[Del Griffith]

I just got some Hippo Vb today.  I am pleasantly surprised. They are waaay smaller than I thought which is very good, but the bass so far for me is on par with the Ue 5eb, the mids however are way better and the highs are better for me right out of the box. I plan on burning them in over a week or so of course, but so far I am really happy with them at the price point. I am not super sensitive to sibalance , so the highs are not offensive, but are a little bright to me right off, but I am sure they will calm down a little with burn in. I am using the middle plate for the initial run and am finding it perfect. Bass is hard hitting, but does not drown out the mids in any way. The size is such a nice surprise after using the eb.. they are a fraction of the size and much easier to fit for me.  I will report more after some burn in. As far as the time from Jaben to Michigan U.S... it was just under two weeks from order to arrival.

 

[qc98]

I, too, was pleasantly surprised by the hippo VB's, although not completely.  A positive review on ABI had given me the incentive to give them a try.  I agree with DG's description of the sound, and found the highs did soften somewhat after burn-in. 
 
These do not overtake my favourite W3s, but I have found it is easier to get the VBs properly seated in my ear for optimal sound than is the case for the W3s.  After many months, I still must play around somewhat with those sometimes to get what I want.
 
So far, I haven't played with the bass response by changing the removable bits.  I have been happy with what I am hearing - good punch with the bass, but not at the cost of higher registers.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

I find the hippos great for tv movies. WOW. I use them with no bass caps and get a wide sound stage. ENJOY the hippos.

 

[Del Griffith]

I also read up on the Vb before I bought it..but was still quite pleasantly surprised. Not always the case when I buy something like this. Think they are going to be quite nice for my heavy bass listening. Been spoiled by the Westone cable for so long...that is the only downer whatsoever.. cable is fine..just I'm spoiled with W/cable. I will be letting them burn in with music during nights for awhile.

 

[Hentai11]

When considering the Hippo VB, I think: The Poor Man's IE8.

Same strength: rich, deep, natural bass extension. Same weakness: okay treble, middling detail. You would think they did it on purpose. Given the retail price--roughly a quarter of the IE8--it's not a bad move.

 

[ignorant]

I have the IE8 and just ordered a pair of these for my friend. Exactly how is the bass on the VBs compared to the IE8s? More punchy, less tight/refined, same amount of quantity?

 

[Hentai11]

I use the full bass filters, and I probably shouldn't, but I'd rather have more bass and EQ out the hump. Just keep in mind that you don't have to do like I do.

That said, it has a LOT of bass, like you nailed the low end of your EQ on full. If you bother to fix that, you get something deeper than the IE8, but slower. I forgive that, though, just because it's one of the VERY few IEMs that can render a  sub-40Hz tone with any confidence.