V-Moda Forza Metallo In Ear Headphones Review

V-Moda Forza Metallo Pros&Cons

V-Moda Forza Metallo Specs

• Impedance: 14
• Driver size: 5.8mm
• Frequency response: 20-40000 Hz
• Sensitivity: 99 dB (1mW)
• Cable length: 114cm
• Weight: 14g

Packaging

V-Moda decided on some rather interesting packaging for the Forza Metallo. The box is in a hexagon shape, featuring a front flap which can be lifted to reveal the earbuds, some eartips, as well as some of the earfins behind a clear window. Ironically enough, we are treated with a “Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad” message on the front of the box. The irony being that the Forza Metallo have a regular 3.5mm headphone connection, not a lightning connection. So, if you have an iPhone 7, you’re still going to need a lightning-to-3.5mm adapter.

What’s in the box?

• V-Moda Forza Metallo
• Pouch
• Shirt-clip
• 3 pairs ear-fins
• 1 pair over-ear hooks
• 8 pairs ear-tips
• User manual

Read: MEE Audio X7 Plus Wireless Sports Headphones Review

Design

The Forza Metallos do have a somewhat attractive design, whilst offering good craftsmanship. The metal housing seems to be anodized in a rose-gold colour, well suited to the colour of a rose-gold iPhone. Overall, it’s a fairly feminine and minimalist design, more akin to a fashion accessory. Interestingly, V-Moda opted for a 45-degree angled headphone jack. This does give the connection point a larger profile.
Interestingly enough, V-Moda opted to include both ear-fins and over-ear hooks to aid in creating a more secure and comfortable fit. Whilst these do help, the included eartips aren’t the most comfortable. By the look of them, they seem to be some kind of Sony Hybrid duplicate, but V-Moda calls them “Bliss 3.0 Fittings”. However, these simply couldn’t hope to reach the same level of comfort as the originals. Whilst V-Moda did include a total of 8 pairs of eartips, what you actually get are 2 pairs of 4 different type of eartips. This could be seen as a pro, just in case you end up losing a pair. However, it probably would’ve been better if V-Moda included some better eartips, as opposed to more than 1 pair of the same eartips.

Sound

Of course, the main purpose of any headphone/IEM is to produce sound. So, how does the Forza Metallo stack up? Errrm, it’s ok. They do provide a very decent amount of isolation, which does help the sound quality a bit. But, the sound signature has been tuned to a typical consumer grade v-shape. This is odd, since V-Moda explicitly states on the back of the packaging that the Forza Metallo features “Modern Audiophile Hi-Res Audio Tuning”. This simply does not seem to ring true. Whilst they produce a surprising amount of deep and impactful bass for such a relatively small driver, and bass is definitely the focus here, somewhat overshadowing the mids. The mids are relatively recessed, which means that male vocals, in particular, do suffer as a result. They don’t sound terrible, just distant and a bit unclear. Instruments, such as guitars, sound rather smooth, with much of the micro details of a vibrating guitar string seeming veiled.  Highs can be a touch peaky at times, yet rolled-off too. As such, female vocals are left wanting as well, but not quite as much as male vocals. Clarity was definitely not the aim here, but rather a safe and “fun” sound. So, if you’re looking for absolute detail and imaging, you may very well be left disappointed. It’s not that the Forza Metallo “misses” many details (not many headphones/IEMs do), but instead micro-details aren’t particularly well defined or pronounced. As such, the Forza Metallos are better suited towards typical Pop or Rap/RnB songs, where the music was created to be a fun tune, rather than a piece of art worthy of critical listening.
The sound stage also seems rather narrow, perhaps slightly wider than average at best. Thankfully, perhaps due to the rolled off signature, sibilance is not really an issue unless the song in question is inherently sibilant to begin with.
Hiss might be a problem depending on your source. Given that the Forza Metallos have an impedance of 14-Ohms, they can be slightly hiss prone.

Read: MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 In-Ear Headphones Review

Value

So, at an asking price of $130, how does the Forza Metallo rank against its rivals in this price category? Well, in trying to stay as diplomatic as possible, they seem a bit underwhelming. The build quality and sweat resistance definitely seems like a plus. But, in terms of sound, you can definitely get better for cheaper. The Fiio EX1 V2, for example, won’t give you anywhere near as much isolation as fully sealed IEMs (which the Forza Metallo is), but at around half the price, the sheer sound quality is a noticeable step up. The build quality of the EX1 V2 also seems to be on par with that of the Forza Metallo. So, who exactly is the Forza Metallo for? Well, if your music tastes lean more towards Pop and Rap/RnB, then you might very well find them perfectly suited for you. The elevated bass will give a nice little kick to your tunes. But, unfortunately, for most genres the Forza Metallo simply doesn’t offer a flat enough frequency response to be considered suitable for Audiophiles.

 

Rating

The NO BULL rating system is designed to take as many aspects of the device into account as possible. As such, we have a basic rating, as well as a final rating. The basic rating rates the product purely as a high quality portable audio device, and is generally a good indicator of how it stacks up to its rivals in terms of standard features and specs. The final rating, however, grants bonus points for any extra features and specs that aren’t quite as common, and is a great way to judge the product as a complete package.

Packaging
Look and feel: 7 / 10

Included Accessories
More than 3 pairs of eartips included: YES
Protective case: YES

Build
Quality control: 10 / 10
Seems durable: YES
Microphonics: 6 / 10
Comfort: 7 / 10
Sound
Relatively balanced signature: –
Soundstage: 6 / 10
Detail retrieval: 6 / 10
Sibilance: 8 / 10
Instrument separation: 6 / 10
Isolation: 9 / 10
Hiss: 7 / 10

Portability
Small size: 9 / 10
Relatively low power required: 9 / 10
Weight: 9 / 10

Value
Competitive price-point: –
Relative value: 6 / 10

Basic Rating: 7.4

Bonus points
Removable cables: –
Number of cables included: –
Premium cables: –
Pairs of eartips above 3 pairs: 1
How premium the case looks and feels: 6
Battery life above 8 hours: –
Bluetooth: –
Apt-X: –
Volume/remote controls: YES
Metal body: YES
Interchangeable filter system: –
Premium look and feel: –
Use of exotic materials: –
Bluetooth connection quality: –
1/4” adapter included: –
Cable management: –
Aircraft adapter: –

Final Rating: 8.1