@kayandjohn How do you think the M100 compare to the Grados? I've heard that they are quite close to the Porta Pro (which, IMO, is closer to the SR60 than other entry-level cans). Having a closed pair for the streets will be nice, and I'm thinking about the M100
The V-MODA M-100 has wonderful bass, much more than Grado, and is over-ear rather than on-ear as most Grados are, and hence are more comfortable (but they do clamp rather firmly!). Since they are closed, they both insulate you from outside noises and insulate folks around you from your music.
The Grados are lighter in weight and have a wonderful transparency, speed, and openness in their middle and upper range, and their bass, while much lighter than the M-100, is clearer, in that you hear more of the harmonics and tone of a low note rather than a lonely fundamental frequency... i.e. low notes on a Grado are not as strong but distinguish among instrument types and have better discernable pitch. Since the Grados are open, the sound is less echo-y than with the M-100s. However, the on-ear Grados (all but the G1000 and PS1000) do not seem to me to have as large a soundstage as the M-100, for some reason.
M-100 has made it to Tyll Hertsen's Wall of Fame at innerfidelity.com, a privilege he reserves for only about 10 closed headphones. The Grado Prestige Series, on the other hand, has been acclaimed by Consumers' Reports as The Best (of the top 10 headphones, the five Grado Prestige Series models were in the first seven, including #1, which is the SR325e, and #2).
Both M-100 and Grado work well straight from an iPod, but are improved by an amp. M-100 has a wonderful matching amp from V-MODA (Versa I think it is called); the Grados have a wonderful matching amp from Grado (RA-1).
M-100 comes in a really enticing great box (look at the one in the picture in my classified in my signature line); Grado comes in a pizza box. M-100 has a light cable of about 3-1/2' length with an inline mic and pause/resume switch (NOT a full iPod control with volume); Grado has a heavy 6 foot cable that you have to figure out what to do with if you are using it with a portable iPod.
M-100 actually fold up for portability and go into a hard case with a belt clip (again, see my photos). Grados don't.
M-100s have Italian style (as does my favorite car, the FIAT) and advertise with wonderful videos and beautiful models and sizzle and flash. They were designed by crowd sourcing and interesting stories elsewhere in head-fi.org relate how user feedback was used to improve headphone aspects right down to the click that the hinges make when you unfold the headphones. Grados have a retro styling reminiscent of World War II radio headphones. They actually developed a line of headphones specifically for head-fi.org (called the HF1 and HF2... similar to the present Grado PS500) and limited their sale --- they are collectors items now. Grados are built in the United States.
The Grado that corresponds in price to the V-MODA M-100 is the SR-325e. It takes the openness of the "Grado sound" almost to an extreme... brighter and more transparent and faster than the other Grado Prestige Series members, loved by many but fatiguing to some.
We can look at how folks who have both rank one vs. the other... here are 10 persons' rank-order list from one year's worth (2000 headphone rankings) of the thread "Rank The Headphones That You Own." There is one row of 5 lists here, then another row of 5 more lists. As you can tally, the Grado SR325(i or non-i) are ranked above the M-100 by all three of the 10 people that had M-100s that also had the SR325.
Hope this helps! I tried not to say, "why the V-MODA M-100 is better of course and here is my classified ad selling one (while I keep my Grado 325s!)"
Oh, and of course, comparison plots...
Grado SR325 (blue) has less low-frequency response but more treble transparency than V-MODA M-100 (red)
Noise isolation of the Grado SR325 (blue) is nearly non existent, while the V-MODA M-100 (red) provides -25 dB isolation in the range of speech: this is what one would expect from an open (Grado) vs closed (V-MODA) headphone.
