[Dobber65]

I know, it surprised me also. I am not saying that the Turbines are better than the 530 or TF10, but, to quote a phrase I am seeing a lot these days, the Turbines are punching way above their weight class. I wasn't expecting a lot from these, especially given Monster's newness to headphones, but yes, I am wowed so far.

 

[pdupiano]

I think.... its the headphone type. I'm waiting for my ie8's to make a comment on the sq difference. But it seems dynamic > BA ... well atleast for now

 

[Dobber65]

You know, that's what I have been thinking since last night. I thought BAs were superb (small, great sound, especially with what Shure and UE have done across the audio spectrum with theirs), but now I am not so sure. There seems to be a rejuvenation in the dynamic market. I would love to compare these against the IE8 (or IE7), but don't have any. Can't wait to hear your comments on the comparison.

 

[VoLTaG3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think.... its the headphone type. I'm waiting for my ie8's to make a comment on the sq difference. But it seems dynamic > BA ... well atleast for now

Dynamics have always been better than Balanced Armatures overall. I still and will always love my Shure SE530's and I think it sounds better than my 7.1 surround system that I payed $300 for.

 

[pdupiano]

Well I havent listened to the se530's for about a week. I reall REALLY wanna give monster a true and honest assessment of what they're doing. As far as I'm concerned, we've seen the rise of several new companies in the IEM market and the ***Fall*** of older more well established companies. While I think a lot of whats been going on at head-fi regarding IEM's has a lot to do with flavors of the month (such as Phonaks reportedly beating Se530's etc) I'm convinced that by summer everything will settle down and a new pecking order will take place. The pecking order at that time should still have the se530's, W3's, IE8' in the top 5. But the one thing to keep in mind is, when companies compete, its us the consumers who win. I mean the simple fact that Monster, a company that a good majority of us scrutinize and critically attack is entering the market, and doing it with a good bass, is good news to me! Same with the Phonaks. I'm hopeful more and more companies do the same. The ER4P/S se53's have been around for over a decade, its time for a change and I'm hopeful that other companies will move into dynamic headphones, I can't even imagine what it would be like if shure decided to do a dynamic/balanced mixture so that we can get the liquid mids with the dynamic bass. Over all its just good news for all of us. But yeah, I really wanna give these a fair shot, and if I can sell off some of my gear I would love to purchase the phonaks to try out. consequently if any headfier has a pair of phonaks in the norther/mid easter New Jersey area, could I please borrow your pair

I'll lend you something to make it worth while. But yeah I should have a full review in about 4 weeks( I need to burn these and the IE8's I'll receive in about a week).

 

[Dobber65]

pdupiano, I agree completely with your comments. Competition is good for everyone (consumers and vendors alike), and dynamic drivers may be making a comeback given the recent quality of new models from Senn, Yuin, and others. Monster may not have the best reputation, but I also want to be fair to them if their product is good. It's all about the music.

The burn-in continues...

 

[gov]

where in jersey are u? if i keep my phonaks i might be able to help.

 

[pdupiano]

I'm in Union, 07083

 

[Jack Karneval]

*gasp* Fellow NJ Head-Fi'ers?!?!?

Im up in Flanders

Don't have a pair of Phonaks though... just my ety er6s and senn hd555s

Northern NJ Head-Fi meet..........?

 

[pdupiano]

I've glanced through some posted reviews on these on line, seems to me that a lot of the people reviewing them aren't used to iem Tip issues and infact have knocked these down by quite a bit because of that. Kind of a shame really since all iems suffer from that (think W3). I wonder if they burned them in. Oh well I think these are a few days from full burn in, thankfully monster gave us all 2 months.

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif While I think a lot of whats been going on at head-fi regarding IEM's has a lot to do with flavors of the month (such as Phonaks reportedly beating Se530's etc) I'm convinced that by summer everything will settle down and a new pecking order will take place. The pecking order at that time should still have the se530's, W3's, IE8' in the top 5.

dfkt's pecking order
HeadphoneAddict's pecking order
From both of those very experienced head-fiers the Phonak Audeo PFE is above the se530s, which is the general consensus. Others have preferred the PFEs over the W3s, but that one is split.

I have the IE8s and PFEs, and they are both very good and do so much so well, but have different sound sigs. I do prefer the IE8s. But for the price I don't think the PFE can be beat, unless the Monster Turbine is really that good!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif But the one thing to keep in mind is, when companies compete, its us the consumers who win.

I agree 100%, yeah to us consumers

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif I should have a full review in about 4 weeks( I need to burn these and the IE8's I'll receive in about a week).

You mean I have to wait 4 weeks

I can't wait!

 

[pdupiano]

By in large, I tend to agree with Larry (read pretty much every review he's written) and I'm also in the process of trying "custom se530's" to check out the difference. But thats a DIY project that may take me some time to do since I'm still in the planning/research step. As for the Phonaks, I still haven't heard them, but I would like to (especially with their 14 day return policy). I still have quite a few items to sell so that I can free up some cash to try those out, and if within the next 4 weeks I can get my hands on a pair, I'd like to throw them into the review as well. But at this point, I really like the monster turbines, I wish I got 2 pairs to test the pre burn and post burn sound I've noticed some changes but I don't fully trust my memory so while I'm VERY tempted to make comments about perceived changes, I realize that I simply can't. Anyway, are the PFE's dynamic or BA?

 

[average_joe]

The PFEs are a single side mounted BA. Who knows, maybe the new Monster IEM will give the IE8 a run for it's money, both are dynamic drivers.

The IE8s really have an outstanding soundstage that separates them from other IEMs, both that I own and as others have also stated that own other IEMs.

How is the Monster's soundstage?

 

[pdupiano]

Its pretty wide, but its behind my head. So far only the W3's soundstage has "enveloped me" completely. Most other iems have a headstage that puts the sound behind you the W3's were able to place the music all around me. I haven't listened to the shures/etys for quite some time now (I wanted to try the turbines exclusively for a week before changing to others) and from what I remember, these have a larger sound stage than the se530's and definitely above the Etys.

On a side note, the PFE's are BA, very interesting.

 

[Dobber65]

OK, so my update for today. I am still impressed with the Turbines. The soundstage is definitely wide, probably more so than the SE530, but not as airy as the TFP10. Different flavors, still deciding if one is better (or should be) than the others.

What I am finding is that, even out of my iPhone 3G (which has a nice headphone amplifier compared to my other iPods), I am getting lost in the music. Maybe it's synergy between me, the Turbines, and the iPhone, but I really like what I am hearing. I'll post more details, but on acoustic music (e.g., Eva Cassidy's Live at Blues Alley/"Autumn Leaves" and Indigo Girls' Rites of Passage/"Galileo" or "Ghost") I just get lost in the music. But I am also hearing details I don't hear on my other IEMs. There are some dishes clanging in the background during the beginning of Autumn Leaves, and they can be heard so clearly (not bad, just ambience of the live recording) on the Turbines, and barely on either the Shures or the UEs.

My wife is a pianist, so I am exposed to large grand pianos and the differences between the major brands (and her preferences for how her instruments sound). I tried "Treat Street", my favorite track from George Winston's Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, and this sounds like how a piano should sound (a good recording helps). Maybe the lower registers are a tad warm, but I like the sound. Same good sound with the Shures and UEs, maybe I would term the Turbines more euphoric than accurate, but I enjoy them. Again the balance across the audio spectrum for acoustic (piano, guitar, woodwinds, and violin/cellos) is impressive, giving a nice natural wood sound to these instruments.

Oh, and I tried some Green Day, these reproduce guitar distortion really really well (approaching Grados in this regard). This is fun...