I've been doing some comparison listening to my M100s (with XL earpads) directly out of an iPhone playing iTunes Plus files versus amped (Centrance Hifi M8) playing lossless files.
I can tell you that the audio, especially vocals, are smoother and soundstage/dynamics are improved with the amp for sure.
That said, they are certainly quite listenable directly out of the iPhone so I feel confident it's a good set up when I want to travel light. It's just that the sound s more grainy with lesser quality mids.
As far as the cable goes, I ended up getting the Fiio RC-MH1 cable which is fairly solid, decent build quality. The M-100 is fairly efficient to run without an amp on many devices, however they come to life that much more with an amp. I use a Fiio E17, E09K for the desktop, and an E12 tethered either to an iPhone 5s or a Fiio X5, depending on whichever is within grasp. The M-100s can take the amount of power from the E12 fairly easily.
I had both the momentums and the mdr 1rs, to me the momentums were better, far better, another league actually. The mdr 1r to me were very beautifull and and confortablr (although my ears touched the drivers a bit). To me in terms of sound the mdr 1rs only beat the momentums on soundstage besides that the momentums sound clearner better bass, much more clear and just a tiny bit warm and beauyifull, to me they are the perfect complement to something like the hd25. To me the mdr 1rs just sounded muffled, specially the voice. I hate muffled sound.... Singers to me sounded like they were burried. The bas on the momentums also goes lower and is much fuller than on the 1rs. Imagine the bass on the 1rs like someting close to the bass on the hd500 series from sennheiser maybe a bit more but not much).
I loved the momentums.... Unfortunatelly i sold both, on the 1r i just miss the design (they also had some built flaws), on the momentums i miss everything..... Except the confort and thats why i sold them. Best pair i had so far and unfortunatelly i haf tio sell them because the pads were too small and haf that on\over ear fit and after about 5 minutes not only it hurts as it distracts me form enjoying my music, if you have small ears momentum.
I had both the momentums and the mdr 1rs, to me the momentums were better, far better, another league actually. The mdr 1r to me were very beautifull and and confortablr (although my ears touched the drivers a bit). To me in terms of sound the mdr 1rs only beat the momentums on soundstage besides that the momentums sound clearner better bass, much more clear and just a tiny bit warm and beauyifull, to me they are the perfect complement to something like the hd25. To me the mdr 1rs just sounded muffled, specially the voice. I hate muffled sound.... Singers to me sounded like they were burried. The bas on the momentums also goes lower and is much fuller than on the 1rs. Imagine the bass on the 1rs like someting close to the bass on the hd500 series from sennheiser maybe a bit more but not much).
I loved the momentums.... Unfortunatelly i sold both, on the 1r i just miss the design (they also had some built flaws), on the momentums i miss everything..... Except the confort and thats why i sold them. Best pair i had so far and unfortunatelly i haf tio sell them because the pads were too small and haf that on\over ear fit and after about 5 minutes not only it hurts as it distracts me form enjoying my music, if you have small ears momentum.
The answer is definitely yes! There aren't really too similarities to me except they are both closed back headphones.
The M100s
-have more bass overall and the lowest frequecies are louder where the M50s start dropping off in strength.
-have mids that are much smoother with a lot more resolution.
-don't have an ugly peak 4khz area
-have smoother more pleasant highs
-have a wider soundstage
-get louder when plugged into a phone
-have more to gain from plugging into a good DAC+ amp
Also while I'm here I've had these for about 5 months now and I'm still 100% satisfied with the sound. Still not shopping for anything else. I'm using these exclusively until they wear out. The sound plugged into my HRT microstreamer is just awesome.
The answer is definitely yes! There aren't really too similarities to me except they are both closed back headphones.
The M100s
-have more bass overall and the lowest frequecies are louder where the M50s start dropping off in strength.
-have mids that are much smoother with a lot more resolution.
-don't have an ugly peak 4khz area
-have smoother more pleasant highs
-have a wider soundstage
-get louder when plugged into a phone
-have more to gain from plugging into a good DAC+ amp
Also while I'm here I've had these for about 5 months now and I'm still 100% satisfied with the sound. Still not shopping for anything else. I'm using these exclusively until they wear out. The sound plugged into my HRT microstreamer is just awesome.
It seems a bit misleading for me. Mids and highs of M-100 are not smooth compared to M50, but recessed and unnatural. M50 are not my favorite headphones, but they are far more balanced and neutral than M-100. Unfortunately I don't have now M50 to check soundstage difference, but both M50 and M-100 have small soundstage even in closed headphones terms, so "wider sounstager" means "very small soundstage" anyway.
Its easy for the m100s to have a better soundstage because the m50 really doesnt offer anything at all.
As for saying the m100s arent as smooth as m50s I just disagree. From a frequency repsonse chart perspective the m50s are flatter, which is super neato, but they sound like an ugly screech compared to the m100s. And the 4 khz area in the m50s really bothers me.
The mids and highs in the m50 are just crude and ugly sounding. I used them for 5 years or so and im very famiiar with how they reproduce everything. With something simple like monitoring vocal recording they are awesome, but when they are reproducing something complex like an electric guitar its very crude.
I think comparing the two headphones is a little weird since they are very different.
Does anyone else feel like the way frequency response is measured in headphones might be outdated? The newer headphones that are coming out that sound great are not flat. The hp50, focal pro and m100s for example.
Anyone wanna know how I previously popped the drivers of the V-Moda M100's? Well you can simulate this too! Except I can recommend the volume that's "safe" to play the M100's without popping them just yet!
1. Get Foobar 2000 and download the Real Bass Exciter DSP
2. Get the 31 band EQ
3. Get the ODAC/O2 (If you want to play it the same volume as me anyhow)
3. Plug in yer M100's!
4. Download this Song (It's legal!)
5. On your Windows Speakers Properties for the Odac, go to Enhancements, check bass boost and Apply.
6. On the Real Bass Exciter settings:
Threshold frequency 1200Hz
Harmonic Frequency 40Hz
Harmonic Bandwidth 200Hz
Harmonic Energy 0db
Above Pre-Wave Decay 0db
Below Pre-Wave Decay 0db
7. On the 31 band Graphic Equalizer
Slide 20hz to 100hz all the way to +12
120hz-200hz at 0
250hz-20k to -12
8. Use High gain on the O2 amp
9. Turn the volume to the max on the O2 amp
10. Set windows volume to 0
11. Play song
12. Increase windows volume to 70, stay under 50 if you want to stay safe. I am not responsible for damages done to drivers or hearing loss.
Edit: I just did this... I think I'm partially deaf for tonight.
Its easy for the m100s to have a better soundstage because the m50 really doesnt offer anything at all.
As for saying the m100s arent as smooth as m50s I just disagree. From a frequency repsonse chart perspective the m50s are flatter, which is super neato, but they sound like an ugly screech compared to the m100s. And the 4 khz area in the m50s really bothers me.
The mids and highs in the m50 are just crude and ugly sounding. I used them for 5 years or so and im very famiiar with how they reproduce everything. With something simple like monitoring vocal recording they are awesome, but when they are reproducing something complex like an electric guitar its very crude.
I think comparing the two headphones is a little weird since they are very different.
Does anyone else feel like the way frequency response is measured in headphones might be outdated? The newer headphones that are coming out that sound great are not flat. The hp50, focal pro and m100s for example.
In soundstaging area M-100 does not have to much (if anything) to offer too ))
I am not using frequency repsonse charts for my notes, only personal listening experience (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/newestpost/715478). Speaking of M50 mids I find them OK in terms of tonal balance. I might prefer Shure SRH840 or Beyers 770 PRO mids, but only because of a colouring of M50 mids, not balance. By the way. did you try to listen to M50 after half hour M-100 listening? In a direct comparison, switching to Beyers 770 make you feel that you listen something light and extremely sharp. Make Beyers 770 to feel like Grado - this is something...
And highs of M-100 are just too "dark" for me. It's good for listening comfort, but is it natural? I find M50 more natural (but also far from perfect).
I agree, that different headphones comparison is a very hard task. And problems are multiplied by a objectively different personal perception of tonal balance and personal taste.
Innerfidelity on measuring issues:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/first-test-estimated-harman-target-response-curve-various-headphones
With something simple like monitoring vocal recording they are awesome, but when they are reproducing something complex like an electric guitar its very crude.
Actually I'd say its the other way round: the sound of an electric guitar (or any instrument thats not strictly acoustic) is always an interpretation done by electronics and therefore influenced by how they postprocess sound. An acoustic instrument (or voice for that matter) can be heard in reality so to say, it *does* have a definitive master version (though it is often used as an instrument in the sense that the voice is postprocessed as well, be it the choice of microphone or the effects applied).
As the saying goes: "nobody has ever heard a synthesizer" -- but only whats coming out of the speaker at last. So I think a realistic reproduction of voices is one of the most complicated feats to accomplish in audio: we're all used to hear voices (no, not *those* voices in your head and are therefore very well-versed in differentiation of natural vs. artificial sounding voices.
And No: the M-100 does not present natural sounding voices. Its a fun headphone with respectable sound quality, therefore the question to ask is not "how realistic are they?" but more "do I like their coloration?" So, while I can't comment on the M50, which I've never heard, I think, the Focal Spirit Pro or the HP50 are much more natural sounding than the M100. Thats what the first two are built for, and they do it quite well. The latter is for fun, enjoying music -- if you like its take on music that is.
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and are therefore very well-versed in differentiation of natural vs. artificial sounding voices.
