V-Moda Vibes mods

[warrior05]

nothing complicated mind you, but these three mods just make these terrific little IEMs just that much more... er... terrific'er.

first up - i bought a few pairs of super.fi foamies from a fellow head-fi'er. they fit perfectly on the vibes and really did a nice job in tightening up the sound. i have 0 processing on the sound on my tiny F2 - flat across the board - and i'm getting nice impactful but not bloated or boomy bass, rich mids and decent highs that are slightly rolled off but well represented enough for my tastes. the foamies bumped up the SQ by a half step.

i also used 3/8" adhesive lined heatshrink on the plug and about 1/4" of the wire. this has given the plug better grip and provided some needed - imo - strain relief for the skinny wire hitting against the metal plug.

next up - i used this fingernail strengthener that my wife has and put a couple of sizable drops on the back of the right side. this has done 2 things. 1) though not nearly as white as it came out in my pic below, it has given me an easier visual cue for l/r orientation. 2) because this stuff is thick, it has rounded the back and has made it easy to get l/r orientation in complete darkness. i can easily feel the now rounded back of the right side with my finger tip.

very simple mods but they have made day to day use of these IEMs that much more enjoyable.

 

[cooperpwc]

Bump of an interesting thread. I actually visited Bay Bloor Radio (high end audio shop in Toronto) to inquire bout putting heatshrink cable wrap on my Vibes plug. I was informed that unfortunately the plug is so thick that whatever they put over it would be too large to shrink to size. I see that you used "3/8" adhesive lined heatshrink". Is this tubular? Where would I find such a thing? Any possibility of giving a more "commercial" description. (Or if I were more DIY-oriented, would I simply know what it is and where to get it?

)

Meanwhile the mystery of my ears and Vibes medium tips continues. Unlike apparently every other person on the face of the earth (or rather every other person that has purchased Vibes), the specific size of the medium tips creates massive booming bass in my ears. It ain't a small difference - it's huge! Strange, strange strange...

 

[warrior05]

it's actually 6mm adhesive lined heat shrink. you can check out what i used here. it doesn't tightly shrink around the wire but it is pretty good. you won't be able to use smaller heat shrink since i was barely able to get the 6mm over the plug. i'm really happy how it turned out and it really does the job.

 

[cooperpwc]

Thanks for the link! Actually I'm using a right-angle headphone connector that takes all stress off the plug so there's no rush on my end.

But of course I will get some. It's another thing to order over the Internet!

 

[MaloS]

I use the smallest silicon fitting - and loving it...although I generally don't like foamies, getting bloomy bass results from some portable sources though.

And that shrinkwrap idea sounds very needed...gotta check if the nearby music store that works with cables can help me out.

 

[cooperpwc]

Funny issue has emerged with my Vibes. I started getting a crackling sound through the right earpiece and occassionally the left. Only on three occassions and only when I was moving. I thought oh sh**, they're falling apart already.

Long story short... they aren't (thank god). It seems that the material in one particular coat pocket is causing some kind of static discharge through the metal plug. (The only exposed metal: my iPod is in the Apple leather case). (The fact that it is winter up here probably doesn't help but then I wouldn't be wearing this coat if it wasn't.) I move my Ipod to my jean pockets, problem solved. Still... that's a pain.

The problem for us Canuck's is that ordering from the States, small items like the shrink wrap cost much more for shipping than the item itself. Warrior05, thanks for the specs. I'm going to try to find the item here.

Meanwhile I'm (otherwise) loving these phones more every day. My latest thing is wrapping them over the ear. Tickled for the first 20 minutes and now there is no going back.

 

[warrior05]

hey, cooperpwc - if you really want to try the heatshrink, PM me and i'll drop a piece in the mail for you if you have a difficult time tracking some down.

i recently did a comparo between the vibes and the CX300s and though it wasn't a very fair comparison since the vibes are more than twice the price it just showed how refined and musical the vibes are.

kind of funny about your static problem. i remember having them in and i was taking off a sweatshirt and i felt a jolt in my ear. felt like i was trying to jump start my brain!

 

[Superpredator]

Do the super.fi foamies help out with isolation? I took the Vibes for a test run at Starbucks and, well, the conversation/din did not so much leak in as make it into the presentation of the music, towards the outer edges of the soundstage. It was like holding up a stethoscope to the room. I don't have much experience with IEMs (had some brief time with a UM1 & UM2), but I don't recall either of them shifting ambient noise into the presentation.

 

[warrior05]

interesting experience! never heard it quite like that. unfortunately, the foamies offer little added isolation. the vibes are just open IEMs and there's no gettin' around it. i got so used to them that when i tried the CX300s i couldn't believe how much isolation they provided in comparison.

now i'm in search of IEMs that have the same sound sig as the vibes but offer lots of isolation with the same level of comfort. that way i can have an open version i like for safety's sake when walking the dog and a closed, isolating pair for trips.

 

[cooperpwc]

warrior05, thanks! I'm going to the electronics part of town tomorrow (Queen and Spadina in Toronto has all the parts stores). Hope to save you a stamp. If I don't find it, you will get a PM...

 

[ghoti]

I used some silver nail strengthener. It looks a little different, so i can see which is the right, but not as different as it appears in the pictures.

It also sticks out and has a "tackier" feel, so it's easy to find the right phone when in the dark or digging in my pocket.

This is such a great mod. Inexpensive as can be and really increases the enjoyment of the phones.

Thank you!

 

[Yuk_Fai]

I did the heatshrink mod as well... not as nice as what warrior05 did, but it gets the job done. As for identifying L/R... I never had much trouble; just take a look for the letter... if you don't see the letter, then the tip points to the ear that it should go into (that probably doesn't make very much sense, but it does to me ).

I think it's easier having two different coloured tips anyways, although having two black ones looks nicer than one of each colour.

 

[Slides]

What is the heatshrink mod for exactly?

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slides /img/forum/go_quote.gif What is the heatshrink mod for exactly?

So that the cable wont be destroyed so quickly/easily due to constantly yanking on it since the plug is kind of small and hard to grip?


And yes, it does kill the fashion sense Val intended. But then again, this is head-fi, and the only place where a "show me your ugly headphones" thread can be that popular.

 

[RomanHelmet]

I just did the heatshrink mod. It seems like it is going to work out very well. Before I did the heatshrink, I put a dab of superglue around the edge of the metal where the wire touches. That seemed to work okay, but the heatshrink is awesome! BTW, you can pick up heatshrink tubing at radioshack since hs tubing is used mainly for electronics work and things like that. next up i'll have to steal some of my sisters nail strengthener. thanks for the tips.