Review: V-Moda Vibe II Earphones With Microphone (Verdict: Tasty Ear-Candy With A Purpose)
8:07 am, November 13th, 2009, Eli Milchman
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
According to Wikipedia, which is where I’ve learned 92 percent of the useless stuff I know, the phrase in Latin above means something along the lines of “don’t make things more complicated than they should be, dumbass.”
The V-Moda Vibe II with Microphone fits this explanation so exquisitely, you might well see them being whipped out as a teaching aid by your Latin instructor when the above phrase comes up.
Carpe diem. (Seize the day. Best way would be by clicking on the link for the rest of the review.)
Company: V-Moda
Model: Vibe II with Microphone
List Price: $119.99
Compatible: All iPod and iPhone variants.
Buy Now: The V-Moda Vibe II With Microphone are available from Amazon for $119.99.
Frankly, I’m not a huge fan of Bluetooth headsets. Until somebody comes along with one that doesn’t look like Lieutenant Uhuru’s earpiece or make me sound like I’m at the bottom of a well, I’ll probably be reaching for a pair of microphone-equipped headphones when calls come in.
V-Moda’s Vibe IIs are a perfect example of why: The microphone is positioned well enough that listeners on the other end — and voice control on the iPhone 3GS — can hear me fairly easily; a single rubberized button handles call answering, play/pause and track forward/reverese; and the eartips do a stellar job of sealing out noise so I can hear voices — in glorious stereo — on the other side.
Music through the phones sounds satisfyingly rich, with the familiar deep, bassy tone and slightly dulled high-end that the previous version of the Vibes are known for.
Unfortunately, the previous Vibes were also known for the “swishy” sound they made when the cable casing rubbed against clothing. The Vibe IIs robust, Kevlar-reinforced cables do the same thing.
However, in keeping with the simple-solutions-are-best theme, Vmoda provided a little cable clip to keep the cable from moving around — viola, no irritating swishy sound. Until you lose the clip; which, if you’re as clumsy as me, will happen about four minutes after you’ve opened the package. Still, the noise isn’t really bothersome unless I’m engaged in an activity where I’m moving around quite a bit, like running.
Finally, V-Moda crafted the button casing, microphone and earpieces out of a stainless steel alloy that gives the whole set a feel of quality and solidness; but again, this makes the Vibe IIs somewhat more cumbersome to be active with.
All-in-all, a superior, striking iPhone accessory. Just don’t move around too much.
Metal-bodied action button and microphone.
Even the packaging is flash.
The Vibe IIs come with a cornucopia of extras: six sets of silicone eartips (three each in black and clear); case; sport earhooks; and the V-Moda VIP card (VIP card not tested).
Posted by Eli Milchman in Reviews, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S, iPod Accessories | Comment on this article
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They look just like skull candy headphones, with the same microphone, and same ear bud fittings, that I can get at Zumiez for $15
Garrett, on November 13th, 2009 at 9:11 am
I hope these are better build quality than V-Moda’s prior attempts. The metal and cloth appointments are nice, but mean little when the component quality is low. After about 2 to 4 months of using the Vibe II’s predecessor, the Vibe Duo, one of the earbuds would inevitably short out. I went through four pairs until giving up and switching to a more established brand. To V-Moda’s credit, though, my exchanges were all warranty returns and processed smoothly.
E, on November 13th, 2009 at 9:33 am
I hope that they have ironed out the problems that the first version had. The sound quality was the best I’d ever had out of in-ear headphones, but three pairs fell apart at the jack plug. I got them replaced under guarantee, but was eventually advise to switch to Sennheiser MM50s, which although fantastic, one of the earphones fell apart after nine months.
As for “Unfortunately, the previous Vibes were also known for the “swishy” sound they made when the cable casing rubbed against clothing.” A sound engineer I know recommended tying a small knot in each cable just before the earphone. This absorbs the swishy sound and I found it works really well.
I used my Sony Walkman earphones for about ten years with no breakage. I still have them. Why are newer designs less robust?
David Scott, on November 13th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I have these, and they’re great, but I’m not sure they’re worth dying for.
Seriously – un-boxing these pups is one of the most unpleasant experiences I’ve ever had with a product. I actually hurt myself trying to free them from their package. The package designers, not just here but all over the place, really need to calm down.
JAYnLA, on November 13th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I upgraded to these after returning the older version just before the warranty expired three months ago. All the problems from the previous design were well-addressed. They were returned due to the wiring becoming exposed by the jack & losing sound in one ear. New design (kevlar?) solves that. I also found that none of the rubber earbuds fit my ears well, and more importantly, they fell off constantly. The new ones come in more sizes and I haven’t lost one yet. Also, the rubber multi-function button allows performs ipod functions much more predictably than the last model. My only gripe: making phone calls typically results in echo/poor sound quality on the other end….not sure if it’s my 3G, AT&T, or a combination of that + theses earbuds. Sound is very good, very happy overall.
IndyBrewDude, on November 13th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, otherwise known as Occam’s razor translates into English as ‘entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity” or “complexity should not be introduced without necessity”. or K.I.S.S. “Keep it simple stupid”
boden, on November 23rd, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Over all great sound in the new vModa II but yes they suck for phone calls. The person at the other end frequently hears an echo. Aparently this happens with apple’s own iPhone headphones too. See apple.com forums for reviews.
Richard Carter, on March 15th, 2010 at 1:23 pm