Phonak, a hearing aid company that recently has dabbled in high-quality earphones, offers up the Aud?o?PFE 232 as its top-of-the-line pair. At $599 (list), they're incredibly expensive. Typically, you don't see this kind of price unless you're getting a high-end wireless, noise-canceling, or custom-molded pair. What makes the PFE 232 so special? It's not just the bundled accessories, which includes a range of eartips made from a variety of materials, a replacement cable, and a set of three acoustic filters to help customize the audio response to your preference. What you're paying for is overall audio performance. The PFE 232 combines beautiful, articulate, robust lows and crystal-clear highs with an extremely secure fit. Is this pair worth $600? That's debatable, but the quality level is not. Audiophiles seeking the most customizable, non-custom molded earphone pair you'll find, read on.
Design
Part of what shocks me so much about the Aud?o PFE 232's price is how it looks: from the ho-hum (but useful) zip-up protective case to the styling of the earpieces, which look like a minor upgrade from earbuds included with MP3 players, they just don't scream "high-end." The black-and-gray plastic on the earpieces is not eye-catching, but the good news is the PFE 232 fits remarkably well. This is partly because it comes with so many different fit options (three sizes of foam tips, three sizes of silicon tip pairs), as well as silicone "ear guides" that slide over the cable to make it more rigid when it loops over-the-ear. Because of the superb fit, and because they are merely boring looking, not ugly, we'll give Phonak a little break.
Also included with the PFE 232: a removable cable with integrated iPhone controls, a replacement cable (that does not include the iPhone remote controls), a set of three acoustic filters that adjust the frequency response (more on those in the next section), and an earwax cleaning tool. Despite its lack of iPhone controls, the replacement cable increases the value of this serious investment, as cables are typically the first thing to go on a pair of earphones.
Performance
In the box, you get three easy-to-remove-and-replace acoustic filter sets: Gray, black, and green. Gray, which is the standard filter, emphasizes the mid-range frequencies, while black puts the focus on treble and bass, and the green filter boosts the bass only. Most of our testing was conducted with the gray filters. The PFE 232 can get quite loud and never distorts, even on a difficult track with very deep bass, like the Knife's "Silent Shout." This, of course, is to be expected from a pair in this price range. The clarity of the mids and highs is the true selling point of the PFE 232. John Adams' modern classical piece, "The Chairman Dances," never sounds overly bright, but the definition of percussion hits and strings in the higher registers is very precise, defined, and articulate. This clarity extends to the bass frequencies, as well, which somehow manage to be reproduced with serious intensity without ever distorting or getting muddy.
Especially because you can tweak the sound signature, the PFE 232 is made for audiophiles looking to dial in their specific preference. Everything starts off more or less flat, and can be tweaked slightly from there. Its default response focuses on the midrange, but there's still plenty of low-end and high-end presence. Swapping out the gray filters for the bass-and-treble-enhancing black filters, I noticed a subtle difference in the low frequencies and a more marked, brighter presence in the highs. You could just as easily enjoy the PFE 232s with the gray filters they ship with, but swapping in the black makes them slightly snappier?ideal for rock and hip-hop, where low frequency content often benefits from extra definition in the highs. The green filters definitely boost the bass a bit, but I found that the lack of added definition in the highs made for a disappointing listen. Regardless, that you can fiddle with the sound signature of the earphones in such a simple, easy manner is the PFE 232's greatest selling point beyond its overall strong audio performance.
The built-in iPhone controls work like most iPhone controls do. The Play/Pause button also controls track navigation, depending on how many times you click it, and the Volume buttons are self explanatory. Call clarity with the mic is fine and the controls are easy to use.
There's no getting around it: $600 is a lot of money for a no-frills pair of earphones, and the subtle customization the swappable filters provide may not be enough to justify the price, even for audiophiles who are not on a tight budget. If the price seems too high for you, but you're looking for a very accurate in-ear pair with several different types of eartip options, Etymotic's ER-4PT ($299, 4.5 stars) is an ideal choice, known for its flat response. In the even-more-affordable realm, Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones (4.5 stars, $179.95) is a fantastic in-ear option that fits extremely well and offers excellent audio performance, but has very little in the way of extra fit options. And if the sky is the limit for your budget and you'd rather have a fully customizable pair, there's always the mind-blowing JH Audio JH16 Pro ($1,149, 5 stars). In this price range, however, the PFE 232 doesn't have too much direct competition. Ultimately, it is hard to justify the $600 price?in my mind, it feels like these could be, perhaps, even $100 less expensive?but audio quality is a hard thing to quantify in dollars after a certain threshold is passed. The PFE 232 will not disappoint, regardless of the price.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/JimrXLv47jg/0,2817,2401563,00.asp
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