Customer Reviews

Phonak Audéo Perfect Bass Earphones 012 Colour Black

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Although at £80 these could not be described as cheap, they are staggering value for money when compared with other high-end in-ear monitors; I auditioned these along with some Sennheiser IE8s (over £200!) and the Phonaks simply blew the Sennheisers away. They are so revealing of every detail, and nothing gets lost in the mix, ever. Bass response is excellent, but balanced - if you're looking for headphones that will drive your eardrums into your brain then I'd suggest these are not for you. If you're looking for an audiophile experience, though, I find it hard to imagine that there is anything better, and better value, on the market.

The only downside is that they are so transparent they make crummy recordings sound like the rubbish they are, but with good source material they are simply brilliant. I use them mainly on an iPod that has iTunes+ encoded tracks from lossless sources, and it sounds wonderful.

Also very light and comfortable to wear, once you've got over the fiddling with finding the right ear piece size and used to the over-ear style.

Unhesitatingly recommend these to anyone, except for total bassheads. And even for them, I'd definitely audition these alongside all the other similarly priced big brand stuff.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Edit (14 October 2011)

Since writing the above, I've had the opportunity to listen the IE8s more extensively, and it's clear to me now that they are excellent 'phones, so I think my opinion regarding their performance compared with the Phonak's is not justified. However, is their performance worth the extra £££? Now that would be really hard to justify. I suspect in a blind ear test, if it were possible to carry out such a thing, almost anyone would be very hard pressed to tell any significant difference in sound quality between the two, so the Phonak's still win hands down in that regard.

I recently upgraded my portable player from a Sony NWA-806 to a Cowon iAUDIO9. The Sony was a nice wee player, and my 128kbps ATRAC3plus encoded music was detailed enough to match my old Sennheisser CX300s, but I encoded all my CDs into FLAC when I got the Cowon, and suddenly the sound felt very lacking in clarity and depth from the CX's compared to my hi-fi. Having looked at pretty much everything from higher end Sennheissers to £180 Shures, I purchased these Phonaks having read some rave reviews.

And... they are as good as others say they are. It took a little getting used to the symmetrical cable (the CX300 has a short left ear, and round-the-neck longer right ear cable), but the fit from the medium ear tips is perfect for me and the way they block outside sound comparable or perhaps slightly better than the CX's.

The sound is like nothing I've ever heard. I listen to everything from Beethoven to Metallica, but mostly tested these on a middle ground of Norah Jones, Sting and My Chemical Romance. The detail is stunning, the bass is fluid and warm, and voices and mid-range instruments like sax sound as though either you are in a room listening to them, or they are inside your head. It actually doesn't sound like listening through earphones, which is impressive beyond anything I have heard before. Trebles are clear without being too sharp, and I noticed little things like hearing the difference between different snares, or triangles being played quietly in the background. Stings voice is amazing when he's blasting out in full voice, but on the mellower songs like Moon Over Bourbon Street I could hear every nuance of emotion too.

If there's a downside, it's that for an extra £20 or less from some places you can get the full kit with extra filters, the Comply tips and the cleaning tool, but for a buy-it-and-it-works solution at this price they are wonderful.

I'm not a great review writer but I'm so pleased with my Phonak 012s that I feel moved to write something about them.

I think I've found my perfect in-ears with the 012s. I've worked my way up over the years from generic earbuds to a pair of Sennheiser CX300s, then Klipsch Image S4s and now the Phonaks and I've noticed a worthwhile improvement with each step.

The S4s are excellent earphones but I find the bass is a bit overdone, uneven and unnatural sounding, whereas the Phonaks have a very smooth and even performance over the entire frequency range. The bass goes as low as the S4s but it's tighter and more well defined. The mids are full, bright and clear and there's no shrillness or sibilance at the top end. The music just sounds more natural and there seems to be more 'air' (is that what audiophiles call 'soundstage'?) than with any other IEMs I've tried. With well recorded music I'm able to hear every little nuance - things like vocal breath sounds, string buzz, fret noise etc., are clearer than I've ever heard before.

They are also the most comfortable and least fiddly in-ears I've ever tried - they just go in and stay there with a really good seal. Absolutely fantastic for late-night listening in bed or for a nice walk on the beach.

I listen to mostly blues and 60s/70s rock on my Cowon J3 with high bitrate mp3s and I think the biggest compliment I can give the Phonaks is that after a couple of minutes I just forget they are there.

As a lot of reviewers have said, these are great earphones for sound and comfort, but within a year the volume suddenly dropped dramatically in one ear. What a lot of reviewers haven't realised is that this isn't a fault - it just means that the filters need changing. It's disappointing to have to pay extra for new filters so soon (pack of 8 for 10 pounds which should at least last several years), so factor this in. Other than that, highly recommended.

So, I bought these for £40 in the black friday deals. I was looking for a new pair of earphones as I have never been able to find a decent fitting earphone.

I've tried many, including the very expensive Dre Tours, but because I have fairly small ears I have never got the tight seal which blocks out background noise. But with these I can happily say the search is over, they truly are a perfect fit (for me).

The first time I used them on the bus I was amazed, I seriously couldn't hear a thing. Even at quater volume there was no background noise which is very nice.

Moving on to sound quality, overall their very nice. The bass is there but doesn't overpower the song, I would say it's near perfect bass (for me). I mainly listen to hip-hop/rap so enjoy some bass, but these sound nice with any genre of music you like.

I can't go deep into sound quality, comparing to other earphones because I'm no expert. But they do sound better then the more expensive 'bigger' brands.

Only con I can think of is the price. £80 does seem a lot so I'm happy I got them for £40. Would I pay full price for them? Yes, if I knew they were going to fit me perfectly I would have bought them months ago.

Overall I'm very happy with them and thank amazon for having them in the sale as I would have never picked these up.

Sound Quality
Bass - this needs to be split into two variables;
> Quantity; the amount of bass is medium, so probably not for bassheads, who like it 'thumping'. It's quite subtle, which is how I like it.
> Quality; very good bass reproduction that sounds realistic, which means the sounds is far more detailed than bass heavy earphones.

Mids - These IEMs have great clarity in the mids. Which is great, since so often IEM manufacturers seems to forget the mids as they concentrate on getting the bass and treble right.

Treble - This is one area where these monitors excel, brilliant in every area and never harsh on the ear. Best I've heard from IEMs, surprising considering there is only a single armature per monitor.

Other - handling of microphonics (noise, static, etc) is excellent, usually when I plug my headphones or earphones into my laptop I can hear some noise (like static) at very low volumes. But the Phonak's seem to have virtually eliminated this.

Comfort
This is always personal to the individual. The monitors are nice, small and fit perfectly in my ears. I wear them looped over the top of my ear.

Accessories
Well nothing really, except the S/M/L ear-tips. But that is why you save £40 over the PFE 112s, both use the same monitors.
You can buy filters the grey/black ones if you want to change the sound reproduction a little. I have not tried this though so cannot comment. These come with green filters, specialised for 'perfect bass'.

Build
The monitors are plastic, but solid and has a decent thick cable.

Conclusion
These IEMs are excellent when it come to 'bang for buck' and perform well enough to contend with the high-end IEMs at a mid-end price. Would suit all users, except the bassheads out there. Overall, these IEMs perform where it counts; in the sound department.

These earphones are very, very good and you can see on various websites and in various magazines that they are highly recommended by critics and experts alike. For the price you get quite high-end audio and there aren't many earphones at this price that can beat them.

Of course most people's appreciation for earphones is on their personal taste, some people prefer a balanced sound (like me), some like it to be more bass-heavy and some people just don't care! I think those of you who like to hear the bass in tracks then these may underperform for you but personally I think it's enough and as part of an overall balanced sound, it's just right.

I want to touch on the use of Comply foam tips with these earphones as they are a big improvement on the sound quality and in particular the noise isolation/sound leakage issue. You will need some Comply T130 foam tips (last time I checked I'm afraid Amazon don't sell this model). They are a little tricky to get used to/fit at first but after a few goes with them you should get more used to them. Because you were these earphones in an upside-down manner with the cable pointing up and looping over and behind your ear and then down into the MP3 player etc, fitting them is a little different and particularly with the foam tips may require some fine tuning.

I found the best method is to squeeze the foam tips and to rotate them between your thumb and finger as though you are adjusting a knob on a mixer, this then makes sure you have flattened/squeezed all of the tip enough. You then insert it gently into your ear (making sure not to push too far in) and hold them there for about 10 seconds while the foam expands to fit your ear canal.

Sorry I know I have gone off-topic there but what I want to emphasize is that these foam tips work brilliantly with these earphones. They allow for a much snugger fit in your ear and consequently give better sound isolation from the outside world and so you don't have to have your music on quite so loud. The sound leakage is also vastly reduced and this will mean you don't have to worry about disturbing other passengers on public transport etc.

Overall these are excellent earphones and I would highly recommend.

Great headphones with clarity and a decent bass range. I listen to very down-tuned metal music such as Meshuggah, and these can handle the bass tones well. I've use Beyerdynamics dtx 100s which won a what hifi award in this price range, and i can say that they are equally as good, if not slightly better. I think the Audeo ones have slightly better bass response. They fit comfortably and stay secure in your ears quite well as the cables go over the tops of your ears. A decent buy if this is your price range. I'd opt for 4.5 stars rather than 5, as otherwise they wouldnt make more expensive headphones, but they do....

I managed to make a mess of my Sennheiser CX300 II 'phones a couple of weeks ago, and nearly ripped off an ear in the process. I was mortified. I loved them. However, while I think they are (were) the 2nd best headphones I've ever owned they weren't perfect. I'm a big bass fan, but while the Sennheiser's certainly provide that by the bucket load, I found that they could be a tad overbearing. So, I wanted to try something a little more neutral.

I spent several hours running through various reviews for a number of 'phones, but the ones that caught my eye were the Phonak Audéo PFE 012. The description of 'Perfect Bass' certainly piqued my cupidity, as did many of the other adjectives used in the reviews I read: "Impressive", was one such along with "....rich low-end sound of this outstandingly comfortable and detailed set of in-ear headphones." Expert Reviews August 2011. So, superlative sound quality in a strong, light chassis sounded good to me. I've had friends tell me that the upside down/back of ear style was comfortable, and I've not tried this style before, so that had me intrigued too. They cost a little more then I had anticipated spending, but I thought I would treat myself. I'm so glad I did.

The Phonak offers a far more neutral sound balance then my Sennheisers, but while the bass doesn't instantly knock your socks off, it's stunning in clarity and doesn't overwhelm everything else in the frequency range. The end result is a crystal clear, smooth, detailed sound experience. One area that I find can get a bit fuzzy on lesser headphones is the quality of sharp percussive transients. With the Phonak PFE 012 you're immediately taken with the sharp 'tak' of stick on steel in the opening segment of Plastic World (Pendulum) rather then a mere generic hiss from cymbals. Song to the Siren (This Mortal Coil) offered a vocal depth that had me feeling as if I was in an auditorium, and the staccato guitar introduction to Becoming Insane (Infected Mushroom) made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I had me a little shudder of joy. They're deep, rich, shatteringly sharp, offer a magnificent clarity and balance of sound quality.

The sound quality is sublime, but I'm sorry to say the 'phones are not perfect. The lead length is a fraction too short. Another couple of inches on there would have been good. The Sennheiser's had a fabulous lead being of good length and very soft and flexible. The PFE 012 leads are good and strong, but a little more flexibility would be good. They're a tad too rigid. The last eight inches are the leads that drop over the ears, and they're fine, but the cable running from the 3.5mm socket to the individual 'phone breakout point is not so good. I found the behind the ear approach to the phones was a little fiddly to start with, but I've got more used to them now and I'm finding it's getting easier to insert the ear pieces with a little practice. Once they're in place, the phones are superbly comfortable, and offer good isolation of your ear drums from the outside world. The only other niggle I have is that, probably because of their slightly higher impedance (32 ohms as opposed to the more common 8 or 16) they are a little quieter in comparison to others. Don't get me wrong, they are plenty loud, but when you want that extra bit of oomph, my little iPod Nano just won't drive them hard enough. I married them up with the fabulous Fiio E1 iPod headphone amplifier, which made that problem go away. It also demonstrated that the sound quality achievable through these amazing phones is awesome even when they're pushed really, really hard. Be a little careful here, because the quality of the sound is so clean you'll not be aware how loud these can go till you take them off.

In conclusion then, a few minor niggles aside with regards the lead, I can offer the opinion that these headphones are amazing. They are very comfortable, offer sublime sound quality, and at the price are astounding. Treat yourself to something very special. These are marvellous.

So for years I have stuck with Senheisers, mainly the CX range, but when I saw how popular these earphones were and how quickly my last Senheisers broke I decided to take a leap of faith.

It was worth it! The odd over-ear design is incredibly comfortable and holds the earbuds in place perfectly. I'm an avid runner and they never slip out of place. The sound quality is so natural and the range is great. The build quality is also of a very high standard and the wires are strong.

Overall a fantastic production

5/5