v-Moda: Vibe vs. Bass Freq

[Wadatah510]

Ok so I've been hunting for a set of ~100 inner-ear canalphones for quit a while now. I figured I couldn't go wrong with the Apple IEM's, but i was sadly mistaken: they don't stay very well and the bass is a let down (I'm a Basshead). I recently purchased the KOSS Spark Plugs, they had great bass but felt very odd at times and were not very comfortable, and on some songs the mid and high ends were almost non existent. Both were returned.

So basicaly what I'm looking for is a pair of comfortable IEM's, sub 100$, with great sound and superb bass.

I've narrowed my search down to the Vibe or the Bass freq, on CNET the Bass Freq is rated higher than the Vibe, I've such good things about both, I can't make up my mind. Any suggestions?

If there are any other headphones that also fit the description let me know.

I'd say that you need to decide whether you want value for money or absolute performance.

One is twice the price of the other - only you know whether that's worth it.

It would be for me, I must say.

For the sake of completeness, I'd add the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5EB to the list as the only other good quality headphone that might satisfy a basshead, but they are twice the price again.

I own all three.

[Wadatah510]

How do the Bass Freq's stand up to the Vibe's? Is the sound good quality? I also seem to have an oddly shaped left ear-canal; I have to order these off-line and i don't want to to be unable to keep them in my ears... How do the two compare in comfort and fit?

[Wadatah510]

umm... 60 ppl and no input?

[Wadatah510]

... what about Sony Ex-71's and 81's, or the CX300's (Creative Labs EP630's)

The Sony EX51/71/81 family are dreadful.

The CX300s are very good, and very popular, but you need to take care as there are many bad-sounding counterfeits and fakes.

I wouldn't rate them as high as one of the phones you'd shortlisted in your first post, however, and if bass is your thing, both of your initial choices might suit you better.

See:

Affordable in ears, an overview

Affordable In Ears an Overview

"Affordable in ears, an overview

It depends what you’re looking for, it depends how fussy you are about quality, and it depends what you are willing to spend.

You can buy in-ears for less than $10, and you can spend more than $900...... But price is not a reliable indicator of quality or performance.

Things have been changing a great deal in this area, recently, and many ‘old favourites’ (phones that I'd have recommended a year or eighteen months ago, have been utterly outclassed by relatively new entrants.

I have always taken a great interest in affordable in-ear headphones, and have amassed a huge collection – many of them given to me for review.

I will not comment on phones that I have not owned, or evaluated for an extended period, and I won’t recommend anything that I don’t own.

I would stress that I own, or have owned, every headphone mentioned in this post (bar the E500 and the Triple Fi 10) and have listened to them, extensively, back to back against each other. I'm not basing my impressions on five minutes (or less) listening to a friend's phones, or in a store. And if I were to say that something was: " infintely better than any of the Sony IEMs" it would at least be on the basis of having listened to and properly evaluated all of them. You can only properly compare phones that you know, and that you know pretty intimately, and recommending a phone if you've only heard it and the stock buds is understandable, but really pretty pointless.

Nor do I rely on my own impressions alone - if I had a particularly strong reaction to a phone, I'd wonder whether mine were representative, and I'd hesitate from stressing the point (the tiring coldness of the ER6i, for example) before I'd discussed it with other people whose opinions I valued, and preferably not before I had listened to an alternative pair of the same phones, and I'd be happiest if the point I was making was endorsed or echoed by the more grounded and sensible among on line communities.

You can buy some very cheap in-ears, but they are, in my view, dreadful, and not worth the money. All in-ear phones have more isolation than earbuds that don’t go into the ear canal, and give an immediacy that is refreshing. They are also very comfortable. But the feeling soon wears out if you compare the cheaper in ears with better gear, when their shortcomings become immediately apparent. I would single out the Koss ‘The Plug’, Skull Candys, Earthumps and Earjams as being a particularly pernicious and cynical way of parting naïve youngsters from their cash.

I think that you really need to be spending at least $50.

However, if pressed, I would say that at the sub $30 level, for an IEM, and not a bud, I don't think you can do better than the JVC HA FX55, though at this bargain basement price point I think that you’re better off with conventional buds like the Sennheiser MX400, and the Sony ED21LP. It's not like at higher price points, where there is more GOOD competition, and where there is a wider range of choices to suit different musical tastes.

Some may recommend the cheaper models in the Sony EX51/70/71/81 family of earphones at this price point. They have strong bass, but it's muddy, toneless and very crude, and you can get bass that's better defined and just as powerful. The Sonys also suffer from a harshness and a ‘hissy’ sibilance in the higher ranges. recent models have also suffered quality problems with the cords, which tend to disintegrate with age/sweat/heat/use.

The JVC HA FX55 is at least a huge improvement over these dreadful phones.

At the $50 price point, my recommendations would include the Sennheiser CX300, which offers great value for money. It uses the same housing as the Creative EP630 and the four-pole Sharp MD33, and, I think, as the AKG K324.

They seem to use different, or differently tuned drivers, and I prefer the CX300 to the 630.

There needs to be a health warning here, as the CX300 is being widely copied in China, and the fakes/counterfeits are often sold cheaply on eBay. If you want CX300s buy these from somewhere reputable, and if the price seems to good to be true, it probably is.

If you want more prominent bass and lighter weight than the CX300, one good alternative at this price point is the manufacturer censored/model name censored. It's bassier than the CX300, and lighter, so it stays in the ear better, I personally prefer the sound of the CX300, though some would say that the manufacturer censored has marginally better sound.

Apple’s own In Ears are not bad, if you’re among the minority who can use them. Most find that they don't fit, and that they therefore don’t stay in the ear well.

At $90-$100 choices start to really open out, though my recommendations would be for three newcomers - the Panasonic HJE70, the Sony EX90, and the manufacturer censored/newer model name censored, all of which represent excellent value for money performance, and which effortlessly outperform better known more strongly hyped branded competitors.

The Panasonic HJE70 ($88) gives a lovely warm sound, with super-cool design, and comes with a superb titanium case included. The HJE70 is very comfortable, and my only reservation is that there seems to be some patchy quality control – you can find really poor sounding HJE70s, though mine are simply superb.

I’m a big fan of the Sony EX90 ($90) which has good, solid sound, but whose real unique selling point is an unusual combination of excellent comfort and brilliant fit. The EX90 stays in the ear extremely well. It doesn’t isolate as completely as some IEMs, which further enhances its suitability for running. It even comes with a great leather box. The only real problem is that the cords are slightly fragile.

The new manufacturer censored/newer model name censored sells for $*** exact price would identify phone and is a brand new, compact, ultra-light, metal bodied IEM. Positive, subjective comment removed lest it be interpreted as 'promotion'.

Other alternatives include the $120 Audio Technica ATH CK7, another metal-bodied IEM, whose only real difference is a cleaner, less bassy sound. This is a nice headphone, and represents a great alternative to the ER6i.

Some like the Westone phones, but I’m unimpressed, personally.

I’d reject the $109 Shure E2C because it’s exceptionally uncomfortable, and because the sound is mediocre for the price, while many users report cord problems.

I’d reject the $139 Etymotic ER6i for being too cold and clinical, for being over-isolating, and for having an uninvolving sound. The ER6is would be dangerous for running - they block out too much of the outside world and you'll never hear the truck that kills you!

The Altec Lansing iM616 ($150) uses the same technology and is no better.

Though Ultimate Ears make some great phones, I think that their low end offering, the $100 SuperFi 3, is poor, and could not recommend it.

I’m horrified at the price of some of the high end ear-gear I’ve been given, most of which is superb, but most of which is not so good that I’d spend my own money on it.

Of course anything about sound preferences will be subjective, and anything that criticises higher end gear will be controversial. If you've spent $299 on ER4s, it's human nature to be unhappy (even angry) if someone tells the world that they could do better for $100, and that you've been buying 'snake oil'.

An exception would be the $200 SuperFi 5EB, which does at least offer a unique sound stage.

For the sake of completeness, other choices for the ‘more money than sense brigade’ include the:

SuperFi 5 Pro $250
Etymotic ER4 $299
Shure E4 $319
Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 $400 (I don’t own these)
Shure E500 $500 (I don’t own these)
E5C $550

None of them are even twice as good as the best $100 phones, so you are paying hundreds of dollars for relatively small steps in quality.



IEM features and variables:

Driver size
I used to think that there was a direct relationship between sound quality and driver size - and this would be born out by listening to the EX51/70/71 (with a tiny 9 mm driver) and (say) the E888 with a much bigger driver. But there are plenty of small driver phones that deliver superb sound, and I now realise that driver size is not critical.

Impedence
Impedence will affect primarily how loud the phones sound. Most go loud enough to damage your hearing, so I'd question the relevance.....

Frequency response
Frequency response, too, is of questionable import, since there are $300 and $400 IEMs with narrower frequency response than some $25 phones. Guess which sound better?

Other factors
Cord length, plug style (straight or L) and configuration (even or asymmetric) are real differences, to be sure, and do make a difference, but there is no 'better' or 'worse' since it's a matter of preference.

I personally prefer an L-shaped plug, a longer cord, and an asymmetric arrangement. But none of those are deal-breakers for me - what I really want is phones that make my music sound as good as it can for the price, and that's the basis of my recommendations above."


Since the original thread was written, I've been told not to mention a particular headphone manufacturer. The company exists, and lest anyone think I'm unaware of its two IEMs, I've left references to them in, for the sake of completeness, but have removed the names, and have removed or blurred any subjective opinion or recommendation.

[Wadatah510]

First off, I'd like to say, Jackonicko you are a God and if I ever see you in person I'd be glad to [Edited] (haha).

Second off, last question. I think I'm gonna get the Vibes, from your own experience are they comfortable and do they fit well? I seem to have a tiny bit oddly shaped left ear canal, the Apple IEM's pop out sometimes, do you think the Vibes will work out for me?

Thank you so much for your help.



Forum Policy

I'm not allowed to comment on V-Moda phones, because if I say anything positive it could be construed as marketing/promotion.

If I had anything negative to say about them, I would say it.

I would say, however, that the vast majority of people find that the Apple IEMs slip out - I certainly do. Having problems with them in no way indicates that you will have problems with other soft sleeve IEMs in the same class as the CX300/EX71/Bass Freq/EX90/Vibe/ATH CK7, etc.

I would especially draw your attention to the fact that some phones that come in different colours use different cable types with different colours, and that some cables (often those with a thicker clear sleeve) may be better than others for microphonics and tangling.

If you're a nice, pneumatic, attractive girl, then I might let you......

[Wadatah510]

hahhahaha pneumatic... i havent heard that word used to describe a girl since i read Brave New World lol.. where the [edit] are you from lol

but no, that was a joke dont get your hopes up haha jp

thanks again!

[Wadatah510]

so let me get that str8, the phones with the thicker, clearer sleeve have less microphonics and tangling or more?


I'm assuming that you work for V-moda considering the fact that whenever you talk about V-Moda products you have to sensor it or it would be considered product promotion, so if this is true, do you know of any local stores that would carry the Vibes or Bass Freq's? I would like to have the piece of mind that if I have trouble with either that I will be able to return them and won't be screwed out of 50-100$ buying online.


sry for so many questions. the offer stands again lol.

"so let me get that str8, the phones with the thicker, clearer sleeve have less microphonics and tangling or more?"

Thicker, clear sleeve is less tangle prone and with less microphonics. This is generally true, in my experience, not just on the VMVs. I have some Sony phones with similar cables and find the same.

I do not work for V-Moda, and have never done so, though that has been an accusation levelled against me. I am a journalist, and I was an early recipient of all the VM phones, and I was extremely enthusiastic about them, as I have been about any number of other manufacturer's products. There were, however, concerns about guerrilla marketing by V-Moda and my motives were suspected. I was not accorded a right to challenge the accusation and a ban from iLounge was threatened, so for the sake of peace and quiet I try to make sure that I don't say anything that could be construed as promoting these phones.

When it comes to peace of mind, there are a number of companies whose guarantees are such that you can buy from them online with confidence. A good example is Ultimate Ears. Shure also 'go the extra mile'. Sony, by contrast, are harder to get good service from.

I'm not going to comment on V-Moda's record on customer support/replacements/refunds, but would suggest that a simple search should give you an idea as to whether they are a good or bad company to deal with.

And I only said that I MIGHT let you.......

I'm pretty darned choosy when it comes to who blows my oboe!

[Wadatah510]

hahaha

thanks alot!