$99
UPDATE: I had some problems with my V-Moda Vibe Duo headset and went through V-Moda’s warranty process to address them - you can read about what happened here.
I must offer a disclaimer at the beginning of this review - I am not an audiophile and have never worked in the music or any other industry or capacity where an ability to determine sound quality has been required. My only exposure to music evaluation came from playing the piano and the flute from grade school into high school - while I can recognize when something is off-tune or just “not right”, I’m not a professional. So, my review of this headset is really that of a layman, and I’ve done my best to fully describe what I hear.
Before I got my iPhone, I used a pair of Etymotic ER-6i earbuds with my video iPod, and loved them. They offered clear and precise sound throughout the range of music genres I listen to, and my only “gripe” is that they did not offer as much bass as I would like for some of the electronica and hip-hop in my music collection. But, this was not a deal-breaker in any way, and I recommend these headphones to anyone.
Of course, my love affair with my Etymotics ended when I got my iPhone and encountered its recessed headphone jack that would not accommodate them. I did try a Belkin headphone adapter, but I found that this significantly affected the sound quality (music had an overall damped sound with it). Rather than attempt to modify my Etymotics, I switched to using the OEM headset since I really liked the ability to pause music and talk on the phone with the integrated switch and microphone in them.
Here’s something odd - I actually don’t find the OEM headset to be all that bad for what they are, and they fit in my ears relatively well. They definitely do not offer the sound quality of my Etymotic’s, but they are fine for listening in quiet environments. My only concern with them, since I work in the city and frequently walk between my office and the train station, is that they clearly advertise that I have an iPod or iPhone in my pocket for all would-be muggers to see. So, I decided that I wanted headphones that were not white, offered decent sound quality, and had an integrated microphone and switch like the OEM ones. Enter the V-Moda Vibe Duos. I’d read in early October that they were going to be updating their Vibe Duo offering to include a control switch in addition to a microphone with a jack that would fit into the iPhone. I waited patiently until the Leopard release and purchased them while I was at the Apple store.
Design
The Vibe Duos come in black or red. I am not a fan of red in general and went for the black ones (that was the only color available at the time at that store, anyway). There are chrome accents on the earpieces and on the cord where the right and left earpiece cords come together. I’m generally not a fan of chrome (too reminiscent of flashy bling for me), but it’s not too bad. The earpieces appear to made of aluminum, and the cord is covered in fabric rather than plastic so that kinks can be avoided more easily.
Compared to the OEM headset, they offer more personalization to ensure they fit with included earpiece tips in 3 sizes. They come with the smallest size installed out of the box - these fit me right off the bat and I never bothered to change them. The earpieces are meant to fit further in your ear canal than the OEM ones, allowing for better isolation from surrounding noise. They don’t offer the same level of noise insulation as my Etymotics, but they far surpass the OEM ones. Of course, an added benefit to this is that you don’t need to turn the volume up nearly as much as since they block other outside sounds from your ears more effectively. The picture below shows the V-Moda earbuds next to the OEM Apple ones and my Etymotics to show the size and shape differences.
The microphone is on the cord to the right earbud, as it is on the OEM earbuds. The switch to pause/skip tracks and answer/end calls is built into this section as well. Where on the OEM earbuds, the entire microphone piece is a switch that can simply be squeezed to activate it, the switch on the Vibe Duos is a narrow piece of plastic that protrudes from one side of the cylindrical piece that contains the microphone. This makes it harder to press since you have to find it first and then make a conscious effort to depress it. The switch has the exact same functionality as on the OEM earbuds.
The section to which the plug is attached is metal (it is plastic on the OEM earbuds) and is straight, not angled. I’ve read that this type of plug connection can be prone to breakage if you tend to wrap your headphones around your iPhone (or other electronic device) since this places additional stress on the connector. If you do this a lot, you may want to choose headphones with an angled connector to decrease the chance of breakage at this point. Since I keep my iPhone in my pocket or bag sometimes while I listen to music, I do feel that the this straight plug is under more stress than is good for it sometimes, and would prefer an angled connector given this.
One useful thing these earbuds include that the OEM ones do not is a clip - it is on the cord to the right ear so you can keep the microphone in more or less the same place around your mouth.
Audio Sound Quality
I’ve read that new headphones must be broken in to attain their full acoustical range - this period is called “burn-in” and anywhere from 25 to 100 hours is recommended for this to occur. When I first got the headset (I opened the box on the train right after leaving the store - I am never one to be patient with new gadgets!) and tried them with my iPhone, the bass was “boomy” and overall sound was a bit hollow. It seems to have improved steadily over time - I use it for about an hour a day total on my train ride to the city, and some days more if I use it at work to block out noise in the cubes around me. In total, it’s probably seen about 70 hours of use since purchase at the time of this review.
I listen to a wide range of music - from some classical, jazz, and piano to hip-hop and electronic. I’m listening to the second movement of Beethoven’s 9th symphony performed by Leonard Bernstein and the Berlin & Vienna Philarhmonic Orchestras as I write this section (with no EQ preset specified) and I find that the overall sound is not entirely crisp, with too much emphasis on the high and low sound ranges.
Listening to Midnight by A Tribe Called Quest (their Midnight Marauder album - one of my favorites of theirs), the bass is definitely emphasized much more so than with my Etymotics. The midrange and treble seem to have about equal emphasis (still less than bass) with this music genre, though there still isn’t the crispness in sound overall compared to the Etymotics. I like some good bass as much as the next girl who frequented house parties in college where the music was so loud the bass seemed to echo inside my chest cavity, and these are satisfying when listening to the hip-hop in my music library.
Listening to Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie, there is more sound separation than I was expecting with these earphones. Overall, it sounds pretty good, but is still not crisp.
Listening carefully to these different music genres all point to that clarity issue - these are definitely not on par with my Etymotic ER-6i’s.
Phone Sound Quality
I’ve left some voicemails on my K7.net number of me talking through the iPhone’s built-in microphone for reference purposes, and then using the OEM and V-Moda headsets.
Voicemail 1 left using my iPhone’s built-in microphone only:
iPhoneonly
Voicemail 2 left using the OEM earbuds:
OEMearbuds
Voicemail 3 left using the Vibe Duos:
VibeDuos
You can hear that my voice is clear with no echoes or distortion through the iPhone’s built-in microphone . Through the OEM headset, my voice sounds much less distinct than I expected! I’m pretty surprised at that - I haven’t really heard any complaints from anyone while using it, but perhaps they were just being nice? Through the Vibe Duos, my voice is clearer than with the OEM headset, but still not as clear as with using the iPhone’s built-in microphone. I know now that I’ll definitely choose to use the Vibe Duos over the OEM headset for phone calls any day. I’ve had no complaints from people about being able to hear or understand me when using them for calls. And I love how discreet they appear in comparison to the telltale white OEM headphones.
Using the Vibe Duos for calls is nice, though I’m not sure I’ll ever really get used to stereo sound for phone calls when I’ve been used to mono my whole life. As with the OEM earbuds, I really appreciate the ability to take calls without having to juggle with removing the headphones, reveal the screen on my iPhone to access the answer button, and then hold it up to my ear to hear and talk.
Summary
I am fairly pleased with this headset. While I don’t think it has the sound quality I’d really like for the price, it is more than adequate and has OEM-like functionality in a less conspicuous (to would-be thieves) package. If you are looking for an alternative to the OEM earbuds, like a lot of emphasis on bass (probably best for rock, hip-hop, and techno, though not for classical music), I would recommend this headset for you.
V-Moda Vibe Duo Headset
$99