V-MODA M-100: Discussion/Feedback, Reviews, Pics, etc. - Page 135

Val said he did a pre-production run of 100 units in white.  It would be great if he could put out a few to select Head-Fiers so that we could move past conjecture regarding the sound and read some actual reviews on these potential future classics, since it seems like the buildup has been going on forever.  I will also take my white M-100 with teal shields. 

 

I selflessly volunteer myself to try them out and report to everyone ;)
 

I wonder whether at the $300 price-point V-Moda is crowding itself out of the market? I mean, the Sennheiser Amperior is fantastic and the Sennhesier HD 650 can be had at that price point. At the lower end of the Scale, the Skullcandy Hesh 2 and Aviator, House of Marley Exodus, and the Audio-Technica Solid Bass lineup (CKS77 FTW!!!) seem to have a good shot at the market.

 

No disservice to V-Moda or Val, but I really do wonder if V-moda can compete with the big boys at that price range. I mean, Denon and AKG offerings at those price points are also quite beefy. You're almost encroaching onto the Beats and Monster style market.

I also consider this as a steep price jump

200€ (m-80) vs. 300€ (m-100)

 

250€ for the m-100 seems more reasonable to me.

 

Having auditioned dozens of headphones in the past several months to avoid repeating my previous mistake of wasting valuable $$$ on rapper cans, I respectfully disagree.  The following statement is, IMHO: many of the audiophile headphones in the $300 or below range that are relatively neutral seemed to lack bass presence; those with powerful bass struck me as dark or veiled; flashy rapper cans sounded just okay, but not worth the price; others with strong highs leaned toward sibilant; those with solid all-around sound did not seem suitable for portable use. Of course, I am generalizing and there are some really good headphones out there, but very few that I would want to own.

 

Based on the sound of the M-80 and LP2, with the M-100 purportedly fusing the best of both with a rugged foldable design, I believe these could hit the "sweet spot" as a fantastic headphone for both portable and home listening, for nearly every genre of music.  That is why I believe there seems to be as much anticipation for the M-100 as I have ever seen for a headphone at any price.

 

Beats and Monster style market will always dominate because their expert use of marketing.

probably they are worth the 300$ price tag.

But the question is if they are worth the additional 100$ over the m-80.

very good question. But IMHO the original point behind it was to make an over ear M-80 with a few upgrades. SO yeah... but the M100 also scales with better equipment supposedly. which the M-80 did not really. which I think automatically sorts out the price difference. 

 

Scalability is surprisingly important for a full rig, but baseline performance is important for portability. Having both is a tall order. 

 

An example, the K242HD scales very well with better gear, and are dirt cheap now, but still barely have any sales, why? because AKG tried to make mobile device powered-ish (hence the 55ohm) but they failed, and they marketed it like that anyway, so the baseline performance is crap, but when hooked up to something decent they sound good, when hooked up to something really good, they sound amazing.

 

And I could seriously rock a white and teal pair.

 

please note: I do not own the M80 - basing it off of others opinions

 

 

I - as I've said before - would buy them in a heartbeat of that was the color scheme.

 

Head-Fi has spoken! Please let us know what you decide on Val! 

 

PS: To anyone who may dislike it.. Make sure that your screen's color is correct - Teal is a great color to go with white, but if your screen it set too dark, it will appear murky.

I think the color should be more of a blue gradient than the teal one. And I want an all black cable, or white so that it'll match whatever color u choose to put on ur shields.

Will the color on the text of the headband be changable this time around or will it be red as usual? Cuz Blue shields on a white pair of M100's with red text won't cut it imo. ^^

LOVE the brushed aluminum black of my m80's though, could maybe be kinda cool on a white pair with black aluminumbrushed finish. :) 

Blue shields are available, the first 100 are supposed to be different. So i think the teal for a limited run is a better Idea

To VAl...

 

I would also be very interested in purchasing one of your M100´s black or white from one of your pre-production batches...wouldnt mind if it came with no case, 1 cable and no box, and perhaps a standard warranty or something, as the UK gets hit hard with tax form US :( 

 

If this isnt an option for whatever reason then I really hope that the UK will be able to get them relatively quick and cheap (as in not too much shipping and tax) 

 

Thanks allot and also a +1 for a deep, deep red and black color scheme! Not sure about the teal color with white :S

You bring up an interesting point.  V-Moda seems to have innovative and creative marketing, but prior to joining Head-fi a few months ago and giving myself a crash course in headphonology, I was not familiar with V-Moda and had only seen their headphones at one large national retailer- Radio Shack.  Until that point, the only premium portable headphones I was exposed to were Klipsch, Monsters, Beats and Bose.  I think it is a smart move for V-Moda to distribute through Game Stop and have more in-store national exposure so that buyers who want premium headphones, but don't know better, can be exposed to V-Moda.  I would really like to see them at Best Buy.  Maybe there are distribution challenges working with Best Buy or it's just not part of their marketing plan, but Best Buy has recently expanded their in-store headphone listening options and I think if their extensive customer based could have the opportunity to compare V-Moda side-by-side with the other brands on display, they could take their sales to another level.  I only recently heard the M-80 and if I had the opportunity to compare them in-store, it would have been a no-brainer for me to purchase them instead of Beats Solo HDs (gave to my son and they broke almost immediately) and Ludacris Soul SL300s last year.

Edited by Craigster75 - 6/21/12 at 10:36am

Great news...

I know Val has said this would be the case all along, but it's great to hear him reiterate this based on ears-on-time with a verification unit.

PS - Hopefully this will reduce the number "will it work without an amp" queries, it had been one of the most frequently asked questions about a month ago (incredibly, about 40 pages ago).

Val, I think I speak from the whole behalf of head-fi community when I say I truly appriciate all the hard work you're putting into this project and sharing info with us, it's something you can't experience from 99% of other companies, I appriciate how you take your time to  answer questions, ask for our feedback on things etc. I find it very interesting to read about what's going on with the M100 project, keep it up!

 

The world needs more companies like yours! The customer service is also topnotch and extremely fast from my experience! :) 

 

PS, very intrigued about the pre-production units. :P

Edited by RPGWiZaRD - 6/21/12 at 1:04pm