V-MODA Crossfade M-80 Reviews - Page 3

How would you compare them to the HD 25 when it comes to actual listening? I listen mostly to trip hop, indie rock, trance, dubstep, and Beethoven; any words of wisdom?

EDIT: My sonic preferences are something that can really produce punch and texture in bass without being bloated, forward mids without excessive warmth (IE guitars and female vocals should sound clear) and good overall clarity and sound separation.

Would you say the M80 has substantially better soundstage than the HD 25?

If you have any insight on how they compare to the Phiaton MS400 as well, I would be eternally grateful. The MS400 is great, but it's too warm/dark for my taste, and can't deliver the bass impact I want, even with EQ.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilly87 

K I'm sorry but...people advertising this thread in their sigs? Somebody is paying somebody.

 

I mean, a bunch of head-fiers with high post counts, including the owner, randomly get free pairs of custom headphones? And somehow all unanimously agree that the headphone is fantastic, even though a fair few of them state that it does not comply with their natural headphone preferences? Basshead cans by a notoriously lower-end manufacturer make the top story on the main page and merit a banner that pops up randomly in unrelated threads? Sorry but to me that seems like quite the anomaly.

 

Am I the only one who is having this thought?

 

Honestly from what I hear I'm considering buying one, but the skeptic in me won't shut up that this all seems too convenient...especially after how lame the crossfades were.

I think you are overestimating the power that a $200 pair of headphones has, as far as turning experienced folks like Jude, Tyll Herstens, LFF, Amaegis, swbf2cheater, and myself into shills. I went into this review being rather skeptical.... I've had V-MODA Vibes break on me in the past. But the M-80 caught me completely off guard, and I reported it just as I heard it. It's as simple as that. 

I suppose I'd be out of line asking if you received anything else, but my suspicions remain. My experience with every V-Moda product to date has been dismal, even with my love of bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilly87 

How would you compare them to the HD 25 when it comes to actual listening? I listen mostly to trip hop, indie rock, trance, dubstep, and Beethoven; any words of wisdom?

 

EDIT: My sonic preferences are something that can really produce punch and texture in bass without being bloated, forward mids without excessive warmth (IE guitars and female vocals should sound clear) and good overall clarity and sound separation.

 

Would you say the M80 has substantially better soundstage than the HD 25?

HD25 bass was too much for me - just above the line. Reminded me of Darth Beyers. For a headphone like this, I would like some bass bump, the M-80 does it just right. Bass is bumped up, but just below that threshold of too much. There's a good argument that the HD25 bass may just be perfect with certain portable players that are weak in bass reproduction - this depends on your set up of course.

The middle midrange is bumped up a bit on the M-80. This brings out the vocals well, especially for modern popular music. This may be an minor issue with jazz recordings where the vocals are already emphasized. You definitely do not hear an upper-midrange eardrum destroying high-mid / lower treble emphasis a la Grado.

The HD25 is a tad cleaner sounding, but major problem with the HD25 is the treble ringing around 6kHz and repeated again an octave higher at 12kHz for double tag-team eardrum-piercing whammy. Some people are not sensitive to this resonance and rather like the effect. I personally don't feel false detail through exaggerated treble is pleasurable (it's like someone going crazy on the Photoshop sharpen filter.)

Soundstage is similar between M80 and HD25. In other words, nothing notable, but nothing wrong.

Finally, as I said, I'm still waiting for my free M-80.

Well if everyone's getting them. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by purrin 

Finally, as I said, I'm still waiting for my free M-80.

Do these compare to the ATH-M50s? If they drop a little they are pretty equivalent in price, and a portable/stylish version of the M50s would be awesome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaFi 

Do these compare to the ATH-M50s? If they drop a little they are pretty equivalent in price, and a portable/stylish version of the M50s would be awesome!

Personally, I didn't like the ATH-M50s as much. They were fine in the bass and they sounded rolled-off in the highest treble despite my measurements indicating that they weren't. There was a little bit of forwardness / upper-mid bump on the ATH-M50 that I did not like. The upper-mids to the treble of the ATH-M50 are rough - not very smooth. The V-Moda M-80 fills in the lower midrange better and is smoother up top than the ATH-M50. Finally I felt the M-80 was better able to reproduce low-level information - this is a big deal for me. In terms of clarity, they are about even.

But yeah, it would be nice to see the M-80 drop in price a bit. What's the street price on this now?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaFi 

Do these compare to the ATH-M50s? If they drop a little they are pretty equivalent in price, and a portable/stylish version of the M50s would be awesome!

I'll take the M80 over the M50 anyday, M80 has clearer and tighter bass, also less in quantity. the V-moda is not a bass heavy headphone. even the HD25 has more punch and boom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilly87 

I suppose I'd be out of line asking if you received anything else, but my suspicions remain. My experience with every V-Moda product to date has been dismal, even with my love of bass.

sadly I am not getting any money . I did got the headphone for free though. if that bothers you, there is a few reviews by users who did bought it:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/573359/v-moda-m-80-review-can-lifestyles-sound-good

http://www.head-fi.org/t/572736/v-moda-crossfade-m-80-initial-impressions-review-not-chosen-for-the-sponsor-review-but-bought-a-pair-anyways

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilly87 

I suppose I'd be out of line asking if you received anything else, but my suspicions remain. My experience with every V-Moda product to date has been dismal, even with my love of bass.

Not really, that's a fair question. The folks such as myself who were selected for the M-80 reviews received the following:

*M-80 headphones (in the retail package)

*custom engraving on cups (which is a separate option but available to anyone who wants to purchase it)

*a set of V-MODA Faders (which is an earplug that they also wanted feedback on)

That's it. No money being paid out or anything like that. And no extra incentive to give good feedback - we already had the stuff, to keep, so we could say anything we wanted about it at that point. 

Are you interested in borrowing my M-80s? I'm willing to send them to you so you can check them out, if you are genuinely interested. 

I really want to take you up on that but I need to re-evaluate the way I do my reviews before I do another. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by project86 

Not really, that's a fair question. The folks such as myself who were selected for the M-80 reviews received the following:

 

*M-80 headphones (in the retail package)

 

*custom engraving on cups (which is a separate option but available to anyone who wants to purchase it)

 

*a set of V-MODA Faders (which is an earplug that they also wanted feedback on)

 

That's it. No money being paid out or anything like that. And no extra incentive to give good feedback - we already had the stuff, to keep, so we could say anything we wanted about it at that point. 

 

Are you interested in borrowing my M-80s? I'm willing to send them to you so you can check them out, if you are genuinely interested. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilly87 

K I'm sorry but...people advertising this thread in their sigs? Somebody is paying somebody.

 

I mean, a bunch of head-fiers with high post counts, including the owner, randomly get free pairs of custom headphones? And somehow all unanimously agree that the headphone is fantastic, even though a fair few of them state that it does not comply with their natural headphone preferences? Basshead cans by a notoriously lower-end manufacturer make the top story on the main page and merit a banner that pops up randomly in unrelated threads? Sorry but to me that seems like quite the anomaly.

 

Am I the only one who is having this thought?

 

Honestly from what I hear I'm considering buying one, but the skeptic in me won't shut up that this all seems too convenient...especially after how lame the crossfades were.

I'd like to chime in on this:  I get a lot of my headphones for free, and I have way more than I need. I'm perfectly happy to call a headphone junk if it is. (Klipsch Image One for example.) I've got zero need to have my opinion swayed by free stuff, and I reckon that's true of the stalwart listeners here.  Our reputation as a source of good information rests on our honesty about these things.

If I were Val and thought I had a great headphone on my hands I'd give them away to the type of people we're talking about here and make it easy for them to get a chance to listen at length.

The reason you see so many positive reviews is these headphones are spectacular. Not just in their sound, but the whole enchilada. The build quality is stellar.  The look is sexy. The attention to detail in the case, cable, and packaging is simply unparalleled.(with the possible exception of the P5)

I usually review a headphone in a couple of days, and then store it away for future reference. (Unless it was a loner and needs to be returned.) This didn't happen with the V-80 (yeah, I got the True Blood version).  It's become my go-to, every day, cellphone headset and lay-in-be-and-watch-netfilx-on-my-iPad headphone. They've replaced my P5 as the sexiest, favoritest, work-aday headphone.

I. LOVE. THEM.

They're obviously built by someone who cares intensely about their product, and you feel every bit of it. One doesn't get to develop that pride of ownership without experiencing it. I think it's wise that Val gave some of them away so people could sense what it was to own one. He didn't buy reviews, he paid for the opportunity for critical listeners to experience his cans. He made a bet, and it paid off.  I'll be reviewing them soon with great praise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorbidToaster 

I really want to take you up on that but I need to re-evaluate the way I do my reviews before I do another. 
 

 

 

Ummmm.... I wasn't talking to you. Awkward.

I'm kidding - the offer stands to you as well, or anyone around here who has a good reputation/feedback. 

damn..I'm waiting on a free M80 too :) *wink wink*

On a more serious note I am quite surprised about this as well. I don't usually associate V Moda with anything other than bass monster..kinda like the cheaper Sennheisers such as the CX300 and also the Monster brand before I tried out the Golds, MDs and Coppers but this just means one should not judge before hearing.

I have trust in some of the reviewers as they have not steered me wrong before so I have no reason to believe they will for the M80.