V-Moda Forza Metallo Wireless in-Ear Headphones - Gunmetal Black

Hi Folks- I don’t care what anyone says, $200 is a lot to spend for a wireless headset, so I was determined to get everything I wanted out of my purchase. I spent time looking at reviews and videos, and narrowed my search to 3 finalists. My priorities in this selection are 1. Sound Quality. 2. Connectivity. 3. Wearability. 4. Build Quality. 5. Battery Life. My finalists were: Sony WF1000X/BM1, RHA MA650, and the V-ModaForza Metallo. I have previous experience with V-Moda since I currently use a pair of their M-100 head phones and really like the sound profile and build quality of these. In fact, they are IMHO the best bang for the buck in headphones that I’ve heard, and the closed back design and Abrams Tank build quality make them perfect for road warriors. And for those who don’t already know. The ‘V’ in V-Moda is the shape of the sound profile where low and high frequencies are accentuated above the mids making a ‘V’... but I digress- Sonys: Cool idea, but not quite ready for prime time. I enjoyed the sound quality (especially the bass boost option on the Sony app), but volume was seriously lacking and the right ear piece cut out repeatedly during music listening. If your priority is taking calls, and music is something you listen to while stationary with your source taped to your forehead, maybe these will do. I like the compact design, the lack of a cord around my neck and the slick aluminum charging case, but these are not for music listeners or high activity. I think battery technology is the limiting factor here, and they just don’t have the power for reception or volume. RMA: Cool design, great build quality complete with military grade cord, stainless steel ear pieces and lovely British packaging. They remind me of that classic Rolls Royce, replete with Corinthian leather, sterling silver switchery, and maple wood trimming that has been finely buffed with fore$kin of llama, and sits in your driveway at the Hamptons because it won’t start (which is why, btw, Rolls now uses BMW engines). But back to the RMAs- classically British, and fundamentally dysfunctional. If you are going to design an activity device and claim it is for working out, don’t force me to loop the cord around my ear because the earpieces are too heavy. Furthermore, the batteries in the ends of the wire base beat a tempo against your collarbone while running... never mind the black eyes you get while jumping hurdles, if you’re into that. The sound is not to my liking either, but that’s subjective. I’m an incurable bass head, and I’m a sucker for that V profile we discussed earlier, especially when engaged in the type of activities typically done with this type of listening device. The RMAs are mid range and treble focused, and bass is repressed. Maybe it’s the stainless steel housing... V-Moda. High-speed, low drag. They are unimpressive to look at. The ear pieces are tiny. There are no emblazoned logos, fancy cables, or shiny bits. And the packaging is just plain silly. But THEY WORK. And the bass is awesome. Structurally, they disappear during use. By that I mean, the battery module is at the back, encased in plastic, and tucks into your collar if you happen to be jumping hurdles in an oxford. The earpieces fit into your ear, not on, above or around them. They are easily put in and taken out of your ears (ie pop out the right one while taking a call and then return it to continue on with the music listening experience). No Looping! Volume is not mind blowing on these either, but the sound isolation from the ear piece fit makes them much better than the other two sets. Battery life is 10 hours vs 12 for the RMAs and 2 for the Sonys (per charge). The V-Moda connects effortlessly to your device (I use an iPhone and a Sony WM), and phone calls are clear and uninterrupted. In fact, you get a nice massage from the vibrating battery module on the back of your neck when a call comes in. It’s ok if you call yourself, nobody will know... In summary, the clear pick for me is the V-Moda Forza Metallo. This is a good example (with the exception of the packaging) of function over form, and a listening experience that I can live with day to day while commuting, exercising, and writing reviews. Cheers, eh!

Beautifully packaged. Beautifully designed. Beautiful Sound, but there are some negative issues. After two days: These are just "falling short" for me, I just ordered Sennheiser HD1 In-Ear Wireless Headphones to compare. After 1-day: The sound is noticeably beautiful and smooth, very pleasant, and not thankfully not scratchy sounding like the much of the cheap stuff. I think that most people will absolutely love the magically smooth sound. The audio-processing electronics are noticeably much-better than the cheap-stuff. But, there are some sound tonal inaccuracies that I think are because of "driver" (speaker) inaccuracies. I was hoping for audiophile-quality natural / flat-sounding drivers (speakers), but there is a bit of tonal inaccuracy that changes the sound of some non-electronic musical instruments in songs that I am familiar with. I would probably not notice except that I've gotten familiar with the sound of some music on high quality sound systems. This may be because of the limitations of Bluetooth technology, but I think the issue is with the speakers. I think I'll try Sennheiser Bluetooth to compare. Female vocals, and deep Country Music male vocals are absolutely beautiful and warm. Thin sounding male voices sound even more thin. Bass is nice and smooth, but in music with heavy-bass, vocals seem pushed into the background. Natural percussion instruments like a non-electronic snare drums, cymbals, and "fingers snapping" sound like they are electronic, thin, and un-natural. Acoustic guitar in some of the songs I've tried also sounds thin. The ones I received have an issue with occasional clicking sound that sounds like "cutting out", that sounds like loss of Bluetooth signal, even when my andoid phone is only 24 inches away. Though the design is beautiful in appearance, the piece that fits behind the neck falls down. The wires to the speakers are a bit too long, such that they can rub on my face a bit. Using these under a collared shirt would look great, and would also help control the long wire issue. If the battery is dead, they will not work while a charger is connected. I think most people will absolutely love the warm sound and beautiful design. I may be asking for more performance than this technology, in this price range can provide. I don't think this design will stay in place well with heavy physical movement.

These might be great headphones! Too bad I'll never know, because upon opening and powering on, they decided to hit max volume immediately and stay there! The overall build quality seems extremely uneven. Parts of them, like the ear pieces themselves, feel solid and decent, but the plastic on the controls and the battery casing feels clacky and cheap. The cover of the USB port is very flimsy, although the connector that keeps the cover on is decent. The port itself did not appear to fit the included cable well, and the cable does not fully insert into the port, which may cause user error damage. But the worst part was that the connection between the battery, controls, and headphones seemed unstable to the point that flexing the cable during normal use, like putting the headphones on, seemed to cause the volume to change uncontrollably. I tried several times to see if I was doing something wrong, but no, simply putting them around my neck was enough to cause the volume to shoot up to max about 75% of the time, and taking them off was the same. The sound quality at max was satisfactory, but who listens to their music at max all the time? Unbelievable. I'll be returning these immediately.

Je les adore. Confort, qualité de son, design et facilité d'utilisation et de prise en main. Qualité des appels et conversation. Seul petit bémol, c'est qu'ils ne s'aimante pas. Du coup, je les ai perdus 2 fois, sans doute en enlevant mon écharpe.

Cercavo delle cuffie bluetooth all'altezza delle OneMore e Shure con cavo che già avevo. Il prezzo è in linea con la qualità, davvero alta: suono nitido, perfettamente bilanciato con bassi non prevalenti e focus su medi e alti. Chiarimento: i bassi ci sono e si sentono, semplicemente non sono la parte prevalente delle canzoni ed è un bene visto il profilo spostato sui bassi di quasi tutte le cuffie bluetooth. Qualità costruttiva altrettanto buona, unica pecca i comandi che non sono particolarmente comodi in inverno quando si indossano Giacchetti e/o sciarpe. In sintesi, un ottimo sostituto delle Shure via cavo, con la comodità del bluetooth.

Sources: iPhone7-plus, iPod Touch, iPad Pro Mini, Macbook 12-inch. I love technology. Hardly a year (scratch that, month) goes by without a new milestone reached or barrier breached. Well, this isn't Earth-shattering, but when I finally find an IEM (ear-canal earphone) that sounds as good as the Sennheiser IE800 I had, but costs a fraction of what it did - that's reason enough for celebration. Note that reviews of this V-MODA Forza Metallo Wireless (ForzaMW from here on) IEM will vary a lot in how the reviewers perceive them, and I already know the deal - eartips, eartips, eartips. V-MODA supplies 8 pairs, and I decided on the next-to-largest set, the orange (underneath the white exterior) set. The bass is strong and tight - not the easiest thing to find in a good headphone or earphone. While treble varies a lot among IEM users because of the vagaries of ear canals, the bass you hear should be very much the same as what I hear, if you get the proper eartip fit. Final word on the bass (read more in the music samples below): The ForzaMW bass does not seem to have the overall power of the V-MODA Wireless2 bass, at least with the eartips I selected, and while I've heard IEM's that approach that level of bass, they don't do it cleanly unless they use multiple drivers (more on that below). That said, if there are any doubts about the ForzaMW's ability to play deep bass convincingly with a clean weighty impact, have a listen to the track by Hecq that I listed below - it will dispel all doubt. Midrange: I make EQ test curves as I go when doing a review, and I didn't change anything for the ForzaMW, in other words, uncolored and crystal clear. Treble: All of the in-ears (IEM's) I've reviewed have sounded slightly bright to me, and the ForzaMW sounds like the best of those, examples being the Dita Answer/Truth, Final Audio FI-BA-SS, RHA T20i, Sennheiser IE800, and V-MODA's Forza Metallo wired edition. My best guess is that the ForzaMW will sound right to most users, with the correct treble balance, and even though this is a Bluetooth IEM, the sound quality with the Qualcomm aptX codec is as good as it gets. I don't want to get into anything controversial here, but it's worth mentioning that multi-driver IEM's generally sound different from single-driver types. The rule, based on what I hear, is the multi-driver IEM's sound "bigger", probably due to phase anomalies between the various drivers in those earphones. Single driver IEM's sound "purer", with no acoustic interference from other drivers, and even if they don't sound as "big", the soundstage is still likely to be spectacular if they're tuned correctly. This ForzaMW sounds just right. Another area of possible controversy is whether or how much a Bluetooth codec (in the ForzaMW's electronics) would reduce the resolution compared to a wired earphone such as the Forza Metallo original wired version. In my opinion this wireless version is superior because 1) The tuning is better, and correct tuning (for accurate tonality) outweighs a minor reduction in absolute resolution, and 2) The Bluetooth codec here is Qualcomm aptX - the latest and best hi-fi codec. If you listen to very well recorded and refined music in a very quiet relaxed situation, you can hear a difference between a wired connection and the aptX Bluetooth connection, if you're a critical listener, audiophile, etc. If your music isn't that level of quality, if you're listening in a non-ideal setting (noisy, not relaxed, etc.), or if you don't have experience in detecting those kinds of differences, then the point is moot. When I need critically perfect sound, I use a wired headphone, but that's only for at-home listening. Isolation with the ForzaMW is good, but not a high isolation. That is, good enough for most outdoor use, but it may or may not be enough for the bus or the tube, depending on the ear-canal seal you get. Leakage is so low that even when playing the ForzaMW in a very quiet office or library at audiophile volume levels, people sitting next to you won't hear anything, unless they press right up to your ears. The ForzaMW is extremely light - less than one ounce total, and the wires going to the earpieces are thin, but V-MODA says these are very strong and they have strain-reliefs, so not a worry thing. This is my first Bluetooth IEM, so the configuration is all new to me. Basically, the very small strip containing the electronics goes behind the neck, the thicker cables going down to the control boxes sit on the sides of the neck, and then the thinner wires go from the control boxes to the earpieces. Remember that the entire weight is less than an ounce. Standard issue with the ForzaMW are 8 sets of eartips in 4 sizes, 3 sets of in-ear stabilizers ("Sport Fins") in 3 sizes, a cloth bag, some small O-rings that work with the optional 3D-printed customization earpiece caps, and the usual literature and warranty. I've had quite a bit of experience with earphone users on audio forums who purchased cloned or fake (fugazi) earphones, and it rarely has a good outcome. Be sure to get the genuine Forza Metallo Wireless. In previous reviews I've included music examples with comments about how the headphones sound with each track. My suggestion is instead of reading each one as an absolute unto itself, you could compare my notes here to other reviews and see how the ForzaMW compares to other headphones with each track. Note that the ForzaMW was evaluated above and below without tone controls or equalization. Above & Beyond - We're All We Need (feat. Zoe Johnston): A very nice tight but impactful bass with crystal clear vocals - the ForzaMW plays this with great ambiance. Anamanaguchi - Planet: A complex mix of percussion sounds and hummed vocals. The bells and other high-frequency percussion are highly detailed, the bass line has a moderate impact, and the bass detail is surprisingly good. Armin van Buuren - J'ai Envie de Toi (Orig Mix feat Gaia): Decent bass impacts, breathy vocals, lots of fun noise - the ForzaMW makes this sound real. Avicii - Feeling Good: Classic female vocal in movie-theme style - the ForzaMW brings this to life like few other earphones I've heard. Carl Kennedy-Tommy Trash ft Rosie Henshaw - Blackwater (Original Master): Nice strong tight bass impacts, female vocal, rendered delectably by the ForzaMW. Crystal Castles - Wrath of God: Atmospheric tune with vocal sound effects and strong bass line, plus some interesting treble percussion sounds. The ForzaMW brings these unique sounds to life. Digitalism - Pogo: A driving beat with a detailed bass synth and great vocals ("There's something in the air...") - the ForzaMW makes this very enjoyable. Dino Lenny-Lino Di Meglio - We Will Make It: Atmospheric tune with mixed vocals and a good beat - the female vocal is a special treat with the ForzaMW. DJ Shadow - Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt: High-pitched tones and strong deep piano chords with a hummed female vocal - ultra-cool with the ForzaMW. Fairmont - Poble Sec: Awesome detailed bass impacts with some nifty pingy guitar/synth effects. I discovered this tune at the time I purchased my 3rd M100 - the ForzaMW renders this perfectly. Giuseppe Ottaviani - Lost for Words (On Air Mix feat Amba Shepherd): Strong bass impacts behind a female voice - a large-scale sweeping sonic image reminiscent of epic adventures in an exotic land. The ForzaMW is playing on a whole new level here. Hecq - Enceladus (With Skyence): Prodigious deep bass and clean at that. This tune's melody is more abstract than most of the others here, but the ForzaMW makes it a real adventure. Katy B - Crying For No Reason (Tom Shorterz Remix): Oh myyyyy, I love Katy B. The vocal mix here is awesome and the bass is solid. This is the ForzaMW at its best. Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch: I first heard this in The September Issue film and soundtrack, as the backdrop for the opening catwalk (watch Andre grinning at 1:51 - all you need to know) - the ForzaMW plays this amazing tune perfectly. Lee and Malinda - Truth Will Set You Free (V-Moda Mix): Lee Kalt is the master, this is the masterpiece. The drum (or tom-tom) hits here have a very realistic skin-tone, the female vocal is seamlessly integrated into the driving beat, and the synth effects also blend well - the ForzaMW just owns this. Markus Schulz - Mainstage: The granddaddy of bass is in this track, and the ForzaMW plays it smooth and clean.

Pretty good product, with great sound quality. Very clear and distinct sound and even in high volume does not change or distorts. Although its supposed to be biased towards bass I still find it balanced. Supports Apt-x codec and works best with Android phones. But unfortunately does not support AAC so with iOS sound quality will not be as good as Android.

After months of online research to find the best pairing of a wireless headphone set for my new Pixel xl2, I finally decided on this, the V-Moda Forza Metallo Wireless. I am glad that I did. The set itself is well packaged, easy to set up and easier to install on my phone. It is fast to charge, so comfortable to wear, simple to operate, holds a charge like no other and the sound is second to none! I was expecting nothing less from V-Moda and I am not disappointed. The price point from Amazon.ca was crazy... less in Canadian dollars than the USD price direct from V-Moda.... and free shipping too. It was out of stock when I ordered it so had to wait a few weeks but the wait was well worth it. Get it while you can. I have tried others but based on comfort, sound and technical specs, the V-Moda Forza Metallo Wireless cannot be beat.