Introduction:
While on my search for a pair of 300$ over the ear headphones prior to the announcement of the Crossfade Wireless, I decided to initially purchase a pair of V-MODA's M-100s. After trying them in-store I immediately fell in love the V-Moda's M-100 sound signature. It had the perfect and amount of bass and treble with a great midrange to complement the fun-sounding portable over the ear headphone that I decided I had to purchase myself a pair, however, I stumbled upon the M-100's wireless upcoming counterpart which I heard would feature the same to a slightly more refined version of the M-100 sound signature with the same design. I ordered the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones in 'White Silver' a few days later when the headphones were officially announced to the public. I received them a few days later.
Initial Impressions:
Images: http://s428.photobucket.com/user/Richmen6/slideshow/
Upon looking at the box, it spoke of quality before I even seen the headphones themselves. The outside features a black, white, and orange color scheme which blended in perfectly to my eyes. On the top of the box is a synthetic-leather handle. Additionally, the outside features a cut tab to open the box and the box is undone by a button flap which has a leather-like feel to it. Inside I was meet with a foam covering on top of the headphone case and was greeted with the grey hard-shell headphone case, the additional ocean-blue shields which also have a hex wrench and screws to change the shields I received by ordering off V-Moda's website, and V-Moda's paperwork which included a manual and stickers with a hard paper immortal-life warranty card.
The outside of the hard-shell case is a bit larger than the M-100's case. On the outside of the hard-shell case is a carabiner which allows for easy transportation of the headphones by hooking it to pants, backpacks, etc., and it can be removed if one desires. Upon unzipping the headphones, I was greeted by the headphones themselves and the usb to micro-usb charging cable and the braided one button SpeakEasy mic cable which is used if one desires for a wired connection of the headphones incase their headphones run out of battery; the headphones have a integrated high-quality microphone in them already. One end of the SpeakEasy mic cable is a standard straight aux end which plugs into the headphones while the other is a 45 degree angled side for your phone/ audio device both ends are gold-plated.The 45 degree design increases compatibility with many phone cases. The usb to micro-usb charging cable does not feature a braided cable, but it features a flat, straight design with a silicone material.
Now to the headphones themselves, the headphones sport nearly the same designs as the M-100, which is built nearly like a tank with the same sized driver and a supposed refined sound signature of the M-100's. The headband features V-Moda's Steelflex headband which supposedly can bend flat around 10+ times and still retain their shape, but I have not decided to try it. Additionally, the headband features V-Moda's 'vegan leather' and has some padding on the top to relieve pressure, however, I believe they increased the amount of padding here compared to the M-100's. Moreover, compared to the M-100's, V-Moda opted out of the metal folding hinges for the Crossfade Wireless which increased the portability of the M-100's, making them incredibly small when folded, but now the headphones retain their original shape when packed, which was hinted by the full-size case for the headphones. On the right of the headphones features all of the buttons, with the first and third button on the top controlling volume and the middle button controlling pause, skip, and replaying a previous track. All of these buttons had the perfect amount of click, much like pressing the top of a jar lad. The bottom button is the pairing button for bluetooth which slides to the right and locks up when moved to its initial position, pushing it to the middle pair the headphones with the last paired device if available, holding it towards the far right for 3 seconds activates the pairing mode and it was easy to pair my device, which was a iPhone 6 Plus. Moving the button to the left turned off the headphone in bluetooth mode, but wired mode still worked when plugged in. Even though the headphones are still paired when the bluetooth button is in the middle, when I plugged in the wired connection, it immediately cut off the bluetooth connection. I wished the wired port could have been used as a shareplay connection if I needed it, but V-Moda opted out of this feature on this model. The bluetooth on the device can pair on up to two devices and recognize any one of those two when their nearby and on my iOS device, it even shows the battery life of the headphones, what a neat feature. The earpads when I felt and worn them were a bit firm and plush initially, but slowly broke in over the course of wearing them.
The Experience:
My experience of wearing these headphones over the course of a few days was generally poor to okay in terms of comfort. The earpads were too shallow for me and so the pinna of my ears were brushing up against the speakers which caused noticeable pain within the 10-15 minutes of wearing them until I had to take them off because I could not bear it. It was as if the headphones were squeezing themselves very tightly to my head. I know V-Moda sells XL-Earpads, but I expected these headphones to fit comfortably without them. Furthermore, my ears and head would warm up quite a bit and cause the sides of my head to sweat which was a bit uncomfortable with the pain, even in an air-conditioned room.
Now to the sound, wired mode sounded amazing to my ears. The lows were punchy and tight and the highs were crisp and clear to my ears. I could hear the ring of a triangle instrument for instance with great detail as if someone had played it infront of me. The lows were not excessive or bloated at all, they maintained a tight composure with a bit of emphasis. Electronica, pop, rock, most genres of music shined with these cans. Modern pop songs such as "Boom, Boom, Pow" and Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" sounded absolutely fantastic with these headphones. I could hear slight details in the songs which I never heard or noticed before from my other cans/iems such as from my Sennheiser PC363D headset. Slow, classic songs from the 90's and below such as "Close to You" by the Carpenters and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen also sounded wonderful to my ears, although the bass may be a bit excessive for those songs for some ears. Bluetooth mode is a similar story, only when it works perfectly. Over the course of a few days, the headphones when paired with bluetooth were a nightmare, but it may be due to because I received a "lemon". Bluetooth was coupled with occasional static and a ringing noise in songs nearly every 2-3 minutes of a song playing and popping noises when music stops playing. This worsens when inside of a crowded, closed area such as a car. In a area with lots of walls or surroundings with metal, the problem becomes much more perseverant. I intended to use these headphones wirelessly and these headphones cause them to be diverted from their purpose of one of the reasons why I decided to by them instead of opting for the wired V-Moda M-100's, besides the refined drivers. Inside of the comfort of my own home, this problem is still present, but on a much lesser degree until I lay down on say, the couch. Moreover, songs would randomly change without reason and the volume of the headphones would decrease and increase randomly. This is noticeable when it happens on my iOS device and it shows the volume bar increasing/decreasing when my hand has not even pressed any buttons. I have never had this problem before with any other pairs of headphones/iems I had. The wired connection on the other hand does not have any of these problems. The range of the bluetooth is fantastic, V-Moda claims up to 33 feet, which I managed to get and even a bit more further, up to 40 feet.
Conclusion:
Now would I recommend these headphones? Yes, for sound if you want to go with a decent cans with wireless capability. Despite the issues, these may be due to the fact I received a lemon. The issues of bluetooth are a bit minor depending on the surroundings you are using these headphones in, such as your home or in a open public space. Its when you are in an enclosed area or by an area with walls, especially made of metal is when the problems are noticeable. Wireless mode sounds similar to the wired mode, I would say about 90% of wired, there is a hint of a recessed mid and less brighter treble and bass is not as punchy or tight. If coming from a M-100 perspective, I would still recommend these due to the refined drivers of the M-100 sporting crisper treble and tighter bass in wired mode. Although the M-100's do not sport the metal folding hinges, I still do not have portability issues because I carry the headphones in the included case with the carabiner and they are still relatively small for their size. The ear pad size may not affect you, but it did for me. the width of the ear pads to the base of the speakers is around 1/2 an inch. They can be replaced with the V-Moda's XL Earpads if you opt for that option to better improve the comfort, but I did not have those on hand which may have improved my experience. All in all, V-Moda made a modest wireless upgrade of their M-100's, but the comfort and bluetooth issues with the headphones overshadowed the experience for me in the end. The slightly refined M-100 drivers absolutely sound fantastic on wired mode and on wireless mode when it works perfectly.
P.S. I'll update this review once I receive my new pair of Wireless Crossfades from V-Moda in a few days
While on my search for a pair of 300$ over the ear headphones prior to the announcement of the Crossfade Wireless, I decided to initially purchase a pair of V-MODA's M-100s. After trying them in-store I immediately fell in love the V-Moda's M-100 sound signature. It had the perfect and amount of bass and treble with a great midrange to complement the fun-sounding portable over the ear headphone that I decided I had to purchase myself a pair, however, I stumbled upon the M-100's wireless upcoming counterpart which I heard would feature the same to a slightly more refined version of the M-100 sound signature with the same design. I ordered the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones in 'White Silver' a few days later when the headphones were officially announced to the public. I received them a few days later.
Initial Impressions:
Images: http://s428.photobucket.com/user/Richmen6/slideshow/
Upon looking at the box, it spoke of quality before I even seen the headphones themselves. The outside features a black, white, and orange color scheme which blended in perfectly to my eyes. On the top of the box is a synthetic-leather handle. Additionally, the outside features a cut tab to open the box and the box is undone by a button flap which has a leather-like feel to it. Inside I was meet with a foam covering on top of the headphone case and was greeted with the grey hard-shell headphone case, the additional ocean-blue shields which also have a hex wrench and screws to change the shields I received by ordering off V-Moda's website, and V-Moda's paperwork which included a manual and stickers with a hard paper immortal-life warranty card.
The outside of the hard-shell case is a bit larger than the M-100's case. On the outside of the hard-shell case is a carabiner which allows for easy transportation of the headphones by hooking it to pants, backpacks, etc., and it can be removed if one desires. Upon unzipping the headphones, I was greeted by the headphones themselves and the usb to micro-usb charging cable and the braided one button SpeakEasy mic cable which is used if one desires for a wired connection of the headphones incase their headphones run out of battery; the headphones have a integrated high-quality microphone in them already. One end of the SpeakEasy mic cable is a standard straight aux end which plugs into the headphones while the other is a 45 degree angled side for your phone/ audio device both ends are gold-plated.The 45 degree design increases compatibility with many phone cases. The usb to micro-usb charging cable does not feature a braided cable, but it features a flat, straight design with a silicone material.
Now to the headphones themselves, the headphones sport nearly the same designs as the M-100, which is built nearly like a tank with the same sized driver and a supposed refined sound signature of the M-100's. The headband features V-Moda's Steelflex headband which supposedly can bend flat around 10+ times and still retain their shape, but I have not decided to try it. Additionally, the headband features V-Moda's 'vegan leather' and has some padding on the top to relieve pressure, however, I believe they increased the amount of padding here compared to the M-100's. Moreover, compared to the M-100's, V-Moda opted out of the metal folding hinges for the Crossfade Wireless which increased the portability of the M-100's, making them incredibly small when folded, but now the headphones retain their original shape when packed, which was hinted by the full-size case for the headphones. On the right of the headphones features all of the buttons, with the first and third button on the top controlling volume and the middle button controlling pause, skip, and replaying a previous track. All of these buttons had the perfect amount of click, much like pressing the top of a jar lad. The bottom button is the pairing button for bluetooth which slides to the right and locks up when moved to its initial position, pushing it to the middle pair the headphones with the last paired device if available, holding it towards the far right for 3 seconds activates the pairing mode and it was easy to pair my device, which was a iPhone 6 Plus. Moving the button to the left turned off the headphone in bluetooth mode, but wired mode still worked when plugged in. Even though the headphones are still paired when the bluetooth button is in the middle, when I plugged in the wired connection, it immediately cut off the bluetooth connection. I wished the wired port could have been used as a shareplay connection if I needed it, but V-Moda opted out of this feature on this model. The bluetooth on the device can pair on up to two devices and recognize any one of those two when their nearby and on my iOS device, it even shows the battery life of the headphones, what a neat feature. The earpads when I felt and worn them were a bit firm and plush initially, but slowly broke in over the course of wearing them.
The Experience:
My experience of wearing these headphones over the course of a few days was generally poor to okay in terms of comfort. The earpads were too shallow for me and so the pinna of my ears were brushing up against the speakers which caused noticeable pain within the 10-15 minutes of wearing them until I had to take them off because I could not bear it. It was as if the headphones were squeezing themselves very tightly to my head. I know V-Moda sells XL-Earpads, but I expected these headphones to fit comfortably without them. Furthermore, my ears and head would warm up quite a bit and cause the sides of my head to sweat which was a bit uncomfortable with the pain, even in an air-conditioned room.
Now to the sound, wired mode sounded amazing to my ears. The lows were punchy and tight and the highs were crisp and clear to my ears. I could hear the ring of a triangle instrument for instance with great detail as if someone had played it infront of me. The lows were not excessive or bloated at all, they maintained a tight composure with a bit of emphasis. Electronica, pop, rock, most genres of music shined with these cans. Modern pop songs such as "Boom, Boom, Pow" and Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" sounded absolutely fantastic with these headphones. I could hear slight details in the songs which I never heard or noticed before from my other cans/iems such as from my Sennheiser PC363D headset. Slow, classic songs from the 90's and below such as "Close to You" by the Carpenters and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen also sounded wonderful to my ears, although the bass may be a bit excessive for those songs for some ears. Bluetooth mode is a similar story, only when it works perfectly. Over the course of a few days, the headphones when paired with bluetooth were a nightmare, but it may be due to because I received a "lemon". Bluetooth was coupled with occasional static and a ringing noise in songs nearly every 2-3 minutes of a song playing and popping noises when music stops playing. This worsens when inside of a crowded, closed area such as a car. In a area with lots of walls or surroundings with metal, the problem becomes much more perseverant. I intended to use these headphones wirelessly and these headphones cause them to be diverted from their purpose of one of the reasons why I decided to by them instead of opting for the wired V-Moda M-100's, besides the refined drivers. Inside of the comfort of my own home, this problem is still present, but on a much lesser degree until I lay down on say, the couch. Moreover, songs would randomly change without reason and the volume of the headphones would decrease and increase randomly. This is noticeable when it happens on my iOS device and it shows the volume bar increasing/decreasing when my hand has not even pressed any buttons. I have never had this problem before with any other pairs of headphones/iems I had. The wired connection on the other hand does not have any of these problems. The range of the bluetooth is fantastic, V-Moda claims up to 33 feet, which I managed to get and even a bit more further, up to 40 feet.
Conclusion:
Now would I recommend these headphones? Yes, for sound if you want to go with a decent cans with wireless capability. Despite the issues, these may be due to the fact I received a lemon. The issues of bluetooth are a bit minor depending on the surroundings you are using these headphones in, such as your home or in a open public space. Its when you are in an enclosed area or by an area with walls, especially made of metal is when the problems are noticeable. Wireless mode sounds similar to the wired mode, I would say about 90% of wired, there is a hint of a recessed mid and less brighter treble and bass is not as punchy or tight. If coming from a M-100 perspective, I would still recommend these due to the refined drivers of the M-100 sporting crisper treble and tighter bass in wired mode. Although the M-100's do not sport the metal folding hinges, I still do not have portability issues because I carry the headphones in the included case with the carabiner and they are still relatively small for their size. The ear pad size may not affect you, but it did for me. the width of the ear pads to the base of the speakers is around 1/2 an inch. They can be replaced with the V-Moda's XL Earpads if you opt for that option to better improve the comfort, but I did not have those on hand which may have improved my experience. All in all, V-Moda made a modest wireless upgrade of their M-100's, but the comfort and bluetooth issues with the headphones overshadowed the experience for me in the end. The slightly refined M-100 drivers absolutely sound fantastic on wired mode and on wireless mode when it works perfectly.
P.S. I'll update this review once I receive my new pair of Wireless Crossfades from V-Moda in a few days