Sudio
Sudio Vasa Bla: simple and elegant from start to finish
Aprox. 229€ - see price -
Sudio products are gradually gaining a reputation for being of good quality, while being inexpensive. With the Vasa Bla, the young Swedish brand promises a faithful sound as well as a minimalist, elegant and functional design. Let's check the said ...
Our review
Ergonomics
All the elements, from the in-ear earphones themselves to the typography of the brand logo affixed on the box, reflect the two watchwords of the Swedish manufacturer: simplicity and elegance. The packaging, very refined, almost gives the impression of having an Apple product in your hands.
Once unpacked, we discover that in addition to offering a real feeling of quality, the product is not devoid of accessories: the earphones are accompanied by a leather carrying case, a clip and of four pairs of silicone tips (XS, S, M, L). On the other hand, there is no memory foam tip on the horizon.
The design of the Vasa Bla is very neat, the finishes are simple, but beautiful, and we can easily observe the attention given to the details. The chassis design is both minimalist and sophisticated, its pinkish copper hue contrasts pleasantly with that of the cable (available in four colors: black, white, blue or pink); precisely flat cable providing, in addition to anti-tangle properties, an additional graphic touch. Note also the two boxes (battery and remote control), arranged symmetrically on either side of the cable in order to create a balance both visually and by weight.
Once the appropriate tips found and then slipped into our ears, we must admit that this weight balance is nice - although still slightly unbalanced, but far superior to most products in the same category tested on. The port is quite comfortable (even during long listening sessions), however the tips, like any silicone tip, are not flawless: unfortunately we must regularly readjust the intras in our ducts to reassure clogging. Finally, the cable never gets tangled, but is still quite sensitive to friction (scarf, beard) - a classic of "tagliatelle" models.
The three-button command allows pause / play, passage to the next / previous track (long press respectively on the +/-), volume adjustment and call management. A long press on the "play / pause" button turns the device on / off and an even longer press when switching on triggers Bluetooth pairing. You guessed it: there is no activation of voice recognition. If you are used to calling Siri from your intras so that you never have to take out your smartphone, skip your turn!
The battery is charged via a Micro-USB port. The battery level not being displayed, the intras start to flash and beep (regularly and rather unpleasantly, like someone who would like to draw your attention by patting you on the shoulder) when they are about to to give up the ghost. The autonomy, measured at 8:30 am, is higher than the manufacturer's promise and quite average for wireless in-ear headphones. Bluetooth, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired: if the Vasa Bla connect without any concern and with fluidity the first time like the following, the stability as the range of the connection are a little less reliable. Cuts can occur if you move away from a handful of meters from the smartphone, or if the latter is unlucky to be slipped into the back pocket of your pants. It should then be stored in a bag, jacket pocket or any other less bouncy alcove.
Audio
The Vasa Bla offer a balanced overall rendering. The bass, however, lacks depth - they do not descend very low, for example struggling to reproduce the serious sweep in the intro of Unfinished Sympathy - and are not particularly "all-encompassing", but are dynamic, clean and fair. To get the most out of it, remember to choose the size of the ear tips - it may be that the right ear differs from that of the left ear! This healthy behavior of the membranes is found throughout the spectrum, with a very clean, fairly fine general sound: we can easily distinguish the different sound instruments / speakers, thanks also to an appreciable width of stereophonic scene. Mid frequencies are highlighted, voices benefiting from a spotlight. The highs, meanwhile, enjoy a beautiful wealth of details; however, wheezing is extremely rare and wheezing very discreet.
The reason is that the distortion is extremely wise throughout the spectrum: we see here, just like on the measurement of square signals, the explanation of this sharpness of sound: from 0 to 200 Hz and from 2 to 20 kHz, the distortion is almost zero. As always (especially in Bluetooth), it gives a little more voice in mediums, but barely touches 0.5% - a value more than acceptable. This low distortion goes hand in hand with the good power delivered by the Vasa Bla: 153 mV was enough for them to reach 94 dB SPL (against 200 or even 250 for certain models).
The impulse response is however far too important to be able to watch films: with 265 ms, it is simply one of the greatest latencies measured in our sound lab. So keep them only for listening to music!
Conclusion
In terms of simplicity and elegance, the Vasa Bla perfectly fulfill the promise made by Sudio, both on the ergonomic side with a minimalist design and quality materials, and on the sound side with a typical Scandinavian rendering, balanced and clean. However, the functional side is not respected, due to the lack of auricular support and stability of the Bluetooth connection.
