Comments about Monster® Turbine™ PRO High Performance In-Ear Speakers™:

[$] for a single-driver, universal fit with permanent cable and removable ear tips? And no custom-fit option? I don't think so. Other than its name, there is virtually nothing "pro" about this product design. IMHO.

Comments about Monster® Turbine™ PRO High Performance In-Ear Speakers™:

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Comments about Monster® Turbine™ PRO High Performance In-Ear Speakers™:

Monster Turbine Pro Review
Introduction:
Sorry for the delay but I recently had to get nose surgery which screwed with my sinuses and hearing. Finally almost a month later I can smell like never before and my hearing has returned back to normal. This is my first real write up of headphones and the most expensive IEM I have tried for an extended time to date. It has certainly wet my appetite. This review will start with the physical aspects of the Turbine pros and move into the sound.

To make all previous bias clear, I received these headphones as part of Monster's review program. I have and do own one Monster product (a power supply) that I bought used over a year ago and have had no issues with. As for bias regarding their products, I have never been impressed by the way they run their business but I am treating these headphones like they were sent to me by any company.

Build / Physical Appearance:
First impressions do mean a lot and as I unpacked these IEMs I was certainly impressed. The box even had the new car smell going and everything felt like a serious high quality product. While I have not bought very many new IEMs I am fairly certain that the packaging will not disappoint.

The first day I got these I was walking from my dorm to class and when I sat down my friend noticed the "bling" in my ear and asked what they were. They did not disappear in my ears at all but don't stick out half an inch like some models I have seen. I consider myself pretty conservative dress wise and would have not bought a gold colored IEM in the first place but really don't mind walking around in these.

The build quality seems to be very solid to me. I had read a bit about issues with the cable but the build quality doesn't leave much to be desired. The cable is not very micro phonic (something that usually really bothers me) and the cable management system works perfectly well for my needs. The only micro phonics I really heard were when I was not using the clip supplied with the cable and when the cord above the Y split rubbed against something. The slim plug first had me worried but after using it for a while I like it a lot. It seems sturdy and is about as slim as I can imagine. The Y split seems to be sturdy and the strain relief seems to be well designed. No complaints with either.

I tried various tips and found that most of them didn't really give my ears a good seal (they are very small to begin with). The fact that I found comfortable and good sounding tips pleased me.. I have had trouble in the past finding something that both sealed well and didn't hurt after more than half an hour of listening.

Sound:
My sound equipment came from two chains, both seen in my profile / signature. In case that changes I did most listening at my desk through the Presonus Central Station which I believe to be a very good DAC and headphone amplifier. My home headphones are Stax Lambdas powered by the Adcom GFA-1 and SRD7. On the go I played the Turbine Pro's directly from the Sansa Clip+. My listening tracks vary greatly and I tried picking music that would appeal to a large audience. I mostly spent time with the music I have been getting into heavily lately and then a few favorites that I use to test all new audio equipment.

After listening to the Dr. Dre headphones for about thirty seconds I did not enjoy them at all. I can see how they would appeal to a lot of hip hop fans but I did not enjoy them that much at all. The bass was overpowering and not very detailed - far too sluggish for me in general. The Turbine Pros have much better bass response - it is certainly strong but not overbearing. Turning the headphones up on some of my favorite hip hop tracks was a pleasant surprise. There was more impact than I expected from an IEM but I did not find there to be any issue on most of the tracks I listened to. At high volumes a couple of the tracks on Raekwon's new album got a little distorted but I kind of expected it ahead of time. The headphones do lack the speed of my Lambda setup, even in the lower frequencies but I hardly consider that a fair comparison. They do better than any IEM I have tried to date on this front.

For most of what I listened to I did not find the vocals to be recessed at all. The only tracks I had an issue with were on the Rolling Stones album. I know there is a difference in the mastering but compared to other full sized phones the phones fell short here. For all hip hop and the recent rock / indie I had no issue. I really missed the high end presentation compared to what I am used to but the Turbine Pros surpassed all other IEMs I have owned on that front. I felt that the presentation was very natural overall and not like many reviews I had read about the older non-Pro version. I found that the overall balance was not too tilted in any way.

The soundstage presentation was very enjoyable to me and better than I would have expected from IEMs (against I have not listened to the super high-end models). Nothing seemed out of place and was well enough separated in the jazz albums. While I am not very experienced in writing reviews like this I can say that I know I like a headphone when certain songs give me chills where I expect them. These headphones certainly did that. While they don't match up to my home rig they are the best headphones I have heard to date portably and didn't have any glaring errors that I noticed. I certainly enjoyed listening to them and this opportunity has renewed my interest in IEMs and portable listening.