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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Musical Masters, November 3, 2009
I don't like to review a product after only a few days owning it. However, after only about 40 hours burn in, I can't imagine how much better the sound could get. Unlike what I've read about the turbines, this set has a bass that opened up with burn in. As a music lover that has spent crazy amounts of money on audio equipment, I find it refeshing that the Monster Turbine Pro offers amazing value. The music is so cohesive, no midrange congestion at all. Clean, fast, deep bass. The bass never gets in the way of the music. The mids are awesome, not overly warm, no sibilance. Of course any recording that bad sibilance in it will show up, this little in ear won't add any. The highs, at least to my ear are perfect as well. Not overly bright, nor dull. All the instruments sound convincing. It's nice to hear all the instruments come across, without blurring together. I feel a few may want more extreme highs, at least from comparing to what I've read in reviews of other iem's I've read. That said, I think any more highs would sound artificial and splashy. The cymals sound very good. The basss guitar lines ar great, and don't get in the way of the rest of the music. Snare drums snap. Everything just seems to translate the music in a very convincing manner. Soundstage is good, not the best I've heard, but better than most. The most endearing part for me is how good the bass is, and yet not ever getting in the way of the music. I won't compare to other brands.......don't want to step on toes. My opinion is subjective, and I am not easily impressed once I get to this price point. If this is your price range, the set is worth a look. The price has gone up since my pre order. I'd still call them a bargain. My next purchase of iem's will be this exact same set. I have heard many, and many that cost more, but not better to my ears. The cord complaints on the old turbine are gone, minimal microphonics, strain relief, you name it. This cord is as good as I've seen. I could not be more impressed with the sound, at least for this price point. In my opinion you'd have to get a custom earmolds with even a much more expensive set to improve the sound. And watch out for those 1 star reviews from the many that hate the "monster" name. A lifetime warranty, outstanding performance for the price. And very comfortable fit, no fatigue after hours pf listening. From a music lover that is much more concerned with what he hears, than the name on the box. Amazon is still my first choice for online purchasing. (not third party) I hope anyone that decides to purchse these, will enjoy what they offer as much as I do. I have spent too much time looking for what I've found with this set. I am one happy music lover!
Edit: Over 150 hours easy, so....I am declaring the monster turbine pro as The set of iem's I'd use, if I could use only one!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best IEM's I have ever used!, December 30, 2009
Presentation - 9/10
Without knowing the retail price of these, the packaging suggests that these are expensive headphones. The sleek outer sleeve with two texture finish and anatomical diagrams were what caught my eye. Once you remove the sleeve, the black inner box is heavy and substantial in design, hinting at what you will find inside.
Inside the box, the first things you see are the two golden Turbine Pro ear buds set against a black velvet background; very classy. Included in the box are two sleek looking suede leather pouches for storage of the headphones and ear bud attachments.
Overall, the presentation definitely is reassuring that you have purchased a quality product.
Cable Management System - 10/10
The cable management system does its job very well of keeping the cord from dangling and getting caught on things. I appreciate the fact that the cord is shorter then usual also, which by design cuts down on the snags, even without using the cable management.
Earbud Fit/Comfort - 9/10
I must have very small ear canals, as the only earbuds which I was able to keep in my ears and still remain comfortable were the smaller conical shaped ones. The others all either popped out of felt like I had two giant cotton balls in my ears. The smaller conical shaped ones on the other hand fit nicely and stayed put. The longest stretch that I listened in one sitting was for an hour and at no time did I feel any discomfort.
Listening Impressions - 8/10
I listened to the Turbine Pros over the course of six sessions, totaling about four and a half hours of listening. The genre's of music included rock, instrumental, jazz and classical.
A few things I noted that these headphones do better then and other IEM's I have ever used. The first, was realistic percussion. In my experience, IEM's tend to get sloppy when reproducing busy percussive pieces. That was not the case with the Turbine Pros; in fact, they reproduced a kick drum better then most full can's that I have heard. I also really like the way that that they reproduce woodwind and string instruments as well, especially violins.
Secondly, they are very dynamic and do not sound congested like some other IEM's I have used.
Personally, I preferred rock and classical with these headphones but that is not to say that they did not excel at jazz. Honestly, the mid bass and dynamics these present just make you want to listen to something with driving percussion.
Overall - 9/10
To anyone looking for a great set of IEM's that do everything well, I would highly recommend the Turbine Pro's. Well worth the retail price.
Anthony - Surprise, AZ
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great sound from a very small package!, December 28, 2009
Packaging/presentation: A
Outer packaging is eye-catching but not "busy." Technical information is presented in a relatively clear and concise manner.
Inner packaging is mostly excellent. The gold housings stand out in a very eye-catching manner against the black molded plastic. The included carrying cases are very nice, though I would have preferred a more traditional mechanical snap closing on the purse-style case. My iPod is a hard-drive based model, and I'm rather leery of having magnetic closures around it in my luggage.
Extracting the inner tray in order to get to the manual, 1/4" adapter and extra ear tips is a bit aggravating the first time. Once the plastic had been flexed a bit, it seemed much easier to remove. This is nice, as it allows the heavy box to be used to store the IEMs when not in use.
The only negative note on the packaging/accessories is the "for audiophiles & audio professionals only" tag line printed on one case. It's a bit over the top and unnecessary, in my opinion.
Cable management/accessories: B+
The inclusion of a cable management clip is an excellent touch. No headphones I've owned at any price point included anything similar. Similarly, the cable slide is a nice way to keep a big loop of loose wire from snagging on things if you're moving around.
The gold-plated 1/4" adapter is a very high-quality part, comparable to the one included with my Audio Technicas. One thing that I would have liked to see included is a dual-miniplug adapter for those odd airline seat connections. My ATH-ANC7s came with one, and it's handy for traveling on those airliners with that type of connection.
Also, the cable is a bit short. It's fine if your source is very close to your waistline or closer, but plugging them into the vintage receiver on my desk at work required a bit of caution. An inexpensive 25' coiled extension cable makes short work of the problem, but an extra 6" or so on the cord would be a nice addition without too much extra risk of snagging excess cable on something.
Sound quality: A
My previous reference points for quality headphones have been the Koss Porta-Pro, Audio Technica ATH-ANC7 and Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket 11mm IEMs, along with various cheap earbuds of the type included with consumer audio products. The Turbine Pro IEMs easily beat the Skullcandy earbuds across the board, and have better bass response than the Porta-Pros. The Turbine Pros compare very favorably to the Audio Technicas, which is impressive considering the much larger transducer size allowed by a circumaural headphone body.
The bass is especially impressive for an IEM, providing a full, complete sound not found in most IEMs and earbuds I've encountered. While the full bass is a strong selling point of these IEMs, it's not overpowering and "boomy" - a condition some other audio companies seem to think means "good bass." One quirk of the design (noted in the manual) is that a good seal in the ear canal is necessary or bass response is greatly reduced. To that end, Monster has provided a number of different types and sizes of eartips.
Everyone's ear canal is different, and that will have a strong influence on which cushion works best for you - for me, both sizes of the "christmas tree" style was the least comfortable and provided the least bass. The stiffer, spherical eartips in the larger size fit my ears very well and are quite comfortable, though they're somewhat easy to dislodge with any sort of activity (the small version of this eartip was too small to get a good seal in my ears). Finally, the slightly sticky, compressible/moldable dense foam eartips seemed to stay in place the best for me and therefore gave the best sound, though they aren't quite as comfortable as the spherical tips. After wearing the Turbine Pros for a while with that eartip, I start to feel a mildly unpleasant pressure inside the ear canal and need to remove them from my ears for a few seconds.
Listening impressions: A+
The sounds that come out of these IEMs exceeded my expectations, they're equivalent to or better than any other headphones I've personally heard. I tested the Turbine Pro with several types of music: jazz, country, rock, R&B and classical. Any type of vocal sounds and higher-pitched non-vocal sounds in any genre come through crystal clear but not "brittle" and harsh. Likewise, low bass sounds were clear and not "muddy." Midrange sounds were very accurate and pleasant, and the instruments were distinct in smaller groups or with single instruments. Larger jazz/rock ensembles and most classical music tended to blend a bit in the mid and upper bass ranges. This effect wasn't actually unpleasant or inaccurate, but the "air" around the individual instruments (and therefore the "phantom center channel" stereo effect) were diminished. I think this is an unavoidable side effect of reducing the transducer size to a point where it fits in a very small headphone body, I've observed a more noticeable version of the same effect when listening to the Skullcandy Full Metal Jackets.
Final observations:
The metal IEM bodies feel cold against a warm ear. I'd recommend holding them in your hand for a few seconds to warm up before insertion.
Comfort level is high, even in situations adverse to most headphones. I fell asleep one night while listening to the Turbine Pros in bed, and I slept on them all night with no adverse sleep effects. Every other headphone and IEM I've owned has created uncomfortable feelings when being pressed into my head by a pillow.
My overall grade on the Monster Turbine Pro IEM is "A." Good quality, balanced sound in a very comfortable design earns these a recommendation for anyone looking for this type of headphone for critical listening and travel. I haven't had a chance to take the Turbine Pros to the gym, but based on my less-active observations, my other IEM options might make a good case for being used in very active environments.
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