[Nosoupforyou]

Yo, go for Atrio's, you'll like them a lot.

 

[mvw2]

I was always happy with my 1st gen Vibes. I've used 7 other earphones including the C700, RE0, and ER-4S. I consider them to be good sounding. No they are not the best, but they do have qualities that are desirable. I'll also note that the bass control does improve considerably when amped. The overall sound can be improve/changed to your liking after you step away from the stock tips to other options. They are pretty respectable as a whole package when amped. They have always been one of the more enjoyable earphones I've used. My only significant gripe with them is that despite a wide sound stage more akin to a full sized headphone, they suck for imaging locations, exactly why, I'm not so certain. Something like the ER-4S has pinpoint image locations. The Vibe very much lacks this ability. That's really it's only significant fault. It's pretty competent everywhere else and is a very fun earphone to listen to as long as you're not looking for something super critical.

As for build quality. I'm curious how bad they really are relative to other brands. I know they get guff, but I hear a number of problems with other brands, and people just don't seem to jump down the throats of those brands so readily. Also, people don't complain about perfectly good earphones. They only complain about the broken ones. As much as well like to believe there's horrid build quality, one also needs to pay attention to the scale of sales and what percentage that may be. Considering the Vibes are sold in a number of retail stores, they will have considerably more sales then many of the other brands that aren't so integrated into the the retail world.

I am curious if and how significantly the sound has changed between the 1st gen and current Vibe, if at all. Maybe it hasn't and people just think or want to believe it has, tough to say. I just haven't come across any real definitive info directly comparing both.

And yes EQing can be quite beneficial for gearing the phones to your liking. I've generally run all my earphones with some EQ. Some I don't, but it's because I intentionally buy stuff that doesn't need it. This isn't to say one option is superior simply because of the frequency response. The Vibe was designed specific to a certain type of listener. You can't say an earphone is crap because it was engineered a certain way. I could say the same about Seas W18NX woofer. It's a pinnacle product, arguably by many as one of the best woofers on the market. It could use some EQing. Apparently that makes it crap. Shucks, I guess their Nextel woofer is junk then... It's like blaming a full sized pick up truck for not handling like a sports car and getting 50mpg. You just can't blame intended engineering. The Vibe was built for an intended audience. If it's not you specifically, EQ as needed to tailor it to your liking. Do it right and you'll never complain about the bloated bass and lack of mids again.

Casually, the Vibe was basically the most enjoyable earphone I've owned. Critically, it's somewhere in the middle, but this is comparing it to options upwards of 4 times its price. At it's price point, it has been my favorite.

 

[captian73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmithepa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Holly crap, u must wrap it 'round your player or throw them in with the car keys.

Well.... no i didn't, but the point is, that for the price, I expect better build quality, and I don't expect a channel failure after a few weeks. But as I said before, looking around on various forums and review sites, this isn't an uncommon thing.

 

[lilkoolaidman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvw2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was always happy with my 1st gen Vibes. I've used 7 other earphones including the C700, RE0, and ER-4S. I consider them to be good sounding. No they are not the best, but they do have qualities that are desirable. I'll also note that the bass control does improve considerably when amped. The overall sound can be improve/changed to your liking after you step away from the stock tips to other options. They are pretty respectable as a whole package when amped. They have always been one of the more enjoyable earphones I've used. My only significant gripe with them is that despite a wide sound stage more akin to a full sized headphone, they suck for imaging locations, exactly why, I'm not so certain. Something like the ER-4S has pinpoint image locations. The Vibe very much lacks this ability. That's really it's only significant fault. It's pretty competent everywhere else and is a very fun earphone to listen to as long as you're not looking for something super critical. As for build quality. I'm curious how bad they really are relative to other brands. I know they get guff, but I hear a number of problems with other brands, and people just don't seem to jump down the throats of those brands so readily. Also, people don't complain about perfectly good earphones. They only complain about the broken ones. As much as well like to believe there's horrid build quality, one also needs to pay attention to the scale of sales and what percentage that may be. Considering the Vibes are sold in a number of retail stores, they will have considerably more sales then many of the other brands that aren't so integrated into the the retail world. I am curious if and how significantly the sound has changed between the 1st gen and current Vibe, if at all. Maybe it hasn't and people just think or want to believe it has, tough to say. I just haven't come across any real definitive info directly comparing both. And yes EQing can be quite beneficial for gearing the phones to your liking. I've generally run all my earphones with some EQ. Some I don't, but it's because I intentionally buy stuff that doesn't need it. This isn't to say one option is superior simply because of the frequency response. The Vibe was designed specific to a certain type of listener. You can't say an earphone is crap because it was engineered a certain way. I could say the same about Seas W18NX woofer. It's a pinnacle product, arguably by many as one of the best woofers on the market. It could use some EQing. Apparently that makes it crap. Shucks, I guess their Nextel woofer is junk then... It's like blaming a full sized pick up truck for not handling like a sports car and getting 50mpg. You just can't blame intended engineering. The Vibe was built for an intended audience. If it's not you specifically, EQ as needed to tailor it to your liking. Do it right and you'll never complain about the bloated bass and lack of mids again. Casually, the Vibe was basically the most enjoyable earphone I've owned. Critically, it's somewhere in the middle, but this is comparing it to options upwards of 4 times its price. At it's price point, it has been my favorite.

My, you sure go all out

Although this is the most helpful reply yet, I still have one question. Compared to Bass Freqs, Are the vibes that big of a deal?

Oh and btw my Freqs broke, because I loned them to people who apparently wraped them around their iPod while it was still plugged in, which pulled the wire loose. (I know this is true because that's how I broke other earbuds in the past and I saw them do it)

^I won't lend to the same idiots

 

[ZARIM]

Iam comparing my V- Moda vibe with Trubine n so far vibe are really smooth across all frequency range. BTW mine(vibe) took long to burn in n before burn in it was muddy with less highs n mids. Now Bass is still deep n rich but not bloated anymore n it's sound so good (mids, highs comes up) with balance.

 

[used-2-rap-on-headphones]

I've had three different pairs of Vibes over the course of a few years (didn't learn my lesson and was still a decent bass phone) and countless friends have had them to. they've all got wrecked. I've never met anyone that hasn't wrecked their pair of vibes. It makes me believe that they pretty much have no QA because they are a big enough company where than can just cover the warranty for less money than a real QA department would cost. This would also lead to some pairs being of better quality than others and thus, some would sound better than others.

^Zarim

I did a comparisons with the Vibes (a newish pair of duo's with the angled plug, and an older pair of the regulars with the original plug) against a burned-in pair of Turbines and the difference was obvious and staggering. I certainly didn't feel that they were smooth across all frequency range. The bass was bloated, the mids were nonexistent, and the highs were extremely subdued. But maybe that was just my ears or these specific sets.

^MVW2

Good points. The Vibes do have a fun sound. They got me through many drunken subway rides home that would have been unbearable if I wasn't able to focus on the beats in my brain. But after spending some time with higher quality IEM's, some much more expensive, others comparable, the vibes just don't cut it anymore. Especially now that I found the turbines, as they have a very similar sound to the vibes but, at least IMO, do everything better. I haven't heard the Beats On Tour yet, but I'm guessing they'll sound even more like the vibes as they are said to be tuned for the same music listeners (contemporary pop) as the vibes are.

I'm glad you guys both are able to enjoy your Vibes as that's the real point of all this anyway. If you like how it sounds, everyone else can gtfo.

 

[ajjekko]

The new version of the Vibes has a new jack. The original had a straight jack which made the Vibes fail very often. I've had my pair for about 5 months now and they still work great after being chewed by my friend's dog.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajjekko /img/forum/go_quote.gif The new version of the Vibes has a new jack. The original had a straight jack which made the Vibes fail very often. I've had my pair for about 5 months now and they still work great after being chewed by my friend's dog.

Too bad they still sound horrible.

 

[ajjekko]

They're okay for the price, only like $50