[Solrighal]

The bass on the M-100 really isn't all that dominating and it's far easier to EQ out bass than it is to EQ it in. As for size, trust me, I'm as paranoid as they come and I can wear these outside no problem.

 

[dbdynsty25]

I have the vsonic gr07 be and i like very much. Was debating o the m100 or the upcoming xs. . Tylls review saying the bass being 8db above the midrange made me take a step back ( i like my bass but like the gr07 be but still like my neutrality to some extent.)

Im leaning towards the xs cause it seems like the earpad size is an issue for most folks. Hence the release of the xl pads. Cause its on ear no matter how u take it. Plus its more smaller, portable, sleeker. I dont want over ears for portable purposes, looks too big, makes my head look like a melon(on my avg size head).

 
If you want more balanced like the GR07BE, then the M100 isn't really for you.  That's my dilema now.  I like the M100 fine...but I LOVE my GR07BEs.  I'm on a never ending search for a headphone with a similar sound sig and I'm finding it tough.  I think the K545 is the closest I've found, but it too had fit issues.  I hear the Sony 7520 is similar as well, so I've got a pair of those on order.  They don't appear to have any fit issues for most users.

 

[golferbrad6664]

I would say that any bassy headphone covers up the midrange so just eq the bass lower til you find the balance between a good bass setting that lets you hear some midrange sound.

 

[Tom22]

If you want more balanced like the GR07BE, then the M100 isn't really for you.  That's my dilema now.  I like the M100 fine...but I LOVE my GR07BEs.  I'm on a never ending search for a headphone with a similar sound sig and I'm finding it tough.  I think the K545 is the closest I've found, but it too had fit issues.  I hear the Sony 7520 is similar as well, so I've got a pair of those on order.  They don't appear to have any fit issues for most users.

Tbh i like gr07 be straight off 16 gb iphone 4 but for music i use my ipod touch with my fiio e6 amp, which bumps up the bass a tad much, but i have to use amp on my 32gb ipod I like i would be better off with the mk2 gr07.

I think i spoke to you before about the dnas and m80s. Haha u seem to have tried every headphone im interested in.

Thanks for your advice on the m100s, i guess i will wait for the xs (from vals posts it seems like itll be out maybe april-mid may) all the testing and revisions

 

[dbdynsty25]

I think i spoke to you before about the dnas and m80s. Haha u seem to have tried every headphone im interested in.

Thanks for your advice on the m100s, i guess i will wait for the xs (from vals posts it seems like itll be out maybe april-mid may) all the testing and revisions

 
So sad.  LOL.  Yes, I've tried damn near everything and I'm running out of options at < $400.  If the Sony's aren't it...the M100s win.

 

[ratinox]

A reduced listening fatigue is usually only with stereo recordings that use the effect to the extreme (i.e. some of the recordings from the Beatles had instruments in one ear, vocals in the other). All it does is blend the left and right channels to have a more centered image.

This is not accurate. There is a blending, a little taken from each channel and added to the other, with different amounts for different frequency ranges, and with time delays to simulate how natural hearing with a pair of loudspeakers works. Look up head-related transfer function (HRTF). Crossfeed, done right, is a fair approximation of HRTF. For those who experience 3-blob headstage, a little crossfeed actually makes music sound wider rather than narrower.

For normal use, I would turn that feature off for the best playback experience. The FiiO E12 has such a feature and I don't like it at all with normal recordings, and it destroys the imaging for binaural recordings.

Of course crossfeed will mess up binaural recordings. You'll get the same mess when you play binaural recordings on loudspeakers. Binaural recordings are ALREADY crossfed. Actually, they're better than that since they're recorded around a model of a real head so you get sound that's even closer to a human-scale HRTF.

 

[Tom22]

So sad.  LOL.  Yes, I've tried damn near everything and I'm running out of options at < $400.  If the Sony's aren't it...the M100s win.

Do you still have the dnas ? How did they stack up to the m100s? I noe its on ears vs over ears but still. That was another option for me too, i saw it at christmas for 100$ which is unheard of for a "monster" headphone ( well aside from the ntunes). But monsters all plastic plus the hinges as any foldable headphones except the m100s look shaky vmodas warranties was too sweet, so i waited.

 

[ratinox]

Stupid question but what do u mean by the gain function by pinna (i noe what the pinna is but its the gain function part im curious.

Listen to any ambient sound. Now cup your hand behind your ear. Sounds louder, right? That's what the pinna does all the time.

 

[dbdynsty25]

Do you still have the dnas ? How did they stack up to the m100s? I noe its on ears vs over ears but still. That was another option for me too, i saw it at christmas for 100$ which is unheard of for a "monster" headphone ( well aside from the ntunes). But monsters all plastic plus the hinges as any foldable headphones except the m100s look shaky vmodas warranties was too sweet, so i waited.

 
The DNAs have been passed down to my nephew, and he's extremely tough on his electronics and somehow they keep on ticking.  I wouldn't worry about durability with those.  As for the sound, the M100s are probably a bit better overall.  A much wider soundstage is the biggest advantage.  Both are extremely efficient tho and don't need an amp.  I felt the M80 needed a small one to bring out it's best (especially the low end).

 

[jazzman7]

Listen to any ambient sound. Now cup your hand behind your ear. Sounds louder, right? That's what the pinna does all the time.

Basically this is what I meant -- the outer part of the ear acts as a permanent "cup" for the sound, and it changes the gain of the sound at different frequencies.  The person who did quite a bit of pioneering work on this is named Shaw.  Do a search on "pinna Shaw" and you'll see numerous references come up.  
 
My point is that you cannot look for an IEM that sounds like the M100 very easily because the IEM (in-ear = no pinna) doesn't deliver the sound in the same way as the M100 (over ear = pinna). You can play around with EQ, though, to adjust the IEM to have a similar sound.  I think the key thing would be to get an IEM that already has good bass as well as a treble peak near 10kHz, and then put a dip around 430 Hz or so using an equalizer (preferably parametric so you can dial in the width of the dip)  to make the recessed mids that is the M100 sound.  That would get you close.

 

[thug behram]

So whats the closest? Basically looking for similar bass, and the sparkly treble. I miss the M100, they were too coloured to be my main closed set but I'd like a similar sound for my portable setup with an IEM.

 

[coachharpo]

Hey guys hoping to get some help. I am on my 2nd pair of m-100s. I originally got the shadow and loved them. They sounded amazing, but I got matte black envy so I returned them. I ordered the matte black but they sound different. They don't sound near as good as the shadow with much less bass. Is it possible I got a fake pair? I ordered from amazon just as I had the first time brand new? Thanks

 

[jazzman7]

  So whats the closest? Basically looking for similar bass, and the sparkly treble. I miss the M100, they were too coloured to be my main closed set but I'd like a similar sound for my portable setup with an IEM.

The VSonic GR07 BE is not too far off.  But to dial it into the sound of the M100, you'll need to EQ.  
 
I have the GR07 BE and the M100, so I gave it a shot, with a little from Tyll's frequency response curves, and dialed in a parametric EQ using Rockbox on an iPod.  Here's what I came up with.
 
Frequency / Gain / Q
430 Hz / -7.5 dB / 0.6
5000 Hz / -7.5 dB / 0.6
 
Both gains are negative dB, which means you are pulling energy out of these frequencies.  Going back and forth between the equalized IEM and the unequalized over-ear, the treble is still a bit off, but it sounds pretty close to me.  That characteristic bass punch of the M100 is definitely there in the equalized IEM.  
 
I don't know if you'll find an IEM that will be sonically identical to an over-the-ear headphone without EQ, though.  
 
I hope this isn't too far off-topic.  I figure getting the sound of the M100 is still in the spirit of the thread, right?  

 

[Andii]

Edit: meant to quote coachharpo.

I also bought the matte black version from Amazon and mine had the same exact defect. I posted in this thread about it and no one else had experienced that. There must be a bad batch.

I ended up buying the shadow directly from vmoda.

 

[thug behram]

The VSonic GR07 BE is not too far off.  But to dial it into the sound of the M100, you'll need to EQ.  

I have the GR07 BE and the M100, so I gave it a shot, with a little from Tyll's frequency response curves, and dialed in a parametric EQ using Rockbox on an iPod.  Here's what I came up with.

Frequency / Gain / Q
430 Hz / -7.5 dB / 0.6
5000 Hz / -7.5 dB / 0.6

Both gains are negative dB, which means you are pulling energy out of these frequencies.  Going back and forth between the equalized IEM and the unequalized over-ear, the treble is still a bit off, but it sounds pretty close to me.  That characteristic bass punch of the M100 is definitely there in the equalized IEM.  

I don't know if you'll find an IEM that will be sonically identical to an over-the-ear headphone without EQ, though.  

I hope this isn't too far off-topic.  I figure getting the sound of the M100 is still in the spirit of the thread, right?  

Thanks. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of eq on my portable setup, only the simple one on the e07k. But wait you didn't have to eq the bass up?

What about the yamaha eph-100. Similar bass is most important thing I'm striving for.