Question about Monster Beats Tour vs. Turbine
May 18, 2011 at 3:08 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 18

kcheung

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I am fairly new to IEMs and have recently decided to get a pair of IEM with microphone for my iPhone 4. I purchased both the Monster Beats and the Monster Turbine (regular one, not the Pros) with ControlTalk in order to be able to evaluate both of them side-by-side since they are both in the same price range that I am interested in. While the Beats sounds decent except having not enough bass as compared to Turbine, I am surprised that the Turbine to me sounds a bit "muffled" overall. I have read many reviews here in this forum and elsewhere and it seems like everyone thinks the Turbine sounds clear and crisp while at the same time delivers good bass. When I compare the Beats and the Turbine side by side, Beats always seems to provide a more clear sound overall, with less bass as compared to Turbine. Is this normal since Turbine delivers a warmer sound? I am pretty sure that I am doing the fitting right as I am using the Comply tx400 foam tips on both pairs and I am getting a pretty good seal. Perhaps it's just that my ears are not well-trained enough to hear and appreciate the "true" sound? I have tried it on a variety of music (electronica, hip-hop, r&b, jazz, rock, even some classicals) and always comes back to the same conclusion: Beats is more clear (better delivery of mids and highs?), while Turbine delivers great, deep bass but sounds a bit "muffled".
 
Will I see a significant difference if I move up to either the Pro Gold or Pro Copper?
 
Thanks.
 
Kenny
 
May 18, 2011 at 3:24 PM Post #2 of 18
IMO Comply's muffle the SQ of most IEMs, including the Monsters. I think you would get a clearer sound out of the Turbines if you used a silicone ear tip, like the Sony Hybrids. 
 
I have listened to the original Turbines a fair amount, before sending them back to Monster, and I can tell you without a doubt there is a significant improvement in sound when moving to the Coppers. They simply dominate the originals in every spectrum. Don't get me wrong, the original Turbines sounded great, but the Coppers sound so much better. Bass quality and impact is amazing, though, if you are a basshead, the quantity might not be where you want it at. The treble is simply fantastic, as is the midrange. Listening to Imogen Heap's "Headlock" is a treat! From my experience with the Coppers, I found they are great for all genres of music. I was stunned when I listened to some of my classical; everything was presented beautifully. 
 
I think they go for around $210 on Amazon (?), which is an excellent price to pay for such an impressive IEM. You also get a life-time warranty! To be honest, if there was one thing I can complain about is this: Monster's Quality Control (QC) is atrocious. I have had to send back two pairs already... Not to say the build quality is terrible, which it isn't, it's just that Monster needs to do a better job with their QC.
 
EDIT: Forgot to fix some grammatical errors...
 
May 18, 2011 at 3:43 PM Post #3 of 18
Actually, before I used the Comply foam tips, I have tried the included silicon tips from both pairs and yielded the same conclusion. As a matter of fact, I originally thought that it may have to do with the fitting using the silicon and that's why I got the Comply tips to ensure a good seal...
 
I guess I don't mind going for the Copper but I want to understand first that whether what I experienced is just the nature of the 'warm sound" and that the "muffled" sound is actually normal.
 
May 18, 2011 at 3:51 PM Post #4 of 18
Have you burned in your IEMs yet(have it play music for at least 50 hours)? Letting them burn in does help the sound loosen up a bit, so you should try that before giving up on the Turbines.
 
May 18, 2011 at 3:52 PM Post #5 of 18
It sounds like you're getting a bad seal.  Play around with tips, use different tips.  Everyone has different ears, find a set of tips that work.  Sony Hybrids seem to bring out the best in things for me. 
 
May 18, 2011 at 4:12 PM Post #6 of 18
Actually it doesn't seem like your experience is anything unusual. In |joker|'s review thread, he mentions too that the Tours sound brighter than the Turbines. However, the overall clarity of the Tours still lags behind that of the Turbines.
 
I've only tried the Turbines before and they have a very warm sound. However, they can still produce very clear notes, it's just that they're somewhat masked by all the warmth. In this case, you may be confusing the "brightness" of the Tour sound with the actual clarity of the sound, if that makes any sense to you.
 
May 18, 2011 at 4:20 PM Post #7 of 18
smallville - I don't think I have burnt-in for 50 hrs. Maybe more like 10 - 20 hrs. However, I did read somewhere that it seems like the Turbine does not really require burning in as it did not make any difference for some?
 
tinyman392 - I am not sure if it has to do with the sealing as I believe I have similar sealing with both the Tours and Turbine. I have tried all the provided tips from both and have found the best fit for each. Now I am using the same tips for both and I can still tell the difference (i.e., SQ of Tour is better than Turbine). If it was a bad seal, then I would assume that I will get similar "muffled" sound on the Tours too. No?
 
 
May 18, 2011 at 4:28 PM Post #8 of 18
I've noticed the Turbines are EXTREMELY sensitive to insertion depth. You could have a solid seal, but if they're too deep you'll lose clairty and the bass becomes muddy and just unpleasent, and to shallow they drop bass quickly. Try inserting them normally, then pull out just a 1/4mm then wait a second or two for the comply's to expand and repeat until they sound good. I was a bit dissapointed when I discovered I couldn't quite insert them to the depth I'd have liked like all my previous IEMs.
 
May 18, 2011 at 6:16 PM Post #9 of 18
johnnyw - it is interesting that you pointed out brightness vs. clarity. I think you are correct that the notes are clear, but that they may just be masked/overpowered by the bass? Is this what I should expect from the Turbine then?  Not to cause further confusion but another way of describing the "muffled" sound is that it reminds me of the days of cassette tapes when I turned on Dolby B noise reduction on my stereo when playing the tapes back. Does it make sense? Wonder if the Pro Copper will be the same?
 
ohwut - I will experiment with your suggestion about insertion depth on the Turbine. However, as I described above, I think the notes are clear but the song is overall muffled, and the bass is tight and not muddy (not like what you hear when people drive by with their boombox cranked up).
 
May 19, 2011 at 2:00 PM Post #10 of 18
I tried to experiment with the insertion depth of the tips as ohwut suggested and it did make some small difference. I am surprised that I don't have to do the same for Tour, but it's probably due to the fact that Tour already has an angled inlet.
 
Also, I tried to burn in the pair a bit more (another 10 hours from last night) and the sound seems to open up a bit but not much. Still having the "Dolby B noise reduction" feel. So I am still puzzled if this is what I should expect with IEMs that produce warm sound...
 
May 19, 2011 at 2:25 PM Post #11 of 18
The Coppers are wonderfully clear compared to the somewhat muddiness of the "Grays". 
 
This is pretty much my exact experience:
 
Quote:
I have listened to the original Turbines a fair amount, before sending them back to Monster, and I can tell you without a doubt there is a significant improvement in sound when moving to the Coppers. They simply dominate the originals in every spectrum. Don't get me wrong, the original Turbines sounded great, but the Coppers sound so much better. <snip>

 
May 20, 2011 at 1:38 PM Post #13 of 18
So I just got a pair of the Copper with ControlTalk, and boy what a difference! The Dolby B muffled sound is gone. The bass is slightly less deep than the original Turbine, but overall sound is much clearer, and its just right out of the box! BTW, I am using the same pair of comply foam tips that I used to test the regular Turbine and Tour. I will burn it in tonight and see if there is much difference. I will also probably give the supertips a try and see how they fit and feel. Overall, I am glad that I upgraded to the Copper.
 
Thank you all for your help!
 
Kenny
 
May 20, 2011 at 11:21 PM Post #14 of 18
Don't your coppers come with super tips. It should come with 10 pairs of eartips 5 gel and 5 foam. Try Sony hybrids cause I found that I had the best luck with those.
 
Also, just wondering what made you stick to Monster when you clearly did not like the OG Turbines, and Beats? I would have just gave up on Monster after that. I guess you're just a lot more loyal than me.
 
And, thank heaven for the lifetime warranty, it turns them into an excellent pair of gym headphones
 
Quote:
I will also probably give the supertips a try and see how they fit and feel. Overall, I am glad that I upgraded to the Copper.
 
Kenny



 
 
May 21, 2011 at 12:27 AM Post #15 of 18
Quote:
Don't your coppers come with super tips. It should come with 10 pairs of eartips 5 gel and 5 foam. Try Sony hybrids cause I found that I had the best luck with those.
 
Also, just wondering what made you stick to Monster when you clearly did not like the OG Turbines, and Beats? I would have just gave up on Monster after that. I guess you're just a lot more loyal than me.
 
And, thank heaven for the lifetime warranty, it turns them into an excellent pair of gym headphones
 

 
Probably because the consensus around here is that the Coppers and Golds are quite an upgrade from both the Beats and OGs.  I personally like the OGs better than the coppers coming straight out of an ipod touch 4g because I listen to mostly hip hop...but the coppers are legit when coming out of a more powerful player or amped.
 
 

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