[planx]

Quote:

I just got them 20% off at earphonesolutions.com!!!!!  $479 Woot!  Can't wait to get them.  This is going to be the longest week ever. haha

 
Great price! It might take longer as it is the holidays! Be sure to inform us when you do get them and impressions are always appreciated!

 

[luisdent]

Quote:

 
Great price! It might take longer as it is the holidays! Be sure to inform us when you do get them and impressions are always appreciated!

Absolutely.   I know, I'm dreading the long wait. haha.  But I hope it will be worth it.  I've sort of enjoyed the search process, but I'm to the point where I just want to enjoy music again.  It's been years since I've had a good audio environment with my infinity speakers.  Apartment life has ruined that completely.  I've probably listened to them a handful of times in the last few years and the rest has been my cheaper sony IEM.  Bass monster and not good highs...  I've tried many sets recently and none have done it for me, but the pfe112 came closest.  *fingers crossed*

 

[azel831]

In my opinion, these are the quickest growing IEM head fiers have come to love, despite the hefty investment. However the people at earphonesolutions have been having great offers/deals (makes me worry sometimes if its some sort of closeout thing) that i was able to get mine for $449 (cant wait!). I too found the bass to be dynamic sounding, when i played some electronic music i was surprised these where only two BA iem, let alone BA. Unfortunatly this expensive hobby made me sell them, but as mentioned, i should be getting these in about a week again.

 

[luisdent]

Quote:

In my opinion, these are the quickest growing IEM head fiers have come to love, despite the hefty investment. However the people at earphonesolutions have been having great offers/deals (makes me worry sometimes if its some sort of closeout thing) that i was able to get mine for $449 (cant wait!). I too found the bass to be dynamic sounding, when i played some electronic music i was surprised these where only two BA iem, let alone BA. Unfortunatly this expensive hobby made me sell them, but as mentioned, i should be getting these in about a week again.

yeah, so far best i've heard.

 

[luisdent]

i put a review on the products page too

 

[planx]

Quote:

i put a review on the products page too

 
Awesome! I see that you dislike the sibilance the PFE232. I see that my thoughts are the same as yours! I also noticed that you have a fit issue where you need to insert them deeper. I suggest playing around with some tips. I don't know if any other Tri-flange or Bi-flange tips will fit in the PFE232 however.

 

[luisdent]

Quote:

 
Awesome! I see that you dislike the sibilance the PFE232. I see that my thoughts are the same as yours! I also noticed that you have a fit issue where you need to insert them deeper. I suggest playing around with some tips. I don't know if any other Tri-flange or Bi-flange tips will fit in the PFE232 however.

I only dislike the sibilance when i don't have them inserted really deep.  However, I did try all the tips, but don't have any triflange on hand.  I  saw some clear curvy looking 3rd party tips on here somewhere.  they looked interesting like they went deeper.  i wonder how those would sound...

 

[lageir]

Hello,
 
Thank you for your review.
 
These sound like great earphones.  Won't have a chance to try them before buying because I live in the Australian outback, hence my question.
 
I had a pair of REOs that suddenly stopped working.  So looking for a replacement.
 
I play an iAudio 7 and Sansa Clip+.  Would these earphones work well with these two players or would it be a case of 'pearls before swine' type of thing?  (I am considering buying a new player but haven't got that far yet.)
 
Thank you.

 

[planx]

Quote:

Hello,
 
Thank you for your review.
 
These sound like great earphones.  Won't have a chance to try them before buying because I live in the Australian outback, hence my question.
 
I had a pair of REOs that suddenly stopped working.  So looking for a replacement.
 
I play an iAudio 7 and Sansa Clip+.  Would these earphones work well with these two players or would it be a case of 'pearls before swine' type of thing?  (I am considering buying a new player but haven't got that far yet.)
 
Thank you.

 
Hi, both the 7 and Clip+ are excellent sources so you shouldn't have a problem there. The PFE232 don't require amping, but they certainly do benefit from experience. For a higher performing DAP, I found great results with my Hifiman HM-602.

 

[lageir]

Thank you for the response.
 
Good to hear that my players are up to the task.
 
Question, though: If I can't swing the $600 for the PF232s what would be next best in line?  I've read about the Westone 4Rs for $470 or so Earsonic SM64 for $500, Earsonic SM3 V2 $460, and a few others that all seem good, but don't get quite the across-the-board praise that the PF232s get.
 
Anyway, just asking because you've got the experience that I don't (oh, by the way, if it helps I listen to a wide-range of music ... pop (oldies and new stuff), country, house, blues, jazz.)
 
Thank you.

 

[planx]

Quote:

Thank you for the response.
 
Good to hear that my players are up to the task.
 
Question, though: If I can't swing the $600 for the PF232s what would be next best in line?  I've read about the Westone 4Rs for $470 or so Earsonic SM64 for $500, Earsonic SM3 V2 $460, and a few others that all seem good, but don't get quite the across-the-board praise that the PF232s get.
 
Anyway, just asking because you've got the experience that I don't (oh, by the way, if it helps I listen to a wide-range of music ... pop (oldies and new stuff), country, house, blues, jazz.)
 
Thank you.

 
You can find good prices on the PFE232 used and at other stores for significantly less than $600... Personally, I'm not a fan of the W4. I find it to be a complete opposite of the PFE232; Dry, sterile, unmotivating, and boring. I haven't tried either Earsonics because it's difficult to come around them in Canada. People often compare the W4 and PFE232 together, and I can see why they do, but for my tastes, the PFE232 all the way. I know I'm biased, but trust me, others are biased as well. Of course I'm going to be biased, that's the reason why I chose the PFE232 over the W4... I'm not saying the W4 is bad, I just prefer the PFE232. 

 

[lageir]

Thank you again.
 
Yea, that was one reason I didn't jump on the W4s when I first read about them because others have said the same thing, i.e., they're not exciting.  
 
As you say it's all just an opinion, with the difference being that from someone like yourself (and other's I've read) it's an informed considered opinion, so it has a certain credibility that I appreciate.
 
So with whatever I buy I do it knowing that due to not being able to try them myself I've chosen to trust other's opinions (which I have to say to date has worked out pretty well) and so have to accept that responsibility.
 
Now that was good news that the PF232s can be had for less ... I need to do more/better looking.  Thanks for the heads up.

 

[planx]

Quote:

Thank you again.
 
Yea, that was one reason I didn't jump on the W4s when I first read about them because others have said the same thing, i.e., they're not exciting.  
 
As you say it's all just an opinion, with the difference being that from someone like yourself (and other's I've read) it's an informed considered opinion, so it has a certain credibility that I appreciate.
 
So with whatever I buy I do it knowing that due to not being able to try them myself I've chosen to trust other's opinions (which I have to say to date has worked out pretty well) and so have to accept that responsibility.
 
Now that was good news that the PF232s can be had for less ... I need to do more/better looking.  Thanks for the heads up.

 
Yes, the W4 is quite dry for me. I just couldn't get attached to the music unlike my other IEMs. Even the ER-4S sounded more engaging.
 
Try looking at the Headphone FS thread. I saw one for a good price, not sure about the quality though.

 

[luisdent]

Quote:

 
You can find good prices on the PFE232 used and at other stores for significantly less than $600... Personally, I'm not a fan of the W4. I find it to be a complete opposite of the PFE232; Dry, sterile, unmotivating, and boring. I haven't tried either Earsonics because it's difficult to come around them in Canada. People often compare the W4 and PFE232 together, and I can see why they do, but for my tastes, the PFE232 all the way. I know I'm biased, but trust me, others are biased as well. Of course I'm going to be biased, that's the reason why I chose the PFE232 over the W4... I'm not saying the W4 is bad, I just prefer the PFE232. 

 
Without EQ I completely agree.  The pfe is much more lively, bright, bassy, natural sounding.  I would pick it hands down.  However, it is V shaped, and there is the sibilance some people experience, me with normal insertion depth.  But being V shaped, I found that even with the boring flat sound the W4 brought out details the pfe missed and vice versa.
 
I find that both require EQ to sound neutral and flat.  When a headphone is truly flat every genre shines and sound proper.  Neither has any problem with any genres per se, but they both are not really flat.  Once you apply eq either manually or using accudio (very good), the sound of each improves dramatically, but I prefer the w4 with EQ, because it sounds smoother overall, it's cheaper, comes with a nice case and more tips.
 
If eq didn't exist I'd have the pfe232.  But as neither please me enough without eq, w4 fits the bill better.  The only reason I would compare them personally is that they offer similar "quality" but different sound signatures.  They are both built well, look nice, have excellent separation and depth, etc.  Neither is really lacking any frequency reproduction like lesser models that are missing bass or high treble or something in between.  Otherwise, they don't really "sound" alike that much.  You have to eq the 4r with more treble and low bass to get it closer to the 232 and vice versa.  If you don't want to mess with eq, go pfe232 hands down.  If you don't mind eq then they both need it in my opinion "if" you're looking for an accurate neutral sound.  If you "want" more bass and treble the pfe232 is excellent and give those traits with very high quality.

 

[planx]

Quote:

 
Without EQ I completely agree.  The pfe is much more lively, bright, bassy, natural sounding.  I would pick it hands down.  However, it is V shaped, and there is the sibilance some people experience, me with normal insertion depth.  But being V shaped, I found that even with the boring flat sound the W4 brought out details the pfe missed and vice versa.
 
I find that both require EQ to sound neutral and flat.  When a headphone is truly flat every genre shines and sound proper.  Neither has any problem with any genres per se, but they both are not really flat.  Once you apply eq either manually or using accudio (very good), the sound of each improves dramatically, but I prefer the w4 with EQ, because it sounds smoother overall, it's cheaper, comes with a nice case and more tips.
 
If eq didn't exist I'd have the pfe232.  But as neither please me enough without eq, w4 fits the bill better.  The only reason I would compare them personally is that they offer similar "quality" but different sound signatures.  They are both built well, look nice, have excellent separation and depth, etc.  Neither is really lacking any frequency reproduction like lesser models that are missing bass or high treble or something in between.  Otherwise, they don't really "sound" alike that much.  You have to eq the 4r with more treble and low bass to get it closer to the 232 and vice versa.  If you don't want to mess with eq, go pfe232 hands down.  If you don't mind eq then they both need it in my opinion "if" you're looking for an accurate neutral sound.  If you "want" more bass and treble the pfe232 is excellent and give those traits with very high quality.

 
Software EQ kills it. I rely entirely on equipment and keeping things as hardware as possible. I'm just different that way, not saying that EQ is a bad thing. I just couldn't get good matching with the W4. The W4 didn't have the bass like the PFE232, treble, musicality, and the flexibility. The mids were good, not great (on both IEMs). If you want a linear IEM, why not go ER-4S? I can't think of anything else that gets the job done. Why pay good money for a W4 to get "neutral" with EQ?