Monster® Turbine™ High Performance In-Ear Speakers™ with ControlTalk™, Black Mobile

Comments about Monster� Turbine� High Performance In-Ear Speakers� with ControlTalk�, Black Mobile:

Do not buy. They're excellent quality, while they last... One ear will stop working, then the next. They're also too heavy from one end, causing it to fall out of your ear a lot.There are a lot of cheaper headphones which are on par with monster and more durable. If you want over-ears; definitely go monster, in-ear? Go elsewhere. Waste of[$]

Comments about Monster� Turbine� High Performance In-Ear Speakers� with ControlTalk�, Black Mobile:

These earphones are absolutely amazing, I have never heard my iPod sound so good! The bass is so deep, mind blowing! They are expensive, but completely worth the money. I've fallen in love with my music all over again...

Comments about Monster� Turbine� High Performance In-Ear Speakers� with ControlTalk�, Black Mobile:

The sound was amazing, but then after a few months the right bud started to produce hardly any sound. So I e-mailed them, three times, and got no reply what so ever. They WERE awesome, until they broke.

Comments about Monster� Turbine� High Performance In-Ear Speakers� with ControlTalk�, Black Mobile:

Ok, just need to make sure I get this out of the way. I received these headphones from Monster Cable as part of the Turbine Challenge at no charge. This review is my own fair, honest opinion and was not influenced or guided in any manner by Monster."

So, that being said here goes. I received these in the mail and immediately pulled them out and looked over the packaging. Pretty nice packaging and I'm sure if you read the other reviews, not very green. All in all, nice looking box that can easily be repurposed to house other small items if one wanted. Upon reading the back packaging I noticed it stated that the turbines had an angled adapter. First reaction.... Ughhhhhh!!!! Why???? I know they are meant to be less obtrusive and may possibly last longer but if you are like me and have an aftermarket case on your Iphone/Ipod or any other mobile audio device, chances are this angled adapter won't fit through your case. When I opened the box and pulled out the headphones, I was pleasantly surprised. No angled adapter. I immediately logged on to Monster's site to check the headphone specs and sure enough no angled adapter on the site either. I must have gotten old packaging with new headphones. Instructions inside box referenced same angled adapter. Nonetheless, very happy. I have an Iphone 4 with an Element Vapor case, which is not kind to 3rd party headphones, especially angled adapter ones. I am comparing these Monster Turbines to my current Bose MIE2i. The Bose do have an angled adapter. I know this isn't smart, but the Bose had enough rubber surround on the angled adapter that I took sharp blade to it to make them fit through my Element Case. Back to the turbines. Included with the headsets are two cases one soft microfiber (this is the one I used) and a more sturdy leather case. Both very nice additions. My Bose came with a rather large zip case but nice as well. I like the microfiber because I can store the headphones in my pants pocket without the cable getting tangled.

* Thoughts on headphone build quality, durability, style and aesthetics
I initially noticed a rattling sound when I pulled these out of the plastic packaging. The Control Talk is made of plastic and I guess because of the button action/volume control it seemed to rattle a little. Seems cheap but after 2 weeks of testing I forgot all about it. Bose lacks the volume control and button is smaller. The Turbine headphones are encased in a nice shiny metal. Really adds weight to the device, but you feel like you have a solid pair of headphones in your hand. Not like many others which are made of plastic. Including my Bose. Cable is made of nice gauge and they have heavy rubber surround that prevents tangling. Overall nice quality and you know you're getting your money's worth when you pull them out of the box. Very impressed. Bose has decent cable as well and no complaints here. I think the Turbines really stand out. Pictures do not do them justice until you have them in your hands. Winner here is Monster.
* Thoughts on headphone comfort
Comfort...I have to be honest when it comes to in ear headphones I have never really had any success with comfort or just getting them to stay in my ear. Hence why I opted for the Bose. That additional piece of rubber that goes in your ear really works. However, I never got these to fit in my ear entirely even after trying all the attachments so that really allowed for a lot of outside noise. Riding the NY Subway with the Bose for me made it difficult to enjoy my music. I don't think this is a Bose issue as much as it's just my ears. That being said the Turbines really surprised me again. I really have had very little success with in ear headphones. I actually read the instructions that came with the headphones. Wonder how many people did or do that? I initially threw on the smallest attachments I could find just because I always have difficulty with these ear buds staying in my ear. My left ear went in fine. The right ear did too but it was a little uncomfortable. I started to listen to music and continued to read the instructions while listening. Then I get to part about the proper way to get these guys in your ear. I decide to give it a run and I definitely got a better fit, but my right ear still was not good. So I start to play around with all the attachments. Finally, I settle on the middle of the road and wow!! Comfort. I implore you to try them all and make sure you get the right fit, including the cone shaped ones. Winner here is the Turbines. Although the Bose are comfortable, they don't give me that airtight seal like the Turbines which affects sound quality. I actually went back and tried all the Bose pieces using the insertion method described in the Monster instructions to make sure I had the right attachment. No luck. Same results.

* Analysis of audio quality, particularly how each model handles high, middle, and low frequencies as well as overall clarity
* Use with multiple genres of music

Now the good stuff. All I can say is wow!!! I was not expecting such a huge difference here but was I surprised. Once I had the proper fit with the Turbines I was blown away at the clarity. I read about Bass in previous reviews. I wouldn't say it's Vision Blurring ' but it was clear tight and got pretty low. I listened to all genres. Norah Jones, Boney James, Lady Gaga, Roni Size, Metalheadz, Jim Jones, TI, B.O.B, Elbow, The Strokes, Linkin Park, Cee Lo Green and many more. These headphones really excelled in all aspects. Mids Highs and Lows. If I have one knock on these at all when it comes to sound is I don't think they got low enough. That is really nit picking. The bass is very good. I can't say the word clarity enough. When I listened to a few artists I was able to hear their spit clap in their mouth as they were speaking or singing. Sorry for my terminology I don't know how to describe it other than that. You hear every little detail so clearly. Symbol crashes, snare drum taps. All of it really comes through with these headphones. It's very impressive. My Bose produce decent lows and highs but after listening to the Turbines it left a lot to be desired. They almost sounded muddy. My overall assessment of these is you get a lot of bang for your buck. Really great sounding headphones that are able to reproduce music the way the artist recorded it. Also, I don't want to forget the control talk. This is a feature I really took advantage of as an owner of an Iphone 4. The microphone is really clear and really did good noise cancelling. I even used it for the voice commands on the Iphone and it successfully dialed each time. With the Bose I would have to repeat several times. Winner by a landslide, Monster Turbines. Glad I get to keep them. One last thing. Prior to getting picked for this review I gave up on the Bose and got the Monster Beats Solo HD. I need a non-angled adapter cable with control talk for these, Monster. Hint Hint...

Comments about Monster� Turbine� High Performance In-Ear Speakers� with ControlTalk�, Black Mobile:

I'm not an audiophile and I don't pretend to be one. This review is not about the quality of the sound but rather the quality of the product. The product is horrible. No better way to say it. I purchased a set and they sound GREAT while they work. Soon after my purchase one of the speakers stopped working. So I sent it in. They sent me back a replacement that was wrong. So then they sent me an "Upgrade", the Pearl Turbines and when I opened the box and took the ear buds out one of them fell apart in my hands!! I didn't even plug the darn things in yet and they were broken!! These things could sound like angels singing in my ears but it doesn't do any good if they don't work!!! I've since asked for a refund and I'm moving to another brand.

Comments about Monster� Turbine� High Performance In-Ear Speakers� with ControlTalk�, Black Mobile:

great sound but not lasting. right earphone is not working. sometimes no sound coming out. and i had trouble to claim warranty from monster! i sent many email to them, but no respond from monster. can you please reply my email? i got so frustrated. my first ever monster earphone but really dissapointed. i don't think i will support monster anymore if no one come to assist me on warranty claim matter. this will leave monster a bad reputation.