[EraserXIV]

has anyone else gotten a pair of these? any comparisons with the RE0 or similar earphones? seems to be an interesting matchup, especially since they're the same exact price.

 

[tetsu85]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EraserXIV /img/forum/go_quote.gif has anyone else gotten a pair of these? any comparisons with the RE0 or similar earphones? seems to be an interesting matchup, especially since they're the same exact price.

I already compare it to my RE0
i like Shroom more than Vb.

IMHO,Shroom transparency are unbelieavable for its price,
in my ears they sound almost like Re0, with more bass.
it less detailed and less analitycal than RE0,
so it's like a "Fun Version of RE0"

 

[sandys]

ClieOS, brendon ... any review update on the Hippo VB and Shroom ?

 

[borako]

My VB just arrived, all the way from Korea (not from NY). Initial impressions are... very good. Without any burn-in, already it seems well worth $79 price tag at least. Nice bass, mids are rather recessed at the moment, highs seem clear.

No instructions included... Took me a minute to figure out which - er "filter" is for more bass. It's on the box!

Will post more opinions later. I've listened to Atrios, ie8, pk2, Vibe, etc. FYI.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandys /img/forum/go_quote.gif ClieOS, brendon ... any review update on the Hippo VB and Shroom ?

I ma writing RE252 review atm. VB and Shroom review will need to wait till early next week.

 

[brendon]

Ill post my tomorrow for sure. Had a nice listening session today morning and I doubt any further burn in will help.

 

[dfkt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Got my review pair of VB and Shroom last night. My initial impression is very good, but I will need to burn them in first before any actual review (and I still have to write up two other reviews), so it will take some time. As far as sound signature goes, I think dfkt's described it quite well but I won't want to pass my judgment to how it compares to other IEM so early on - however, I can say in certainty that NE7M is no-match for VB.

Looking forward to your impressions, Tai. I still can't believe how well the VB match my personal sound preference. They're next to the IE8 the only IEMs so far I don't really need to EQ to make them sound "right" for my taste.

 

[archimeaties]

And what are your tastes dfkt? hopefully similar to mine!

 

[dfkt]

Phone-wise, I hate K701, Grado, Etymotic - I love HD650, HFI-780, IE8, UE11.

Music-wise, check the Last.fm link in my sig.

 

[chicaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfkt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Phone-wise, I hate K701, Grado, Etymotic - I love HD650, HFI-780, IE8, UE11. Music-wise, check the Last.fm link in my sig.

seems like u dont really care bout details that much. more likely lows, bass and mids

 

[archimeaties]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicaman /img/forum/go_quote.gif seems like u dont really care bout details that much. more likely lows, bass and mids

not according to Thomas Newman

 

[dfkt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicaman /img/forum/go_quote.gif seems like u dont really care bout details that much. more likely lows, bass and mids

The lack of bass and exaggerated treble of the phones I dislike doesn't mean they have more clarity and detail than the ones I like. Just means they are more fatiguing and unnatural sounding to me. The phones I like have plenty of detail, next to being much closer to my "ideal" human equal-loudness contour.

 

[miow]

Well, I finnaly got my Hippo VBs and the sound is nothing else than stunning. What a refined bass with a spectacular sub-bass, great mids, great treble (quantity - with a bit of sibilance) and excepcional clarity/soundstage (really wide). I got a pair of SHURE SE310s which are going to junk. The difference is staggering. The SHUREs sounds like radio after listening to the Hippo VBs. I just hate the sibilance, but everything else compensates this issue. After 100 hours of burn-in the sibilance decreased a lot, but its still there. Bass improved tremendously as well as clarity. I used Pink Noise and some (selected) songs that do have very high frequencies all the time (twice as much as Pink Noise), so I guess that my burn-in process was equivalent to 200 hours or so of "normal" music. In sumarry the Hippo VBs do worth any cent and I STRONGLY recommend them if you're in a budget looking for that great sound that is pretty addicted. I see myself listening to music all day/night long when I rarely did this before. Listening to the Hippo VB's on a good source (Cowon S9/Sony X1050) is definitely addicted. Especially on the Cowon when you can hear the most imperceptible sounds (sorry about the english - portuguese man here that doesn't speaks english since a long time ago).

A special thanks to dfkt for recommending these IEMs. My 2010's best buy.

 

[daouda]

OK now that i've had a few weeks with my hippo VBs i can post more about them, i've been meaning to do it but those IEMs didnt seem to get a lot of interest anymore.

I would second everything miow has said above, except that the sibilance/treble harshness was so bad for me (actually hurting my ears very fast) that i found absolutely mandatory to throw some foam in the canals. The result : close to no more harshness, still some sibilance (but nothing above average at all), and i dont feel that the great soundstage has been affected too much (probably narrowed just a little), the bass might have been dampened just a tiny barely noticeable little bit, but it was REALLY worth it.

The overall signature is really balanced, although with the right tip fit, the sub-bass rumble (sometimes reverberating with great effect), when the music calls for it, can be a little bit too much for me on an otherwise delicate song, and sometimes overpowers the mid to upper bass. Note that the bass NEVER affects the other ranges, mids stay absolutely clear at all time (even with a rumbling, thundering sub-bass) which is pretty impressive... no midbass bloat at all, but i sometimes feel that the sub-bass can overpower the mid-bass but this only happens on a few (mostly hip-hop style) songs and i found a way to counter it : using the tips one size below what fits perfectly (for me, that would be S instead of M), it cuts a LOT of that rumbling sub bass but still retain some of it and doesnt affect the midbass at all. I admit i dont do it often as having that great rumbling sub-bass on energetic songs is quite a lot of fun most of the time.

So yeah, those are definitely IEMs to recommend blindly to anyone that isnt too sensitive to treble harshness and likes a lively, "balanced with big sub-bass" sound signature along with a great soundstage. Those who are treble sensitive will definitely have to do the foam mod, and it will probably be a deal breaker for some to mandatorily have to mod a pair of earphones before being able to listen to them. Also, those who like a refined and ultra-detailed treble (and upper-mids) will be disappointed.

I've had a few amazing, quasi cinematic, musical experiences with the VBs in my bed while listening to some albums. It was mainly some real quiet jazz (such as miles davis kind of blue) and "rock" (such santana's black magic woman) and also other great smooth african music, that i was listening as a mean to lullaby myself to sleep... it actually kept me fully awake (for HOURS even though i was really tired), in an almost extatic state. Its the first time i have this kind of experience with earphones, so i can definitely say that the VBs are the best i've owned so far (although... i havent owned many)

So yeah, thanks dfkt for the recommendation, although i feel the quest is not over for me yet...

EDIT: now that i own a an overall much more neutral phone (cyclone pr1 pro), i can better judge the VB sound signature : i used to think that the mids were pretty neutral ( i had only owned senn IEMs & headphones before, & the pl21!), now the warmth is much more obvious to me (something that i actually like most of the time, even though it's nice to have something neutral too)... I'm not sure about the terminology, but there is definitely some (very reasonable) upper bass (or is it midbass?... it doesnt affect the "regular" basslines) hump that is partly responsible for the overall warmful presentation, although some other (very reasonable, again )coloration(?) is also contributing to the warmth that can be felt all across the sonic range. Note that this is a plus for me about 75% of the time. And i'm gonna try those special burn-in recipes, but even with all the listening i've done so far, the treble (and higher mids) are still pretty rough and as a result not so defined. Maybe i just got a bad batch...

 

[miow]

Thanks daouda for the great input

They definitely give you a lively/cinematic/tri-dimensional experience that completely compensates the sibilance and blows you away. The best IEMs I've heard so far.

Now I'm waiting for the Sennheiser IE8's to have a better term of comparison (a bit unfair, I know, but I beleive the Hippo VBs are not TOO far from them). Incredible IEMs at a "ridiculous" price

Would like to share this with you: You get better clarity if you mix the plate with 2 points with the one with 3 points. It's my config at the moment and it rocks my world!