Legend No. 012 : Phonak Audeo PFE 012 in-ear headphones are off the market, but still sound!

Phonak is gone, but left a legend. Today I would like to talk about Phonak Audeo PFE 012 headphones which are legendary and long gone from the audio market at the height of their fame. Phonak is one of the most respected companies in the hearing industry. This Swiss company was founded way back in 1947, and has been producing headphones since 2009. The Phonak PFE has become, like the legendary ER4 from Etymotic, one of the most popular models among audiophiles and audiophiles worldwide. That’s understandable, who else could know everything about our hearing, if not the world’s top two companies in the field of hearing care and hearing instrumentation??

Thank you mycroft online store.su for providing a sample for listening.

Phonak Audeo PFE 012 headphones

Specifications:

Type of connection

wired

Type of driver

: armature

Number of drivers

: one

Range

played back

frequencies

Bandwidth: 5-17000 Hz

Resistance

: 32 ohms

Sensitivity

: 107dB/mW

Cable length:

1,1 m

The plug

: 3.5 mm

Weight

: 14 gr.

Looks and ergonomics

The headphones come in a bright cardboard box. On the front side it is also a cover – here is a picture of dancing silhouette, inscribed in a red-yellow pattern, a photo of the headphones themselves and the company logo with the model name. After opening the cover we see the round transparent window, under which our headphones are lurking.

Inside the box are several papers in different languages, three pairs of silicone tips and the headphones themselves. The PFE 111/112 came with much more equipment, filters, earplugs, carrying/storing case etc. e, but where to find them now? By the way, if you look hard enough, you can find all these accessories on sale separately. And due to equipment PFE 111 and PFE 112 had a higher price tag. By the way the PFE012 differs from the PFE 111 and PFE 112 only in the set.

The headphones look very cool! They are small, lightweight, quality of materials and construction above all praise, the color – black, well, very nice ears. In terms of comfort and ergonomics, they surpass all headphones in the world! The cable is light, quite pleasant to the touch, a straight jack, 3.5 mm. Wearing is expected behind the ear. Once the earpieces are matched to you, you won’t feel them in your ear. You walk like this and the music flows into your ears and feels so good!

Actually the abbreviation PFE Perfect Fit Earphones speaks for itself – “Perfectly Comfortable Earphones. As we see Phonak is responsible for its words! I’ve never heard of cooler and more comfortable PFE in-ear headphones.

Sound

Listening was conducted on MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2, MyST PortaDAC 1866OCUB, Hifiman HM-601 LE and QLS qa-360, Hidizs AP100MM, Astell&Kern ak120-II and Sansa clip+.

The sound of the PFE012 can be described as neutral with a slight uplift in the upper mid range. The ears show great detail, good speed characteristics and quite even tonal balance.

It’s worth noting the fact that the headphones though not very much, but still depend on the output impedance of the sound source. For example, the best result PFE012 showed with sources where the output impedance is close to zero.

With stationary MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2 or QLS qa-360, Hidizs AP100MM, Astell&Kern ak120-II, they showed the best result. Although with PortaDAC 1866OCUB and Hifiman HM-601 LE, where the output impedance is 10 ohms, the headphones do not lose face.

But in this case small peak in the area of upper midrange became more pronounced and I thought that the bass became a little bit softer. If you buy additional acoustic filters the sound can be adjusted to your taste.

The gray filters give the lightest and lightest sound. With them I find more interesting the light instrumental music. Black is the most neutral. Rock sounds great with them. Although black in view of bringing balance to the sound, in my opinion, becomes genre-universal. Green ones are the most bassy and very good for electronic music. Of course, this is my personal opinion. So, by paying a little extra money, you can tweak the headphones to your taste.

The tweeter is crisp, cool, detailed. The gray filters are a little highlighted.

The midrange is a good resolution. Every sound, every instrument is clearly delineated in space. There is some emphasis on the upper midrange with gray filters. With black filters, this problem is almost imperceptible.

The bass is clear and fast. With gray filters the amount of bass is not great, but it’s a good quality. Everything is great with the black filters. And if even that amount of bass won’t seem to be enough, green filters add it, “give way!”

Conclusion

To say that I liked the headphones, is not to say anything. “It’s just a holiday!”. To tell the truth, compared to my favorite etymotic er-4, the sound is a little bit simplified, but not more than that. But everyone knows the notorious ergonomics of MotoGP.

Compared to ER4, and not only them, Phonak Audeo PFE series headphones are the sample of comfort and convenience. Besides the PFE012 sounded pretty good even with my old Sansa clip+, which is important for getting pleasure from favorite music in hot days when shorts and T-shirts are in fashion. All in all, “mast hav!”.

It’s a shame that Phonak stopped producing these great headphones, they were so cool. The remnants of Phonak Audeo PFE012 can still be found in online stores. The price for the PFE012 in the simplest package averages 6000 Dollars, which is pretty cheap at today’s exchange rate of the ruble to the dollar.

Sound, appearance, comfort, price.

The only .What can be attributed to the disadvantages of this model is a weak package. Too bad the kit is not the same as the PFE 111 and PFE 112 models.