V-MODA Vibe Earbuds - Flashback Chrome

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1 x 4 x 7.5 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000K5VCUC
• Item model number: v-blackcrome
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (173 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 2, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
The Perfect Integration of Form and Function

V-MODA, the music lifestyle brand that owes its allure to the fusion of fashion and function, introduces its passion for music and style to the world with our innovative line of "modaphones". The pinnacle experience of music is interwoven with supreme style in these premium fashion-phones that sound as amazing as they look. The Vibe series of earphones comprises the signature example of the V-MODA line, combining for the first time a meticulously-crafted sound signature with a conscious eye towards modern design.

V-MODA's "Sculpted Sound Curve"

V-MODA's engineers spent over a year of the design phase crafting the perfect sound signature of the Vibe series of headphones. Designed to mimic the warm, sweet sound of hi-fi stereo speakers costing thousands of dollars apiece, the curve remains amazingly straight with no bass roll-off which delivers a smooth and detailed bass response. A sensitivity dip in the 500hz to 2kHz range accentuates the bass slightly and reproduces a warm soundstage. The gentle dropoff in the high ranges was carefully designed to avoid harsh or "clinical"-sounding highs, making the Vibes suitable as in-ear monitors.

The Power of V-MASQUE and BLISS Technologies

V-MASQUE is the speaker technology designed to reproduce V-MODA's sculpted sound curve. It involves using micro-sized metal alloy housings with dynamic neodymium speaker drivers to produce intense clarity and a warm, rich sound. Many other high-end headphones use balanced armature drivers, which can produce clarity well when inserted deeply--and for many people, uncomfortably--into the ear. Yet even in the best-case scenarios headphones using balanced-armature drivers can often lack warmth, producing a "mechanical"-sounding midrange and highs that feel flat and cold. The sound signature of the Vibe series is specifically designed for juicy lows and a sweet midrange yet maintains very precise highs.

Vibe's amazing hi-definition sound makes every element of your music crystal clear and present on a 3-D soundstage. The unique V-MASQUE dynamic driver and "beat port" airflow system recreates the sensation of a LIVE music experience. The "beat port" airflow system works by allowing the airflow to move throughout the housing naturally thanks to precision-cut holes in the driver and the housing. This airflow creates an organic output that is far different than other high-end in-ear monitors that can sound distant and mechanical. The Vibe simulates an experience of listening to live music thanks to the circulation that takes place inside the headphone.

BLISS is the acronym for "Bass-Level-Isolating Soft Silicon". Passive noise isolation by itself is not unordinary for in-ear headphones, yet extreme attention to detail is critical because of the fitting's effect in both comfort and sound. The exact thickness of the silicon can make all the difference in the world. Many of the "softest" silicon fittings on some brands proved to be too thick in V-MODA's user test panel. BLISS is made to not only be extremely comfortable in the ear canal, but also to be the easiest earphone to put in and take out quickly. This way one can rock quickly in a matter of seconds, then take an intermission before another encore.

The shape of the fitting is also extremely crucial to prevent them from popping out too easily by providing a proper seal. One of the interesting things V-MODA discovered is that the smaller the fitting, the better the fit for some users since the smaller fitting fits slightly deeper to prevent fall-out. However, many people commonly try only "larger" fittings thinking they may be tighter when the opposite is true. This is why V-MODA puts the small fittings on by default in the packaging, but users should try a few different sizes to decide for themselves optimal sound and comfort.

The design behind BLISS is also an ideology of how far deep the fittings should lie in the ear and the level of noise isolation. In V-MODA's user test groups, many users found that other high-end headphones required a fit too deep and too intrusive to get the best sound and comfort. BLISS fittings are "just right" for everyday use and the amount of noise isolation they provide.

What It Means To Be a "Lifestyle" Headphone

Though designed as an audiophile headphone, the Vibe was also specifically designed to be used on the go while moving: at the gym, heading to the venue, or walking down the street. Even though the casing is made of metal, the Vibe amazingly weighs only 12 grams, which is a third of the weight of many other competing high-end headphones. It is also the only headphone designed to lie flush within the ear so that you can use it while laying down on a pillow.

Extra thought and research was also put into the cable. Why is the cable so important? The main cable diameter of 2.2mm and overall cord length of 44"-46" work best to prevent "earphone fallout". V-MODA's cables are rigorously tested with weights to withstand abuse.

In addition to all this, the Vibe comes with a lot of extras. A gold leather pouch provides quick and easy storage, and the Modawrap cable manager can be used to control the length of the cables which is especially great for use with sport armbands. Black and clear fittings are included for extra personalization and two pairs of each size fittings are included. Try all 3 sizes (small, medium, and large) of fittings to create secure fit maximize music listening experience. Gently insert fittings into ear canal deep enough to ensure optimal seal.

What's In The Box

V-MODA Vibe headphones, gold leather carrying case, fitting instructions, VIP Card providing access to exclusive music offers and events through V-MODA, and a 1-year premier replacement warranty.

Product Description
Fashion-conscious style and audio enthusiast sound unite to form the most sophisticated electronics accessory in the world. Vibe's metal craftsmanship delivers the perfect balance of rich bass, superior audio clarity, and luxurious design. Unlike other uncomfortable and obtrusive in-ear headphones, Vibe presents essential active lifestyle comfort, security, and noise isolation for the discerning music enthusiast. The modawrap cable manager is included to control the length of the cable while listening and a gold leather carrying case is provided for storage.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars These are the ones.., January 5, 2007

By	Nero Goldstein "Bemused by a Muse" (The Great Nation of Texas) - See all my reviews

I own a pair of these, got them formyself for Christmas (brief story - Got the Shure E2c's for Christmas, wasn't terribly pleased with them, did lots of research, then went out and bought some Senn 300's and these Vibes to compare with the Shures).

At first, it was a pretty hard decision between the Sennheiser 300's and the Vibes. Both had their stronger points. The 300's had a bit stronger bass response, while still retaining nice mids and highs. Plus, it was cheaper ($70 vs $100 for the Vibes. But I understood that it would be necessary to 'burn in' the Vibes for several hours, so I left it rotating through the Vision:M's library overnight. And what you may have read is definitely true: the Vibes do need a period of time in order to 'smooth out', or maybe a better term would be to 'fill out'.

The long and short of it was, I bought the Sennheiser and the V-Moda on a Thursday evening. Friday morning, I see an ad in the paper from the retail store where I purchased the Vibes, putting them on sale for $79. As close as the Senns and the Vibes were, the Vibes were still clearly better, and now, with the sale price, they wound up only being $10 different in price.

My decision was made for me. Returned the Shures and the Senns, and have now been using the Vibes frequently for over a week.

I tell you this so that you will know that I did in fact compare some well-regarded iem's in this range, so maybe you won't have to. It is a pain to buy iem's because you cannot try them out before you purchase them.

In any case, the verdict on the Vibes is this: They are great, great headphones. Even within just a week of use I can tell a difference between their performance now and the performance out of the box. Brand new, they were a bit tinny, and seemed to struggle with bass as well. Now, however, they are rich, deep, have sparkling highs, lush mids, and offer the best soundstage of any of the others I tried.

The rundown: the #1 factor with headphones is the sound, which is as it ought to be. While it may be possible that some other iem's in the under-$100 category might techincally reproduce a more 'accurate' sound, I seriously doubt there are any out there which can produce one as enjoyable. It is simply so nice a sound, it actually makes you look forward to the next time you are able to use them. When is the last time you ever thought THAT with your stock earbuds?

Comfort: The Vibes are extremely small and light, I would say less than half the size of the Shures, and roughly equal in size to the Senns. It's difficult to judge the size of these things from merely looking at photos of them on the internet. But they are tiny little things. Let me put it this way: you should even be able to comfortably lie in bed, with your head on its side on a pillow, and listen to these phones without any discomfort. YMMV of course. The default tips installed on them out of the package are the small silicone tips, and I have been so pleased with the fit and comfort that I have not even bothered to sample any of the other sizes, or even the allegedly-softer black tips. I would rate the Vibes as the most comfortable of the 3, with the Senns #2 and the Shures far behind.

Isolation: Of the three, the Vibes give the least amount of 'sound isolation'. Don't interpret this as a bad thing, however. Unless you genuinely, seriously, honestly NEED to utterly silence the outside world when you listen to your headphones, it should not be a problem. Personally, I find that 'plugged up' feeling of the totally-isolating headphones to be extremely uncomfortable. Not painful as such, just not a comfortable feeling. The Vibes do not give you that plugged sensation at all (at least as far as I can tell), but they still isolate pretty well. Additionally, I have heard it said that the reduced isolation of the Vibes is what allows them to have such an open, airy quality to them, which in turn contributes to their having such an excellent soundstage. While I am not a propeller-head enough to know if this is completely true, I can tell you that the Vibes have a better soundstage, by far, than the Shures, and noticeably better than the Senns.

Accessories/Design: This is where V-Moda loses me a little bit. The marketing for these babies is calculated to appeal to those ultra-cool, ultra-hip California jet-setter stylistas. Fair enough. I am not one of them, but all I really care about is the sound and the comfort. So the marketing is not a negative for me, as long as the goods deliver, which they do.

The problem, if you can call it that, is that the cosmetic design has been influenced by this marketing strategy, and it has caused them to flub one thing, really very silly on their part.

The Vibes come with several different tips, both the clear silicon and the softer black rubber ones, of varying sizes. Good.

They come with something called the 'Cable Wrap', which is a notch and angled pice of silicone rubber designed to allow you to wrap excess cable around it, when you need a shorter length. Eh, whatever. Not a big deal to me.

They also come with a really silly, effite 'leather' storage bag/case, which looks like gold lame'. First of all, it's not leather, despite what they say. Second, ew. Come on V-Moda. Where else, outside of San Francisco, is anyone going to use this thing?

Lastly, the design of the headphones themselves. They are serious chrome metal buds. Nice. Slick design there. I really like the cable, with the clear exterior and some kind of interior mesh. Also cool. Plus, the cable is 'Y-shaped' and not 'J-shaped'. I know some people swear by 'J-shaped' cables, but I hate them. So, that's good too. The problem? The headphone jack. It seems nowdays that you either get to have a Y Cable or an angled jack, but not both. (For example, the Senn 300's have an angled plug, which is good, but they saddle you with that stupid J Cable, which is bad. The clone of the Senns, the Creative EP 630's, have a Y Cable, but a straight plug. Argh!) So anyway, the Vibes have a straight plug, which is bad enough because that kind of plug is not good for your audio device. The sideways torque can damage the internals of the thing. But even worse than that, V-Moda has designed the jack with a slick, TAPERED metal grip. This means that it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to unplug your headphones without having to pull on the cable itself, instead of the jack. And this is a surefire way to end up with a short in the cable. This is why I docked these phones a half-star. They let their exciting hip design strategy flub up their headphone design in a potentially serious way.

Hopefully, the inner workings of the jack are strong enough that they will not begin to short from having to pull on the cable, and all will be well.

In any case, other than that one flaw, these headphones are unquestionably the best bang for the buck under $100. I have not listened to any of the competitors in the next range, looking up at the $200 and $300 phones, but those would have to be some seriously great cans to be able to beat these little guys in the sound department.

I highly recommend these, just be careful unplugging them.

Enjoy!

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Replaced my Shures, January 31, 2007

By	A. Reeve - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've used a pair of Shure E3s for a while now but a few things annoyed me about them - they were hard to put in and take out, they weren't always comfortable (whichever tips I used) and there wasn't a whole lot of bass coming out of them. I saw these recently and at the price had to try them - they're awesome. They go in like regular earbuds (no more looping the wire around your ears, although you can still do that if you want!), sound great, and are super comfortable. They even look good as a bonus. The gold case they come with sucks, but that's not the end of the world. If you're in the market for IEMs at any price (well, up to about $300 I guess) then check these out, they're surprisingly good.

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great earbuds, better than Bose Triports, March 3, 2007

By	Steven L. Hirsch "poetsteve" (Washingtonville, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

They haven't even broken in yet and I can tell they are head and shoulders above the Bose Triports; lighter weight, better cords, better eartips, warmer and more balanced soundstage. Don't bother with the Bose. They are heavy and have overbearing bass. V-Moda has a different model that delivers huge bass if that's your style. These stay in with 2 out of the 3 sizes of eartips they give you whereas the Bose constantly fell out of my ears regardless of which size I tried. Noise canceling is much better as well so I can enjoy these in the subway. These cost less and sound much better. It's a no-brainer. Only thing missing is an in-line volume control on the cord.