A set of fashion-conscious, well-engineered in-ear-monitors is in town, and it's rocking the house! I recently acquired a pair of V-Moda Vibes (Gunmetal Black), and to my surprise, its sound quality on top of its elegant design totally wow'ed me.

Construction and Fit (9/10)

Vibes' small size definitely took me by surprise. The default black silicons fit snuggly into my ear. They do not go too deep into the ear canal, but enough so it won't fall out easily. The depth of insertion also partially isolates some external noise when music is playing. But if you are looking for complete isolation, don't bother with the vibes. For me, the partial isolation is favorable, because being aware of outside noise is often one of my concerns.

I ordered the Gunmetal Black version. Besides the fact that the phones are made out of metal, The tone of the color is very appealing. Being examined under fluorescent lighting, it definitely matches my definition of the color "gunmetal." Everything is smooth and well textured. Also, the length of the wire is just right (for me at least). However, the black cable could be a little less stiff. Overall, it's well constructed fits very comfortably in my ears.




Accessories (8/10)

While accessories are not a vital part of the sound experience, including a variety of fittings is a must for IEMs. The Vibes offer 3 sizes of fittings and they should fit well for most people as the silicons are really soft and can adapt to most small variations. As for the included gold pouch, i do not like it. :( It reminds me of some lady's old-fashioned purse. Perhaps for future improvement, Val can include a different storage device for his masculine version of the kit. :D




The Sound - always in price-to-performance ratio - (8/10)

Having tried many top-of-the-line headphones from various manufacturers, I am totally impressed with the Vibes' sound quality. Of course, this is not to say that it trumps a $300 headphone, such as the HD650, but for its price, it's definitely a bargain. Its sound signature is very similar to that of the HD595 from Sennheiser and IMO, can perform almost 70 - 80% of that similar sound quality.

First off, the bass. It's definitely there. It's a tiny bit more muddy than the HD595 but exerts much more presence. Impact of drums is accurate, but a little less "punchy." At times, the bass does color the music a bit and muddies the separation of lows and mids. However, the coloration does not seem to be overwhelming. I think the back of the packaging describes the Vibes' bass performance very accurately: blissful.

The Vibes' mids are definitely what make these phones so enjoyable. The mids contribute greatly to the forward and warm character of the sound signature. However, the low-mids seem to be emphasized, while the high-mids seem to be put onto a secondary level. As a result, it is less vivid and becomes more fluid, comfortable, and gentle.

The highs are also there, but comparing to the bass and mids, they are less emphasized. Again, I completely agree with the description "vicacious highs" advertised on the back of the packaging. The highs are neither overwhelming nor piercing. I think Val and his sound engineers made a very good decision to tone down the highs as piercing high notes in IEMs will definitely make one's ears very fatigue.

Last but not least is the soundstage, and it is wide! Considering the phones carry a forward sound signature, the soundstage is definitely very decent. Listening to the virtual 3D soundtrack (the one with a guy shaking a box of matches), the soundstage of the Vibes gives a very well balanced and "out-of-the-head" experience.

Subjective Sound Score Breakdown:

Bass: 8/10
Mids: 8/10
Treble: 7/10


Conclusion ( 8 /10)


Undeniably, the V-Moda Vibes are no referencing IEMs. The sound is colored and high-mids and treble are less emphasized. However, I believe this coloration allows the Vibes to become an extremely fun, warm, and liquid-like earphones. And yes, they are definitely worth the money I paid for.



A few last notes:

Amplification:
I tried amping the Vibes with a tube amp and they really shined! All aspects of the phones are improved with a much better separation of low, mids, and highs. Soundstage and bass impacts also greatly improved!