V-MODA Crossfade LP Over-ear Headphone

This is my first review here on head-fi. In the past I have owned quite a few headphones by skullcandy, but had not owned any high quality headphones until the LPs. I have owned these cans for approximately 3 months upon writing this review. I listen to mainly edm, house and some soft rock.
 
 
Design: These are IMO the most good-looking headphones I have ever seen. I didn't want any headphones that looked super geeky like the grados or the sennheisers so these hit the bulls-eye for me
 
Durability: These are also extremely durable, as they are made of metal mainly, with a little bit of plastic on the ear cups and on the part of the head band connecting to the ear cups. the plastic part connecting to the headband cracked sadly (but does not hinder functionality happily)
 
Comfort: Unfortunately these aren't the most comfortable headphone ever. I have owned the skullcandy hesh 2, and I could wear those for long periods of time without feeling ear fatigue. Not so with these, I am able to wear them for about an hour without discomfort but after an hour, my ears start to hurt. I have installed the paper towel mod that I heard about here on head-fi, and this bumped the time I can wear these to about an hour and a half without discomfort, but nonetheless these are not ideal for long listening sessions.
 
 
Sound Isolation: These are okay for sound isolation, not the best. These are semi-open back headphones so some external sound does pass through to your ears. 
 
Sound Quality:
 
               [Bass] These are the best bass in headphones I have ever heard. It is elevated and loose and will make you literally feel the kick drum it is sooooo good. The only complaint I have with these is                        on some recordings the bass is just too overpowering even for a bass-head like me. It is not an issue with house and edm music. Cellos are also detailed and you can hear every bow movement with extreme clarity and these really shine with cellos.
    
               [Mids] The mids on these are detailed and crisp, but they are recessed. Vocals are nice and pleasing, guitars are surprisingly good, you can hear every individual string strum with excellent clarity. Pianos sound kind of muddy, the individual keystrokes are not as crisp as I like. One weird issue I ran into is with singers singing harsh "s" sounds (such as with female vocalists) there was a pretty harsh hissing sound, and it distracts from some recordings.
 
               [Highs] The highs are rolled off slightly, but are nonetheless crisp and sparkly. 
 
Soundstage: The soundstage on these is a step up from just sounding like two speakers in your head. On the high bit rate ALAC files I have, you can tell the instruments coming from different directions in a 180 degree 'view' but there is no depth to it. 
 
 
Value: As these retail for around 130$ on amazon, I was extremely lucky to find a used pair for 71$ I would say these are worth it for anywhere less than 100$

Remember that this review is only about 30 minutes into the headphones. I will divide the review into 3 parts. Sound, Comfort, and Style. Lastly, I will end with a paragraph-long overview.

~SOUND~

The sound on these is excellent, but not superior. I'd say they're mostly fit for Dubstep, Techno, House, and Electronica in general. These would be a dreamhouse for a person who listens to Trap all the time. The bass is exactly as V-MODA advertised it. "Low, Vibrant Bass", which is great for people who are half-bassheads. The bass isn't really in your face, it's just really noticeable. I'm not sure about the mids, since I don't exactly know much about them. I suppose their there, but slightly recessed. The treble is also slightly recessed, but I think a little natural burn-in would shine these bad boys. Overall, the sound is excellent. 4/5

~COMFORT~

The comfort on these is great. I'd say the comfort is good, but not excellent. The headband is nicely padded, not much discomfort on those (except you'll probably have to take them off once every hour). The earpads are great, but slightly undersized. The whole build on the comfort is nicely installed and advertised. 4/5

~STYLE~

These babes will literally turn heads automatically. The shields shine really good, and very metallicly. The oval-shape of the earcups are very nice, it makes your ear fit great. Overall, the style is very detailed and very nice. 5/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~OVERVIEW~

Overall, these headphones will please people who are looking for the first step in high-quality music. If you are coming from the SkullCandy Hesh 2's (Like I am), you will be very impressed with these bad boys. I'll give these phones a 4.5/5.


-Your Caneivor, Heitek

Company Name: VMODA
Company Website: http://v-moda.com
Headphone Model: VMODA Crossfade Custom LP (Pearl White, gray ear pads, gray cord, and metallic silver plates)
Frequency Range: 5Hz-30Khz
Headphone Style (Open, Closed, etc.): Closed
Impedance: 32 Ohms
Sensitivity: Not Listed


Pros:  Comes with a lot of accessories, very sturdy, stylish, ear pads are some of the softest Ive ever had on my ears.
Cons: A little bulky even in their case for toting around, bass can be muddy at times

Rating scale is based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 being the worst, 3 being neutral, and 5 being the best.
Describing Sound: http://www.head-fi.org/a/describing-sound-a-glossary
Audio Quality:  3.5 of 5
Comfort: 4 of 5
Design: 4 of 5
Isolation: 4 of 5
Value: 3 of 5
Overall Rating: 4 of 5

Songs that were used to test (320KBPS MP3 converted from FLAC):

• Adelitas Way - Critize
• Fun - Some Nights
• Styx - Come Sail Away
• Marvin Gaye - I Want You
• Journey - Dont Stop Believing

 

• Adelitas Way comes out very bass heavy, but its not over powering. You can hear the background music and voices just fine. There is a spot in the first minute and 15 seconds where the bass and background music slows down. During this quick break you can hear the artists voice very clearly. Overall sounds very nice and is a fun track for these cans.
• Fun's Some Nights starts with the singer and very little background music. The singers voice is clear. About 50 seconds into the track the bass lines start and are decently heavy. During the bass lines you can still hear the artists voice very clearly. At about 1:22 during the track the constant bass line stops and has a few kick drums. They seem very accurate and have a little punch to them as you would expect. At 3:00 the artist is alone and sounds very clear.
• Styx Come Sail Away is a nice classic with a piano opening. 17 seconds into the track the singer comes in nice and clear and sounds amazing through out the introduction. At 1:30 there is a faint cymbal in the background music that comes into play. Its noticeable right away. At 2:25 the bass kicks in and is slightly over powering. at 4:29 the drums pan from right to left and this set of cans shows that off very well. Overall the song has alot of detail and is played with clarity throughout.
• Marvin Gaye's I Want You starts off on the left side of the stage and slides to the right within the first 20 seconds of the song. The entire song is very analytical. The stage is set nicely and changes sides frequently. The background music wasnt over powering on this one and everything had a nice smooth sound too it.
• Journey's Dont Stop Believing is another song that starts off with a nice piano introduction with the singer. At 55 seconds you can hear the sparkle in the background. At 1:25 the background music is on in full effect. The bass and upper end frequencies blend nicely throughout the entire song.

Overall the Crossfade's have a reputation for being bass heavy. I intentionally picked music that had a wide range of frequencies and tried to stay away from some of the more bass heavy music. Overall these headphones are a good all around can. They can do alot of things well for most casual listeners. These are great for audio enthusiasts who love bass heavy music. At a price point of $110 from various online retailers I would consider these a decent entry level headphone for the new comers who dont want to spend a ton right out of the box. Along with the money you spend you also get portability and accessories. You get multiple wires (with and without volume controls), cleaning cloth, and a nice portable case.
 
Original Review:
http://www.pc-babble.com/744/vmoda-crossfade-lp-custom-headphone-review/