Mini-Review: V-Moda M-80 vs Audio-Technica ES7

Intro

This mini-review covers my thoughts on the V-Moda M-80, which I bought just before Black Friday this year and owned for a couple of weeks. This is a comparative mini-review against the Audio-Technica ATH-ES7, which I've owned for a few years as it's been the best closed portable headphone that I've been able to find for my purposes of general computer audio - Internet music streaming, DVD movie watching, & light gaming (FPS games).

The reason I bought the M-80 was to find out if it could be a replacement for my ES7 while doubling for some music listening, as I don't use the ES7 for music listening on either my CD player setup or my MP3 player. I consider the ES7 solely as a "computer" headphone. So my hope for the M-80 was to see if it could be my new "computer" headphone as well as a headphone for my more audio-specific setup.

Usual disclaimer: listening for this mini-review was done over about 2 weeks, which is a lot less time than I usually do for full reviews (hence why I call it a "mini-review"). That means my thoughts aren't necessarily final and susceptible to change. I'd describe my approach for this mini-review as informal & short-term with semi-critical listening.

Appended in post #2 directly below are my review notes - opted to not create a PDF for them this time.

Equipment Setup

- Audio-Specific Setup
-- Source component: Plinius CD-101 (CD player) (Signal Cable Silver Reference power cord, directly into wall)
-- Analog interconnects: Analysis Plus Silver Oval RCA
-- Headphone Amp: HeadAmp Gilmore Lite
-- Comparison Headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-ES7, Creative Labs Aurvana Live

- Computer Setup
-- OS: Windows Vista x64
-- Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
-- Computer Speakers: Yamaha YSTMS50 (headphone jack)
-- Cables: 6' Radio Shack-type interconnect from sound card to speakers, & 6' headphone extension from speakers to headphones

Computer setup was used for brief gaming and DVD movie-watching tests.

Evaluation Music

- Alison Krauss & Union Station - New Favorite
- Beyond Twilight - Section X
- Carlos Kleiber & Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Beethoven Symphonies 5 & 7
- Helloween - 7 Sinners
- In Flames - The Jester Race
- Julia Fischer - Bach Concertos
- Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned
- Leftfield - Leftism
- Massive Attack - Mezzanine
- Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction [MFSL]
- Nightwish - Once
- Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
- Sir Neville Marriner & Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Mozart Flute Concertos
- Symphony X - Paradise Lost
- The Crystal Method - Tweekend
- The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land

Assessment

The most immediate question I wanted to get answered out of the M-80 was to find out if I could use it for gaming, and if it could replace the ES7 for me in that aspect. The short answer is that yes, it was good enough that I could use it for gaming with appropriately beefy-sounding gunfire and explosions, but it wasn't really ideal either, mostly because of its soundstage/imaging, which I thought negatively affected accurate perception of enemy positions.

As far as general computer audio aside from gaming, it did acceptably well in my key areas - Internet music streaming and movie/video watching (DVDs and YouTube). In fact, based on its computer audio performance, I thought the M-80 was a star in the making.

Now the reason I don't use the Audio-Technica ES7 for music listening is because I just think it's not very good with most music genres and the only genre I can really tolerate it for is rock music, and if I'm listening to that, I invariably prefer my full-size AD2000 for that.

So the M-80 didn't really have much to go up against for me here and my foremost question was: could it actually handle multiple music genres on my audio setup?

The answer was a resounding yes, and the M-80 surprised me at a lot of turns. Ok I'm not going to lie and say that it punched above its price or anything like that, because to put it bluntly, I didn't think it was that amazing. Let's be realistic, this is a ~$200 headphone. Most ~$200 headphones I've heard have been good. But none have been outstanding and I'd be lying if I said the M-80 was awesome.

So I'll just say that I thought the M-80 was really good and it easily earned its place on my personal "average" ranking of headphones. Not that my average ranking is bad though: the LCD-2, HD800, and T1, among others (including some discontinued headphones like the Grado HP1000), are all in my above-average ranking. My lesser average ranking includes headphones like the AKG K701, Senn HD600, etc. Not that the M-80 was better than those though as "better" is a subjective term, but it was definitely good enough to me that I thought it was perfectly fine for just about every music genre I tried on it. Electronica, rock, metal, and classical all sounded completely acceptable, which for me is saying a lot, as I tend to be really nitpicky. I couldn't really come up with any major complaints for any single genre. But of course I ended up nitpicking anyway, just for the sake of nitpicking, and for those who want the gory details I've included my notes below.

The most notable detractions I found with the M-80 were its less than stellar overall clarity (always a stickler for me) and unfortunately a lack of comfort. The pressure they exerted on my ears was intolerable after approximately half an hour, fairly consistently on multiple listening sessions.

I ended up disappointed that the M-80 ultimately didn't beat out my ES7 for a replacement computer headphone, because it sounded good enough for music that it could have been my computer headphone too (a few nitpicky issues aside). I decided to not keep it for two primary reasons: I got my ES7 a lot cheaper than the M-80, and for me the ES7 was more comfortable too.

I was definitely impressed by the M-80's sonic performance though, minor issues aside, and I think it's a prime choice for anyone looking for a portable closed headphone up to about $200. While it wasn't the best headphone I've heard, it wasn't bad either and to me it fell squarely in the middle of the road. I have to say that V-Moda did a good job on these. I'm looking forward to the M-100 which will hopefully remedy my comfort issues, and hopefully improve sonic clarity too.

Related Reading

Some old reviews/threads I've written that cover my thoughts on other closed portable headphones:

- Audio-Technica OR7, ES5, and FC7: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/183296/review-audio-technica-ath-or7-ath-es5-ath-fc7
- Audio-Technica ESW9 and Denon AH-D2000: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/311973/mini-review-audio-technica-ath-esw9-and-denon-ah-d2000
- Beyerdynamic T70: http://www.head-fi.org/t/584599/mini-review-beyerdynamic-t70
- Story of my closed portable headphone journey: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/235997/how-my-journey-for-closed-portable-bliss-came-to-an-end

UNORGANIZED NOTES FOR MINI-REVIEW OF V-MODA M-80 VS AUDIO-TECHNICA ES7

These notes include specific details not mentioned in the mini-review

> vs Creative Aurvana Live

M-80 has deeper & more powerful bass, also more tactile and visceral bass/mid-range. Also marginally clearer, as CAL is semi-muddy, esp in mid-bass area on complex music (power metal speedruns). CAL tends to "muddify" in mid-bass, M-80 retains clarity more. M-80 may also have lower bass extension. M-80 has more treble quantity too, while CAL is semi-dark/mids-focused. CAL also less sensitive, need to turn up volume knob more to achieve similar volume (on GL).

Gaming: CAL too muffled-sounding, sfx aren't clear enough. M-80 has acceptable clarity - i.e., decently sharp reports on machine-gun fire. More "direct"-sounding than CAL.

> Comfort/Isolation

Both isolate well - minimal leakage, though ES7 leaks none and M-80 leaks a little due to vents on earcups.

> Amping Efficiency

M-80 has higher sensitivity - louder than ES7 at any volume. Both very sensitive though.

> Gaming (Far Cry)

More "grunt" on gunfire w/ M-80 - i.e., beefier and heavier-sounding guns. Boomier explosions too, more impact and blowing-up factor. However, ES7 has "quicker" sound on automatic gunfire that makes it sound sharper/more precise. ES7's soundstage also places sfx along a virtual left/right arc better which is better for gaming - better illusion of sfx localization, for footsteps for example. M-80's soundstage not ideal for sfx localization due to shifty positioning (hard to discern exact positioning along left or right channels).

> DVD Movie Watching (The Dark Knight)

Similar experience as gaming test, no major differences. M-80 better overall as it diffuses the soundtrack more, easier to hear music against the sfx.

> Music Notes

- AKUS - New Favorite - "Let Me Touch You For Awhile", "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn"

M-80 properly conveys the depth of the double-bass notes and separates out the instruments nicely. Not very much treble "bite" on banjo or dobro though, and only moderate level of clarity - could be better.

- Massive Attack - Mezzanine - "Teardrop", "Inertia Creeps", "Black Milk"

ES7 exudes strong, heavy bass throughout track, with forward heavy presence on 3D's vocals. M-80 not as "thick" overall, thinner in mids, but retains deep bass (without as much quantity as ES7). Belly drums shoved to background on M-80 for more diffuse sound. ES7 better portrays a dark creepy atmosphere to track than M-80. M-80 more "open & surrounding" with the soundstage, ES7 is flatter.

M-80 loses definition over bass in general on "Black Milk", like indistinct generic bass, almost one-note. Achieves lower extension than ES7 though to sound deeper/lower.

("Teardrop") ES7 puts sound in front and center (almost Grado-like) and directly around but not overly forward. M-80 spreads out & separates more, more diffuse, more out & away for proper soundstage positioning. ES7 definitely has more mid-bass - heavier ooze/sludge-like factor. More dimension to Liz Fraser's vocals on M-80, more air around her voice. Mids on ES7 sound more integrated with bass than on M-80 - more evenly matched. M-80 bass almost disjointed from its mids.

- Leftfield - Leftism - "Inspection Check One"

M-80 has deeper, thicker, more driving low bass. Also closer positioning w/ smaller soundstage. ES7 more spatial-sounding with slightly further-out positioning. ES7 not as deep into bass line, sounds light-weight in comparison.

ES7 has clearer, more distinct bass though - M-80's bass sounds sludgy with not much definition.

- Porcupine Tree - Deadwing - "Halo", "Mellotron Scratch"

M-80 has punchier, deeper bass. ES7 has more left/right soundstage span and more clarity throughout spectrum - easier to hear the percussive "slaps". Both headphones very good for music type with full mids and bass kick, though M-80 has more bass kick and lower bass, also less "air" that's more engaging. M-80's cleaner, more precise treble apparent on guitars (more apparent on "Mellotron Scratch"). Despite M-80's deeper bass, ES7 sounds more solid & visceral/forceful though, with a generally thicker, pushy sound.

- The Crystal Method - Tweekend - "Murder", "Tough Guy"
- The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land - "Breathe", "Funky ****", "Fuel My Fire"

M-80 bass extension & strength good enough for this music type - very good low, full bass for electronica, though could be better - like LCD-2's full/fat bass or AD2K's hard-hitting/agile bass. Really not bad for this electronica though, very good overall, though it probably still ranks at "average" on personal scale ranking.

- Beyond Twilight - Section X - "The Path of Darkness"

- Helloween - 7 Sinners - "Where The Sinners Go"
- In Flames - The Jester Race - "Moonshield", "Artifacts of the Black Rain"
- Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned - "The Great Pandemonium"
- Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction [MFSL] - "Sweating Bullets"
- Nightwish - Once - "Wish I Had An Angel", "Planet Hell"
- Symphony X - Paradise Lost - "Oculus Ex Inferni", "The Walls of Babylon"

Male vocals tend to be somewhat recessed on M-80, and most metal tracks lack mid-bass/lower-mids punch. M-80's lack of clarity in mid-bass/lower mids generally obvious with metal, esp in bass guitar (most obvious with bass guitar actually). Bass guitars tend to sound indistinct and noticeably generic/muddy on M-80 and also lack some presence factor. M-80 also not very fast in impulse response, sounds a bit plodgy, especially in mid-bass. Not enough agility in mid-bass either for fast metal or speedruns.

Metal somewhat on the passive/boring side with M-80, contrasting from headphones like AD2K or LCD-2 that are more assertive & forward/direct. Positioning on M-80 also tends to sound diverged to left/right too much, not as much in center - music not in front of you, more to the sides.

- Sir Neville Marriner & Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Mozart Flute Concertos
- Carlos Kleiber & VPO - Beethoven Symphonies 5 & 7
- Julia Fischer - Bach Concertos

M-80 decent enough for classical - not bad, but not very good. Positioning seems to throw off where instrument sections should be by a bit. Violins don't sound real - too glossy in treble. Size of orchestra also not accurately conveyed - too small, not enough "air span" between violins & cello. The forced left/right channel divergence also breaks the continuum between violin & cello plus other instrument sections - sections don't sound like they're all in the same orchestra, but sound like separate sections in separate orchestras. Probably good enough for non-critical listening though.

> Conclusions

Both headphones relatively mids focused - both have full mids w/ plenty of body overall. M-80 has more treble which helps guitar strings stick out. M-80 clearer than ES7 and with more diffusion; ES7 more integrated and not very clear.

ES7 has heavier mids than M-80 - fuller, more body & presence. More "direct" sound too. Music sounds closer positioned than on M-80 - could be too close for some people. ES7 with stronger, heavier, "fatter", more solid bass/mids overall - more musically engaging for prog/hard rock or metal. ES7 has very "up front & center" type of sound, M-80 more distant and passive in comparison. Between the two, ES7 is more Grado-like with the forward presentation; M-80's distant presentation more AKG or Senn-like.

M-80 moderately clear-sounding, but not very clear overall - more than ES7, but less than HD800.