V-MODA Bass Freq In-Ear Stereo Headphone (Bling Bling Black)
by V-MODA
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Our Price: $39.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of V-MODA Bass Freq In-Ear Stereo Headphone (Bling Bling Black)
Customer Review: Great sound, connector at jack is very weak.
Summary: 3 Stars
I have loved the sound of these things since the day I bought them. You would expect the really tin sounding 'quality' you find in most cheap earbuds, but these things actually make you hear the bass. The comfort is by far the best I've ever felt for earbuds. I'm used to sitting many hours on international flights using them and most will make my ear canals ache in an hour or so. These didn't start to cause discomfort for several hours.
The problem I have with them is the connector. It has been very weak for a while now, one side going out unless I pinch the connector just right. I always wondered why they didn't just make that a right-angled connector, it would have saved them a lot of trouble on the consumer end. But anyway, I cut open the end with the connector today and found the issue.
They TRIED to make the connector much less susceptible to damage by enclosing it in a material like UHMW or something. It is still slightly flexible, which I believe was their intention by looking at the 'crease' they put around it, but because the wires are soldered on then sealed in this stuff, a hard flex doesn't just weaken the connector, but isolates it from making contact again should it actually come disconnected. And this is very likely considering the small size of the wires and the huge glob of solder used to connect them.
I can repair this myself by cutting this monstrosity off the end and re-soldering the wires on, but the cord was already about 6 inches short to start with. I could barely reach putting my MP3 player on my pants pocket or belt area, so there was not even enough slack to use the 'cord manager' thing they shipped with it, which is made of the same material as they seal those connectors in.
Customer Review: Thumbs up
Summary: 5 Stars
These earbuds are ideal for running, going to the gym, or listening to your iPod on the subway. They are 'noise-isolating' (not '-canceling') -- stick a finger in each ear to get an idea. The bass frequencies in your environmental noise naturally have the greatest leakage, so the 'bass enhancement' on these 'phones actually seems to improve the overall isolation.
Playing bass-heavy electronic music at 60% iPod volume completely eliminates the sound of the NY subway. I was looking the other way at the platform and the (1)-train pulled up without me noticing. I've used 'em on airplanes and buses too - blocks the engine noise and all the colicky babies' crying. They work very well in the library too, since noise doesn't leak out and disturb others.
A $20 price-tag places these in the 'disposable' category (i.e., you aren't going to use these to remaster classical music recordings). However, I'm satisfied with the sound quality and I love the intensity of the bass. These are BIG step up from the pathetic Coby and SkullCandy brand earbuds as well as the meek white iPod earbuds that break in half after 10 hours of use. They seem pretty durable: I've dropped them in a puddle and walked over them with ski boots and they still work fine.
Bottom line: if you are on a budget and need a pair of headphones for the gym or on-the-go, these are a great choice. And if you listen to bass-heavy music, these are *the* best choice.
UPDATE: 29-Aug-09: After nine months of everyday [ab]use, the right speaker died. It appears to be a burnt-out voice coil, rather than broken solder or wire (the wires are epoxied into the plastic headphone speaker cases, by the way). I am about to order another pair.
Customer Review: Very nice sound, cheap delivery. Good Bass
Summary: 4 Stars
I have had the Sony MDR-EX71SL previously which run for about $29 or so to compare these with as they were most similiar in quality and price. The v-moda produces a much lounder sound but seems otherwise quite equivalent in sound quality (note: I am not an audiophile but only a casual listener).
The Sony's came with a nice extension cord of 1m which I think is a good deal. It also came with a hard protective case for portability. The v-moda has some sort of wrap stick to wrap the cord around which impresses me to be fairly useless since the cord isn't very long to begin with. The case was also useful for storing the extra sized fittings supplied in the box, something which will most likely get lost for the v-moda without that case.
Another thing I never thought i would miss much is the one cord for the right ear to be longer than the other for the Sony. The v-moda right/left pieces are of equivalent length and when they are worn hang out in the way when I'm doing typing when at work at the computer. Slinging the longer one around ones neck prevents them from being in the way, so that's something I miss.
The Sony also seemes to block out the sound slightly more than the v-moda. This could be due to the different kind of rubber and slightly more elongated earpiece.
The v-moda are also pricer than the sony. However, the reason I got a new pair was because the sony's cord eventually started to fall apart because of poor plastic. I would still say that the Sony otherwise struck me as a better built product with packaging etc. I'm still going to give the v-moda 4 stars because of the sound quality and overall feel when it's in my ear, which is neglible and easily forgotten.
Customer Review: Spared from the graveyard
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a drawer that has become a graveyard for a myriad of headphones that don't make the cut. I've had these for at least one but closer to two years and have used them heavily. They are by far my favorite pair of headphones that don't have an attached microphone. I picked mine up on sale from Amazon for (I think) $20. For the price, they are a steal. I am rather careless with my headphones. They end up tangled in my purse or on the floor of my car with my iPod shuffle dangling from them. They have been yanked hard from my ears a number of times. I never got the hang of the silicone windup thing and it has become forever lost. With heavy use, they are still working great.
The reason for my affinity for these headphones is primarily comfort. They don't hurt, and they don't fall out. I can wear them for hours. The sound isn't perfect, my over the ear noise cancelling headset that I paid many times more for will beat these out, especially in a car or plane. However, for the price and portability they work well. I don't listen to much music on my mp3 player, as I prefer to listen on my stereo. I do consume a large quantity of audiobooks. I have been really happy with these earphones for that purpose.
Once I thought I lost them, and I panicked. I got a promo from Amazon today and I came straight to the website and put in an order for a spare pair, just in case. I doubt they will ever die, but my carelessness may cause them to join the silicone winding thingy who knows where. My only complaint is that the promo code Amazon gives can only be used on one pair, and only on the black ones. I was going to buy 2-3. At $14.99 each, it's practically a disposable set.
Customer Review: Great sound for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought a pair of these inexpensive V Moda's earbuds in 2007. I use them with my MP3 player when I walk for exercise both outside and on the treadmill. Lately I have started to either watch DVD movies or stream Netflix movies on my laptop while I walk on the treadmill - too cold to walk outside right now. The laptop speakers are a little weak so I had been using an expensive set of "Pro" headphones to listen to the movies and cover the treadmill noise. Recently I tried these V Moda earbuds while I walked and was amazed at how much more bass I get from them then the supposedly much better headphones. Very impressive. Plus I get much reduced outside noise with the earbuds compared to the headphones and they don't have an earcup that gets all sweaty - yuck . I am very satisfied. My wife has started using her earbuds to walk on the treadmill now, she's also very satisfied. I could easily have given these a 5 star rating. One other note. I have several other sets of earbuds. All of them have the unequal length cords to the right and left buds. For some reason that 'feature' drives me crazy and it was the deciding factor in my buying these V Moda earbuds. One more aside and I'll stop. The Netflix streaming feature has been a wonderful addition to our treadmill exercise routine. We have signed up for one of the inexpensive 'unlimited' plans which also gives us unlimited streaming rights. This is the future of home movie delivery. Two of our laptops also have S-Video outputs so we can stream the movies through our laptops to our widescreen TV for the whole family to enjoy (I take the headphone out through an adapter to the component audio in to the TV for sound).