[lin0003]

Definitely. 
 
Another IEM I find pretty bad for it's price is the SE215. The sound quality is around the level of a MH1C which costs $40. 

 

[higbvuyb]

  Definitely. 
 
Another IEM I find pretty bad for it's price is the SE215. The sound quality is around the level of a MH1C which costs $40. 

To be fair, there are a whole lot of IEMs that cost more than the SE215's but still don't sound as good as the MH1C.

 

[lin0003]

  To be fair, there are a whole lot of IEMs that cost more than the SE215's but still don't sound as good as the MH1C.

It's decent, I just didn't find them good enough. 

 

[zenpunk]

The 4A.i was also one of my biggest disappointment after all the hype.  I was really impressed by it for around half an hour then after flicking through some of my  favourite albums I started to notice what was wrong with it. Sold it few days latter....

 

[xaddictionx]

The 4A.i was also one of my biggest disappointment after all the hype.  I was really impressed by it for around half an hour then after flicking through some of my  favourite albums I started to notice what was wrong with it. Sold it few days latter....:mad:

Same here. Went back to W4R after selling it to get the 4ai but ended up going back to W4R not too long after..

 

[tinyman392]

Same here. Went back to W4R after selling it to get the 4ai but ended up going back to W4R not too long after..

 
A lot of people got mislead with the 4.Ai, made me kind of sad really   I still remember getting attacked for saying that my W4R had a slight edge on the 4.Ai when I got them... 

 

[Ivabign]

  I actually read Swimsonny's review (I think) and he regarded them really highly along with a lot of other people. That was before he was banned for writing paid reviews that is...

Is that what happened? Paid reviews? I read his reviews with a jaundiced eye as there wasn't a lot of cons on many of his reviews...
 
Sad 

 

 

[Bobby S]

For me all Monster headphones fit in this category.
My personal mistake was buying a Turbine IEM, a couple of years back. It was the most expensive and the most disappointing IEM purchase I made so far.

 

[Spyro]

ER4P at $199 was a decent price.
 
2-3 years ago when they arbitrarily just raised the price to $299 for no reason while huge advancements were being made with multi-drivers and crossover networks made that increase a complete insulting of our intelligence.  I have no use for Etymotic except paying $100 for an HF5 which is a better sounding and better ergonomically made ER4P at 1/3 the cost.  Go figure.

 

[lin0003]

  Is that what happened? Paid reviews? I read his reviews with a jaundiced eye as there wasn't a lot of cons on many of his reviews...
 
Sad 

 

I'm not exactly sure, but I think it was something about Rhapsodio and one of their IEM's review. 

 

[SilverEars]

Monster IEMs, all hyped.  Especially the Miles Davis, I don't know what kind of filter they put on it, but it made no sense to do so to mask the sound.  

 

[SteveKiwi]

Out of curiosity,  what did you find wrong with the 4-ai?
i've read Inks(whose opinion I respect) comments about the dip in high frequency, but I've never seen anyone say what was wrong.

 

[tinyman392]

  Is that what happened? Paid reviews? I read his reviews with a jaundiced eye as there wasn't a lot of cons on many of his reviews...
 
Sad 

 

 
I'm not sure what happened with his reviews...  I know when he started, none of his reviews were paid (if I'm not mistaken, he actually did purchase his Aurisonics IEMs which he did enjoy).  He did sell a lot of his review samples though...  Which can be frowned upon. 

 

[tinyman392]

  Out of curiosity,  what did you find wrong with the 4-ai?
i've read Inks(whose opinion I respect) comments about the dip in high frequency, but I've never seen anyone say what was wrong.

 
There were a few things wrong with the 4.Ai.  The one that was forgivable was the bass that had a low-to-mid-bass focus which gave the bass a bit of smoothness and presence to it.  Despite being non-ruler flat, I enjoyed the bass quite a bit and really didn't have too many bad things to say about it.  The issues delved around that dip that Inks talked about as well as above the 10kHz range.  The dip caused a couple problems.  First was that the lower treble lacked presence and detailing.  A snare snap just didn't snap, and if it did, it was weak and rarely had any presence while you were listening.  It took quite a bit away from many alternative, rock, and pop songs unfortuantely.  That same dip also impacted the upper-midrange, mainly the vocals.  Vocals tended to be beautifully lush with lots of depth and emotion.  However, the top end energy and power just wasn't there with the 4.Ai.  The fact that the 4.Ai didn't extend above the 10kHz range was also problematic for the upper treble.  I should note that I was not the only one that felt this way about the 4.Ai (I had at least 2-3 people PM me about this exact issue)...  Many were, but they were too afraid to speak up because of how negative words about the 4.Ai were being attacked constantly. 
 
I made these statements, more than once, but every other person minimized this issue simply saying they didn't hear it.  Bringing it up always brought up some conflict and arguments, and in a thread full of hype, you do get attacked for making that statement I just made above.  There are lots of things that the 4.Ai do amazingly though, don't get me wrong.  Vocals are beautiful (if you don't look at the upper end of things) and they are extremely easy to listen to while detailing is retrieved in a strong fashion, but without being aggressive.  Clarity is ample without being overdone.  If anyone still has their 4.Ai, listen to some pianos on it, they sound absolutely gorgeous. 

 

[tinyman392]

  Monster IEMs, all hyped.  Especially the Miles Davis, I don't know what kind of filter they put on it, but it made no sense to do so to mask the sound.  

 
I actually feel that the Monster Gratitude IEM is a well-tuned IEM.  It's not flat neutral, but it doesn't perform beneath its price point, its quite comparable to others in its price range.