Phonak PFE 232 {Dual Driver}

[Adub]

Damn i was looking forward to these as my first solid set of IEMs, but there is no chance in hell i will throw down $700+ on these when i could get customs for much less. Hell with the Canadian dollar doing well it's a good time to pickup some customs, if only i didn't want a volcano more.

[CrowdAds]

[selectortone]

Well, presumably Phonak have done their market research and it indicates that there's a viable market for these IEMs at that price. As a PFE012 user I was attracted to these but that price level is way out of my league.

[esanthosh]

Great! Now I can safely strike 232 off my list and concentrate on buying 2-3 top of the line universals or a good custom instead.

[odigg]

I was looking forward to the 232 and would have even pre-ordered them, which is something I rarely do with any type of product. But, after trying a lot of headphones, I've lost my taste for headphones over ~$350. If the reported price is correct, no 232 for me.

Originally Posted by selectortone

Well, presumably Phonak have done their market research and it indicates that there's a viable market for these IEMs at that price. As a PFE012 user I was attracted to these but that price level is way out of my league.

I don't think Phonak needs to do much research. Over the last two years we've seen a explosion of high priced headphones and people willing to defend those prices. I remember when people thought ~$350 was a really high price for a headphone rig. Now people are spending way more than that when you include amps, dacs, and all the other placebo inducting drugs out there.

One could argue that the frenzy for high priced headphones only exists on big headphone forums, and so what we see is not representative of the general headphone listening population. Call headphone forums a skewed sample if you must.

However, when cnet and Engadget (both are very mainstream sites) are raving about these products, you know these headphones are no longer a miniscule niche market.

[Adub]

Broad strokes, i see the headphone industry as such:

The Layman a.k.a. the every day user who know little aside from the fact that they like pretty colours and could care less about anything else.

The Fan a.k.a the audio/music music fan whom generally goes for price : performance.

The Professional a.k.a. the industry types, music industry, sound production, engineers, etc. People who care about the quality of their equipment and expect performance for the steep prices they will pay.

The Enthusiast a.k.a head-fiers, etc. Yall know, they pay for sugar pills and/or legit products alike generally without cost being much of a factor, easy to fool, generally drool drenched shirt fronts due to slight retardation, large foreheads, ok, ill stop now. Just playing.

I know this is very broad and entirely open to different interpretations, but i think it's mostly accurate. For example, I would consider myself "The Fan" with aspirations of being "The Enthusiast" if i had the coin to do so.

My point in the end is that these are simply aimed at "The Professional" crowd and a bi-product of that is that it also appeals to "The Enthusiast" people as well, but they are in no way aimed at the latter as that would be silly. Phonak is already a solidly established audio giant as they have built their reputation on being one of the worlds leading manufacturers of hearing aids.

[steinburger1109]

Well summed up, adub. I completely agree. I like to believe I fall in the Fan category...

For that reason, I doubt I'll ever take one of these.

[maniac2003]

Originally Posted by Adub

I would consider myself "The Fan" with aspirations of being "The Enthusiast" if i had the coin to do so.

I would place me in the same category.
The price that is mentioned is to high for me. For the 012 I payed 80 euro's, fair price I believe. To get some fuller sound with better bass I would have no problem to pay a bit more for a dual driver. The prices for the Brainwavz B2 and Creative Aurvana 3, so €150 max, are reasonable. The price Phonak is asking for it's new 232 is not.

[Confispect]

Seeing as the original version was well liked and generally well receieved I predict quite a few people will buy them. The people who help move threads to 272 pages long have customs now. We shall see.

[Timar]

Hmm. Count me in as beeing disappointed by Phonak's new price policy - in hindsight it was a bad omen that the 272 were first presented at Head-Fi, the refuge of all this overpriced subjectivist audio jewelry. The PFE has been successful because it offered great quality for a reasonable price tag. I'm sure the 272 are even better, but certainly not that much to justify the price difference. Instead of keeping on their successful policy they now want to skim off the blown margins in the audiophile niche. It's a shame really.

[Confispect]

(CONFISPECT)
And wtf is the dual driver Phonak at.

(CleOS)No, I just received confirmation directly from Phonak PR a few days ago that the release is scheduled on early October.

Woot.

[dfkt]

http://www.audeoworld.com/en/US/Prod...udeoPFE232.htm

Ouch. Not so cheap, as predicted.

[razorblader]

So is the second driver worth the extra 400+ bucks?

They are getting a little greedy it seems.

They do look nice though.

[Confispect]

I'll bite.

[nathan]

It seems they increased the price of all there models for the higher end model's pricing to kind of make sense. I must have really good timing or something because I seem to pick up a pair of new headphones right before they increase in price

But they are offering the 012 model free with purchase of the 112 or 232's so at least your getting two sets of phones for those prices. The new $170 price for the pfe 112s including a set of 012 is actually a deal.

[odigg]

Originally Posted by dfkt

http://www.audeoworld.com/en/US/Prod...udeoPFE232.htm

Ouch. Not so cheap, as predicted.

Ouch indeed. The EQed PFE w/grey filters is my favorite headphone, and I was looking forward to the 232. I guess I should thank Phonak for keeping my wallet full.

[dfkt]

[Confispect]

Review? -drools-

[dfkt]

I think I found something that might be on the same level as the SM3, for my taste.

[razorblader]

Originally Posted by dfkt

I think I found something that might be on the same level as the SM3, for my taste.

Not on the same price level though, lol. Looking forward to the review which I assume is in the making.

[Confispect]

Originally Posted by dfkt

I think I found something that might be on the same level as the SM3, for my taste.

With treble like the FAD that's interesting I'm guessing it's good/non fatiguing if your listening to it. Is the mids placed more forward or back then the SM3.