Gadling

I am on my third pair of these v-moda vibe duo headphones that I use with my iPhone. The previous two were both replaced by v-moda under warranty, although the first pair took two and a half months to replace and the second took a month and a half.

I have no doubt that my third set (that I'm currently using) will also fail because of one simple problem: the jack at the end of the headphone cord (that plugs into my iPhone) is not reinforced with extra rubber like virtually all other headphones (including Apple's).

V-moda has a metal jack cover with the aforementioned cloth-covered cord loosely packed into it. Any other headphone jack (by another manufacturer) will have layers of rubber covering that point to help protect the cord from fraying when it is twisted or moved around (from normal use). The v-moda's cord simply runs into the jack and is not reinforced or secured against movement.

This means that if you move the cord around (or the iPhone), the cord moves INSIDE the jack. It doesn't remain fixed, so fraying will eventually occur. You will be listening to music normally and then over time, one or two sides of your headphones will start to cut in and out. Jiggling the cord by the headphone jack will verify the problem.

Until v-moda reinforces their headphone jack, do not buy this product. I have also pointed this out to v-moda in a couple of emails, but they have not looked into this issue yet.

When my third pair of replacement headphones fail, I will look to another brand instead.

The bass is actually good with these headphones, but the reliability is poor for the price you pay.

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