looking for some straight up opinion on the sound of the velodyne vpulse

I should actually be picking up a pair later today so I can give you some first impressions then.

Okay so the only other IEM that I have on hand to compare the vPulse's to is the Philips SHE3580. Not sure if you've heard them. I used to have a lot higher end IEMs but I've sold them. Anyway...

 

To be honest I never really liked the Klipsch S4's. They sounded far too boomy and sibilant to my ears. I had to turn down the volume of anything that I was listening to in order to even have them at an enjoyable level. This was some while ago, back when I was using an iPod touch to listen to, so time and the source I was using might have some influence over how I feel about them.

 

As far as IEMs go, I use them mostly when I'm out and about. So, I want something quite loud and not-so refined. I'm not looking to critically listen while I'm walking to class or something. Anyway...

 

I feel like these provide quite a lot of bass, especially in terms of heavy mid-bass tracks prevalent in electronic genres. They can boom if the song is already bass emphasized, and only then do I feel like it's really over bearing. They have excellent sub-bass extension that's high enough in volume that you have almost feel it. The only thing I would be to tone down the mid-bass so it's more in line with the rest of the audio.

 

The mids feel a bit recessed to me, and that's a real shame. Vocals sound too far away for my liking, especially in comparison to the mid-bass. That's all I have to really say about that.

 

Highs are...adequate? There's not much sparkle at all to speak of, but the notes are defined enough. Clarity overall is quite good, but you won't find yourself picking out little nuances without consciously doing so. But then again, this IEM isn't trying to be that sort of IEM, you know?

 

Overall, I would recommend these if you listen to bass heavy music, obviously. Not at all for acoustic/classical. I mean, they're passable, but there's so much better options out there. But then again I doubt that you're really into those genres considering your initial options you listed. It will be excellent for dubstep (and I mean actual dubstep like Burial, Phaeleh, etc), brostep if you're into that sort of thing, hip-hop and trip hop and all other sorts of bass heavy tracks. 

 

As far as recommending them over the Tours or the S4s? Eh I personally wouldn't buy the Tours, but that's personal bias. I haven't had time to adequately listen to them, so I couldn't advise you there. From memory, I would say that these are sonically superior to the Klipsch S4s, but depending on the price I might recommend that you go with the S4s. From memory I wouldn't say that I would pay double for these than I would the S4s. Again, this is from memory.

 

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TL;DR

Good for bass heavy tracks. Mids and highs are nothing special.

Wouldn't recommend Tours, but have no real experience with them. Would recommend the S4s if the price is right. 

I think you might be referring to joker's review? He means flat in terms of soundstage I'm pretty sure. The soundstage is not at all distracting to me. 

 

I'm not saying the mids and highs are bad by any means either. They are quite clear, but they're nothing special, particularly in comparison to some more detail focused IEMs.

 

As far as something comparable in terms of bass but having more clarity? I wouldn't be able to say, at least in this price range. You might want to look into the JVC FXT90s. A lot of people like them, and they seemed quite good for the brief time that I had them. 

 

Other people seem to like the Yamaha-EPH100s as well. I wouldn't be able to say though; I haven't heard them. People say they are quite good with electronic music.

 

Monster Turbines are supposed to have great bass also. Again, these I haven't heard, but you can get them refurbished for like 80 bucks. 

 

Sorry I can't offer you any real first hand experience with any of those suggestions...

no problem. If you want, I can sell you my pair. I have oddly shaped ears and ear canals, so unfortunately I can never get these things to be comfortable. I would keep them if I could get them to stay in my ears, but this is a problem that I have with a lot of IEMs haha. I just got them on the 21st so they're in immaculate condition. 

 

Hit me up if you're interested. If not, good luck in your search haha

Hey you might want to check out the Audio Technica CKS77 the bass is great and as are the mids and highs...the sound stage is huge for a pair of IEMS too!

I listen to a lot of Dubstep like Phaeleh as mentioned above and these really are worth every penny!

I would avoid the S4's at RRP