[The Pell]

Disclaimer: The following questions are not intended to be negative.
 
 
From my perspective, V-MODA historically has never created "Audiophile grade" headphones. I have always seen them as the step up from the stock earbuds/headphones that came with a DAP (or replacement headset for iPhones as the V-MODA earbuds I have seen all have in-line mics). The people that I have witnessed buying them are shopping for looks as opposed to researching the technical details and buying for audio fidelity.Looking around, they have also not received very positive reviews from the headphone enthusiast community. With the M-80s, it appears that this is the first headset by V-MODA embraced by the usually fickle headphone audiophiles. Was there a change in philosophy in V-MODA? How did you feel about the reviews about earlier V-MODA products? What prompted the change to compete in the high fidelity headphone market?

 

[miceblue]

Wow Dsnuts' impressions are getting me more an more curious as to how the M-80's sound, hahahahaha. Should I be chosen to review the M-80's I look forward to comparing them to my Shure SRH940's, which I think are a bit bass shy to my ears (or maybe my ears need to adjust to its bass neutral sound signature).

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

 
 
There are a lot of Custom Crossfade examples in this gallery on FB:
 
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150249433353092.370339.106696703091
 
and here
 
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.442846483091.229616.106696703091
 
It is a laser engraving process.  So the design cannot be TOO complex.   
 
Here are some guidelines, line art works best and the shields aren't too big, keep in mind.  Our Crossfade LP is larger.
 
http://shop.v-moda.com/p-203-crossfade-m-80v-80-custom-logo-metal-shields.aspx
 
 
 
 

After surfing around your site and seeing some of the different designs on the shields I gotta say I take my hat off to you guys. Considering nowadays I see an ocean of bright red Beats fan boys everywhere I go it's nice to see there's a company out there whose gone all out and had the forethought to allow that little extra personal touch to be added to their headphones which gives the younger generation out there an alternative with a touch of their own personal individuality. If these cans sound anywhere as good as they look I'll come out and say to anyone in my age bracket (I'm in my 40's) that your organization is a company with excellent vision.
 
Well done man keep up the good work
Bless
 

 

[valkolton]

Quote:

Disclaimer: The following questions are not intended to be negative.
 
 
Was there a change in philosophy in V-MODA? How did you feel about the reviews about earlier V-MODA products? What prompted the change to compete in the high fidelity headphone market?

 
I've always had the same philosophy - a vow to build a product I'd use myself and I consider my self a very finicky "modiophile", music producer, DJ and gear head. M-80 is nearly 7 years old now from concept, it just took forever to perfect it's durability, sound and ergonomic to work for the masses. I showed prototypes years ago to our customers such as Amazon!  
 
Essentially, I build products for different "use cases" for our target customers and my friends and I who are modern mobile producers, musicians and DJs - many of which are very well known.  Demographics, environment, devices and the music are critical to know for every nuance we put into the various models.  
 
Crossfade LP = my "escape experience" and live-use headphone. When you want to escape or play live, from a small club to a large club such as Pacha or at a festival with thousands of people and monitors on your sides the headphone requirements and environment effect on the sound are quite different.  
 
Crossfade M-80 = our compact audition and mobile "software studio" monitor.  I wanted a product with  "juicy" mids, deep enough bass so that I know what a song will sound like when played live, yet balanced with precise vocals and highs for accurate production and auditioning. A Macbook Pro, iPad and Ableton Live is the modern "studio" for producing, jamming to and remixing songs - M-80 is my modern day monitor.  
 
Many "audiophile" headphones I have tried spike the 8-12kHz too much, therefore its inaccurate for producing and can damage my hearing which is PRECIOUS.
 
 

 

[valkolton]

Quote:

After surfing around your site and seeing some of the different designs on the shields I gotta say I take my hat off to you guys. Considering nowadays I see an ocean of bright red Beats fan boys everywhere I go it's nice to see there's a company out there whose gone all out and had the forethought to allow that little extra personal touch to be added to their headphones which gives the younger generation out there an alternative with a touch of their own personal individuality. If these cans sound anywhere as good as they look I'll come out and say to anyone in my age bracket (I'm in my 40's) that your organization is a company with excellent vision.
 
Well done man keep up the good work
Bless
 

 
Thanks for the kind words, we pour our soul into these.  The Customs initiative is something we are pushing the envelope on and we are adding options to it every week!   It'll be fascinating to see what we evolve to in a few years.

 

[sulkoudai]

V moda might have not done well with serious audiophiles, but v moda made the best 'fun' and good looking headphones with awesome build quality
 
i can get the Vibes for 20 bucks (vshopheadphone), Vibes 2s for 50 bucks (vshopheadphone) and Crossfades LP for 130 bucks. they are probably the best non audiophile headphone that is 'fun', good looking and well built. seriously what other company offers that without overpricing??

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

V moda might have not done well with serious audiophiles, but v moda made the best 'fun' and good looking headphones with awesome build quality
 
i can get the Vibes for 20 bucks (vshopheadphone), Vibes 2s for 50 bucks (vshopheadphone) and Crossfades LP for 130 bucks. they are probably the best non audiophile headphone that is 'fun', good looking and well built. seriously what other company offers that without overpricing??

+1 on that. I still miss my Vibes' sound signature, despite having a pair of the bassy Sennheiser CX 300's. They were the first headphones I bought over $50 and I remember how punchy and low the bass was in addition to having the vocals slightly forward...and I still remember letting my friends give them a try to hear the superb bass.

 
 

 

[mangler]

Quote:

Crossfade M-80 = our compact audition and mobile "software studio" monitor.  I wanted a product with  "juicy" mids, deep enough bass so that I know what a song will sound like when played live, yet balanced with precise vocals and highs for accurate production and auditioning. A Macbook Pro, iPad and Ableton Live is the modern "studio" for producing, jamming to and remixing songs - M-80 is my modern day monitor.  
 

This is awesome! I didn't realize the M-80's were also intended to be used as mobile studio monitors. Given this fact, and Dsnut's glowing reviews, I really really hope I get the chance to review these. I've been producing music (using Apple's Logic) in my modest home studio for a while now, but I've never been able get a pair of monitors because I live in an apartment (I've been using a IRcams HEar to simulate studio monitors on my headphones). I've been focusing on my ability to mix and master tracks, so I'd love to have the chance to try out a pair of headphones designed for that particular purpose. Plus, I like the fact that I'd be able to take them with me to school or on the plane without worrying about damaging them (sounds like they're pretty rugged). Thanks again V-moda for giving us all a chance to review these phones! 
 
 

 

[DrHouse]

Quote:

This is awesome! I didn't realize the M-80's were also intended to be used as mobile studio monitors. Given this fact, and Dsnut's glowing reviews, I really really hope I get the chance to review these. I've been producing music (using Apple's Logic) in my modest home studio for a while now, but I've never been able get a pair of monitors because I live in an apartment (I've been using a IRcams HEar to simulate studio monitors on my headphones). I've been focusing on my ability to mix and master tracks, so I'd love to have the chance to try out a pair of headphones designed for that particular purpose. Plus, I like the fact that I'd be able to take them with me to school or on the plane without worrying about damaging them (sounds like they're pretty rugged). Thanks again V-moda for giving us all a chance to review these phones! 
 
 

 
...suck up...
 
 

 

[mangler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrHouse /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...suck up...
 
 

Haha! Ok, fair enough...but I honestly would like to check them out considering their application and buzz

 

[Audio WannaBe]

Quote:

 
...suck up...
 
 

 
+1 ;P Haha.

 

[MinceyFresh]

Hi, guys... I'm new to posting here (though I've been coming here for years to read what people have to say about one headphone or another)... Although I entered this contest, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to buy a pair of the M-80s from my local Radio Shack a couple days ago. I gotta say that these sound pretty friggin nice. With regards to sound quality, I agree more or less with Dsnuts, so I won't repeat what he wrote in his review. If you imagine the sound of unamped HD 25-1 IIs (my current favorite closed portables), but give them juuuust a slightly more v-shaped flavor, you'll have a good idea of what these sound like (at least to my ears). The isolation isn't the best at low volumes, but I have been able to drown out my coworkers without having to crank the volume on my unamped 5th gen iPod.
 
The M-80s actually sound (and look) so good that I really don't want to say anything negative about them, but oh man, these start to hurt after a while! It's really strange--when I put these on, they seem to pleasantly hug my ears and actually feel quite nice. After about 15-20 minutes, however, they seem to slowly get a bit tighter... and tighter... and tighter... until, well, I can't take it anymore. I've read that the earpads are supposed to soften after being exposed to the oils of the users' skin for roughly 24 hours, so I'm hoping that that's all that I need to do to get the comfort match the sound quality. I know that the normal solution to most supra-aurals being too tight is just to give the headband a good bending (as long as the headband is metal), but due to the nature of the headband in the M-80s, they will just snap back into their original shape (which is actually kinda cool, lol).
 
To be fair, I remember my HD 25-1 IIs being similarly painful until I eventually swapped the leatherette earpads with the included velour pads (transforming them from instantly headache-inducing to mildly uncomfortable after a couple hours). It does make me wonder how the M-80s would feel with velour pads. Seeing that the earpads are supposedly replaceable, I would like to hope that either V-Moda or a third party brand (say, Pearstone) can eventually release velour earpads for these cans.
 
Well, if you are already accustomed to the nature of tight supra-aurals, then disregard my 2nd and 3rd paragraphs and enjoy the hell out of these things.

I have 30 days to return these, so I'm hoping that these loosen up a bit (a lot) by day 29, because I really don't want to part ways with something that sounds this good.
 
Update, Sep. 10: A copule posts below, Val Kolton replied to this post, suggesting flattening the headband (as demonstrated in this video), and it helped a lot with the comfort (they're now nice and snug rather than downright painful). Now about those velour earpads... 

 

[LizardKing1]

Every single person that tried these ends up loving them. I don't know if earpads become more comfortable with skin oil absortion, if anything they should get harder, but let's see. And using velour earpads on a portable takes away much of its isolation, which is a dealbreaker for most people. Mincey, is there anyway you can comment on the isolation vs the one of the HD-25-1 II?

 

[valkolton]

Quote:

. until, well, I can't take it anymore. I've read that the earpads are supposed to soften after being exposed to the oils of the users' skin for roughly 24 hours, so I'm hoping that that's all that I need to do to get the comfort match the sound quality. I know that the normal solution to most supra-aurals being too tight is just to give the headband a good bending (as long as the headband is metal), but due to the nature of the headband in the M-80s, they will just snap back into their original shape (which is actually kinda cool, lol).
 
To be fair, I remember my HD 25-1 IIs being similarly painful until I eventually swapped the leatherette earpads with the included velour pads (transforming them from instantly headache-inducing to mildly uncomfortable after a couple hours). It does make me wonder how the M-80s would feel with velour pads. Seeing that the earpads are supposedly replaceable, I would like to hope that either V-Moda or a third party brand (say, Pearstone) can eventually release velour earpads for these cans.
 
Well, if you are already accustomed to the nature of tight supra-aurals, then disregard my 2nd and 3rd paragraphs and enjoy the hell out of these things.

I have 30 days to return these, so I'm hoping that these loosen up a bit (a lot) by day 29, because I really don't want to part ways with something that sounds this good.

Mincey - the "STEELFLEX" headband snaps back to its original shape, but just bend it further to adjust it (it can bend all the way flat).  If you need to tighten it, twist it in the other way like in the video below.
 
We don't recommend bending it in a crazy manner too many times in order to retain the optimal memory to snap back.
 
Here is the demonstration video:
 

 
and twisting:
 

-v
 

 

[Hifianddrumming]

 This is killing me...... When do we find out who won :$ These headphones look absolutely amazing from what people are saying.....