Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware
The-MODA BassFit Wireless is available in two color schemes, which is black and white. Our particular example is the former. The BassFit Wireless has a relatively simple design with clean and straight lines, but it is big and blocky compared to other earphones I have used in the past. I am guessing they are of this size because the batteries are located in the earbuds, and they are rated for 11 hours between charges. Personally, I wish they were less blocky and more compact; they could even have gotten rid of the remote and the wires entirely for a true wireless solution. There is not a whole lot to its fit and finish; everything is made out of plastic and V-MODA's logo appears at the back of both earbuds. The earbuds are two-layer nanocoated for sweat and water resistance. V-MODA claims its all-weather durability is resistant to "high and low temperatures, humidity and UV exposure" in addition to sweat and water, but with no official certification like MIL-STD-810G. Now, I have done none of these tests on my particular pair, but based on what I can see and feel, these claims are quite believable.
The V-MODA BassFit Wireless are reasonably lightweight at 17g with no fittings or hooks attached. They are designed to go straight into your ears, but you can use the included ActiveFlex earhooks to wrap it around your ears as well, as shown in our photo above. The earhooks can be easily disconnected by a quick tug. Magnets are placed along the inner edges, so you can secure the earbuds around your neck when you are not using them. Sport fins, which comes in three sizes, can be used for a snug fit in your ears. In the end, I went with the large sized silicone ear sleeves and sport fins without the earhooks after trying out all others out of preference. As with all in-ear monitors, users with different sized ears will be happy to know that the company has included not three, but four different sized sleeves.
The V-MODA BassFit Wireless earphones connect to your audio device via Bluetooth. Qualcomm's aptX, Apple's AAC, and SBC are supported over Bluetooth. SBC, or Subband Coding, is the default Bluetooth audio codec with reasonably good audio quality and low processing power requirements. aptX is a time domain ADPCM compression algorithm that promises "CD like quality" according to the people promoting it. In case you are asking, Apple devices does not support aptX, but many Android devices do. Fortunately, for Apple users, the BassFit Wireless supports AAC as well, which communicates at about 250kbps from the source.
A closer look at V-MODA's BassFit Wireless earbuds. The company's logo can be found at the back of each earbud as aforementioned, while the "L" and "R" markers can be found at the bottom at the cable lead-in. Its drivers are 10mm dynamic-type with a rated frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz. These specifications are just within the hearing range of a normal human being. The rated sensitivity is 100dB @ 1kHz 1mW with an impedance of 14 ohms. Its low impedance is good to maximize battery life. Like many modern in-ear monitors, the drivers aim directly into your ear for a more direct and transparent sound reproduction characteristic. At the same time, it makes the earphones much easier to clean in the long run too. The sleeves assist the aim into the user's ear canals, and since these earphones are designed for a closed configuration, the V-MODA BassFit Wireless are made for passive noise canceling. V-MODA has a name for everything, and their sleeves are no exception. It is called BLISS 3.0, which stands for Bass Level Isolating Soft Silicone. As aforementioned, they come in four sizes best fit and sound performance to the end user.
Located in the middle of the V-MODA BassFit Wireless is the 3-button remote control module compatible with both Apple iOS and Android devices. The unit's serial number can be found at the back of the remote along with a USB Micro-B port for charging the battery. Fast charge is supported, where plugging it in for 15 minutes will give you an extra 2.5 hours of play time. The buttons provide decent tactile feedback. The remote also comes with an integrated -42dB @ 1kHz SpeakEasy omnidirectional microphone located behind the remote to go with your smartphone, since it is hard to find anyone nowadays listening to music on a dedicated digital audio player exclusively, haha. The remote module is located on side closer to your right ear. This makes one side a little heavier than the other, which could make for some funny swinging motions when in use that may bother some users. Thankfully, a clip to tighten the cable is present to keep things in place.
An LED that normally glows white on the remote control module shows the connection and charge status. It blinks once per second until a connection is established. If you want to pair it with a new device, hold down the middle and volume down buttons for five seconds until the white LED blinks twice per second. The BassFit Wireless can be paired with up to two devices at the same time with a range of up to 10 meters. The same LED also doubles as a charge indicator; when it is blinking orange, it means battery is low. A fading orange LED will indicate charging is in progress, while a constant white LED when plugged in means charging is complete.
A flat cable about 50cm in length connects the left earbud to the right earbud. The flat cable is not only light and easy to bend, but also tangle-proof. Based on my experience, the microphonics characteristics of the V-MODA BassFit Wireless are quite controlled. During usage, like all in-ear monitors, rustling noise is inevitable -- and with the BassFit Wireless, it is no exception. It does a very decent job at things rubbing against it such as your T-shirt, but if the cable is loose and it is swinging into a foreign material, you will hear some noise. The included sport earhooks and fins can be used to reduce the effect of this problem.
With all this in mind, how will it perform? As always, we have the entire Page 3 dedicated to presenting our auditioning results.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
