jamato8
Headphoneus Supremus
Monster Turbine Pro
Monitors should be built to allow us to enjoy sound. Why listen if it isn’t fun, emotional and worth the time, right? As many of us know, this doesn’t always happen when listening to our favorite tunes. Often something is missing or something is just irritating about the sound. What the Monster Turbine Pro offers are well built, meant to be used monitors. The important question as to sound is answered in the following paragraphs.
I must admit that upon examining the Turbine Pros when they arrived I was impressed with the packaging but more on the over all build quality of these monitors. From the solid feel of the gold colored metal housing, flexible but substantial cord, a well implemented Y and sleek right angle mini plug, this does not appear to be a monitor that will under normal portable use, fall apart on you. Just the opposite, it has the feel and appearance of something you can rely on.
There are also a number of earpieces to fit just about any ear canal. After some trial and error I required the smallest. I also noticed as time passed that positioning can really change the sound. If I didn’t feel the bass was enough I could push them in just a bit and a more pronounced bass was immediate, to have a more open soundstage, just pull them out slightly. I found that by adjusting them in this method I could get a natural balance of bass, air and transparency. I was also surprised by the depth of the sound field, as it was greater than I had expected. There was seldom a congestion of sound or a boxy feeling to the music the can occur with monitors.
On to the sound:
While listening to Eva Cassidy “Live at Blues Alley”, the openness and liveliness of performance and audience is conveyed in a convincing manner. The intimate manner in which some of the songs are heard, as with “Tall Trees in Georgia”, is captured and held onto with these monitors. The full range of Eva Cassidy’s voice is revealed and convincing. There is a delicate earthiness to Cassidy’s voice and fortunately this is not lost with the Turbine Pro.
For years I have enjoyed listening to Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged”. While listening to Tears from Heaven, the Turbine Pro get the guitar right and I enjoy the natural way the voice of Eric Clapton is conveyed. The sound is full bodied yet nothing gets lost in the mix with instruments and voice with both keeping their respective space. Malted Milk also comes across natural and with a great pluck to the guitar Clapton is using.
The Grateful Dead anyone? “The Dead Set” is one of my favorite live recordings of the Dead. Little Red Rooster has a bass that if not controlled can overrun the sound. When I cued up this cut the bass was there but with a solid foundation shook my head but in a way that was meant to be, if you will, in harmony with the style of music.
For those enjoying jazz there is no reason for these monitors to fail you. “Buena Vista Social Club” on Chan Chan comes across with the depth and width of the recording with the textured cascade of instruments and voice pulling you into the recording.
If you like sax then Ken Peplowski, “Steppin’ With Peps”, will not let you down and with this CD the Turbine Pros did not let down. From piano, trumpet, clarinet, guitar, drums or sax, the sound was right and enjoyable.
I can see that these monitors will or should satisfy those looking for bass but also desire bass balanced with the rest of the frequency range, which it is. One thing that stands out is the impression of size to the recording. The Turbine Pros do not sound small. They do not sound like many monitors that collapse when pushed hard. The sound field remains intact and without congestion when the volume is turned up with complex music. At the same time, they do not require higher volumes to be enjoyable. The Turbine Pro is not perfect, no monitor is but they do convey a very good value for your money. I have found them to be a versatile monitor with a variety of music genres from rock, blues, jazz and classical.
These monitors make for very enjoyable portable use, sitting at home in front of the computer or doing what we should all take time to do, just relaxing and listening to some music. No they do not offer the last bit of detail and they are not the equivalent of my custom IEM’s but they offer a very credible and quality alternative to the baffling array of monitors on the market.
Monitors should be built to allow us to enjoy sound. Why listen if it isn’t fun, emotional and worth the time, right? As many of us know, this doesn’t always happen when listening to our favorite tunes. Often something is missing or something is just irritating about the sound. What the Monster Turbine Pro offers are well built, meant to be used monitors. The important question as to sound is answered in the following paragraphs.
I must admit that upon examining the Turbine Pros when they arrived I was impressed with the packaging but more on the over all build quality of these monitors. From the solid feel of the gold colored metal housing, flexible but substantial cord, a well implemented Y and sleek right angle mini plug, this does not appear to be a monitor that will under normal portable use, fall apart on you. Just the opposite, it has the feel and appearance of something you can rely on.
There are also a number of earpieces to fit just about any ear canal. After some trial and error I required the smallest. I also noticed as time passed that positioning can really change the sound. If I didn’t feel the bass was enough I could push them in just a bit and a more pronounced bass was immediate, to have a more open soundstage, just pull them out slightly. I found that by adjusting them in this method I could get a natural balance of bass, air and transparency. I was also surprised by the depth of the sound field, as it was greater than I had expected. There was seldom a congestion of sound or a boxy feeling to the music the can occur with monitors.
On to the sound:
While listening to Eva Cassidy “Live at Blues Alley”, the openness and liveliness of performance and audience is conveyed in a convincing manner. The intimate manner in which some of the songs are heard, as with “Tall Trees in Georgia”, is captured and held onto with these monitors. The full range of Eva Cassidy’s voice is revealed and convincing. There is a delicate earthiness to Cassidy’s voice and fortunately this is not lost with the Turbine Pro.
For years I have enjoyed listening to Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged”. While listening to Tears from Heaven, the Turbine Pro get the guitar right and I enjoy the natural way the voice of Eric Clapton is conveyed. The sound is full bodied yet nothing gets lost in the mix with instruments and voice with both keeping their respective space. Malted Milk also comes across natural and with a great pluck to the guitar Clapton is using.
The Grateful Dead anyone? “The Dead Set” is one of my favorite live recordings of the Dead. Little Red Rooster has a bass that if not controlled can overrun the sound. When I cued up this cut the bass was there but with a solid foundation shook my head but in a way that was meant to be, if you will, in harmony with the style of music.
For those enjoying jazz there is no reason for these monitors to fail you. “Buena Vista Social Club” on Chan Chan comes across with the depth and width of the recording with the textured cascade of instruments and voice pulling you into the recording.
If you like sax then Ken Peplowski, “Steppin’ With Peps”, will not let you down and with this CD the Turbine Pros did not let down. From piano, trumpet, clarinet, guitar, drums or sax, the sound was right and enjoyable.
I can see that these monitors will or should satisfy those looking for bass but also desire bass balanced with the rest of the frequency range, which it is. One thing that stands out is the impression of size to the recording. The Turbine Pros do not sound small. They do not sound like many monitors that collapse when pushed hard. The sound field remains intact and without congestion when the volume is turned up with complex music. At the same time, they do not require higher volumes to be enjoyable. The Turbine Pro is not perfect, no monitor is but they do convey a very good value for your money. I have found them to be a versatile monitor with a variety of music genres from rock, blues, jazz and classical.
These monitors make for very enjoyable portable use, sitting at home in front of the computer or doing what we should all take time to do, just relaxing and listening to some music. No they do not offer the last bit of detail and they are not the equivalent of my custom IEM’s but they offer a very credible and quality alternative to the baffling array of monitors on the market.
