songmic
1000+ Head-Fier
I lost track of this thread for a while, and I can't remember the announced release date of Vamp. Has it been decided yet? Can anyone at least tell me which month it becomes available for sale?
You really need to be careful with this. If it doesn't live up to the $600 price tag V-Moda will most likely get LOTS of criticisism.
I'm actually more looking forward to the VAMP than M-100. I already own an M-80, and despite all the hype surrounding M-100, I don't intend to sell my M-80 right away after the M-100 comes out. The question is, will the VAMP also make a significant improvement for M-80, which already sounds good on my iPhone 4S with its low sensitivity factor?
It'll improve M-80, I used it in all the tests today. The 3 modes VQ, PURE and iPhone jack are very easy to ABC compare and we won out every time.
It'll improve 50mm+ headphones even more noticably w the power. its 130mW x2 @ 32 vs 30mW x2 @ 32 of iPhone (we're still trying to verify iPhone's specs)
Exactly... got a lot of feedback today from 2 CNET editors and Verge, Rolling Stone... so far it was 3 INSANE I NEED ONEs and 1 "hard to tell without more listening but good"! and EVEN if we did get criticism, we always can improve after this trip.
But I think we've done our homework on every product we launch. They have to pass the tests of our final 3 sound guys and be 4.5-5 stars rated, or six stars if some sites will start to allow!
EDIT: PS - we gave a way a voucher for a VAMP at the Head-Fi meet this last weekend in LA with a raffle ticket, what a great time! Will the winner say something here?
That's me! Sorry it took so long to post...I got hammered by midterm projects. 8 hours a day in the darkroom/studio on top of my job. Ugh. At least I got some good listening time in! I've been really enjoying Mount Kimbie. Check them out if you haven't yet. The song Carbonated is heaven on headphones.
Sorry, back on topic. Val is the man for raffling off his first production VAMP. I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands. A full in-depth comparative review will be coming soon after I receive it. It sounded very good at the meet, but there was too much background noise and not enough time to critically evaluate it. Still, switching between the headphone out of the iPhone and the VAMP (they are RIGHT next to each other) made a huge difference in control and clarity, especially with the prototype M-100s Val had at his table (Which also sounded very nice, by the way) and larger circumaural headphones.
As to the practicality of such a device, I know I would much rather put a VAMP on my iPhone than carry an iPhone/CLAS/amp package. Especially when I need to use it as a PHONE. You know, holding it up to your ear? Do people still do that or is it just me? The (claimed) doubling of battery life is just icing on the cake. Oh yeah, and you can still use the iPhone camera! There's a little cut out around the camera. This is important. I don't want to remove my iPhone from my listening rig every time I need to make/receive a call or take a picture or video. It gets old real quick. As does charging three or more separate devices that will all run out of battery at different times, thus creating a "weak link." I think the VAMP is a very practical solution to the "mobile audiophile problem" that was alluded to earlier. I first started getting in to high end audio in that era of iMods and VCap boxes and $200 line out cables. No offense to Ken or Vinny, they make great products and I don't think the VAMP could've been possible without them blazing the trail. But those always seemed like stop-gap solutions to me and this is certainly a more elegant and complete solution. Even if it only sounds 80% as good as a CLAS/RX or HPP1 it will be hugely popular. Do the math: CLAS+RX+cables=$1200 and reduced iPhone capability. Fostex HP-P1= $800 and reduced iphone capability. Oh, and you need an iPhone case with either of those so count on another 50 clams for an Otterbox defender. Good external batteries run around $100. Now the VAMP (battery, case, DAC, and amp) is looking really good at $600, and I would buy one if I had the money. Good thing I don't have to.Thanks again, Val!
So you're saying VAMP is not only intended for use with iPhone, it actually snaps into an iPhone into one portable gear? Like one of these?
http://www.head-fi.org/products/venturecraft-go-dap
I'd love to see the pics once you have it.
That's the idea, but it looks more like an Auzentech iFuzen HP-1 or Alesis AmpCase. Just much higher quality, and it takes a digital signal from the dock instead of line out. Honestly, with those two products at around $100 it's hard to justify the added expense of the VAMP. When I asked the folks at V-MODA (not Val) about the iFuzen they had no idea what it was, and seemed oblivious to the fact that iPhone case/amps other than their own existed. This is strange because market research is a huge part of product development. I was about to pull the trigger on one of those when I won the VAMP. Winning something that you're already in the market for is a sweet feeling, particularly when it's way out of your price range. Obviously, all of these products need to be compared before we know if the VAMP is really worth it. I think the addition of a quality DAC could make all the difference, but I won't know until I can hear them side by side.
That's the idea, but it looks more like an Auzentech iFuzen HP-1 or Alesis AmpCase. Just much higher quality, and it takes a digital signal from the dock instead of line out. Honestly, with those two products at around $100 it's hard to justify the added expense of the VAMP. When I asked the folks at V-MODA (not Val) about the iFuzen they had no idea what it was, and seemed oblivious to the fact that iPhone case/amps other than their own existed. This is strange because market research is a huge part of product development. I was about to pull the trigger on one of those when I won the VAMP. Winning something that you're already in the market for is a sweet feeling, particularly when it's way out of your price range. Obviously, all of these products need to be compared before we know if the VAMP is really worth it. I think the addition of a quality DAC could make all the difference, but I won't know until I can hear them side by side.