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V-moda Vibes... The review is finished. (56k beware, big pics...) - Page 97

post #1441 of 1475
11/9/07 at 4:02pm
BushGuy, last night I decided to try the smallest tips, and wow, they fit perfectly, aren't slipping out and still provide a solid amount of isolation more so than the med/lg tips did. I think I'm pretty happy with the Vibes again.
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post #1442 of 1475
11/10/07 at 2:32pm
Anyone interested in some "candid" pictures?

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post #1443 of 1475
12/6/07 at 11:47pm
I saw the new blue v-moda Vibes in the Apple store today. They're actually a much lighter shade of blue than indicated in the previous picture on Amazon - closer to being light blue/aqua than the deep cobalt/midnight blue that I prefer. Anyway, I'm reserving judgment on these cans for now - they're $129.99, which is way too much considering the near-parity of the Canadian and US dollars.

Has anybody who's purchased the Vibes recently actually listened to them for more than 500 hours? I'm really starting to wonder if the negative hype is an over-reaction to the unrealistic expectations people had for these buds. Also, it's been a while since Val has been in here. I hope he's been able to fix the quality control issues with his products.
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post #1444 of 1475
3/10/08 at 9:51am
My Vibe's just turned up. They look good, feel good, and sound like ****.

Wish I'd read this thread before I purchased them, but actually wound up reading it in the interim while I waited for them to show up. Mine have the knurled plug, and a black case... not sure what gen that makes them.

These things are just way too bass biased, the highs and mids are both very average. I wouldn't say muddy, they sound clear enough... but just way too heavy on bass - unbelievably so. It's almost funny, except that I paid money for this joke. I have a very extreme EQ setup at the moment (diagonal line falling from treble to bass) and like that they are bearable. I'll give them a while to burn in before I give up on them, but so far, I'm much happier with my EX71's and wish I hadn't wasted my money.

I think this whole experience has turned me off even remotely expensive IEM's (yes I know, vibe's are cheap compared to some of the other stuff out there) and I'll probably stick to cheap sony/panasonic/etc IEM's. How hard is it to make something neutral, everything highend seems to be biased towards highs or lows.
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post #1445 of 1475
3/10/08 at 5:05pm
For the price you could've done much better. The vibes are the worst so called "high end" entry canalphones/iems I've tried. I would certainly wouldn't make the assessment that highs and lows are the only thing emphasized in high end iems, there's plenty that provide a fairly good balance in the whole spectrum.
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post #1446 of 1475
3/11/08 at 11:47am
Well, I've had my V-Moda Vibes (2nd gen I believe) for about 6 months, I think the sounds is great for a first timer like me.

The only problem is, the strain-relief piece is starting to split and I recently discovered that the cable on the right ear, right where the wire meets the heaphones, has broken and I can see the cables underneath....the sound still works, but I doubt it will for much longer...

My question is, covered by warranty? I don't think I'll be looking for a different pair of phones at the moment, so I would like to salvage these if possible.
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post #1447 of 1475
3/11/08 at 12:34pm
I recently fell in love with my old Vibes (1st gen) again. They're the most comfortable earphones I know of, and they're great for in-bed use while sleeping. Way more comfortable than my q-Jays or Atrios, or any other ones.

I've been using MylarOne XB and X3i for sleeping in the meantime, but those phones are of way worse build quality than the Vibes and one pair got destroyed in the use. The other pair showed significant "burn out" syndrome after some 200 hours, they got muddy and veiled and lost a lot of bass response.

The Vibes however still sound nice for this kind of usage, after over a year of usage. Their cable became stiff/brittle, but other than that mine are perfectly fine (I put heatshrink on the plug and Y-splitter asap).

I have to say, I enjoy the comfort, soundstage, and general "non-muddiness" of my 1st gen Vibes.
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post #1448 of 1475
3/11/08 at 12:39pm
That is the report, that the first generation seemed to be the best for sound. I have the pre first on the shelf generation and they are pretty good, but then I paid 15 dollars for them in China.

I wonder what happened to Val. I don't see him posting here any longer.
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post #1449 of 1475
3/11/08 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Udi View Post
My Vibe's just turned up. They look good, feel good, and sound like ****.

Wish I'd read this thread before I purchased them, but actually wound up reading it in the interim while I waited for them to show up. Mine have the knurled plug, and a black case... not sure what gen that makes them.

These things are just way too bass biased, the highs and mids are both very average. I wouldn't say muddy, they sound clear enough... but just way too heavy on bass - unbelievably so. It's almost funny, except that I paid money for this joke. I have a very extreme EQ setup at the moment (diagonal line falling from treble to bass) and like that they are bearable. I'll give them a while to burn in before I give up on them, but so far, I'm much happier with my EX71's and wish I hadn't wasted my money.

I think this whole experience has turned me off even remotely expensive IEM's (yes I know, vibe's are cheap compared to some of the other stuff out there) and I'll probably stick to cheap sony/panasonic/etc IEM's. How hard is it to make something neutral, everything highend seems to be biased towards highs or lows.
They need a few days to settle down - don't judge them right out of the box. Let them play for a while, then check back and listen.
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post #1450 of 1475
3/11/08 at 2:28pm
Well they are a sponsor here and Val used to show up and answer questions. Maybe shoot them an email as I am sure they want happy customers.
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post #1451 of 1475
3/11/08 at 4:15pm
I still enjoy my 1st gen vibes. I prefer to use the Shure E2 soft black rubber fittings that gives a better fit for my ears, and more comfort. Hundreds of hours of use, they still sound great.
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post #1452 of 1475
3/13/08 at 9:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dfkt View Post
They need a few days to settle down - don't judge them right out of the box. Let them play for a while, then check back and listen.
Good call, I did give them a chance and I'm now relatively happy with them. They've seen about 60 hours of play time, I've left them playing overnight a couple times. Will there be much change from here on out?

They are still a bit bass heavy for my tastes but at least bearable, and the mids and highs seem to have come through fairly nicely.

The reason I chose the vibes was actually very different from what you might expect... I wanted an IEM with the shortest possible cable (minimal required length from pocket to ears) and with a straight plug, as my device has the jack on top. It was really hard to find IEM's that fit those two requirements (let alone sounding good!) and in the end the vibe was the winner.

Also a side question - I bought mine off ebay, will v-moda honour warranty still? I think I'm happy enough to use these for the next year at least, and it'd be nice if they'd look after me when the cables break/fray (hopefully that won't happen but it seems inevitable?).
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post #1453 of 1475
3/13/08 at 9:17pm
As for the shortest cable, you could have gone for the q-Jays or SE530... both have detachable cable extensions. But they're a lot more expensive than the Vibes, though.

About them changing after ~60 hours: I cannot say about the new gen Vibes - but my 1st gen ones certainly changed up to 150-200 hours (for the better).
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post #1454 of 1475
3/13/08 at 9:34pm
Can someone tell me which generation I have too? Some features of mine:

- Strain Relief, extends 4mm from plug
- Knurled CNC section on plug (like a grippy bit)
- Black Leather Pouch, included 6x fittings - 3 clr / 3 blk
- No VIP card thing! But it was a sealed retail package..

Oh, can you tell why I got redroxx...



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post #1455 of 1475
3/13/08 at 9:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dfkt View Post
As for the shortest cable, you could have gone for the q-Jays or SE530... both have detachable cable extensions. But they're a lot more expensive than the Vibes, though.

About them changing after ~60 hours: I cannot say about the new gen Vibes - but my 1st gen ones certainly changed up to 150-200 hours (for the better).
Thanks - do you know if the q-Jays will be long enough from pocket to ears without one of the extension (if you've used them in person)? They say 24" cable (no ext) but I'm not sure if that's from plug to splitter, or from plug to earbud. Also, what's street pricing like on the q-Jay and d-Jay? Might be something to consider for after I kill the vibes... I'm pretty sure the SE530 is out of my pricerange already.

Also, do you think there's any particular type of music I can play through the vibes for the next ~150 hours to either reduce the amount of bass they have or increase the treble/midrange? Would playing treble/mid heavy music or bass heavy music be preferable for this?
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