Gizmodo
With the iPod's white earbuds being as much a fashion accessory as the iPod itself—with people even buying them to wear with other players—earbuds must now look good in addition to sounding good. These V-MODA Vibes? Well, they're not only pleasing to the eyes and ears, they feel like butter in the ear canal. Butter made of soft, molded silicon.
Although the expensive Shure-brand earbuds are usually the ones audiophiles turn to for music on the go, not everyone feels comfortable throwing down $400 for something that undoubtedly gets lots every six months. Good news, as the V-Moda Vibe performs as well as $100 earbuds should.
V-MODA touts "vibrant bass, vivid mid-range, and vivacious highs" on the Vibes. My experience? That's actually fairly accurate. The bass wasn't overloaded like in most cheapo earbuds you find for under $50. The mids and highs were also clear; much clearer than the default iPod or Zune earbuds.
But of course how they sound is less important if you can't stand wearing these earbuds for a long period of time. Not a problem here. The "ultra-soft silicon" fittings feel fine in my ears, sliding easily into the ear canal. Essentially the Baby Bear of earbuds—not too deep and not too shallow—just right. No harsh earbud pad to scrape off both your earwax and the skin underneath.
And finally, the looks. To me they genuinely look better than most other earbuds, even if they do stick out a bit Frankensteinishly when you wear them. No matter. That's everyone else's problem. You're busy rockin' out to Journey.
Product Page [V-Moda]
Comments
butter must be a v-moda thing... i have a pair of their lesser V-Moda bass frequency earbuds and they're the best feeling buds my thin wallet has ever purchased... not to mention good-sounding too
OK, so how about a review of the Bose earbuds (also $99) for comparison.
I ordered a pair of these from Earphone Solutions for a total of $88 tax and shipping included.
Specs say 8hz to 22KHz Freq Response.
I couldn't find a retail outlet in the San Jose area so I had to order them on-line, can't wait to get my hands on them
I think you mean "Silicone", not "Silicon":
http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/elmat_en/kap_1/illus...
Gotta say I love the way the cabling is done - has a nice, clean look. Tech specs are pretty decent too... May have to stop in at the Apple store on the way home today and pick these puppies up!
Why do so many people have such a hard time distinguishing silicon from silicone?
V-Moda lists it at 12-22hz, not that it is a huge difference, nor can you hear anything that low anyway (just vibrations at that point really). A lot of resellers (and manufacturers) overstate range, so that seems to be the case, unless Earphone Solutions has decided that V-Moda was understating its product's specs.[V-Moda Vibe Specs]
Right on, gotsmart! Silicon breast implants could put your eye out... Any word on the cables with these headphones? Are they nice and flexible or stiff as old extension cords? I bought a pair of noise cancelling earbuds that had cables about as flexible as coat hangers. (Philips) They live in a drawer now, for loaning to the destitute.
The cables are nice and flexible, not a problem there.
I don't know, why do people ask questions with obvious answers? It's an E.
Could we possibly get a shot of you wearing them, to get a better idea what they look like, Jason?Ok, I'll fess up, I just want another picture of you to hold on to while I sleep.
But seriously, I want to see what they look like when worn.
Yes, silicon breast implants wouldn't look too good I imagine. I wonder why Apple doesn't release a fancy edition Ipod with higher end earbuds. A $100 more wouldn't be a lot more for the higher end Ipods and the status would probably drive sales since people are so trendy and usually put a purchase like that on a credit card.
I too recently purchased a pair having been a long time Shure E3c user. I have rather large ear cavities so was initially concerned since even the largest size insert was not as tight as the Shure's. However, the bass turns out to be comparable with the mids and highs significantly cleaner. They are also extremely lightweight to wear for extended periods. The cables are nice and both noise and tangle-free.
There is room for some tweaks. I enjoy wearing them over the ears (ala Shure's) and had to cinch the split wires higher using electrcal tape. Also the L/R designation is very faint so I placed a, 1/8" band of black tape around the outside of the silicone attachment tube on the clear left one (black has an "L" in it). It is both discrete and easily noticed when inserting. Both of these tweaks can also be done with heat shrink tubing.
Overall these ar a steal for $100.
I have a pair of these. Not bad earphones. I also have a pair of the Shure E3. The bass is better in the Vibe's but I do think the sound is better in the Shure's.
But I'm happy with the Vibe's. A nice pair of headphones compared to the not so good Zune basic headphones and the IPod basic ones.
I do wish V-Mode had sent a few different type of plugs though. Maybe a foam type, like the Shures and/or a harder plastic plug.
They look like shower or faucet aireators...
Comparison to Etymotics would be useful -- they have a pair in this price range that have excellent sound-- if you can wedge them in your ear far enough!
Anything this nice out there that has a mic built in for use with a mobile phone?
The pictures on V-Moda's website seem to show a straight (as opposed to right-angle) plug with absolutely no stress relief. If that's true, I predict that within a couple of months of normal use, the wires will break inside the cable where it connects to the plug and you will have no sound, good or bad, out of your pretty earbuds. If you carefully coil them when not in use and make sure nothing touches the cable while it's plugged in, you might get them to last for 6 months.
delroy666 et al.: while silicone is correct, note that even v-moda gets it wrong on their packaging. they call it 'noise isolating BLISS (Bass Level Isolating Soft Silicon)... and claim the phones sport "silicon fittings"... regardless, the sound is awesome and the fit to me feels better than all others, at a favorable price, though one could buy 10 - 20 KOSS sparks for the same spendelux.
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