V-MODA Vibe Duo In-Ear Noise-Isolating Metal Headphone with Universal One-Button Mic (Nero)
by V-MODA
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of V-MODA Vibe Duo In-Ear Noise-Isolating Metal Headphone with Universal One-Button Mic (Nero)
Customer Review: Good build, but sound quality is bad for a $90 pair of headphones
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought these after coming off a pair of Ultimate Ear MetroFi's. The short story is these seem to have a better build, but they cost $50 more than the MetroFi's and sound far worse. They simply sound really awful for a $90 pair of headphones.
[Good] First Impressions of Build Quality
These seem to have a good build. Most headphones break because of strain in the jack, but these ones have a nice flexible strain reliever. Compare that to the UE MetroFi's -- their "strain relief" was far too rigid (coincidentally, guess what part of them broke after just 3 months?) In addition, the jack on these is tilted a bit... I imagine that will put a lot less strain on the connector as you carry them around in your pocket while walking or sitting down. The build quality basically seems to be a lot better than other headphones out there. A lot of people complained they broke early on, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed (will update this review once they break).
[Good] Materials
Their cord is made of a fabric-y material unlike other earbuds' normal rubber. This muffles the "stethoscope effect" you generally get with earbuds (you know, where every tap on the cord echos in your ears) -- it's still there, but not nearly as bad as other headphones (the MetroFi's were just unbearably awful in this area).
[REALLY BAD!] Sound Quality
The sound quality is far short of what a $90 pair of headphones should sound like. I'm using a pair of $300 Bose headphones as my baseline. I don't expect these to sound anywhere near that of the Bose (these were bought as my workout/going-around-town headphones), but still. They have no depth, the sound is extremely hollow, and they have noticeable traces of that listening-from-inside-a-metal-shipping-container sound. You can get rid of the metallic/hollow sound by cutting the 1K and 2K sliders on your equalizer by a few dB, but there's only so much EQ fiddling you can do to pretend they produce a rich sound. They'll probably be fine if you mostly just listen to hip-hop, but if you listen to anything even remotely melodic or musical, you're going to be disappointed. This is the only place where the MetroFi's outshined these guys. In other words, a pair of earbuds costing half the price of these sounded far better.
[Bad] Misc. Usability Complaints
My last complaint about these is the control button is far too small. The mic/button assembly is about an inch and a half long. The button is less than a quarter inch long. That means the button is 1/6th the length of the entire mic/button assembly. It's also extremely thin and rounded... the range of "pressability" is about 45-50degrees around the cylindrical assembly. Just TRY finding and hitting the button without looking at the mic assembly first... it can't be done.
[Summary]
Overall I give these 3 stars. The sound quality is not so great, but the build quality looks promising. If these break within 6 months, I'm going to come back and drop them down to two stars.
Customer Review: Ever Hear of this Company Before? You will!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had dropped 300 before on Shure E4c-n Sound Isolating Earphones (Black)'s (which are now $179). I was raving about them because of the quality and the noise cancellation. The complaints I had for the Shure's was horrid Bass manipulation. Even with the bass all the way up, it shaky, really loose and very shallow. But hey, at the time it did the job and I was extremely happy. It was SO much better than anything stock or even some expensive ones that lacked noise cancellation.
With me moving over to listening to the iPhone vs. the Helix (XM) I needed something better than the stock earphones for the iPhone. I was using the stock white phones today and it was ok. Not as bad as the previous stock earphones but no where near the Shure's quality and certainly NO cancellation (try listening on the subway!) The problem with the Shures + iPhone is that I needed an adapter and it didn't have the phone/skip song button on the wire like the stock one.
So I went shopping.
After reading a few sites, looking around I've made a bold (or stupid) move to go to something I've never even heard of, V-Moda? What the hell is that?
It wasn't as pricey as my Shure's were at the time, but it was NOT cheap either.
They arrived today.
I laid out my stock, daughter's "good earphones", my Shures, and the new V-Moda. I tested on three players: Helix, iPod, and iPhone.
Stock: What Apple includes with their gadget is way better than they used to be. Still. It was better than before but that's not saying much. Bass was shakey, treble was trembling, and no noise cancellation? Once you use earphones with noise cancellation you will never go back.
Shures4c: The best player for these earphones was the iPhone. Helix was very "gloomy" like the music/quality was really scrappy (and you can't compare XM quality music with CD quality-- at least not for me). Helix was the worst performer but since this is the combo I've used for almost a year, this was enough for me and I was content. Hey, noise cancellation alone, without any music is gold here in NYC!
V-Moda: I have not said anything about these, keeping the best for last. Holy cow did they blow me away. On all three players these were just SOOO rich. Bass was THUMPING, very TIGHT, and very rich. Treble was amazing no matter what you were playing, Country or Armin Van Buuren it was just KICKING. While the noise cancellation was not better than Shures, it was still optimum. What I also liked was the more snugly fit earbuds and the extensions they came with. Very nicely done and the plugs are plugged in such a way that you don't need to scrape earwax (I know it's gross but that was the MO of using other noise cancellation tech).
Of course the best part for me is that the V-Modas came with the iPhone controls on the wires.
Customer Review: Best Phones I Have Used... So Far...
Summary: 5 Stars
Physical Observations:
* Very nice squeeze-to-open 2-3/8" x 4" pouch
* One set of Small, Med, and Large silicone earcanal inserts in semi-transparent clear and one set in black (6 total).
* Wiring covered in woven cloth. Very flexible boarding on limp.
* Mini-plug is straight, extends 7/8" from iPhone when in place
* Chrome barrel crimp with V-Moda logo at Y where cables to earbuds meet
* Microphone/call button barrel on right side earbud.
* Cloth covered cable to right earbud is same diameter as main cable with small clamp to attach cord to clothing.
* Cloth covered cable to left earbud is approx 2/3 as thick as main cable.
Using the Earbuds:
My 56 yr old eardrums still work but do not pickup the very subtle nuances of audiophile playback as they did when they were 25 yrs old. I bought these earphones because the iPhone OEM earphones hurt like heck after 10 minutes,and my current Shure E4c's do not have the call answering/pause button that the Apples do.
The V-Moda's came with the medium-size silicone inserts in place and, for me, did not form a seal in my ears. The phones sounded horribly tinny. I changed to the largest inserts, which did form a good seal. The V-Modas produced a well balance sound and very pleasing output (sounds great to my old ears). After using them for a week, I prefer them to my Shure E4c's that sound very good, but not 3.5x worth. Most of what I listen to are audible books and videos/movies in while stuck in airline seats.
The tight seal the large inserts create do a very good job of isolating
exterior noise. The earbuds are small, nicely trimmed in black enamel and chrome. I found the cloth to be easier to untangle than vinyl coated cordsets.
I used the "semi-clear" insert for the left side and a black one for the right side so I could tell'em apart quickly. Each earbud is marked with R or L in # 0.01 font near the driver output tube, which is completely obscured when a large ear canal insert is used.
The call button in the barrel microphone is a small slightly raised button easily found with bare fingers, but may be difficult to locate if the user is wearing gloves. In contrast, I can just mash down on the longitudinally split rectangular tube design on the Apple phones.
Makes using my iPhone as a music and vid player very enjoyable and they work well in phone mode, isolating sound in a noisy office and produce excellent sound.
Sonically better than the OEM Apple earbuds for my ears and I can wear these cushy in the ear type ear buds as long as I want without discomfort.
Customer Review: Best unintentional purchase I've ever made.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought these from a user on ebay who was advertising them as a new pair of V-Moda Remixes. When they arrived they were neither new, nor were they Remixes. Fortunately my disappointment in the seller did not extend to the product itself. My intention was to purchase a pair of good-sounding headphones that would last me for years to come. I am confident that these headphones properly fit those criteria.
The model of vibes I got were the older style with the straight connector. V-Moda ended up revising this design and replacing it with the pistol grip design because of issues with the cable deteriorating where it met the connector. Considering that I bought this item used, the cable quality is flawless. I don't know how many hours of use the previous owner had with them, but I listened for quality degradation (such as volume loss and static) as I twisted the cable in 360 degrees, and there is no distortion to speak of. Again, I mean to stress that I do not know what the previous owner's usage habits were like.
I did end up purchasing Speck Products Puck Case for iPod Shuffle TechStyle (Black) to house the headphones and my mp3 player, which should help to minimize the amount of movement where the cable meets the connector. I just keep my mp3 player in the case when I'm listening to it and zip it up, sparing enough room for the cable to leave the case. This prevents the cable bending at sharp angles where it meets the connector, which is what causes the damage in the first place.
The night I got the headphones, I put a pair of foam tips (Comply T-400 Series Foam Tips (Black, 3 Pairs, Medium)) on, lay down in the dark, and blasted Radiohead's "In Rainbows" album. The bass was not at all overpowering, but was rich and full. The mids and highs came shining through with astonishing clarity. I was afraid that songs like "Nude" from that album would sound muddy because of other reviews I've read, but the bass warm and complimented other tones in the songs instead of competing with them. It was still able to deliver all of the fullness I expected from Bassnectar's "Here We Go."
I have found myself on more than one occasion pulling an ear bud out of my ear because I thought I heard someone in my house when I'm alone, only to find that it was a part of the song I've never noticed before. These have a way of balancing the sound so that it feels like it's just floating around you. I love them. I just hope they last.
Customer Review: Sweet, sweet product; bitter, bitter quality. DO NOT PURCHASE
Summary: 5 Stars
I've left the original review in place, below, and Amazon won't let me revise my "star rating" -- but sadly, I have had to completely revise my opinion. Shortly after I wrote my review, the headphones failed as many others have. V-MODA honored the warrantee, but it took them ten weeks to turn around with a second set. The new ones have a new connector at the phone, but sadly the quality problems aren't resolved and these earphones are failing, only a couple months after I began using them again.
When they are functioning, these are great. They don't function long. Don't waste your money.
These are perhaps the best earphones I've ever owned, and certainly a perfect companion to the iPhone.
I'm not an audiophile, but to my ears the sound is excellent. It certainly sounds as good or better than my computer speakers (with external bass); the only thing missing is the physical pressure on my body of real bass from a good stereo system.
There are some graceful touches as well. As many other reviewers note, the cloth cable is much easier to disentangle than cheaper earphones. This is pretty useful. They come packaged with both white and black silicone fittings, and it is really nice to have one white (right) and one black. The cable is generously long, so it's easy to keep the iPhone in my pocket and run the cable inside my jacket or sweater to my ears. I've seen some complaints that the mute/answer/hang-up button is hard to find, but I figured out the trick of running my hand up the cable and then just rolling the microphone between my fingers, which makes it simple. My only complaint -- and it's minor, really -- is that there's no volume control. Probably wouldn't be worth the cost, but generally the only time I have to fish my phone out of my pocket is to muck with the volume.
Most importantly, these are very comfortable earphones. I can wear them all day coding and not really notice; when the phone rings, it's still a little surprising and satisfying that I don't have to turn off the music or take off the headphones. (I actually prefer to take one out when I'm on the phone, though; the sound isolation is quite good, which makes me unsure of how loud to speak when I leave them both in.)
Overall, I'm very, very happy with these.
Again, that was my early opinion. Now, I have to say: stay away.