Recent issues with my V-Moda Vibe
Duo earbuds
You can read my full review of these headphones
here - this review was
written before I started having problems with
them.
September 14, 2008
I received the replacement earbuds on 8/21 and have been using them
daily since. They sent me headphones in a new, sealed retail
package, so I got the carrying case and replacement ear fittings
all over again (and I have no complaints whatsoever about this).
There is a difference with these head headphones compared to my
previous ones - the connector is now angled. From what I’ve read on
the ‘net, this was the most common breakage point for these earbuds
and it looks like V-Moda addressed this. I haven’t had any problems
with my new set so far, but it hasn’t been that long since I got
them. There’s nothing different on the packaging to note this, so
this appears to be a stealth move on their part. If you’re looking
to buy a new set of V-Moda’s, you may want to see if you can check
them out in the store before you buy them, or buy them and stay in
the store while you open them to make sure they’re the most recent
version.
July 19, 2008
I wanted to provide an update about these headphones to note some
problems I’d been having and my contact with V-Moda. As I write
this, my Vibe Duos are being evaluated by their warranty
department, and I’m hoping for a replacement set.
I started noticing an annoying issue last winter. While wearing the
headphones, I would occasionally get small shocks in my right ear.
It didn’t happen too often, and I chalked it up to static
electricity. But one day I got a pretty sharp shock that actually
hurt a fair amount. When I got to work that day, I Googled for
similar issues and found that others had experienced this as well
with their Vibe Duos - it was nice to know that I was not the only
one. I’d never had this happen with a pair of headphones before,
and felt this was abnormal behavior.
(To be clear, I don’t believe at all that this was a shock
transferred from my iPhone’s circuits through my headphones. I
truly think this was simply static electricity built up through my
body/clothing and then transmitted through the headset to my ear -
my guess is that it only did this through the right earbud because
of the metal housing on that side for the microphone and control
button.)
The last issue I had was the most serious. Out of the blue, my
headphones started distorting sound drastically. This happened
while on the train into work one morning, and I almost panicked
thinking there was something wrong with my iPhone. I didn’t have
any other headphones with me at the time, so I couldn’t test it
out. I had a spare pair of OEM headphones in my desk at work and
tried those with my iPhone as soon as I arrived, and the sound was
perfect (well, as perfect as it gets with the OEM headphones) - I
was so relieved to know that there was nothing wrong with my
iPhone. I tried the Vibe Duos with my computers at work and at
home, and got the same distorted sound, so there was clearly
something wrong with them.
I don’t listen to my music very loudly (I’d like to still be able
to hear when I’m 85, thank you very much) and I’ve never gotten the
headphones wet or abused them in any way, so I’m at a loss as to
how this happened. Regardless, I’m very glad they were under
warranty and hope that V-Moda will replace them with a new pair.
I’ll post an update when I hear back from them - V-Moda received
them on July 16, so we’ll also see how long it takes them to
respond...
Related pages:
V-Moda Vibe Duo review