First Listen: Monster Cable Turbine Pro Copper Edition In-Ear Headphones

Posted by: Chris Martens at 4:04 pm, April 13th, 2010

(Editor’s Note: what follows is a blog—not a formal product review. In keeping with longstanding practice at Playback, we typically like to do “First Listen” articles to give you initial impressions when products first arrive, and then to follow up with more in-depth product reviews later on. Enjoy.)

In the last Playback newsletter I wrote a blog about Monster Cable’s Miles Davis Tribute in-ear headphone—a product I was pleased to discover was not only an appealing and unusual collector’s item, but also a genuinely excellent headphone in its own right. But in the course of preparing to write that blog, I also had the opportunity to interview Monster Cable founder Noel Lee, who supplied some very helpful insights that gave me a much clearer picture of Monster Cable’s in-ear product line.

Learnings

To recap, briefly, here’s what I was able to glean through my talk with Noel Lee:

• *  From a technology perspective, the top four models in the Monster line-up fall into two groups: the original Turbines and Turbine Pro Gold models constitute one group, and the Miles Davis Tribute model and Turbine Pro Copper models constitute the other.
• *  The Turbines ($150/pair) are solid performers and fairly neutrally balanced mid-priced ‘phones.
• *  The Turbine Pro Golds ($300/pair) share similar technology to the standard Turbines, though in more refined form, offering greater extension at the top and bottom of the frequency spectrum, and a significant increase in resolution. Lee commented that the Turbine Pro Gold has, by design, an ever so slightly euphonic quality (as in, “makes most material sound beautiful”) that may make the Turbine Pro Gold model the best overall choice for many listeners. In my conversation with Lee, he observed parallels between the sound of the Turbine Pro Gold models and the well-regarded (and commercially successful) B&W 800-series loudspeakers.
• *  Both the Miles Davis Tribute model ($500/pair) and Turbine Pro Copper model ($400/pair) share technology that is different from that of the Turbines and Turbine Pro Golds, and that is geared toward providing a marked increase in overall resolution, though perhaps at the expense of a tendency to expose whatever rough edges or flaws there may be in any given recording.
• *  Lee noted that there are sonic differences between the Miles Davis Tribute and Turbine Pro Copper models. Specifically, the Miles Davis model provides a judicious touch of midrange forwardness (which Lee feels is a sound that is highly complementary to the voicing of classic jazz recording of the l950’s and early 1960’s), while the Turbine Pro Copper has arguably more neutral tonal balance, with powerful bass and extended highs that are more or less evenly balanced with the Pro Copper’s articulate mids.

Not long after my conversation with Lee, a package arrived at the AVguide/Playback shipping desk, containing a sample pair of Turbine Pro Copper Edition models ($400/pair) for me to try out, plus samples of all three types of Monster Cable’s most advanced eartip designs. This was great from my point of view, in that it meant I was able to have all four of Monster’s top in-ear ‘phones on hand for comparison testing.

What’s In the Box?

Monster’s Turbine Pro Copper headphones come with two carrying cases (a flip-top magnetic closure case in suede, and spring-clasp pocket pouch), and a very extensive set of eartips (including five sizes of gel-type, double-layer Super Tips; five sizes of foam-type, multi-layers Super Tips; three sizes of conventional rubber eartips, and one pair each of conventional triple-flange eartips and foam eartips). Also included in the package is disc-like rubber eartip carrier with spaces for up to six pairs of eartips (the carrier looks a little the cylinder of a classic six-shot revolver), a shirt clip (to keep the signal cable from flopping around loose), and a ¼-inch phone jack adapter.

As a special perk, reviewers also receive a special Monster Cable headphone test/demonstration CD, which provides a variety of test tones and an assortment of musical selections spanning a number of genres.