashi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrazmar /img/forum/go_quote.gif With the PFE & Turbines being rated equally for two different sound sigs, have you ever heard a phone that is both excellent in the mids & highs like the PFE has (not saying that PFE bass is not very good) plus with the bass of the Turbines regardless if it's a BA or dynamic? Does such a phone exist? P.S. The PFE has never disappointed me so far. I just wonder what sound will make kobayashi happy.

So far, my new Atrios are better in every way than the PFEs. Better bass (obviously), warmer mids without being overwhelming, clean accurate highs with none of the harshness of the PFEs. Given the Atrios are $150 shipped and the PFEs are $140 shipped, it's a no-brainer for me: Atrios all the way.

I do have some IE8s on order but they were $230 shipped so they'd better trump the Atrios and the PFEs for that price.

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi /img/forum/go_quote.gif So far, my new Atrios are better in every way than the PFEs. Better bass (obviously), warmer mids without being overwhelming, clean accurate highs with none of the harshness of the PFEs. Given the Atrios are $150 shipped and the PFEs are $140 shipped, it's a no-brainer for me: Atrios all the way. I do have some IE8s on order but they were $230 shipped so they'd better trump the Atrios and the PFEs for that price.

Glad you found something you are not disappointed with. I wish more people would chime in on the M5, as a lot of people have not heard V2, just V1 that own the PFEs and IE8s. Too bad our ears don't seem similar as you are disappointed with the PFEs and I thought they were excellent for the price.

Hopefully the IE8s will sound even better, and I am interested to see how you compare those. I would love to see a pic of them both to see the size/shape differences between the IE8 and M5.

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi /img/forum/go_quote.gif So far, my new Atrios are better in every way than the PFEs. Better bass (obviously), warmer mids without being overwhelming, clean accurate highs with none of the harshness of the PFEs. Given the Atrios are $150 shipped and the PFEs are $140 shipped, it's a no-brainer for me: Atrios all the way. I do have some IE8s on order but they were $230 shipped so they'd better trump the Atrios and the PFEs for that price.

Hey kobayashi - glad you've found happiness with the Atrios! There are a lot of happy owners round here. I'm not surprised you didn't like the Phonaks if you like the Atrios, since they have totally opposite sound signatures.

Anyway, let us know when your IE8's come through. cn11 has the Atrios v2 and much prefers the IE8, so if you're loving them right now, you're in for a treat! He also lent me his spare pair of Atrios to audition, and while they're great for bass, the IE8 midrange and soundstage kills them. Get ready to be very excited!

Oh, and if you absolutely hate them, be sure to speak out. I KNOW you will, and it's great to have people like you who aren't scared to go against the majority. And I prefer the IE8 over the Phonaks by a LONG shot (unamped Phonaks that is.) I haven't tried them with an amp, although I am curious about what they'd sound like with one. Without, I just find them too thin and bright, and that was with either of the filters. The black filters did something strange to the vocals, it kind of moved them higher and further away, and the grey filters gave me too much sibilance. Maybe I'll have to pick up a cheap amp to hear what they're really capable of... hmmm

 

[abitdeef]

Ie8 are OK. nothing special. some kind of dienamic driver or somethin. Some kind of voodoo trickery by sennheiser if you ask me. If it ain't flat I'm out the back,- freq. response that is. Or, if it ain't flat - back in the sack. Sack being the retail packaging..... err forget it.

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi /img/forum/go_quote.gif So far, my new Atrios are better in every way than the PFEs. Better bass (obviously), warmer mids without being overwhelming, clean accurate highs with none of the harshness of the PFEs. Given the Atrios are $150 shipped and the PFEs are $140 shipped, it's a no-brainer for me: Atrios all the way. I do have some IE8s on order but they were $230 shipped so they'd better trump the Atrios and the PFEs for that price.

Hey, congrats on the Atrios. They're awesome, especially for the price. It is true I prefer the IE8's over them. Since you have them on the way, I'll play spoiler (granted, you won't get to this point until some serious listening/burn in hours are put in on them). For bass, they're very similar. The Atrios may have 5-10% more ultimate extension, but what they have there the IE8's make up for in tightness (think toight, like a tiger). Everywhere else they handily better the the Atrios though, like soozieq said. You'll find the soundstage massively bigger, and mids more front and center. The mids on the Atrios are probably the weakest point. Treble detail is about the same, but it's presented with much more smoothness and naturalness with the IE8's. I find the Atrio v.2's can have a little bit of upper end harshness, making them slightly fatiguing for long listens. This is not at all true with the Senns. You'll be able to listen for 8+ hours without noticing they're in your ears. Isolation will be a bit worse though, while comfort will be better (provided the stock tips give you a good fit- they did for me). But for anything related to sound quality, I don't see how you won't be anything less than happy, coming from enjoying the Atrios.

I think we seem to have very similar sound preferences, so I feel fairly confident you'll have two great IEM's there to enjoy for a long time. You got quite a good deal on the IE8's so I think you'll find they sound like much more earphone than you paid. Don't worry about that.

 

[Dobber65]

jrazmar, I found the mids and treble on the Turbines to be really really good, extended but balanced. I don't believe anything beats the Shure midrange, but then again this can become fatiguing after awhile.

My reference universal BA IEM is the Triple.fi, but it does have a midrange suckout compared to the Shures. However, they have an wonderful extended treble and good deep bass. The Turbines better these in all categories though. And I get a great seal with the medium silicone tips, they worked great on all the flights on which I have used them (great sound quality in the air also).

It may be synergy with my ears, music, etc. but these are becoming my new reference IEM. I still really enjoy the rest of my stable, but the Turbines really shine.

 

[shigzeo]

i know that i am on the list of 'will get ie8 someday' but regarding c11 post above: i found the mid on the atrio perfect: not bloated or bringing any undo attention to that section for my music.

however, electronic and trance have no vocals for the most part and rely more on (at least what i listen to) bass and treble for which i found the v1 atrio to be nearly perfect but on fast trance, they were not tight enough. a price to pay maybe for such beautifully extended and deep bass.

however c11, someday, i am sure the senn will put a smile on my face!