Velodyne vPulse IEMs

halo

Hey all,

I just wanted to chime in and let you all know that I think that these are, without a doubt, the best In Ear Monitors that I own / have owned. Let me say that I purchased the pink color because it was far less expensive @ less than $40 compared to the retail price of $99. I purchased my pair from wal-mart because they had the lowest price at the time. Amazon has them in Pink, as of this writing, for $39.99 & Black for $59.99. I can tell you that I'm secure enough in my masculinity to wear a pink pair of IEMs, especially when they sound like these.

So, what am I comparing these Velodyne vPulse IEMs to?

Well, this is a list of the IEMs that I either own, or that I have owned:

Xiaomi 2nd Piston? (2014)
Panasonic RPHJE120K (2014) These were Wirecutter's "Best IEMs under $30" (until the Brainwavz Delta took that title a few days ago. However, I think the Panasonic IEMs sound better than the Brainwavz Delta)
Brainwavz Delta (2014) Wirecutter's current "Best IEMs Under $30"
Philips SHE3590BK/10AKG K28? (2014)
Sennheiser CX300-B? (2008)
Ultimate Ears 200? (2009)
Skullcandy Titan? (2009)
Nuforce NE-600X-BLK (2014)
Acoustic Research AR - HP1030 (2011)

I can also say that they've exceeded the performance of both the on ear & over the ear headphones that I've owned. Basically, IMHO, these are the best headphones that I've ever heard, beating out:

V-Moda M80 (2013)
Audio Technica (2013)
TASCAM TH-MX2 (2014)
Creative Aurvana Live! (2013)
Creative Aurvana Live! 2 (2014)
Panasonic RP-HTF600-S (2013)
Monoprice 8323 (2013)
Superlux HD 681 (2013)
Sennheiser PX100 (2007)
Brainwavz HM5 (2013)
Sennheiser PX200 (2007)

A couple of those, on the list above, were supposed to have been great IEMs for bass response, but nothing came even remotely close to the vPulse. I'm not just referring to the bass response here either; the entire frequency range is reproduced more accurately on the vPulse than on any other pair of headphones I've owned. It is amazing that, even with the amount of bass the vPulse deliver, nothing else in the frequency range is lost; this is because the bass doesn't overwhelm anything, it just compliments the mids and the highs splendidly. You really do owe it to yourself to try these.

I've been into the audio hobby for a long time and, while listening to the vPulse, I am hearing details / material in my music that I've never been able to hear before. Maybe it's because of coloration or a lack of the ability to reveal these details in the equipment I've used in the past, but it seems so unlikely that these elements would have escaped me for such a long time.

When I first started to listen to the vPulse I was really surprised by their overall sound signature and how wonderfully they reproduce many different genres of music. The vPulse is no one trick pony, no sir. These IEMs reproduce everything accurately. It is safe to say that my jaw was on the floor during my first listening session with the vPulse. All of my recordings are either WAV or FLAC files, because I wanted to preserve all the details that the artists put into their recordings, and to hear them reproduced when I listen to the music. The vPulse are the first to do such a fine job at delivering these details to my ears. I am truly gobsmacked.

I found these to be very comfortable to wear over an extended time period and they were never in danger of falling out of my ears. The included silicone eartips fit me just fine, which is a pretty rare occurrence for me. I would recommend that people purchase foam ear tips from Comply if they experience issues relating to discomfort or if the vPulse have a tendency to fall out of their ears - everyone is different and the Comply tips help to level the field, but they may alter the sound quality. The correct size to fit the vPulse is 400, then you choose the type that best suits your needs. More info on complyfoam dot com

At their current price of $39.99, these are a steal. Even attheir MSRP of $99, I think that they are totally worth it. The vPulse is on Wirecutters "Best IEM under $100" as well.

If you're worried about the pink color, just tell people you support breast cancer awareness (which I do & I do).

Honestly, I can only remember a handful of times that I felt this way about a product that I've purchased before . These In Ear Monitors rank up there as one of the best purchases that I have EVER made. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

RamZet

Very cool, I am looking into a sub $100 pair of in ear headphones. I currently own the vleve and vtrue. I guess it makes sense I try their in ear.

gudnoyez

I read your review on amazon and are they really better than the Sennheiser CX 300 II have you tried the Bose Ie2s? Im thinking about getting the pink ones at that price who cares what people think at 235lbs 6'4 I could politely just give em the finger while listening to tunes. My buddy has the Bose Ie2s and they sound fantastic but at the price of these pink Velodynes I just might get them, the CX 300s are $10 less, but have heard the left bud cable is shorter than the right that would bug the s..t out of me.

halo

@gudnoyez - I didn't own the Sennheiser CX 300 II, I had the original Sennheiser CX 300-B. In relation to that pairing, yes, I believe that the vPulse are superior. The original Sennheiser CX 300-B, circa 2008, had one cable longer than the other and it was very annoying to me.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you any advice on Bose headphones. haver never owned a pair, so it is impossible for me to advise for or against the Bose model.

Some people can be insecure about wearing pink. I'm not, and it's good that you aren't either. Save some green and buy pink. lol.

seabeerob213

gudnoyez wrote: »

I read your review on amazon and are they really better than the Sennheiser CX 300 II have you tried the Bose Ie2s? Im thinking about getting the pink ones at that price who cares what people think at 235lbs 6'4 I could politely just give em the finger while listening to tunes. My buddy has the Bose Ie2s and they sound fantastic but at the price of these pink Velodynes I just might get them, the CX 300s are $10 less, but have heard the left bud cable is shorter than the right that would bug the s..t out of me.

I owned some IE2S and the sounded tinny and flat to me, nothing overpowered anything, but nothing sounded all that great either. Construction wasn't that great either, the jacket on the cables seems to just kind of crack and fall apart, min did any how.

gudnoyez

The IE2s I listened to sounded great to me no tinny sound whatsoever but it could be my buddy adjusted the tonal settings on his I pod classic. I would buy them but like the price of the velodynes so I will just get them more than likely, the only thing I read negative about the Velodynes is they don't stay in your ears during sports or other activities I do a lot of mountain biking and would not want them falling out.

I have a purple Specialized Rockhopper hardtail so could care less if my ear buds are pink if they stay in place and sound good at that price then what the heck, my current Klipsch ear buds are going out and the Polk ones I bought a while back belong to the wife now, so on a budget these Velos might be a good buy.

halo

@gudnoyez - Have you ever heard of, or tried, Comply foam tips? The vPulse takes the 400 size. You can buy them direct from Comply or at amazon.

I put items in my cart and went through most of the checkout process, but then I backed out. Comply sent me an email and offered me 10% off of my order, so I bought them from Comply.

seabeerob213

Disclaimer, IE2s were used playing WMA from a cellphone

gudnoyez

http://inearheadphonesreviewed.com/velodyne-vpulse-review/

So.I went for them the pink ones were $50 less than the black or blue ones so hot pink it is. I wear a stocking cap or my Russian hat in the winter or a helmet when I mountain bike I have always tucked the cable under my shirt anyways. Like you say who gives a s..t what people think I just got a pair of Velodynes that retail for 99.99 for 39.99 shipped pretty exited to hear these, thanks for the heads up halo.

I am hoping these are as nice as my buddies Bose Ie2s, somehow I'm guessing they will be better in the bass department, those IE2S sound really good though, and if they sound better than his IE2's, I can say what you know if he talks sh.t about the color oh well I'm bigger than him.

halo

lol. congrats gudnoyez! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. This hobby is, obviously, quite subjective. Only you will know if you like them or not, if they suite you, that is.

Give the Comply foam tips a try if these don't fit as well as you'd like. BTW, you can get a brand new pair of Brainwavz Delta on amazon for less than $12, and they include a set of the correct size Comply tips for the vPulse!

LINK

gudnoyez

Thanks I will let you know how they turn out they should arrive on the 5th I'm sure they will be just as your description on them read a lot of favorable reviews on them.

gudnoyez

Well these showed up on the 5th but didn't get a chance to listen to them until last night. I do believe your review on these is spot on after I changed the tips to the smaller size than the ones attached when they showed up, Holy Bass. I listened to a couple of Primus, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, to test the bass out why not with Lespool, and Flea, the bass was wow with out losing the highs and mids.

I hooked up the JD Labs amp to them not really needed but you now what I like the sound, Radioheads, Ok Computer sounded fantastic, a great purchase for $39.99 regardless of the color. Thanks for the heads up.

halo

@gudnoyez - I was just thinking about this earlier today. I was wondering if you had received them and what you thought of them.

I'm very glad to hear that you are enjoying them. Even at their MSRP, I think that they are worth it. At less than half that, they are a flat out steal.

I agree that they don't require additional amplification.

I suppose that they would sound even better with a high quality DAP & a high quality DAC converting the 0's & 1s and feeding them to the vPulse for your ear's consumption.

Enjoy!