[Mysterious]

It's a damn shame i don't have 299$ lying around to get the M-100
Oh well the M-80 will have to do

 

[The Doctor]

Have you decided which colour scheme you want to go for the first run M-100's?
 
Also is the amp going to release around the same time as the M-100's? (which from what I read before is set somewhere between April and May?) Are they designed to specifically pilot the M-100's or is it designed to power most cans?
 
I understand if you cannot answer for various reasons. But regardless I will keep my eyes on this every which way.

 

[valkolton]

Quote:

Have you decided which colour scheme you want to go for the first run M-100's?
 
Also is the amp going to release around the same time as the M-100's? (which from what I read before is set somewhere between April and May?) Are they designed to specifically pilot the M-100's or is it designed to power most cans?
 
I understand if you cannot answer for various reasons. But regardless I will keep my eyes on this every which way.

Haven't 100% locked it down, but I'm leaning heavily towards M-80's "Shadow" color scheme.  It is very hard to launch a variety of colors, Crossfade LP LAUNCHED in 5 colors.  
 
Aiming to launch relatively in the same time frame, they were in-fact developed together.  Unfortunately, the AMP/DAC slightly delayed M-100 as we couldn't lock the sound until I locked the amp/DAC.  Then, we switched back to iPhone/iPad for final tuning.
 
-v
 

 

[The Doctor]

Quote:

Haven't 100% locked it down, but I'm leaning heavily towards M-80's "Shadow" color scheme.  It is very hard to launch a variety of colors, Crossfade LP LAUNCHED in 5 colors.  
 
Aiming to launch relatively in the same time frame, they were in-fact developed together.  Unfortunately, the AMP/DAC slightly delayed M-100 as we couldn't lock the sound until I locked the amp/DAC.  Then, we switched back to iPhone/iPad for final tuning.
 
-v
 

 
I imagined as such as for the colour scheme. As a small suggestion on that end perhaps a matte finish on the cups reminiscent of the LP2 LE's It will still be the same Shadow colour scheme, just with a matte finish which does have a "Premium" look to it, plus it does not attract fingerprints/fine scratches as much. Just a thought is all.
 
Also is there a possible bundle for the M-100's and the amp in the future once they are both released? Again just a thought. I am more wondering about the amp being for just iDevices or all portable devices. I know its probably something not ready to be discussed yet but until the word is out I will keep wondering. The fact alone that you hinted iPhone and iPad gives me some idea that it might be a universal amp!
 
Oh here I go talking so much, I get so chatty when I am excited about these things. Thank you for responding to my previous post as well!

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

I just got some reports in from some new parts yesterday,in fact. This will help determine the MP, mass production date and I heard it looks good!  I'll make some videos along the way, so I can show ya'll the process over the coming weeks.  I can maybe mask up the product to take some "spy" photos. 
 
 
-v  
 
 

I see that maybe you took my suggestion to heart?
 
Anyway, I had a quick question - do the drivers for headphones like, say, the M-80 or M-100 cost more to manufacture than the drivers in headphones like the LP?  Or is it mostly just the R&D costs that keep prices up?

 

[valkolton]

Quote:

I see that maybe you took my suggestion to heart?
 
Anyway, I had a quick question - do the drivers for headphones like, say, the M-80 or M-100 cost more to manufacture than the drivers in headphones like the LP?  Or is it mostly just the R&D costs that keep prices up?

In fact, it's my girlfriend's shoes.  You see, she has been wearing Payless for years, so I promised her some custom Converse after they launch.  
 
All kidding aside, there are many variables in pricing - the driver was going to cost much more about two months ago.  But now, I think it will only cost more in the beginning and then in 3-6 months it should become ~10-20% more than an LP2.  I haven't received the final bill of materials yet, but the large up-costs for M-100 are the new tooling of parts, R&D, lab equipment, materials, and accessories/features (the biggest jump).  
 
We have to also divide this by the # of anticipated sales, so in fact if you think about expensive sunglasses it helps. With so many styles of sunglasses,  you may only sell about ~1000 pieces of high end models, you can easily understand why they cost $350-1000 a piece as the tooling (and retooling after tests) may cost up to $100k for all the parts.  In this scenerio, if the tooling cost is $100 per unit for the first 1000 units and the retailer makes ~$150, then the mfgr makes only $50 a unit for the first 1000 are sold.  Subtract returns of 3-15%, depending on a model and you can see why so manufacturers may go through very tough times when they invest in original designs.   Many of our products take multiple iterations of tooling to make it ergonomically perfect and several years, this costs us multiple hundreds of thousands.
 
All V-MODA parts are 100% tooled by us and we use premium materials. In fact, there are virtually no off-the-shelf parts, except maybe the hex screws...  And this, in a simplified nutshell, is how manufacturers cost and price products!
 
EDIT: I'll take a snapshot of the many iterations of M-80 dating back to over FOUR YEARS AGO that I showed at 4 CES shows, it's quite amazing how many tooling changes it went through!  It hurts to think about the time and money...  but it's all good if it sells well and everybody loves it!
 

 

[boylit]

Wow that was a lot of replies for today V! Thanks....
 
OT: Haven't really heard you DJ.... What genres are you currently into?

 

[VortexBlast]

I'm absolutely excited to see that V-Moda is finally available where I live (Austria). It's only available at their online shop for the moment and they only have the M-80 and the LP2 LE but I can't wait to see them in their retail store. Although one thing I didn't like is the 1:1 price. In B&H, the M-80 costs $199 but here, they're asking for €201.90 which equals to $264.
I wonder why they've just appeared now? Well what I know is that my girlfriend has the M-80 (that I gave to her) a month before the M-80s became officially available in Austria and I paid well less since I bought them from B&H.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

In fact, it's my girlfriend's shoes.  You see, she has been wearing Payless for years, so I promised her some custom Converse after they launch.  
 
All kidding aside, there are many variables in pricing - the driver was going to cost much more about two months ago.  But now, I think it will only cost more in the beginning and then in 3-6 months it should become ~10-20% more than an LP2.  I haven't received the final bill of materials yet, but the large up-costs for M-100 are the new tooling of parts, R&D, lab equipment, materials, and accessories/features (the biggest jump).  
 
We have to also divide this by the # of anticipated sales, so in fact if you think about expensive sunglasses it helps. With so many styles of sunglasses,  you may only sell about ~1000 pieces of high end models, you can easily understand why they cost $350-1000 a piece as the tooling (and retooling after tests) may cost up to $100k for all the parts.  In this scenerio, if the tooling cost is $100 per unit for the first 1000 units and the retailer makes ~$150, then the mfgr makes only $50 a unit for the first 1000 are sold.  Subtract returns of 3-15%, depending on a model and you can see why so manufacturers may go through very tough times when they invest in original designs.   Many of our products take multiple iterations of tooling to make it ergonomically perfect and several years, this costs us multiple hundreds of thousands.
 
All V-MODA parts are 100% tooled by us and we use premium materials. In fact, there are virtually no off-the-shelf parts, except maybe the hex screws...  And this, in a simplified nutshell, is how manufacturers cost and price products!
 
EDIT: I'll take a snapshot of the many iterations of M-80 dating back to over FOUR YEARS AGO that I showed at 4 CES shows, it's quite amazing how many tooling changes it went through!  It hurts to think about the time and money...  but it's all good if it sells well and everybody loves it!
 

Awesome, it's cool to hear all of this stuff right from you!!  It's really great how V-Moda doesn't cheap out on the construction of your products, it makes it feel like what we're buying is worth what we're spending.  All too often you see expensive crap that practically falls apart if you look at it the wrong way...bigger profit margins for the manufacturer, but that's not something that matters to the consumer.
 
I've always wondered though, how is it that you guys make tweaks to the driver and then make a pair of prototype drivers just for testing?  Is the process mostly automated once you tell the machine what to do?

 

[jjanuary]

Oh Val, you keep teasing us with the mention of the features.  Must be some pretty cool/useful stuff.  Looking forward to all of the new V-Moda products.
I'm totally into sound Val, but I really love how you guys came up with a unique yet visually appealing style as well.  So take your time tweaking the color schemes and such, I really want to be wowed.  
It's like chasing that first high, you don't know if you'll ever feel it again.  My fist high was opening that box and discovering the most awesome packaging that I have ever dealt with...and then that headphone case...and finally holding cold metal headphones in my hand.
 
V-Moda...change the game.

 

[songmic]

I was able to Google some pics of the M-100, but I'm not sure if those are for real. Anyway, what I'd like to know is its design; will it be similar looking to the M-80 and LP2 (LP2 looking like a bigger version of the M-80)? You know, having the typical V-Moda look? Or will there be a radical change in design that will distinguish it from its predecessors at first glance?

 

[valkolton]

 
Quote:

 
OT: Haven't really heard you DJ.... What genres are you currently into?

 
I've not been DJing nearly as much as I used to, I've focused more on producing and developing a new genre to eventually release an album as I'm tired of the current "top 40 EDM house sound" that is repetitive and now in EVERY commercial pop/rap song.  
 
At first I was developing "PRIMAL" (prime time with tribal), then I started making it "sexier" and progressive with amazing smooth vocals, and lately I've been toying with a lot of odd sounds from big band, to opera, to pianos with tech-house and I call it internally "rocco style".   The genre itself is still a WIP of R&D, I always aim to be VERY different and hopefully incorporate lots of analog sounds.   
Quote:

I'm absolutely excited to see that V-Moda is finally available where I live (Austria). It's only available at their online shop for the moment and they only have the M-80 and the LP2 LE but I can't wait to see them in their retail store. Although one thing I didn't like is the 1:1 price. In B&H, the M-80 costs $199 but here, they're asking for €201.90 which equals to $264.
I wonder why they've just appeared now? Well what I know is that my girlfriend has the M-80 (that I gave to her) a month before the M-80s became officially available in Austria and I paid well less since I bought them from B&H.

 
Glad they hit Austria - the prices generally rise a bit overseas due to shipping, duties and the marketing that has to go into each country.  Europe should see a lot of brand expansion this summer, after our Asia tour!  SHANGHAI launch is April!  
 
Quote:

Awesome, it's cool to hear all of this stuff right from you!!  It's really great how V-Moda doesn't cheap out on the construction of your products, it makes it feel like what we're buying is worth what we're spending.  All too often you see expensive crap that practically falls apart if you look at it the wrong way...bigger profit margins for the manufacturer, but that's not something that matters to the consumer.
 
I've always wondered though, how is it that you guys make tweaks to the driver and then make a pair of prototype drivers just for testing?  Is the process mostly automated once you tell the machine what to do?

We call it VOODOO.  The prototypes are done by a combo designing and tooling the major parts and materials, but the real magic is fine tuned by hand, with a LOT of experimenting!  Therefore, it just takes a long time - sometimes >3 years.   Modifying it to be mass produced (by more machines) and ergonomics take much longer, I keep on telling editors when they hear competitor and of course our prototype headphones "it's easy to make one set of drivers for one person's shape, try to make a million drivers on a million different heads and show me how THOSE truly sound".
 
-V
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

 
 
I've not been DJing nearly as much as I used to, I've focused more on producing and developing a new genre to eventually release an album as I'm tired of the current "top 40 EDM house sound" that is repetitive and now in EVERY commercial pop/rap song.  
 
At first I was developing "PRIMAL" (prime time with tribal), then I started making it "sexier" and progressive with amazing smooth vocals, and lately I've been toying with a lot of odd sounds from big band, to opera, to pianos with tech-house and I call it internally "rocco style".   The genre itself is still a WIP of R&D, I always aim to be VERY different and hopefully incorporate lots of analog sounds.   
 
Glad they hit Austria - the prices generally rise a bit overseas due to shipping, duties and the marketing that has to go into each country.  Europe should see a lot of brand expansion this summer, after our Asia tour!  SHANGHAI launch is April!  
 

We call it VOODOO.  The prototypes are done by a combo designing and tooling the major parts and materials, but the real magic is fine tuned by hand, with a LOT of experimenting!  Therefore, it just takes a long time - sometimes >3 years.   Modifying it to be mass produced (by more machines) and ergonomics take much longer, I keep on telling editors when they hear competitor and of course our prototype headphones "it's easy to make one set of drivers for one person's shape, try to make a million drivers on a million different heads and show me how THOSE truly sound".
 
-V
 

 
Makes me wonder if "custom" on/over-ear headphones are possible...I find all of this to be pretty fascinating!

 

[Mysterious]

Quote:

I've not been DJing nearly as much as I used to, I've focused more on producing and developing a new genre to eventually release an album as I'm tired of the current "top 40 EDM house sound" that is repetitive and now in EVERY commercial pop/rap song.  
 
At first I was developing "PRIMAL" (prime time with tribal), then I started making it "sexier" and progressive with amazing smooth vocals, and lately I've been toying with a lot of odd sounds from big band, to opera, to pianos with tech-house and I call it internally "rocco style".   The genre itself is still a WIP of R&D, I always aim to be VERY different and hopefully incorporate lots of analog sounds.   
 
 
-V
 

I'd definitely be interested in hearing that !

 

[johnzie]

Val, are you taking pre-orders?