I finally got my headphones back from warranty. And as with all things in life, you only appreciate them when you don’t have them. I’ve been using my standard iPhone headphones which not only look naff with their all-white-look-at-me-I’ve-got-an-iPod style but also have the same terrible sound you get from standard headphones.
The v-moda vibe duo, on the other hand, are the Maserati of the headphones world: furious, stunning looks and awesome sound. They have great a sound-reducing capability and very good bass, which means you can turn the volume down and enjoy more of the music’s richness.
This makes the journey on the Underground a much more pleasant experience for you and for your fellow passengers who don’t have to listen to your loud music any more.
But as we all know Maserati’s also have a downside: they predictably break down too fast too soon. From the enquires I’ve made to my fellow iPhone fans I discovered I wasn’t alone. Quite the opposite, every single one of them had already sent back theirs for replacement, which gives the v-moda an empirical failure rate of 100%.
After sending mine back 3 weeks ago I sadly found out after a trip to the Apple Store that the v-moda are the only in-ear headphones for the iPhone available in the market. Sure you can get loads of headphones that *work* on the iPhone but nothing with a built-in microphone or a control button. On the up side, the one-year warranty means you can send them back (remember to keep your receipt) and you can expect to receive a replacement within 3 to 4 weeks.
What is a guy to do… stick to the reliable white vw or keep sending the maserati for repair… can someone else (Sony, hello??) please make a decent and reliable pair?
If you buy one, remember to budget for an extra £20 per year on top of their retail price of £70, as that’s how much it costs to send them back 4 times (every 2 to 3 months).
They do have great sound, maybe I’ll just buy another pair to use in the 4 weeks I have to wait for them to come back ;)
