Velodyne vPulse In-Ear Headphones

Velodyne is most well known for its line of subwoofers, so it's no surprise that the company's first stab at earphones, the vPulse In-Ear Headphones, doesn't skimp on the bass. Velodyne doesn't skimp on much else, either?the highs are articulate and clear, and the $89 (direct) ?pair comes with a plethora of extra eartips so you can get the best fit. With an overall sound signature best suited for modern pop and hip-hop mixes, the vPulse also lends a little bit of low-end push to classical and instrumental tracks?which means purists may not love the vPulse, but bass fans who still want clarity and crisp highs might. There's a hint of distortion at top volumes, but not on deep bass tracks?and not enough to truly hinder your enjoyment, especially if you listen at more reasonable levels.

Design
Available in electric blue or all black, like our review pair, the Velodyne vPulse takes some cues from models like the Monster iSport Immersion In-Ear Headphones by employing a flat, linguini-like cable. Aside from looking cool, these cables tangle slightly less easily. While the overall design of the vPulse is pretty simple?black cable meets metallic-colored earpieces with black eartips?it does feature the Velodyne "V" logo rather prominently on each ear. A phone control compartment, situated on the left ear's cable, has a microphone, Volume controls, and a Call Answer/End button. The latter doubles as a Play/Pause and track navigation button, depending on whether you're on a call or listening to music, how many times you press it, and what type of phone you're using.

The vPulse works well with the iPhone and many other popular phones. Call clarity with the iPhone was not amazing, but dialogue was still clear enough to be a non-issue

A zip-up protective carrying pouch ships with the vPulse, as does a shirt-clip, and?count 'em?eight extra pairs of ear tips in various sizes (four in black, four in gray-white), and that doesn't even include the pair that is on the earpieces. That's a lot of extra ear tips for any pair of earphones, but for an under-$100 model, that's quite a deal. The fit of the vPulse is generally secure, though without the shirt-clip, it can feel as if the weight of the wide cable is pulling down a bit.

Performance
The vPulse handles deep bass frequencies quite well?at top volumes on tracks with serious low end, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," it provides a strong low end push with no distortion. Interestingly, the vPulse does suffer from distortion on tracks with challenging intensity in different frequency ranges?the deep bass resonance in Thom Yorke's "Cymbal Rush" doesn't distort at top volumes, but the slightly higher synth blips in the low-mid realm get a little fuzzy. In other words, deep bass on its own won't distort the vPulse at high volumes, but certain low-mid frequencies will. At moderate, safe listening levels, there was no distortion and the vPulse offered clean, engaging audio in my tests.

On instrumental tracks, like John Adams' modern classical piece, "The Chairman Dances," the lower register instruments get a bit of a boost from the vPulse's substantial bass response. For classical music purists, it might be a bit much, but it does add a bit of exciting embellishment to the mix, and the mids and highs remain crisp and clear, so it doesn't make things muddy.

The clarity in the mids and highs maintains a decent balance on tracks like Bill Callahan's "Drover," as well?his voice, guitar strumming, and the higher register percussive hits aren't lost in the mix despite the ample bass provided by the thunderous drumming during the verses. Still, the vPulse gives the bass frequencies a stronger push than anyone seeking a flat response earphone is looking for.

The vPulse seems most appropriate for modern pop mixes, along with hip-hop, heavy rock, and electronic music. Frank Ocean's "Pyramids" gives more or less equal footing to the brass in the chorus and the thumping synth bass line, while Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" is delivered with a powerful low-end thump that is matched by the crisp attack of the beat. Modern mixes tend to put an emphasis on both deep lows and crisp highs, and the vPulse is good at highlighting these characteristics.

In this price range, finding flat response is a difficult task. The AKG K 350 gets a little closer to it than the vPulse's response does, and if you can spend a little more, the Shure SE215 definitely has a little extra low-end, but keeps the overall balance more even?and it has a removable audio cable, making it a great value since you won't have to replace the whole pair if the cable ever goes bad.

If earphones that leans towards the bass-heavy end of the spectrum are what you seek, the Velodyne vPulse is an affordable option that doesn't overdo it with the low-end. If you have a little more room in your budget, consider checking out the Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones , a better-balanced pair that doesn't skimp on the bass either, or the Moshi Vortex Pro, a similar-sounding pair with a slightly better fit, and some nice accessories. For under $90, however, the vPulse is a very strong contender?it delivers deep bass, and only distorts at top volumes on low-mid frequencies. It's not a masterpiece, but it performs well and is priced fairly?and the eight pairs of extra ear tips add a bit more value to the equation.

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