Review: V-moda Modaphones: Remix M-class earbuds

MacNN reviewed the V-MODA Bass Fréq earbuds and cited that those earphones offered completely balanced sound. As someone who reacts physically to too much bass in my sound, I concur that the Bass Level Isolating Soft Silicon (BLISS) does offer a nice listening experience, but it isn't for me, and the Bass Fréq offered too much bass.

When you compress create MP3 files, the bass often loses its depth and headphones that put some of the sound back into a song is welcome. V-moda recommends that you use MP3 LAME encoding at 320kbps for the best MP3 sound. If you use Apple Lossless compression to rip the AIFF files off your CDs, you don't need headphones that try to recover the original sound. Headphones that give you a full range of listening pleasure from the high to the low end are much more gratifying.

Remix Sound

The Remix M-class Modaphones with their slick metal finish produce excellent sound at reasonable listening levels. As their marketing suggests the high tones are crisp, but not tinny, while the bass is audible and smooth. The sound is comparable to that heard in much more expensive earphones. These are the first earbuds I found that are actually comfortable and provide a pleasing sound at safe listening levels. The 15mm dynamic speaker driver is the commonly used neodymium type.

Excellent Construction

While $50.00 may seem like a lot for earbuds, the excellent construction and sound quality produced by these earphones is well worth the price. Unlike most earbuds, the earpiece stem is not rounded where it attaches to its post, so I find they fit comfortably. The right angle created by this design allows me to kind of hang the earbuds in my ears. I do not need to shove them in to hear the sound well. Also, they stay in more securely while walking than other earbuds I've used.

The 24k gold-plated input jack is completely straight, so it fits into any iPod case, even if the case has a small jack cutout. The V-MODA Modaphones - Remix M-class comes in seven colors with wire wrapped in the same color as the earbuds. The clear plastic encased wire, included with the silver color, blends in with your clothing, so it doesn't announce that you're wearing earbuds as obviously as the white cords included with Apple's iPods. They also include a clear plastic cord wrap for the generous cord that measusres 32” plug to y-connector with 13.5” even-length earphone cables, as listed on the site.

A chilly experience

The downside of the metal architecture is that in winter, they can be mighty cold when you first put them on. Even though they have a rubber ring around the actual ear bud piece, the metal may be uncomfortable. In the FAQ on the V-MODA web site, they recommend you hold the earphones in your hand a few minutes to warm them up before inserting them in your ears. Even with the foam pads, this is a good idea, because the stem may still be cold.

Minor Omission

They do not ship with any carrying case, so I repurposed an old felt jewelry bag with drawstring to store my Modaphones. If a hard case if more to your liking, check out the one of the new hard cases made for other items, such as the TechStyle-Puck previously reviewed on MacNN.

In-Home Trial

V-MODA is so sure you'll like their products that they allow a 30-day in home trial. If by some odd chance of fate, you do not like their product, you can return them for full refund, minus shipping and handling. This is one of the few near perfect products I've used.

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