Hippo VB or other IEM?

[McDougal]

As you all know....a while ago I said that I would be getting myself a pair of Hippo VBs, the first IEM upgrade I'll be getting in 3 or so years (I've upgraded regular headphones). This purchase is going to replace my Sennheiser CX500, which are reaching their last days.

I've finally got enough money to get these IEM's (this is BIG news for me, 80 bucks is expensive lol ). But....of course, with the bad luck I have with everything.....when I actually get the money, they go out of stock . I've got no clue when they'll be back, no sign on Jaben, but on Uncle Wilson's, there's a news page that says they're back in stock, yet I can't buy them. I'm assuming this means I'll be able to buy them very soon, but I can't be sure.

Should I wait for these, or should I look at something else?

[IDvsEGO]

They were out of stock when I ordered mine a while back but I sent hte order anyway. Jaben sent me a pair of Hippo Grooves as a consolation for my wait. When the VBs arrived I had a pair of Hippo 10EBs in there too. When all was said and done I waited about a month and ended up with 3 quality IEMs for $80. not bad. Not saying you will get the same treatment, but in my experience they make your purchse pleasurable.

If you want an alternative, check out the Fischer Audio Eterna. I actually haven't listened to my VBs since I got my set of Eternas. They are about the same price and sound signature.

[McDougal]

Wow, now that's a pretty good deal, lol. I've made the decision to just wait for these to come back in stock, if they have it on their news page, it can't be long.

The reason why I want to buy from Uncle Wilson's instead is because of the free shipping. Don't get me wrong....I'm not saying Jaben is bad, its just technically more expensive, and I really can't afford to pay like 10 or so bucks for shipping.

[dfkt]

Are the Eterna really a competitor for the VB?

http://www.headfonia.com/fischer-aud...comparisons/2/

The Eterna is a bassy IEM, a bit bassier than the Triple.fi; however don’t mistake its bass for a constant hard-pounding and punching bass that rattles your skull. True bassheads are better served by something like a Hippo VB in its bassiest setting. The Eterna also doesn’t have is a forward-sounding treble and forward upper mids. These two areas of the frequency response are present and smooth; however, most of the time, the main focus of the sound is not on the upper mid and treble, but more toward the low mids and midbass.

[IDvsEGO]

well, first thing first...IMO there is no true competitor for the VB if you want the deepest bass around. The Eterna is a bass heavy IEM with a fun sound sig. I listen to a lot of hip hop and the Eterna does very well. It is more midbass, but the lower end of it. dfkt, you know frequencies better than I, but in reference to my car audio tuning days it sounds more like a focus around 140-120 instead of the 100 of the VB. the actual frequencies may be higher, but hopefully you get the differentiating gap.

[McDougal]

Just noticed that the news link said that it was from 2010......grr, I hate waiting for things like this

[Machiventa]

Where the heck do you even purchase those Eterna's from?

[McDougal]

lol. Seems like pretty much all of the best IEM's are almost impossible to get these days !

[McDougal]

Does anybody know anything about when these Hippo VBs will be back in stock? How long did it take last time they went out?

Sorry...I'm just getting REALLY impatient, lol....

[lestatar]

McDougal: I know cash is an issue, but consider this. If you order the VBs now Jaben directly, the fact that they are currently out of stock is a huge benefit for you. It is clear that Jaben will likely throw in a at least one extra pair of IEMs. This is extremely rare customer service these days.

So for 10USD, you could end up potentially with 3 pairs of IEMs - the VBs you want and 2 others which you could either keep or possibly sell. If you decide to sell the extra ones, you would more than make up for the initial extra 10USD shipping expenditure buying direct from Jaben. Both the Grooves and the 10EBs are worth far more than the 10USD outlay for Jaben shipping.

Follow my drift?

Also, you have one other option. Email Uncle Wilson directly. Namedrop ABi. Tell him you are desperate for the VBs. Also tell him that you know many folks have been getting the Grooves and the 10EBs as free gifts from Jaben.net in order to make up for the delay in shipping the VBs right now. Ask Wilson if he would do the same for you if you order from him directly instead of via Jaben.

My understanding is that Wilson is a distributor for Jaben - I am gonna guess that he would prolly have no problem offering you the same compensation deal that Jaben is granting for folks who purchase VBs.

You got nothing to lose...
-les

[McDougal]

Okay, I think what I'll do is e-mail Uncle Wilson's, and ask them about the deal. After all, I do have the extra cash, for once, lol.

Parents are kind of worried about the idea.....it'll definitely take some hard convincing to do this. After all, its not their money, its mine, lol.

Thanks for the help !

[IDvsEGO]

Originally Posted by Machiventa

Where the heck do you even purchase those Eterna's from?

I got them from the link below but they appear out of stock as well...

http://www.bugdenaudio.com/store/fis...entals-series/

[McDougal]

Some good news, the e-mail is out ! Parents felt better about the sites after reading the Jaben "About Us" page.

In the mean time.....can anyone let me know about how the Hippo Grooves and 10EBs are, so I can know what to expect? Do the Sony Hybrids work with them?

Of course...I'm not 100% sure I will get this deal yet.

[lestatar]

Congrats.

Not sure on the Hybrids for Grooves/10EBs. From my eyeballing them at the Jaben store here in HK a while back, I would say yes, Hybrids should fit. Perhaps dfkt will chime in since he has used the Hybrids and had the Grooves/10EBs...

Between the 2, I personally liked the 10EBs much better. The Grooves were not so great to my ears.

cross them finger s and toes! And what was it about the Jaben "About Us" page that turned your folks around?

[McDougal]

Honestly I don't know what changed their mind. Maybe its just because before they knew nothing about the company and now they know something.

Unfortunately I could not find the 10EBs on the Jaben website, are they still available? Well....whatever happens, they will sound better than my CX500s lol.

[Machiventa]

I got a pair of 10EB's compliments of Jaben when I ordered the VB's which were out of stock and they are very flat sounding. They sound great but there's hardly any bass so I def recommend some bass boost. I assume they're best for some types of rock, jazz and classical. They're very comfortable but I would take the CX500's over these for my tastes.

I couldn't find em on their site either so maybe they're just not offering them online.

The VB's sound awesome but I don't recommend them on the go and especially for exercise. They're just too big and heavy for movement and fall out quite easy for me, even with a great seal. I use em strictly for home listening.

[McDougal]

Great, thanks for the info !

Of course I can't say for myself until I get them (if I get them). I don't typically use IEM's at home, normally I would use my JVC Flats for around the house etc, and my big fat Pioneers for night time etc. My original plan was to get the VBs for portable use, maybe that plan will change, I don't know. If I find they don't work out while traveling, then I'll have to find another solution. I also heard from other sources that the VBs sometimes have sibiliance (very high, sometimes overwhelming to diff people, treble) but again, I have literally never listened to any other IEM besides Sennheiser, so I honestly don't know what to expect besides good bass

Thanks again for the info, its nice to hear from someone who has the same headphones as me !

[Urne]

I've had the VBs in 3 months and I think they're great while your sitting in a car, in the train or whatever kind of travelling. It requires more adjusting when walking and bicycling but other than that you should be fine.

I agree with Machiventa that the VBs isn't working very well when you work-out in any way though I managed to get a somewhat good fit with 4 shirt clips attached to the cord + the Ultimate Ears tips.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by Machiventa

I got a pair of 10EB's compliments of Jaben when I ordered the VB's which were out of stock and they are very flat sounding. They sound great but there's hardly any bass so I def recommend some bass boost.

That is weird. I have the normal non-EB 10's, and they certainly have good, natural bass. They're not bass heavy like the VB, but they don't lack bass either. I'd guess the EB version should have more than that, so maybe your pair is faulty, or you didn't get a good seal?

[Machiventa]

Yeah I meant not bass heavy. I'm bad at describing headphone sound lol. I guess I'm so used to having bass that when I hear one with less it sounds like there's hardly any at all.

Originally Posted by Machiventa

Where the heck do you even purchase those Eterna's from?

Ah found a source! http://www.bugdenaudio.com/store/fis...io-eterna.html