[REVIEW] Hippo VB: Bassy, Bassier, Bassiest! - Page 7

The 1 with larger 3.5mm head jack will be the latest version if i'm not wrong.

Just picked up a pair of the old VB for $10 on ebay auction (used) for only two hours. Couldn't resist the old demons for a second time. Let's see if they have channel imbalance though. Let the sub-bass begin!

I still love mine...if I feel like causing a little rumble to my internals I grab them VB's and a can of VB, and going to the hiphop land...

I'll use my Cowon S9 and engage ze Mach3bass!

Use my VB with dubstep and techno tracks. Get the doof doof doof decay going on.

just recieved mine today.

 

boy i hope that treble calms down. it's unbareable for me with anything but the no dot full on bass plate. thats definitely what i call sibilance on the high end. it's there in frickin spades right now. yes they are in correctly. i have pretty normal shape and size ears and i know how to get a proper seal with canal phones or iems alike.

 

actually right now i feel quite dissapointed given the price. the bass sounds good. and the midrange would sound good if it wasn't moderately overpowered by the screeching HIGHS. thats right not the bass... the bass is definitely there and it's decent. but thats about all. just decent even on the bass front... ive heard comparable bass quality and quantity by just tweaking the eq on whatever half decent phones im using. and i would definitely recommend the same.

 

the "airyness" and sibilance for me is very annoying. i find it unbareable on anything except the no dots full on bass screw. even still it's definitely there. tinny, metallic, way too bright and airy treble. 

 

i also think these could benefit from a sealed "non ported" screw. which i will probably try with the 3 dot plates. either tape them up or drip some super glue in there (not while they're in the housings of course).

 

right now i have them burning in with music (crystal method: phd... on repeat :) ). anyway they're going to have to change quite a bit for me to warm up to them.

 

also these things just feel like theyre going to last about a month. aside from the metal housings which btw are only necessary because of the gimmicky bass screw thing. the cables really are quite flossy. all in all these should be a $50 dollar phone at the absolute most. thats being generous. having just payed 90 dollars i feel a tad duped. the govibe mini dac merely helps soften the blow. THAT actually seems to be a decent little piece of equipment.

 

im actually not too ticked off about it though. this experience will hopefully help me better interpret what im reading to make a better choice in the future.

 

my personal suggestion. try something cheaper from jvc, klipsch, sony, or spring that little extra for the atrios or aim for an iem thats more rated for all around sound quality and just plan on tweaking the eq for bass. you can get the VERY SAME bass amount and quality on many other phones. these just start getting sloppy when you try to tweak the bass any further. although there is no need to.

 

while i do have these burning in and this is just my day 1 impression. it was definitely not a good one and i mostly expect more dissapointment after that 1-200 hours of burning in.

 

sources are galaxy tab 2 7.0 with neutron player (eq off). and my computer with the govibe mini dac using foobar2000 (eq flat). the overbaring treble is there from both sources. it doesn't sound "defective" like there's something wrong with my particular set. basically they're just a bit cheap sounding for the price. build quality aside. it feels to me like there's something wrong when i feel the need to set the treble ranges lower than flat on the eq

 

the midrange would only be slightly recessed behind the bass and perfectly audible if the highs werent all in my face like they are.

 

after a few more hours burning im gonna try the taped plate idea.

 

ok and i'll say something good. they fit pretty well once they're in there right (over ear actually seems to work better for me). and for just halfway insertion style iems they do have definitely above average isolation. the ports are so tiny that they virtually do not affect isolation. just the sound signature as intended

Edited by rock&rollfrenchfries - 12/31/12 at 2:28pm

Try using foam tips mate, or try the plate with one dot, the bass on that plate is borderline too much for me but it is the most balanced plate.

 

Mine definitely settled down after some serious burn in, I noticed that the sibilance was a bit too much out of the box, but became OK after about 3 months of burning in and usage

Yeah, give em about 6 months burn in.

.These tips also help.

http://shop.ebay.com.au/15shopgoods/m.html?_nkw=EP-E10A&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3911.m270.l1313&_sop=1&_odkw=&_osacat=0

i found the large double flanges to be the least hassle and best fit for me.

 

as for the plates. i see a NO dot plate (unless you wanna call the port itself a dot), a 2 dot plate, and a 3 dot plate. technically i do not see any 1 dot plate. but i am assuming of course you mean the NO dot plate with the obvious maximum bass... and i agree that is the only one where the treble is even tolerable.

 

btw if you look through the ports into a light you can see what the difference is between them. it's not even the size of the holes. they're all the same. they simply have different densities of foam inside the caps. with the zero dot (max bass) plate having the most dense foam.

 

the key thing i want to iterate about these phones is that they are ONLY bass kings if you are afraid to touch the equalizer. if you're one of those "the eq must stay flat" idiots and you need a different set of headphones to change the sound signature of your tunes. then by all means add these to your multi thousand dollar collection of iems.

 

but if you're not afraid to fiddle with an equalizer. there is much better bass and quality out there for less. sound quality. build quality. these things just dont cut it for the price

Edited by rock&rollfrenchfries - 1/1/13 at 11:27am

 

To be honest mate, I have listened to all the cheap JVC/Sony/Phillips bass monster out there, IMHO there is nothing better than the VB from that price point.

 

Yes the treble is super hot, but that can be taken care of, with foam tips and burn in, but the bass quality of this monster is just second to none within the price range, the fact that they go super deep down and will literally shake your internals, with ZERO BLEEDS is just phenomenal

 

I have listened and own quite a few IEM's, from bass' perspective, I am yet to hear anything better...

 

Agreed.  It's my favorite pair as you can see I've a few in ear collections.  It shines after a good burnt in.  There are two things I wish it has is an iPod remote and better cord material.  For the price, this thing is hard to beat.  

I'm in the UK and Jaben seem to be out of stock of these bad boys.  I've found an international seller on Ebay going by the name of, soundcat_llc.  I take it he's ok to deal with for the Hippo VB?

One other thing, I have a major problem with these type buds staying in my ears, I have a narrow ear canal on the left, so the audioligist told me, so can you recommend any other type of tips that I could gwet for a deep kinda fit?

 Thank you!  

I've ordered 2 pairs from soundcat on ebay, fast shipping, arrive as expected, I'd order from them again if I have to.  As far as tips go, I'd say try them first and play around.