V-Moda Bass Freq Earbuds (Rocker Red)

My wife owns the gunmetal black high end v-moda earbuds and to tell the truth, those have NOTHING on these as far as sound (except for looking cooler and costing twice as much). Yes, they may be a little more durable (and heavy) due to material (metal vs plastic), but as far as sound goes, you will NOT be disappointed with these. Now having said that, you must experiment with the various ear inserts so that you get the one that fits "just right". But when you find that, you will be amazed at the sound of these. They are also extremely comfortable.

Given the price these are great earbuds. Definitely lots of bass, yet lower midrange is not muddy. If you get them in right, the trebble is there, clean and detailed, however the emphasized bass may have you reaching for the EQ occasionally. I was pleasantly surprised by the even emphasis, runs from low B to high G sound great. Even with the bass emphasis, I was impressed with the amount of inner detail. Jamerson's rythm fingering on old Motown tracks (converted from LPs and 45s to MP3) is clearly evident (try the "unsanitized" original mono 45 of Love Is Here And Now You're Gone by the Supremes). On Take It Away by Wings the bass line always seemed to muddy up when the full mix came in but with these little buds you can follow it all the way through. Admittedly these examples are originally analog. On the latest digital stuff subjected to all the time domain trickery modern recording techniques provide (sub sonic hyping to see the woofers flail) the bass may be uncomfortably loud at levels that allow you to perceive "normal" trebble. On Sunday Morning (studio mix) by Maroon 5, the electric bass was OK but the hyped kick drum was over the top. But, since these buds are responsive to equalization, and given they deliver LOTS of bass as claimed, they're a steal at the price. They're supplied with three sets of silicon rings to fit different size ear canals. Mine fit well using the small rings, and are very comfortable. I was also impressed with the balance and imaging -- stuff in the middle is right there between your eyes, and the stereo sound stage provide excellent localization. On well recorded studio tracks (I'm listening to Cry On My Shoulder by Bonnie Raitt as I write) all the little percussion details are not only clearly audible but also clearly localizable. These may not be your only set of cans -- becuase of the bass emphasis they "color" everything. But -- once you buy 'em, you 'll be surprised at how often you reach for them.

I've gone through tons of earbuds of different brands at different price ranges. I really like V-Moda: 1. The medium size silcone buds fit in my ear perfectly. They are soft and confortable (better than Sony's). So, they can stay in my ears for a long time. 2. The price, I think, is really good. It seems like most of the decent (but not ridiculously overpriced)earbuds are now priced around 100 USD--like Bose Triport in-ear, SONY MDR-EX90LP,V-Moda Vibe 3. Bass Freqs are also surprisingly really loud (not just because the fit into my ears and block the ambient sound out). Even at high volumes, I am surprised that bass, mids and highs of (128 kbps MP3 files) remain undistorted. My complaint is that the bass is not well balanced for all kinds of music. I feel the bass is too loud and somewhat overpowers the mids. The highs aren't as crisp as I would have liked. That said, considering for the price that I paid for these, I am not sure if there are anything out there in the same price range that are significantly better than the Bass Freqs. I'd like to try the VModa Vibes but they cost twice as much. I'm very happy with the Bass Freqs.

Bought these because of the CNET review..teaches me to trust an internet magazine with audio reviews.

Anyway, unless you are 16 years old, or addicted to overpowering bass, you won't like these. They sound like the subs in my car when I was 16- overpowered, cheap, and muddy. Or like the bass boost function on a $30 boom-box from GPX. Sorry, no thanks.

To be fair, some kinds of music DO sound good in these...specifically house/electro and hip-hop, but pretty much all rock from hardcore to acoustic sounds like the frequency range dips out at 8k.

On the plus side...they are really good at blocking outside noise...I couldnt hear anything with them in. They're comfortable as well.

For my iPod, I used the apple earbuds for a while. I probably put them through all hell and they still worked great. I just found them to be uncomfortable. I got these V-Moda's to replace them. They sounded great, but are exceedingly fragile. They broke within a week. I am a typical college student, so I always just put my computer, iPod, whatever else in my bookbag. The apple earbuds lasted and held up well, these didn't. The plastic is incredibly thin and the earphones cracked for no apparent reason. I am extremely disapointed and am sending them back.

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