A couple of weeks with V-Moda's upgraded Vibe Duo headphones
When I reviewed the V-Moda Vibe Duo headphones — a.k.a. "The fancy iPhone-compatible headphones that Apple sort of promotes, or did until they decided to sell their own premium headphones" — I gave them a big thumbs up, despite the $100ish price. Then my pair fell apart. Then the replacement set that V-Moda happily sent fell apart, too, after perhaps a couple of months of use. I'll shell out a hundo for something that I use as much as a pair of headphones — I use mine for 2 or 3 hours a day — but not every couple of months.
At a recent press event the V-Moda rep was handing out new sets of Vibe Duo headphones and exhorted me to give them another shot after I drunkenly slurred to some other tech writers that mine had given up the ghost too soon.
I think these are going to hold. Granted, I've just been using them for a couple of weeks, but two fundamental changes seem promising: They've changed the material that covers the wires from fabric to a fabric coated in plastic, which isn't as nice looking or flexible, but seems a lot more sturdy; they've also completely changed the minijack plug so that the cord tips out at a forty-five degree angle, taking pressure off the wire connection when it's in the pocket of your pants or coat. It just so happens that the new jack tickles my sense of tactility and ineffable visual rightness. It's neato looking.
Prices of the upgraded model remain the same as always, but I'm happy to say that I think the new ones have a fighting chance of remaining in good shape for months to come. I hope.
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You know, I thought mine were worth the money too, until they fell apart. Mine got a short right above the metal microphone casing. Is that what happened to yours too?
I tried finding the short, but couldn't find any loose wires on the mic's circuit board.
I'm not sure where they came apart. I tried tearing my broken ones down, too, but I couldn't be sure. I think it might have been right up next to one of the earbuds itself. V-Moda is pretty good about replacements, though, so it's worth giving them a ring. You should have a one year warranty.
After going through two sets of those in five months, I decided to go with the Ultimate Ears iphone buds. They sound better and the clicker is a nicely big button placed farther down in the cord, so its a lot easier to use than the V Modas or the Apple buds.
Fabric cords seem to hold up well when it comes to guitar (&c.) cables, so it surprised me that it seemed weak to you on these... But then I guess there are many different types of fabric that could be used, and obviously on a thinner cable it'd be a thinner fabric... You know what I like? The silicone (I think) cables... Like on Fluke DMM probes... Or Apple power cables seem to be the same or at least similar... And Hosa component cables seem similar as well... Very flexible (none of the "memory" of the normal rubbery plasticky type) and very sturdy.
I bought a pair of these, too, despite all the negative reviews of their build quality. I picked mine up at the local apple store, and while I was there I noticed some of the boxes had a "© 2007" on the back, while others were labeled "2008." I picked up the latter, thinking maybe they'd addressed the quality issues.
I think they had, but that pair must have been some sort of in-between revision. It has the plastic-coated, fabric cord, but still the old style plug.
I've been expecting them to die at any moment, but I'm about 4 months in now (with heavy use -- twice daily during walk/bus city commute, and most days sitting at my desk) and they still sound great.
I would like to note that the V-Moda Bass-Freq earbud headphones have the same problem with the stereo jack going bad. V-Moda have been very good about replacing the headphones within the 1-year warranty period (save your receipt.)
My most recent replacement of the Bass-Freq earbuds, which are a cheaper offering than the Vibe Duo, was shipped to me on 25 Sep 2008, and they had the old-style jack. I was curious when I requested the replacement if the Bass-Freq earbuds were going to get the new jack treatement that the Vibe Duo's got. Apparently the answer is no.
I had the originals, and they broke. I sent them back to v-moda. I got a pair of the new ones as replacements. After a month, they broke. I sent them back to v-moda. I am now awaiting my 3rd pair.
What are the lemon laws for headphones?
I had a pair of vmoda vibe duo which fell apart after two weeks. I took it back to the store and replaced them. The new pair lasted a week longer. I decided to take it back again and have them replaced. To my surprise the store told me that they no longer carry v-moda because of the number of returns but that he had a new brand which he said was just as good and cost $49. The new brand was Radius Atomic Bass for iPhone. I was kinda hesitant but decided to give them a try. These earbuds are F&%$@ awsome and sound just as good if not better as the v-moda. I've had them for about a month now.