received my vibes yesterday (saturday). if you want to just "hear" my quick take on the SQ and the comfort:
i lost myself for over an hour listening to a range of music - gabriel, brmc, yo yo ma, tunstall, sonny landreth, derek trucks band. loved every minute of it - uh... except for the 5 minute or so nap i took during. (hence their comfort factor.)
for the longer version:
first off, i ordered these from microphonesolutions.com who is associated with our sponsor earphonesolutions.com via fmasolutions.com. they are in florida and the guy i talked with was really nice and made the ordering process a pleasant experience. on top of that, i ordered them on wednesday and had them on saturday (i'm in new york) with free shipping. very cool.
i got the gunmetal pair and these things are really nice looking and solidly built. they are tiny yet the diameter of the sound tube is relatively huge compared to my shures. one detail i am already a big fan of - how the ear tips slip on. there is a recess that they rest in. i think this is a great idea because one of the problems i have with my E4s is that i get such a good seal that when i take them out the ear tips slip off the sound chamber - annoying.
as stated, you get a number of ear tips but no foam. their ear tips are very soft and pliable and i found the small size to suit me fine. i find them very comfortable to wear but this typically hasn't been an issue with me with my prior 2 sets of shures.
i kicked off a playlist of 21 songs. the thing that first struck me was the warmth of the sound. i'm a midrange guy first, bass second. i certainly agree wholeheartedly that these IEMs are very musical. the second thing that struck me is that with the reported soundstage they sound very much like headphones. it is almost a strange sensation at first because of my prior experience with IEMs. as for the bass? perfect for me. i'm not a major basshead but i enjoy a colored sound with elevated bass as long as it is in a controlled manner. the vibes do a wonderful job with the bass. the highs are a bit rolled off but i tend to be pretty sensitive to treble so this suits me fine. if you are looking for highs a la DT880s - look elsewhere.
compared to my E4s, the vibes provide a much warmer sound and one that i prefer when it comes to IEMs. the highs aren't as well represented and there is a touch less clarity overall but their fun factor far outweighs these SLIGHT shortcomings. and that is how i summarize the vibes - fun. they remind me of my DR150s - slightly elevated but controlled bass, terrific midrange and rolled off highs. all with a bit of soundstage to boot.
i also found, as previously posted, that even with a good seal the vibes don't offer as much sound isolation as my shures. i like this in that just pausing my music i find i can carry on a conversation at normal speaking levels without having to take them out. but even with my wife's XM going at a decent volume i barely hear it at very reasonable volume levels.
these are definite keepers!
