V-moda Vibes... The review is finished. (56k beware, big pics...)
Dec 7, 2006 at 7:22 PM Post #121 of 1,475
Quote:

Originally Posted by barrist /img/forum/go_quote.gif
where did u get the freqs from.


You can buy the Bass Freqs directly from V-Moda. I think they are still having a special for $50 which includes shipping. You can also find them at compuplus.com for under $40.

I bought mine direct and love them. The only gripe I have is that V-Moda doesn't sell replacement tips. The UE super.fi tips fit as do the Shure E2C soft flex tips (not the foamies).
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 8:40 AM Post #122 of 1,475
i got them direct from shop.v-moda. the problem is that even i turn all frequencies down in winamp eq, and leave just extra high fr., i still hear much of bass. and anyway, quirking around the EQ just dostroys the sound that the producer intended.
Maybe i`ll just buy fresh vibes without exchange, as shipping and insurance will just kill my nerves. Though v-moda ships for free, Slovenian post still opened the package, requested full receipt and then added 20% tax.. fkers..
I really hope the Vibes will please me..
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 9:08 AM Post #123 of 1,475
for those curious about burn-in factor and equalizinging these headphones (and some other concerns as well):

In my first review I found the bass too powerful, almost bloated for some music (i mentioned opeth having that alot). This goes away with burn-in, pretty quickly actually, and your ears get used to that factor too, and that problem only occurs really with my zen micro in the first place. The better the sq of your source, the better the bass. (ran out of dedicated amp the bass was just plain awesome).
Some of you will notice some sharpness and fatigue at first - former goes away quickly, latter result of the bass factor, which also goes away quickly.

EQing:
They are not agressive about eq, but if you still find the bass slightly too powerful (my mp3 player has that problem of not having very good extension), you can easily roll down ~2 db on the lowest frequency and the sound should be perfectly fine at that point. I am enjoying a bit more bass so I left it on flat after a while. They also will reproduce slight detail boost if u pull the highs up 2 hz or so. The increase in detail mainly occurs in form of percussion cutting through better.

Volume/Overdriving them:
I have ran these by accident on volumes that would cause ear injury very very very quickly. They did not even distort. Nevertheless, stick to lower volumes and using big dedicated amps for these is silly. I used them out of total bithead and emu 1616 cardbus (no amp), and the sound quality points went to the emu, which is nowhere near as loud. These headphones DO NOT need an amp, but they do benefit ALOT from a good source. (mainly in the bass area, but all the other elements get a pleasant boost as well). Save your ears/batteries please guys.

Positioning for optimal sound quality:
They do not change much in sq when you move them around your canal, so please don't hurt yourself trying to put em in deep. (i am sure metal edges + ear canal are not meant to be together). When wearing them you will notice them slipping into a certain position - and form my experiments no matter how i try, the sq does not improve from moving them around. If you somehow block their little whole, they will become more grado-like, that's about it.

And my personal annoyance:
Try to keep your ears clean, the grills are ass to clean and I pulled one of em out by accident. Looked inside, found that the driver should be safe, but feel stupid now. Don't really want to send em off to Val's folks, I need these. The grill is attached on glue...(What?). If anyone wants me to take a shot on what we got inside there visible, drop me a message, but essentially the driver is hidden behind another, more coarse/thick grill that has bunch of large holes through it. That grill is located somewhere right above the grip on the phone. Not much to really see unless you got a microscope with lighting in it or something.
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 9:47 AM Post #124 of 1,475
Malos - I am very curious now about the Zen's bass, they must have higher bass output than the iPod and Zune. Does anybody know this as a fact? I do not have a Zen yet, but every Zen owner mentions more bass than other MP3 player owners. If anybody has a Zen, iPod, AND Zune it'd be great to know the real-life differences.

I have noticed this bass with eq off: iPod Nano 1G > iPod Nano 2G (can distort bass with original firmware - let's not even discuss what I did when I flipped out and heard distortion for the first time on a Nano 2G!!! - THANK GOD it turned out to be a specific MP3/Player only and not the headphones!) > iPod Video >= Zune (my current player with "accoustic" setting for 3d sound and bass). According to user's feedback I've read bass on Zen > Nano 1G.
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 7:24 PM Post #125 of 1,475
I can't really give you a comparison between those players Val, I only had some experience with older ipods and those had almost no bass even through popular '$50' sony earbuds. The new Toshiba player that seems to be popular has less bass than my zen micro, but it has much better high frequency responce. Creative's Nomad seems to have an identical sound signature to the micro but with a bit more volume. Seeing how you designed the vibe with primarely ipod use in mind, I can see how bass can come out a bit on the powerful side in my zen micro when doing comparison like these, but I am still not certain of how newer ipods/nanos sound.

What I do greatly appreciate though is the total indifference of v-moda's vibe towards dedicated amplifiers. I honestly don't see 'pocketful of hardware' as part of 'portable' acceptable. I am still waiting for an mp3 player with a good headphone out, or at least a line-out, they could at least match my laptop's internal audio... If you ever decide to jab at the mp3 player market, you know what head-fi will want from you Val
tongue.gif
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 7:36 PM Post #126 of 1,475
Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The new Toshiba player that seems to be popular has less bass than my zen micro, but it has much better high frequency responce.


This makes sense with our results, as Toshiba may share some chips with Zune. Great feedback for our research, its always a lot of testing for "how much bass" to use by default for each product to make it enjoyable for consumers and all the diff source players out there.
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 7:41 PM Post #127 of 1,475
Well the enjoyable part you definitely got down :wink:. All the audiophile ignorant folks I have listen to the vibe just have their jaws drop down beyond belief xD. (and they thought bose was amazing).

Btw, Val, on the build quality of the phones.
The cable around the jack starts taking damage over time. I honestly suggest switching to rubber instead of metal extension, something like the way it is done with etynomics and altec lansing im series. I can take some pics if you want, but it is not pocket friendly.
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 7:47 PM Post #128 of 1,475
Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I am still waiting for an mp3 player with a good headphone out, or at least a line-out, they could at least match my laptop's internal audio...


Word has it the new Trekstor Vibez (check out that synchronicity) sports a pretty nice headphone out, on par with the late Karma. Then there are always the Kenwood players with their (reputedly) fantastic built-in digital headphone amps...
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 9:43 PM Post #129 of 1,475
Quote:

TrekStor vibez supports MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG and FLAC files as well as WMA DRM (Digital Rights Management) 9 and 10 formats


Oh my. We might have a new contender. Over to portables forum to start new thread xD.

Kenwood is too much of a brick for me to want to use for that price, I am always concerned over portability. I personally refuse to use portable amps with my mp3 player because I want this setup to be in my pocket and not too visible. ..

Before I get more carried away I am moving this subject to portable forum.
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 10:21 PM Post #130 of 1,475
Okay, but one last thought about the Kenwood "bricks":



10GB and only in Japan for the time being, but not bad for the "world's smallest disk-based DAP."
 
Dec 8, 2006 at 11:18 PM Post #133 of 1,475
but. small. sooo small. and superior audio. i mean besides, my zen micro cost me 200 bucks, has 8 gb, is bigger, and has subpar audio compared to this>.<

i think this 150 dollar boost well spent.
 
Dec 9, 2006 at 12:11 AM Post #134 of 1,475
Not to mention items like this often undergo some kind of price drop once (if) they hit the States.

EDIT: To stay on topic, my replacement vibes (the first pair shipped with a severed cord - gah!) have been delayed by UPS. Their reason? "THE PACKAGE WAS LEFT IN A UPS FACILITY." Fantastic.
 

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