[alitomr]

MEH.

There is something not good about the mids, specially male vocals. They sound really muddy. The guitars, on the other hand , sound very clear (strange,isnt it).

Somebody said the highs were harsh. I think they are lacking. Period. Maybe because of this the siblance i hear in the HD555 with male vocals is not present in the vibes. Good one.

The bass is actually very nice. Feels really tight and the notes are clear but not as much as the HD555.

Overall, it is OK, but nothing extraordinary. Somebody mentioned they were about 80% the HD595 but i dont think they are 70% the HD555s, so I might be missing something. I understand they really get better after burn in and that is great to know because honestly they are not bad.I just dont think they are so good as many have described here.

My source is the laptop and I will try them from my receiver later when they get at least 10hours of pink noise. If they get better from the receiver is not important to me because i am looking for a good headphones for portable use with the Zen Vision M, as I decided to enjoy the HD555 (for a while now after having listened and hated the SR225) in home.

 

[souperman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alitomr /img/forum/go_quote.gif MEH. There is something not good about the mids, specially male vocals. They sound really muddy. The guitars, on the other hand , sound very clear (strange,isnt it). Somebody said the highs were harsh. I think they are lacking. Period. Maybe because of this the siblance i hear in the HD555 with male vocals is not present in the vibes. Good one. The bass is actually very nice. Feels really tight and the notes are clear but not as much as the HD555. Overall, it is OK, but nothing extraordinary. Somebody mentioned they were about 80% the HD595 but i dont think they are 70% the HD555s, so I might be missing something. I understand they really get better after burn in and that is great to know because honestly they are not bad.I just dont think they are so good as many have described here. My source is the laptop and I will try them from my receiver later when they get at least 10hours of pink noise. If they get better from the receiver is not important to me because i am looking for a good headphones for portable use with the Zen Vision M, as I decided to enjoy the HD555 (for a while now after having listened and hated the SR225) in home.

E2C's

if you like rock and kramer mod them. they are REALLY good for rock i believe, just the bass is not even half of the vibes...that's my only gripe. however i just equalize the bass on my ZVM heavily

 

[noobie72]

I just got these today and my initial impressions are similar to yours. The bass is very strong but the mids and highs are ok at best. The sound just sounds muffled to me, although this is probably because I favor the Grado sound. For my needs, these are a decent, relatively cheap IEM for hip hop and pop. We'll see if they open up a little after burn in.


Quote:

Originally Posted by alitomr /img/forum/go_quote.gif MEH. There is something not good about the mids, specially male vocals. They sound really muddy. The guitars, on the other hand , sound very clear (strange,isnt it). Somebody said the highs were harsh. I think they are lacking. Period. Maybe because of this the siblance i hear in the HD555 with male vocals is not present in the vibes. Good one. The bass is actually very nice. Feels really tight and the notes are clear but not as much as the HD555. Overall, it is OK, but nothing extraordinary. Somebody mentioned they were about 80% the HD595 but i dont think they are 70% the HD555s, so I might be missing something. I understand they really get better after burn in and that is great to know because honestly they are not bad.I just dont think they are so good as many have described here. My source is the laptop and I will try them from my receiver later when they get at least 10hours of pink noise. If they get better from the receiver is not important to me because i am looking for a good headphones for portable use with the Zen Vision M, as I decided to enjoy the HD555 (for a while now after having listened and hated the SR225) in home.

 

[souperman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by noobie72 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got these today and my initial impressions are similar to yours. The bass is very strong but the mids and highs are ok at best. The sound just sounds muffled to me, although this is probably because I favor the Grado sound. For my needs, these are a decent, relatively cheap IEM for hip hop and pop. We'll see if they open up a little after burn in.

they don't open up...

i have a used pair

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alitomr /img/forum/go_quote.gif MEH. There is something not good about the mids, specially male vocals. They sound really muddy. The guitars, on the other hand , sound very clear (strange,isnt it). Somebody said the highs were harsh. I think they are lacking. Period. Maybe because of this the siblance i hear in the HD555 with male vocals is not present in the vibes. Good one. The bass is actually very nice. Feels really tight and the notes are clear but not as much as the HD555. Overall, it is OK, but nothing extraordinary. Somebody mentioned they were about 80% the HD595 but i dont think they are 70% the HD555s, so I might be missing something. I understand they really get better after burn in and that is great to know because honestly they are not bad.I just dont think they are so good as many have described here. My source is the laptop and I will try them from my receiver later when they get at least 10hours of pink noise. If they get better from the receiver is not important to me because i am looking for a good headphones for portable use with the Zen Vision M, as I decided to enjoy the HD555 (for a while now after having listened and hated the SR225) in home.

If the sound sounds muddy/muffle to you, it is very likely that you still haven't found a good fit yet. Perhaps the silicons are too big for you, try the smaller size. You really have to get a good fit in order for the Vibes to fully perform. And yes, it is I who said the Vibes are around 80% of HD595. Their soundstage is as large as the HD595 (although it's hard to compare as one is IEM and the other is over-the-ear cans). The 20% difference is for their less superior performance in the highs (specifically between the high-mids and low-treble) comparing to the HD595.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

souperman
HI: I said the Vibes were 4 days old but that was from when I ordered them. It took 2 days to get to me and I had them for 2 days so burn in was only for 2 days when you got them. Maby try some more burn in.

 

[GreenEggs313]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LTUCCI1924 /img/forum/go_quote.gif souperman HI: I said the Vibes were 4 days old but that was from when I ordered them. It took 2 days to get to me and I had them for 2 days so burn in was only for 2 days when you got them. Maby try some more burn in.

hey lou,

how do you like those marshmallows compared to the vibes?

 

[stereophile]

Try dropping the bass end on your EQ. I felt like the bass in the Vibes was masking and submerging everything else, so I lower the bass on the EQ, then bump up the mids and highs, and they open up kind of nicely -- in an interestng sort of way.
~EQ: -3/-2, 0, 1, 2 (or more extreme as needed -- bringing up midranges as needed).

While still not stellar, I like the Voda much more like that.

***
However, having said that, honestly it does bug me that I have to tweak the EQ to get the sound I like with these Vodas -- and thats why I'm looking to upgrade them to the next level.

As I posted on another thread, I just got these Vodas, they are acceptable but just acceptable so I'm thinking some superfi 5's, or djays or E4s, but I don't know if those models would handle running, workouts, etc?

Thats the one thing I can say about these vodas: they appear well-built and gym-friendly.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

GreenEggs313
HI: The vibes have a better sound. More detail & sound stage over the Marshmallows but I fine the M"s to have a very fun sound and the vibes cost me 95.00 with shipping and the M's cost me 20.00 at best buys. I am enjoying the M's out of my 12 m/w Zen V Plus with no amp. Also I fine the M's to be very easy to insert with their longer tips.

 

[alitomr]

Well, I have tried all the tips and the mediums are the ones for me. I feel he bass to be even more boomy when I use the large tips, but they are a little uncomfortable and I am not fan of boomy bass. imust say I am not impressed at all and I found myself going back to the HD555 and closing my eyes to enjoy the music. The vibes havent given me that kind of feeling and i now that they would. Looking forward to the ER4P now...damn Head-fi!!!

Ithink I will keep the vibes for a while because they are much bette than the earbuds but I am not really satisfied.

they got a little better with burn in not not so much. I think they're a little more balanced now. The bass is a little less boomy and the muddyness i felt before is now...less. A bit less.

 

[ofir-harlev]

Wow man, u think the vibes arent any good?
I am seriously thinking of buying them this week.
At first I wanted to get the SHUREs E3C, but after running a few searches over the web, I discovered they lack bass, plus the vibes arent completely sealed, which is actually what I'm looking for, since I'll be using them for cycling.
I love bass and warm sound, do u think the vibes would be good for me?

 

[antonyfirst]

Incredible. In the "vibes official topic" there are people glorifying them, and putting them on top of their price region. Now, though, there is a growing amount of topics that are demolishing the sort of "myth" built until now.

 

[ofir-harlev]

People, I need u to understand me.
Where I come from, u can't walk into a store and ask to listen to some earphones, to compare which ones sound the best. Because of that I HAVE to buy my earphones by reviews and ppl's opinions only.
So, what do u think I should do if I love bassy warm sound?
Should i go for the Vibes, or should i go for the E3C's?
I don't consider buying the superfi 5 EB because too much ppl said they are not well-built.

 

[music065]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antonyfirst /img/forum/go_quote.gif Incredible. In the "vibes official topic" there are people glorifying them, and putting them on top of their price region. Now, though, there is a growing amount of topics that are demolishing the sort of "myth" built until now.

The 15 Minutes of Fame Syndrome.

Seems like a predictable pattern here (and other places):
1. New product comes out.
2. People say its one of the best ever in its class.
3. Pour praise on it for 2-3 weeks.
4. Start to tear it apart.
5. It takes its actual, more realistic place in the list of products out there. ie: if Voda was in the top 3 IEM's under $100 2 weeks ago, now its dropped to 8 or 9 or so on the list.

Well maybe I exaggerate. But it does seem one good philosophy is don't be the first kid on the block to get a brand new product. Give it at least 4-6 months on the market, and see how 4-6 month owners feel...

 

[antonyfirst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ofir-harlev /img/forum/go_quote.gif People, I need u to understand me. Where I come from, u can't walk into a store and ask to listen to some earphones, to compare which ones sound the best. Because of that I HAVE to buy my earphones by reviews and ppl's opinions only. So, what do u think I should do if I love bassy warm sound? Should i go for the Vibes, or should i go for the E3C's? I don't consider buying the superfi 5 EB because too much ppl said they are not well-built.

You could take the Westone UM1... since what I've read they are very good for 100 dollars.
Either, if you are able to open IEMs and mod it (I'm not), you could buy the Shure E2c and do the "Kramer Mod", or buy the Sony EX90 and do their own mod, described here on headfi.