Monster Turbine Pro Copper Edition in Review - part 1

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2009’s party, mixed by last year’s Monster Turbine earphone, was off the charts. But in early 2010, Monster’s sophomore Turbine, the Turbine Pro Gold, took everything to higher levels. Everything the original Turbine did right: bass, mids, treble – is trumped, and each is more controlled, more readily adapted for any music you throw at it. The Turbine Pro proves that Monster are ready to pick up the cheque as the best high-volume dynamic inner earphone maker on the planet. Today’s Turbine Pro Copper review will differ only slightly from the Gold review, so I’ve copied and pasted all the ’same’ stuff: fit, package, build quality; and I’ve re-written the sound portion as only that really differs. For your posterity (you know what I mean), however, I’ve taken shiny new photos.

Fit and Package
The Pro is dressed to impress: two carrying cases, a shirt clip, two cable guides, a 6,3mm to 3,5mm plug adapter and 8 unique ear sets. It is one of the best-clothed earphones at any price. Among the 8 new ear pieces are two which haven’t made it to any prior Monster earphone: Comply and Monster’s new SuperTips. Both afford excellent isolation, but the super-soft Comply foam will probably be most comfortable for most people. It is also one of the most, if not the most thickly bassy (read muddy) of the included ear pieces.

As with the original Monster Turbine, the regular silicon single flange ear tips are rounded and have less surface contact with skin than tapered ear pieces. For my ears, that translates into a balancing act because the earphones tend to lose seal, sometimes coming loose from the ear. Regular sized ears should be able to wear the Turbine Pro comfortably; but deeply sunk ear canals may take issue with the strain relief portion which can rub against the outer ear. But as all is love and war in portable audio, fit issues are pretty much par for the course though; the Turbine Pro straddles the divide between easy to use and annoying.

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Build Quality and Cable
If any company have listened to customer requests, it is Monster. The original Turbine was rife with construction weaknesses – not so the Turbine Pro. Its metal body remains just as strong, just as sturdy as before, but now it is supported by strong “professional” strain reliefs which do a much better job protecting the cable. They are not quite optimal; Westone’s are better, but Monster’s new design is an about-face to its old and iffy direct-entry. The same thing happened to the y-split which has now built-in flex-fenders below the metal plating. And thank the Monster! the new headphone jack is sleeved in a semi-flexible fender and terminated by a pretty sturdy right-angled plug. Overall it is a great design; the only problem I can foresee is the plug portion splitting along the fender’s seam after heavy use.

Without actually stringing my MacBook Pro from the ceiling by the cable, I can’t give an accurate assessment of how much weight it can support. All I can say is that after a lot of tugging, it has survived. And, it has passed the face test. I’ve been sick for over a week now – so between swatting flies from the greasy boiling mess that is my face, and bribing people to sit next to me, I’ve done my best to muck up the Turbine Pro with my detritus. It seems, however, that Monster’s cable will outlast my fever, and I expect, my shortened life. Thankfully, though, the Turbine Pro carries a limited lifetime guarantee on top of cover for manufacturing defects. So, if this year carries a month of sick Sundays, don’t worry too much; you’re grease-dissolved earphone has a second chance.

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