[irjoe]

hello everyone,

ive been scanning around the forums here and there.. and decided to start my first post with some questions about V-moda vibes..

First off, i do not come from a background of having sensitive ears, and have never really experienced a true IEM before. Now that I'm willing to open up my wallet more, I'm looking for IEMS with price of, or less than $100 that i can use to run, go outside with regularly, and go to the gym.

I listen to mostly rock (alt to metal.. it ranges), but occasionally i get into Jazz, classical, and pop.

I've been looking into the V-Moda Vibes, and have found an extensive thread here somewhere with over 60+ pages and couldn't go through them all...so without further ado, someone please be kind and help me with these Q's?

1) how do i know which V-moda vibes are 1st gen, compared to 2nd gen? are there year of production diff? packaging difference? cost? im looking at the ones available on Amazon, but find theres two different costs to the gunmetal black.
2) and in consideration of durability, will the 2nd gen do a lot better than 1st gen? Would you sacrifice the sound for the durability of the 2nd gen?
3) How does the V-moda compare to the SONY MDR-EX90LP?
4) if there are other IEMS you can suggest, what would that be?

Alright, thats about it.. im also looking into the Super.fi 5Pro from Costco.. but i will not be taking that outside as often.. haha

thanks in advance,
cheers.

edit:
also anyone know if there are any differences between the black, white, and the clear versions of the Super.Fi 5 Pros? There seems to be a $20 difference between the black and the clear earbuds.. I would like to get that cleared up. thanks again.

 

[irjoe]

i hate to do this.. but
bump?

 

[duckiedeity]

Honestly, my favorite pair of IEMS under $100 would be Etymotic Research ER6i's. They can be found for as low as $59.49 (WOW!! I didn't find them for lower than $85 two years ago! They're worth SO much more than $60 too!) on google products. I don't know anything about V-Moda Vibes, but I've been quite tempted to try some. They just LOOK great. I'm curious if their sound matches their external design.



Etymotic ER6i - Google Product Search

 

[warrior05]

Personally, I found the JBL 220s are better than the V-Moda Vibes and much less expensive. I believe they currently can be had for less than $40.

 

[SBD]

For $150, the sf 5 pro's are the best, no questions asked. I advise you to stay away from the vibes completely (no way of finding the "generation"- there's been numerous tweaks and muddied bass).

The er-6i's are your best bet (stay away from shures entry level- least bang for your buck). The sf 3's beats most of the competition and can be had for $40 at ratshack with a $10 coupon. Do not look away from those!

 

[eruditass]

there was a poll about this not that long ago.

 

[irjoe]

im getting the sf5 pros for sure, but i want a second pair that i can wear freely outside without worrying about damage etc (not that im going to be reckless)

ive narrowed my choice down to:
Etymotic ER6i,
SF.3, and
the infamous IM716

I keep hearing that the ER6i and SF.3 lack bass.. which worries me because i will be useing these to listen mostly to rock, hardcore/metal, and hiphop/r&B... which all i feel require lots of bass recognition (but since im new to the whole IEM scene, i wont say much)

Now this is where the IM716 comes into question.. i know that many people here will argue that it needs an amp to do justice.. but can any users say that the IM716 is comparably better than the ER6i or the SF.3 overall without an amp through an ipod??

much appreciated

 

[duckiedeity]

Let me add a note about the ER-6i's... if you are using an iPod or other similar devices, most have built in equalizer options. change the one in your iPod to "bass boost" when using the ER-6i's and there will absolutely be no problem. The basses flesh out with that EQ and the highs and mids hardly lose anything, if at all. Those etys excel with the high and mids in my opinion and have room for a little bit of upper range sacrifice to completely fill out the bass and make it clear and punchy.

 

[ClieOS]

I will go for an iM716, and left over money for a good quality cMoy or PAV2V amp for the HD mode... can't think of a better combination than these on sub-100 level. You don't need amp for Bass mode, it might not sound like a classical Ety but it does sound better than SF3 or ER6i.

 

[irjoe]

thanks for that info.. i will keep that in mind..
but how does it compare mainly to the IM716's??

The one thing im not too happy with the IM716's is that it has the heavy volume control (and im not too comfortable performing a soldering task on it) and that i keep hearing that it needs an amp to truely shine...
and that without an amp, it sounds just like any other stock earbuds that comes along with audio players.

If anyone can combat that stance, i would love to hear it...
(but i just realized that the IM716 deal might be over by now..)

 

[s1m0]

IM 716 are not comfortable for running or for gym use because of the heavy volume control thing. And they don't sound good ampless, well at least with the 2nd gen ipod nano but i guess there won't be much difference with other players..

 

[tstarn06]

I disagree. While the 716s can be improved with an amp (and a podectomy), out of the box they sound miles ahead of stock earbuds. I just got a pair, and they sound fine with the Zune80. I had the 616s, another option without the pod, as they also sound better than the er6is in my view. About the same price.

 

[irjoe]

ok.
so if (thats an if) i decided to invest in a cMoy amp, what would overpower the other?
super.fi 5 pro, or the IM716??