Hey folks, Valkor here. And I wanna welcome to first time and hopefully not the last, newcomer into the Val-Cave "V-Moda", who've brought along a pair of headphones that will blow your earbuds wide open. Check out the Vibrato that not only offers up great sound, but pulls double duty as a handy mic and remote, check it out!
V-Moda's Vibrato sound quality appears to be a big deal because the Vibrato earplugs are housed in a zinc alloy casing, a jewel-like black and silver outer shell, and a braided fabric cord reinforced with Kevlar – I'm not kidding, fucking Kevlar! If you're gonna plunk duckets into these headphones, you can be sure they're gonna last for the duration. To round out the specs, the Vibrato comes with a special silicon based earplugs for fit and comfort, plus there's four additional pairs ranging in size so no matter the ear, there's a plug that'll fit. The overall package, when in use, creates an enclosure providing noise-isolation that's perfect for commuters and air travelers who can't be bothered with little Jimmy who is crying away or Miss Suzy "talks into her phone a lot… and loudly".
Oh but we're not done yet because the Vibrato serves another function not only acting as earplugs for your listening pleasure, you also get an attached microphone with remote. It's very discreet and locked in on the right ear cable (play/pause and volume up/down), this makes for easy hands-free talk time, and ease of control over your music without having to deal with the base.
For Val-Cave testing purposes I used three pieces of equipment – my iPhone 3Gs (which is the main use for these headphones), my laptop for audio only, and an mp3 player (again just for audio comparisons). I also tested the Vibrato against Lift Audio's Icon Series and Ankit's Earplugs with G-Bass technology. And what did I end up with?
Vs. Lift Audio Icon series – V-Moda's is definitely the leader of the pack when compared to the Icon series; I like the size of the Icon series, which is much smaller when compared to the Vibrato. However the bass in the Vibrato alone takes the sound quality to a whole new level and then some.
Vs. Ankit Earphones – Oh Ankit, you threw down the gauntlet and defeated me in the Val-cave challenge, but a new contender has stepped up to the plate to take your seat as king (actually the Icon series already did that); it's not to say that your sound quality isn't amazing… but V-Moda's bass is chilling, and I mean that in a positive respect.
Now let's dive in with the TOV Breakdown and see how the Vibrato ultimately did.
The Bang:
V-Moda touts the Vibrato as having stellar bass, and without a doubt they've nailed it. Bass is really deep, rich and doesn't sacrifice sound quality, which is clean and crisp. This is a major plus if you enjoy club tunes, which is all about the bass (throw some Black Eyed Peas against these earphones and watch the funk come out). The fit is proper and comfortable and the added noise isolation is bonus. Across the board (laptop, MP3, iPhone) the Vibrato didn't fail me offering up consistent excellence throughout; I did notice a drop in clarity when it came to my older mp3s but that's due to the quality of the encoding, no fault of the earphones as it does the job it was meant to do and that's make your audio sound good. A huge plus is the Kevlar cord, which adds much needed durability, especially for the daily commuter or business traveler; these babies won't easily rip or tear, a problem most common with rubber based headphones. Plus they don't get tangled up so easily and if they do, they come apart with the quickness. Finally call quality has a good and bad and since we're in the good, let's start with that. Receiving and accepting a call is a cinch, plus hearing the other party, while it may be somewhat muffled thanks to the bass, it still comes across clear, plus there's no problem with the other party hearing me. The problem and this might be nitpicking, steps in when we enter…
The Slack:
And then this happened. OK I made that sound way more serious than it really is, but it isn't that serious. My only issue with the Vibrato is when I'm actually speaking to the other party; because of the noise isolation, I can't really measure my level of speech – it's either too loud or too low. The best way to remedy this is to use the right earplug. Again, it's not really a big deal.
V-Moda's Vibrato earphones come with a price tag of $130; that may seem steep for most, but you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. I'm talking amazing sound quality that offers up rich bass and clarity plus durability that lasts, all equaling up to a package of awesome for the V-Moda Vibrato that I HIGHLY recommend. And out of TOV 5 stars, though I have one fault in the mic, I'm still giving the Vibrato a perfect 5 and it's been Valkor tested, TOV Approved!