V-MODA VAMP: DEVELOPMENT/REVIEWS/PICS/ETC - Page 8

I lost track of this thread for a while, and I can't remember the announced release date of Vamp. Has it been decided yet? Can anyone at least tell me which month it becomes available for sale?

Nope, but a teaser photo was put on FB :-

https://www.facebook.com/VMODA

I'm pretty sure that there was an earlier photo that was sharp on the product, but then removed and this blurred teaser put in replacement.

I'm actually more looking forward to the VAMP than M-100. I already own an M-80, and despite all the hype surrounding M-100, I don't intend to sell my M-80 right away after the M-100 comes out. The question is, will the VAMP also make a significant improvement for M-80, which already sounds good on my iPhone 4S with its low sensitivity factor?

You really need to be careful with this. If it doesn't live up to the $600 price tag V-Moda will most likely get LOTS of criticisism.

Great, I'm going to order one as soon as they are available. I hope there's a special discount or pre-order for subscribers. Keep up the good work! :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by valkolton 

It'll improve M-80, I used it in all the tests today.  The 3 modes VQ, PURE and iPhone jack are very easy to ABC compare and we won out every time.

 

It'll improve 50mm+ headphones even more noticably w the power. its 130mW x2 @ 32 vs 30mW x2 @ 32 of iPhone (we're still trying to verify iPhone's specs)

Quote:

Originally Posted by valkolton 

 

Exactly... got a lot of feedback today from 2 CNET editors and Verge, Rolling Stone... so far it was 3 INSANE I NEED ONEs and 1 "hard to tell without more listening but good"!  and EVEN if we did get criticism, we always can improve after this trip.  

 

But I think we've done our homework on every product we launch.  They have to pass the tests of our final 3 sound guys and be 4.5-5 stars rated, or six stars if some sites will start to allow!

Meh, I've stopped trusting Cnet for reviews ever since they gave the Beats by Dr. Dre 4 stars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by valkolton 

EDIT:  PS - we gave a way a voucher for a VAMP at the Head-Fi meet this last weekend in LA with a raffle ticket, what a great time!  Will the winner say something here?

That's me! Sorry it took so long to post...I got hammered by midterm projects. 8 hours a day in the darkroom/studio on top of my job. Ugh. At least I got some good listening time in! I've been really enjoying Mount Kimbie. Check them out if you haven't yet. The song Carbonated is heaven on headphones.

Sorry, back on topic. Val is the man for raffling off his first production VAMP. I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands. A full in-depth comparative review will be coming soon after I receive it. It sounded very good at the meet, but there was too much background noise and not enough time to critically evaluate it. Still, switching between the headphone out of the iPhone and the VAMP (they are RIGHT next to each other) made a huge difference in control and clarity, especially with the prototype M-100s Val had at his table (Which also sounded very nice, by the way) and larger circumaural headphones.

As to the practicality of such a device, I know I would much rather put a VAMP on my iPhone than carry an iPhone/CLAS/amp package. Especially when I need to use it as a PHONE. You know, holding it up to your ear? Do people still do that or is it just me? The (claimed) doubling of battery life is just icing on the cake. Oh yeah, and you can still use the iPhone camera! There's a little cut out around the camera. This is important. I don't want to remove my iPhone from my listening rig every time I need to make/receive a call or take a picture or video. It gets old real quick. As does charging three or more separate devices that will all run out of battery at different times, thus creating a "weak link." I think the VAMP is a very practical solution to the "mobile audiophile problem" that was alluded to earlier. I first started getting in to high end audio in that era of iMods and VCap boxes and $200 line out cables. No offense to Ken or Vinny, they make great products and I don't think the VAMP could've been possible without them blazing the trail. But those always seemed like stop-gap solutions to me and this is certainly a more elegant and complete solution. Even if it only sounds 80% as good as a CLAS/RX or HPP1 it will be hugely popular. Do the math: CLAS+RX+cables=$1200 and reduced iPhone capability. Fostex HP-P1= $800 and reduced iphone capability. Oh, and you need an iPhone case with either of those so count on another 50 clams for an Otterbox defender. Good external batteries run around $100. Now the VAMP (battery, case, DAC, and amp) is looking really good at $600, and I would buy one if I had the money. Good thing I don't have to. Thanks again, Val!

So you're saying VAMP is not only intended for use with iPhone, it actually snaps into an iPhone into one portable gear? Like one of these?

http://www.head-fi.org/products/venturecraft-go-dap

I'd love to see the pics once you have it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolHandle 

That's me! Sorry it took so long to post...I got hammered by midterm projects. 8 hours a day in the darkroom/studio on top of my job. Ugh. At least I got some good listening time in! I've been really enjoying Mount Kimbie. Check them out if you haven't yet. The song Carbonated is heaven on headphones.

 

Sorry, back on topic. Val is the man for raffling off his first production VAMP. I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands. A full in-depth comparative review will be coming soon after I receive it. It sounded very good at the meet, but there was too much background noise and not enough time to critically evaluate it. Still, switching between the headphone out of the iPhone and the VAMP (they are RIGHT next to each other) made a huge difference in control and clarity, especially with the prototype M-100s Val had at his table (Which also sounded very nice, by the way) and larger circumaural headphones.

 

As to the practicality of such a device, I know I would much rather put a VAMP on my iPhone than carry an iPhone/CLAS/amp package. Especially when I need to use it as a PHONE. You know, holding it up to your ear? Do people still do that or is it just me? The (claimed) doubling of battery life is just icing on the cake. Oh yeah, and you can still use the iPhone camera! There's a little cut out around the camera. This is important. I don't want to remove my iPhone from my listening rig every time I need to make/receive a call or take a picture or video. It gets old real quick. As does charging three or more separate devices that will all run out of battery at different times, thus creating a "weak link." I think the VAMP is a very practical solution to the "mobile audiophile problem" that was alluded to earlier. I first started getting in to high end audio in that era of iMods and VCap boxes and $200 line out cables. No offense to Ken or Vinny, they make great products and I don't think the VAMP could've been possible without them blazing the trail. But those always seemed like stop-gap solutions to me and this is certainly a more elegant and complete solution. Even if it only sounds 80% as good as a CLAS/RX or HPP1 it will be hugely popular. Do the math: CLAS+RX+cables=$1200 and reduced iPhone capability. Fostex HP-P1= $800 and reduced iphone capability. Oh, and you need an iPhone case with either of those so count on another 50 clams for an Otterbox defender. Good external batteries run around $100. Now the VAMP (battery, case, DAC, and amp) is looking really good at $600, and I would buy one if I had the money. Good thing I don't have to. Thanks again, Val!

Quote:

Originally Posted by songmic 

So you're saying VAMP is not only intended for use with iPhone, it actually snaps into an iPhone into one portable gear? Like one of these?

http://www.head-fi.org/products/venturecraft-go-dap

 

I'd love to see the pics once you have it.

 

That's the idea, but it looks more like an Auzentech iFuzen HP-1 or Alesis AmpCase. Just much higher quality, and it takes a digital signal from the dock instead of line out. Honestly, with those two products at around $100 it's hard to justify the added expense of the VAMP. When I asked the folks at V-MODA (not Val) about the iFuzen they had no idea what it was, and seemed oblivious to the fact that iPhone case/amps other than their own existed. This is strange because market research is a huge part of product development. I was about to pull the trigger on one of those when I won the VAMP. Winning something that you're already in the market for is a sweet feeling, particularly when it's way out of your price range. Obviously, all of these products need to be compared before we know if the VAMP is really worth it. I think the addition of a quality DAC could make all the difference, but I won't know until I can hear them side by side.

I was at the L.A meet, and i really wish i played around with the VAMP more. I did an A/B comparison with the iPhone 4 internal dac/amp vs. the VAMP, and my initial impressions was that it was really difficult for me to tell the difference in sound quality. My brother and i talked about the vamp and we both didn't hear the difference. To be fair, it was really noisy so analytical listening was pretty much out of the question. I was surrounded by people talking really loud, then i had my brother next to me snapping off photos. lol.  Stylistically the vamp is pretty awesome, and it inspired me to get rid of the rubber bands on my portable dac/amp. Check out my mod in my profile pictures.

What i really like about V-Moda in general is that i feel they are on the right track to separating their image from the rest of their competition. They are like the Red Bull and Rock Star of Headphone companies. I didn't know who Val was when i went to the HiFi meet untill he invited me over to his mansion in Hollywood hills. Hah, what a cool dude, and his invite came after he asked me for my honest opinion on his VAMP which may have been one of the few honest opinions he got that day face to face. 

I met some cool people that night, and helped them get their fade on. Good times.

I've never heard of the products you've mentioned there, and I was a bit surprised to find out that one of them is from my home country South Korea. Even I haven't heard of those while living in this small country (and being a member of the headphone community here), so I guess it's no bid deal the guys at V-MODA are unaware such product exists.

The reason why VAMP is expensive is probably not only because of the superior amp, but the addition of a DAC "that can bypass an iPhone." Same reason why portable DAC's such as CLAS or Fostex HP-P1 are expensive - these companies need to pay Apple a special license fee to develop a product that can take the digital data out of their iDevices while bypassing their - ahem - cheap in-built DAC's. Why do you think those so-called portable DAC/amp products from Fiio are so cheap? Not because they suck, but because they haven't paid the license fee and cannot override an iPhone's DAC, and thus rendering the Fiio DAC useless in such applications.

FWIW, I think VAMP justifies its price, when compared to similar products in the market. Of course I'll have to hear one to find out for sure. You sure are a lucky man, sir. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolHandle 

 

That's the idea, but it looks more like an Auzentech iFuzen HP-1 or Alesis AmpCase. Just much higher quality, and it takes a digital signal from the dock instead of line out. Honestly, with those two products at around $100 it's hard to justify the added expense of the VAMP. When I asked the folks at V-MODA (not Val) about the iFuzen they had no idea what it was, and seemed oblivious to the fact that iPhone case/amps other than their own existed. This is strange because market research is a huge part of product development. I was about to pull the trigger on one of those when I won the VAMP. Winning something that you're already in the market for is a sweet feeling, particularly when it's way out of your price range. Obviously, all of these products need to be compared before we know if the VAMP is really worth it. I think the addition of a quality DAC could make all the difference, but I won't know until I can hear them side by side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolHandle 

 

That's the idea, but it looks more like an Auzentech iFuzen HP-1 or Alesis AmpCase. Just much higher quality, and it takes a digital signal from the dock instead of line out. Honestly, with those two products at around $100 it's hard to justify the added expense of the VAMP. When I asked the folks at V-MODA (not Val) about the iFuzen they had no idea what it was, and seemed oblivious to the fact that iPhone case/amps other than their own existed. This is strange because market research is a huge part of product development. I was about to pull the trigger on one of those when I won the VAMP. Winning something that you're already in the market for is a sweet feeling, particularly when it's way out of your price range. Obviously, all of these products need to be compared before we know if the VAMP is really worth it. I think the addition of a quality DAC could make all the difference, but I won't know until I can hear them side by side.

How did you win the VAMP? And Val has said many times he builds products because he wants them, not because the market has a gap for them.