CNET Editor's rating: 8.0 out of 10
Reviewed by
Jasmine France
Review date: 10/03/06
The good: The V-Moda Bass Freq earphones are available in several stylish colors and are competitively priced at $50; they're louder than other earbuds and offer great sound quality.
The bad: Music coming from the V-Moda Bass Freq earphones may be too bass-heavy for audio purists; thin cable tangles easily and may not hold up in the long run.
The bottom line: V-Moda's Bass Freq earphones are the perfect accessory for bass-loving Creative Zen Micro owners who are on a budget. If you prefer less low end, look elsewhere.
These ears get to hear a lot of great- (and horrible-) sounding headphones, but the style of these musical monitors rarely changes: black and white synthetics are the norm, with an occasional chrome accent. V-Moda aims to change look of our ear wear with two lines of fashion-forward earphones, the Bass Freq and the Remix M-class, both competitively priced at $50 a pair. The Bass Freq, a brightly colored bass-enhancing model, is the subject of this review.
The Bass Freq earphones' main style point is the brightly colored earbuds and cable. You can choose from eight colors: black, blue, camo, green, orange, pink, red, and white. The camo version features an olive cable and orange earbuds with olive accents, but the rest of the styles are uniform in color but for a bit of chrome accenting. The result is a fashion-forward design that can blend with your favorite outfit. And though I didn't expect the stylishness to make much of a difference in practice, it did: the colorful cord is much more jewelrylike--and thus looked significantly more stylish running down the front of me--than the thick white cord of my Shure E4cs. Also, though the 46.5-inch cable is insufficient for most at-home use (with your computer or stereo, for example), I found it to be the perfect length for on-the-go use.
The Bass Freq matches the Creative Zen Micro series of MP3 players quite nicely.
As is standard for sub-$100 headphones, the Bass Freq earphones come with few extras, but I was surprised and pleased to find V-Moda's Modawrap in the box. It's a simple-but-handy tool for stowing your cord--and you'll want to use it, because the Bass Freq's ultrathin wire tangles easily. There are also three sizes of silicone ear fittings to help ensure a comfortable fit and provide the necessary seal to provide the deep bass that's implied by the product's name.
As for that implication, the Bass Freqs truly live up to their name. These 'phones really thump on the low end--just make sure you get a good seal in your ear. And I was pleasantly surprised by the overall sound quality of the 'buds, especially considering their low price point. The bass was heavy, but it didn't overshadow the mids and lows in most cases (a handful of rock songs had a slightly muffled quality to them). In general, music sounded rich, warm, and detailed. Hip-hop, jazz, and electronica tracks really shined; even certain rock songs were great--during the Clash's "London Calling," I felt like I was in the studio, and Depeche Mode's "Strangelove" sounded fantastically deep and dark.
Like their sibling, the Remix M-class, the Bass Freqs are also a surprisingly loud set of earbuds--they amplify the music from the sound source by a significant amount compared to other small earphones (so use caution when switching to these 'buds). This factor combined with the many color options make this a perfect set of earphones for the Creative Zen Micro Photo series of MP3 players.
Dont go waste your ...
I had shure, bose triports,all the sonys, and pretty much every earbud at best buy.
Dont go waste your time buying the others but these.
Great sound. Tons of bass, get so loud its unbeilvealbe. I mean these are simply the best earbuds i have ever heard
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by Colbye32 (see profile) -
October 11, 2006
8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Perfect 10, tried them all, best and bassiest
Cnet is right - As a rock, hip-hop, and dance music lover this is the holy grail of great sound, ...
Cnet is right - As a rock, hip-hop, and dance music lover this is the holy grail of great sound, incredible bass, and very comfortable fittiings. When I listen to club and rock music, I actually feel like I am there.
The older Sony EX71 are similar size and fit to Bass Freq, but the bass is not as precise, and the overall sound is "fuzzy" compared to the crispness of Bass Freq. Bass is strong, but not muddy or overpowering. The highs and mids are also great, a very crisp sound overall.. not at all muddy or distorted. (Much better than my previous in-ears, the Sony 71 and Griffin EarThupms.)
I also own the Shure E3Cs, which do have a more flat and slightly more detailed sound than Bass Freq, but they cost three times as much and I easily prefer the overall feeling of sound from the added bass.
I cannot highly recommended this product enough, especially for the price.
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by josport (see profile) -
October 20, 2006
6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Wonderful Surprise
Having tried the oem buds and then the V Moda Vibe, Koss Sparkplug, Bose IE and now the V Moda ...
Having tried the oem buds and then the V Moda Vibe, Koss Sparkplug, Bose IE and now the V Moda Bass....I've learned quite a bit. Firstly, for the money (under $20) the Koss Sparkplug is an excellent buy and a definite upgrade from most OEM headphones, but they are not in the same leaque as the V Modas or Bose of course. The Bose IE were a bit disppointing audibly (they have improved the fit greatly with the new earpieces) and the V Moda Vibe is a wonderful unit. The big surprise for me was the V Moda Bass Freq. Ignoring the low price...the Bass Freq unit produced suberb bass with great warmth and presence without compromising mid range and treble response. A very praisworthy combination that is not often found...yet here is found on a headphone that retails for under $40 in many places. We often talk about bass, midrange and treble...but just ignoring those terms and just listening, enjoying and comparing....the simple comment....these sound truly wonderful...says it all about these V Modas. Now audio prefernces are very subjective. What for me is a warm and 'entertaining' listen may be too bassy for others. Different types of music also effect prefernces. Oh yes....PLEASE try the 3 different earpiece sizes that come with the unit. Achieving a proper 'seal' and placement within the ear can make a very significant difference in sound reproduction and isloation from outside noise. After you find the correct size earpieces (you might find two different sizes are best for two different ears!)I truly believe that the vast majority of users will be thrilled and surprised at how wonderful these inexpensive headphones are and really question how much difference spending twice the price will NOT gain for you. I am simply that incredibly happy with the V Moda Bass Freq...no less than that!
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by Jimro (see profile) -
May 21, 2007
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
3 out of 10 - Poor Poor sound quality
I thought this would be the perfect mouse trap...comfortable reasonably priced earbuds that actually produce strong bass, and with ...
I thought this would be the perfect mouse trap...comfortable reasonably priced earbuds that actually produce strong bass, and with c-net's endorsement, I put it on my X-Mas list. I was routing for these guys. I enjoy listening to loud music, and I want to feel the bass. These earbuds acomplish that - but that's it. The rest of the frequency range (mid to hi) is crap. My stock ipod buds actually sound pretty good in the mid-hi range, but bass is weak. I was under the assumption that decent mid-hi response is a no-brainer for earbuds manufacturers, but strong bass was not so easy to achieve. Well, these guys got the bass right, but for some reason they ignored the rest of the frequency spectrum. The best way I can describe the sound is as if I pluged a cd player into a 12" speaker guitar amp (guitar amps intentionally have limited range)...meaning it could get really loud and bottom heavy, but the upper end of the range pretty much sucks. I tried listening to all kinds of music, including music that is light on bass to see if the bass was muffling the rest of the range, but it still sucked. I played with the eq settings, and nothing helped. I wonder if they got it right with the vibe buds, but they are twice the price. The only reason it got as much as a three is because it does deliver bass in a big way. I'm going back to my ipod buds until I find a better mousetrap.
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by Jerry A (see profile) -
December 29, 2006
4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Best Value Earphones
For the price these are hard to beat. The more expensive Sonys that a lot of folks buy isn't ...
For the price these are hard to beat. The more expensive Sonys that a lot of folks buy isn't even close.
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by allstate (see profile) -
November 9, 2006
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Style & Sound set new standard
These are some of the most unbelievable earbuds I have ever heard. I must admit I am a huge fan ...
These are some of the most unbelievable earbuds I have ever heard. I must admit I am a huge fan of bass and the Bass Freqs seriously live up to there name, plus they offer the same audio clarity of high-end models like Shure and Sennheisser without the obtrusive, uncomfortable fit that these overpriced brands impose. Throw in the style that V-MODA has introduced to the headphone world and you have some of the most amazing earphones available, especially for the price.
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by jjones2usf (see profile) -
October 31, 2006
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect I can do this in one word--"WOW"!!!!!
Just got "THEE" V-MODA "bass freak/q"ear phones in the mail yesterday,...and in a word "WOW"!!! I've ...
Just got "THEE" V-MODA "bass freak/q"ear phones in the mail yesterday,...and in a word "WOW"!!! I've always been a bass fan and these ear phones really blow me away. Thanks for a GREAT product!!Did I say "WOW"!!...and how !!!
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by slidersez (see profile) -
October 26, 2006
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
3 out of 10 - Poor Great while it lasts...
This is a great pair of earbuds while it lasts. Taking advantage of the factory warranty I've had 4 ...
This is a great pair of earbuds while it lasts. Taking advantage of the factory warranty I've had 4 pairs of these headphones. The same thing happens to each one, it eventually just stops producing sound. Invest in a more durable earbud.
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by jon7777 (see profile) -
December 29, 2007
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
4 out of 10 - Mediocre Just a step up from the free cheap ones
Not so good for 40 bucks! It's good at isolating outside noise and maintaining the bottom but that's ...
Not so good for 40 bucks! It's good at isolating outside noise and maintaining the bottom but that's where it ends. The bottom is a bit unfocused and muddy at times and I find myself constantly toying with the equalizer because the highs and mids are too weak. The wires tangle too easily, too. These earphones are ok if you're in a noisy environment like on a plane, but otherwise, this was a big waste of money.
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by anonyH (see profile) -
August 8, 2007
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Great little earbuds!
These are the most comfortable ear-buds I've ever owned and, for only $50, they fit better (they're smaller) ...
These are the most comfortable ear-buds I've ever owned and, for only $50, they fit better (they're smaller) and sound almost as good as my $180 Shure Ec3 ear-buds. They're also impressively durable? last week I accidentally ran my Bass Freqs through the washer/dryer in the pocket of my gym shorts, but they still work PERFECTLY!! I highly recommend these ear-buds!!
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by Digital_Daniel (see profile) -
October 23, 2006
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