V-MODA M-100: Discussion/Feedback, Reviews, Pics, etc. - Page 766

Haha then maybe I'm just going deaf because I can run it full volume on both and still enjoy the music. Ya I tried it on another mac and same thing, I have to crank almost to full volume to really get that kick from them. It's strange that it just seems to com alive more on the mini at lower volumes. Would all of those amps on the previous page help me out in the volume department, or more just to fine tune the sound signature out of the m100s?
 

Just tried Deadmau5's  Aural Psynapse on my 2011 MBA and at 2/3 to 3/4 volume it's got quite a kick! Really don't want to go much higher than that for an extended period.  To answer your question, you will get the volume plus better sound with any of these USB dac/amps:  

Low $ to Hi - FiiO E07, FiiO E17, AudioEngine D1, Arcam rPAC, AudioQuest DragonFly. If you're looking for portability only, I'd do the DragonFly with the DragonTail (IMO assuming that you have better luck that I'm having with my Macs) or the FiiO E07.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ulumanati 

Haha then maybe I'm just going deaf because I can run it full volume on both and still enjoy the music. Ya I tried it on another mac and same thing, I have to crank almost to full volume to really get that kick from them. It's strange that it just seems to com alive more on the mini at lower volumes. Would all of those amps on the previous page help me out in the volume department, or more just to fine tune the sound signature out of the m100s?
 

hey do you guys know if there's much difference in the matte brushed metal shields and the shiny brushed metal shields both from the website? and which one do the shadow's come with?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlos4996 

hey do you guys know if there's much difference in the matte brushed metal shields and the shiny brushed metal shields both from the website? and which one do the shadow's come with?

The matte black shields have no glossy finish, they are just black... No shine.

The shiny black shields have a glossy finish to make them shiny, they attract finger prints.

The shadow M-100s come with the brushed black shields on them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron94 

The matte black shields have no glossy finish, they are just black... No shine.

 

The shiny black shields have a glossy finish to make them shiny, they attract finger prints.

 

The shadow M-100s come with the brushed black shields on them.

Ok, I asked for the same thing in the shield design thread but think people got confused.

We are talking about two different brushed shields, one matte and one shiny. Both brushed.They are sold in V-Moda's website in this way. I want to buy the same one the Shadow carries, but as is just specified as brushed metal, I don't know if is the matte or shiny one. Any help?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeyVee 

I've been playing around with my different dac/amp combos and decided to pull my ARCAM rPAC out of retirement. All I can say is that it is a really good match with the M100.  The digital volume control on the rPAC moves up in incremental steps and I can fine tune it nicely.  It went into retirement because I found it a touch bright but paired with the M100 it brings out the mids and highs just a touch more than anything else I've tried and suits my tastes perfectly. Anyway, here's the list of comb's I've tried (EQ turned off):

• AudioEngine D1 - Nice, full bodied, great bass kick with mids a little recessed but the volume control is way too touchy.
• Schiit Bifrost and Magni - Just sounded rough and the volume control was way too touchy. I could manage the volume with Audirvana+ but still didn't like the sound. I'm not having much luck with the Magni but am holding onto it until I can try it with the HE500.
• Schiit Bifrost and Lyr - Call me crazy but this combo works quite nicely.  The Lyr has smooth volume control at the low end and brings the M100 sound to a whole new level. Smooth as silk with slightly recessed mids. I know I can change that just by tube rolling. It's the most detailed setup of the bunch.
• AudioQuest DragonFly - Unfortunately the DF does not work on either of my Macs. I must have corrupted something somewhere.  Anyway, it does work on my HP Windows 7 netbook.  The sound is very similar to the AE D1 with maybe a touch more detail. Just wish I can get the DF working with my MacBook Air.
• My favourite in the setup is with the rPAC. Maybe not as detailed as the DF but it pushes the mids up just a touch to how I like them.

Interesting to hear. I've read some posts in the Magni thread and another website that the Magni is nearly identical in sound and measurements to the O2 and I find the O2 to pair really really well with the M-100. I personally haven't listened to the Magni so I can't comment on that. I'm also not sure about the Bifrost, but the O2/ODAC combo sounds superb to my ears, being much more detailed and transparent than the Bifrost/Lyr combo I heard at a local Head-Fi meet.

I also use Audirvana Plus with the O2/ODAC combo with integer mode and "hog" mode enabled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidzomec 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron94 

The matte black shields have no glossy finish, they are just black... No shine.

 

The shiny black shields have a glossy finish to make them shiny, they attract finger prints.

 

The shadow M-100s come with the brushed black shields on them.

Ok, I asked for the same thing in the shield design thread but think people got confused.

 

We are talking about two different brushed shields, one matte and one shiny. Both brushed.They are sold in V-Moda's website in this way. I want to buy the same one the Shadow carries, but as is just specified as brushed metal, I don't know if is the matte or shiny one. Any help?

I just checked on V-MODA's M-100 webpage and yeah the colours are kind of confusing, 2 of which I am unsure of.

• There is the matte black shield, which comes default with the matte black M-100 and the LP2. This is not shiny and has an isotropic texture on it. On the M-100 webpage it's called Matte Black.
• There is also a regular black shield, which is a regular 'ol shiny shield but black in colour. On the M-100 webpage it's called Shiny Black (don't mistake this for Gunmetal, which is a grey colour instead of black).
• There is a "brushed aluminum" shield, which comes default with the shadow M-100 and black M-80. This is not shiny (I think) and has an anisotropic texture on it. However, on the M-100 webpage, there are 2 entries for it: Matte Brush Metal and Shiny Brush Metal

My guess for the two brush metal shields is that one is textured from a matte black shield, the other from a regular black shield. I'm not 100% certain though.

To anyone- How about posting some pics of custom shields?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcfac73 

To anyone- How about posting some pics of custom shields?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/616990/v-moda-shield-design-discussion

I got my M-100 during the first pre-order, and there was a brushed black metal shield shortage at the time. Despite explicitly asking the V-MODA support staff to hold my order until I could get brushed black metal shields (as they had offered to do so), they still went ahead and shipped me my set with a pair of glossy black shields.

Don't get the glossy black shields. You will die a little inside every time you touch them or do anything with them because they attract so much grime.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianoman1245 

Now I am having another problem. I have thought that the right ear sounded less loud than the left ear since I received these, but I didn't think much of it. However, I've noticed that when I press very gently on the top of the right ear cup, the sound goes out in the right ear for as long as I hold my finger there. If I press repeatedly in short bursts (very, very gently) the sounds goes in and out. There is a brief moment of distortion before sound goes out, so it is not a matter of where the cups are positioned on my ears. The same does not happen to the left ear when I press on that one. So it seems like an internal connection issue. This happens regardless of which ear the cable is plugged into. All the jacks are connected correctly, and this happens through my E7, laptop, and iPhone. I'm very disappointed in these. I am returning them tomorrow, and then the search begins for a pair of headphones that works...

 

edit: Every once in a while, the sound seems to become distorted in the low frequency range of the right ear, and then it resolves itself after about a second or two. 

edit2: the volume is about even when i reduce the left ear by 12 dB. 

It's possible you just have a bad pair.  Why not just try exchanging them?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ulumanati 

Haha then maybe I'm just going deaf because I can run it full volume on both and still enjoy the music. Ya I tried it on another mac and same thing, I have to crank almost to full volume to really get that kick from them. It's strange that it just seems to com alive more on the mini at lower volumes. Would all of those amps on the previous page help me out in the volume department, or more just to fine tune the sound signature out of the m100s?
 

I can also attest to the DragonFly being a good option.  Also, not a low cost option, but the Verza should be coming out ant day now and will likely be one of the best pairings for this headphone.  The Verza will also be a great portable platform as well.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speakerphile 

 

 

It's possible you just have a bad pair.  Why not just try exchanging them?

Yes, I certainly received a bad pair. But for the price and for all of the 'quality control' espoused by Val, this kind of upsets me. I don't want to exchange them because the sound is not as exceptional as I was led to believe and, seeing as my Xonar D1 is my primary sound card, I have no use for a pair of headphones that doesn't work on my primary sound card. I decided to keep my ESW9 for portable use (the ESW9 is inferior to the m100, particularly when it comes to bass, but the difference is not worth 300$ to me and I think the m100 goes a bit overboard on the low end) and get the AD900x for home use when it becomes available in America (my AD900 blows the m100 away in every department -- particularly clarity, separation, and soundstage -- except bass presence/extension/punch, but according to dsnuts, the AD900x is supposed to have good bass). 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianoman1245 

Yes, I certainly received a bad pair. But for the price and for all of the 'quality control' espoused by Val, this kind of upsets me. I don't want to exchange them because the sound is not as exceptional as I was led to believe and, seeing as my Xonar D1 is my primary sound card, I have no use for a pair of headphones that doesn't work on my primary sound card. I decided to keep my ESW9 for portable use (the ESW9 is inferior to the m100, particularly when it comes to bass, but the difference is not worth 300$ to me and I think the m100 goes a bit overboard on the low end) and get the AD900x for home use when it becomes available in America (my AD900 blows the m100 away in every department -- particularly clarity, separation, and soundstage -- except bass presence/extension/punch, but according to dsnuts, the AD900x is supposed to have good bass). 

It is also possible that your sound card issue could be an extension of the wiring issue and also be affecting your overall sound signature.  You can have ludicrous amounts of quality control and one will slip through the cracks eventually.  You can't really blame them for a single bad apple.  At the very least, it cannot be considered representative of their quality control.  Give them the ability to make it right and I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised.   

Also, you can't really compare an open-back full-size to a sealed portable.  They will never be similar.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speakerphile 

It is also possible that your sound card issue could be an extension of the wiring issue and also be affecting your overall sound signature.  You can have ludicrous amounts of quality control and one will slip through the cracks eventually.  You can't really blame them for a single bad apple.  At the very least, it cannot be considered representative of their quality control.  Give them the ability to make it right and I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised.   

 

 

Also, you can't really compare an open-back full-size to a sealed portable.  They will never be similar.  

You are 100% right that a single bad unit says little about their quality control. A few pages back, some other people said that they were having some issues, and someone even suggested that there might be quality issues with the batch on market now, but only time will tell.

While your explanation of the sound card issue is plausible, it's odd that the issue occurs in both ears and that the phones work fine with my E7. On the other hand, you are right that it is possible that the wiring issue is affecting the overall sound signature, and that this accounts for my distaste. 

On comparing the AD900 to the m100: well, if what you mean is that they sound completely different, I would agree. The sound signatures could hardly be more different. So you're right that 'they will never be similar.' On the other hand, I don't see what's wrong with comparing them in order to consider which sound I like better for home use and for the music I tend to listen to. (For example, m100 is vastly superior for most electronic music and rap. I was also impressed when I listened to Kid A. But for classical, solo piano, classic rock, female vocalists, reggae, jazz, etc., the AD900 wins hands-down. Neither of them are very good for rock and metal.) I'm failing to understand why this sort of comparison is off-limits. It is very useful for those of us who can't afford to own a 300$ portable unit and a 300$ home unit at the same time. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianoman1245 

You are 100% right that a single bad unit says little about their quality control. A few pages back, some other people said that they were having some issues, and someone even suggested that there might be quality issues with the batch on market now, but only time will tell.

 

While your explanation of the sound card issue is plausible, it's odd that the issue occurs in both ears and that the phones work fine with my E7. On the other hand, you are right that it is possible that the wiring issue is affecting the overall sound signature, and that this accounts for my distaste. 

 

On comparing the AD900 to the m100: well, if what you mean is that they sound completely different, I would agree. The sound signatures could hardly be more different. So you're right that 'they will never be similar.' On the other hand, I don't see what's wrong with comparing them in order to consider which sound I like better for home use and for the music I tend to listen to. (For example, m100 is vastly superior for most electronic music and rap. I was also impressed when I listened to Kid A. But for classical, solo piano, classic rock, female vocalists, reggae, jazz, etc., the AD900 wins hands-down. Neither of them are very good for rock and metal.) I'm failing to understand why this sort of comparison is off-limits. It is very useful for those of us who can't afford to own a 300$ portable unit and a 300$ home unit at the same time. 

Fair enough, on the comparison.  I have a few open-back models myself that I thoroughly enjoy listening too.  I just avoid comparing due to the benefits of each being explicitly tied to their form factors.  The M-100 can't have the airy-ness(probably not a word) and soundstage of AD900 and the AD900 can never have the hyper-controlled bass of the M-100.  Hard to fault either for this given their form-factor limitations.  I guess what I'm getting at is that a comparison of open vs closed will end with similar conclusions nearly all the time.  I'm not saying you can't compare them, just that the comparison is somewhat a forgone conclusion.