[Gilly87]

Also an E5 is not going to do justice to anything like the M-100. It probably wouldn't do justice to the M80 for crying out loud; even my Shure SE215 sounded worse with the E5 than without...

 

[dbdynsty25]

 
Quote:

Also an E5 is not going to do justice to anything like the M-100. It probably wouldn't do justice to the M80 for crying out loud; even my Shure SE215 sounded worse with the E5 than without...

Yeah, you'd probably need an e11 minimum if we're talking cheaper amps.

 

[Gilly87]

So the price for VMODA's best sound currently sits at around $365, S&H, and a bulging pocket, according to Val, Amazon, and my jeans.
 
Val, I hope that I don't come off as overly critical; perhaps I am a bit harsh. If you do read this, it truly is generous and sincere of you to come to a place like a web forum yourself and take the time to hear our opinions. But you can't ask for it and not expect sincerity! 

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Yeah, you'd probably need an e11 minimum if we're talking cheaper amps.

 

 

[The Doctor]

 
Quote:

 
Yes, they'll drop before July, April is anticipated date.  Sorry to keep everybody waiting, the sound of these is very important and is a huge responsibility.  I'm assessing all feedback I've received over the last few months, interestingly a lot of the audiophiles liked it bass heavy w some of the M-100 protos as long as the highs were clear, present and extended further.  There is a meet in March for Head-Fi in LA, I'll let people try them out!
 
 

Thank you for responding Val! I am glad to hear that, and as with everyone else its well worth the wait since you are going out of your way with the quality of this product. I am looking forward to owning these perfect cans when they are set to release!
 
 


Quote:

Val,
I'd like retract my earlier statement about the M-100's being unamped.
I feel that the drivers should remain the way they are. How significant is the SQ between the M80 and M100, both unamped?
 
The M80's already have great SQ. They are limited as shown by the use of an amp which make too much of a difference.
If the M100 do not need an amp, the maximum potential would be limited. For $300, I believe the M100's should not be restricted by the driver and it'd be a great set up if you can show your full ability to make headphones to the best of your ability.
 
For $300, I would think that people considering headphones in this price range would 1. already have an amp 2. have no problem spending $20-30 more for a portable amp (e5, e6) to achieve maximum potential.

 
 

 
I can see that actually being true. Even with me I would go out of my way getting an amp if I am already going out of my way getting $300 headphones to reach perfection. I wonder if its at all possible that the M-100's unamped would be closer to M-80's current sound quality. If it is, than amping would just bring out the full potential of the M-100's while unamped they stand on their own as just a large pair of M-80's which I would imagine not many people at all complaining about it. However this is just a stray thought of mine.
 
Quote:

 


Yeah, you'd probably need an e11 minimum if we're talking cheaper amps.

How does the e11 fair up with say, a Zune 120? Also is fiio the only company to have portable amps? I admit I do not have too much experience in this subject so I might as well ask before I start making assumptions.

 

[dbdynsty25]

I'd be perfectly happy with the SQ of the M80s in the form factor of the LP2s.  That's really all it comes down to.  But Val saying that the M100s would be LESS than than the M80s unless they are amped really has me worried.  I simply would stick with my M80/LP2 combo if that ultimately is what he decides.

 

[Gilly87]

This.
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I'd be perfectly happy with the SQ of the M80s in the form factor of the LP2s.  That's really all it comes down to.  But Val saying that the M100s would be LESS than than the M80s unless they are amped really has me worried.  I simply would stick with my M80/LP2 combo if that ultimately is what he decides.

 

 

[Kagelou]

Yea, agreeing with the no-amp group here. If the M100s really do require an amp to be at it's full potential, the price of the M100 would be $250~300 + $65 (E11) at least. As much as I want to try the M100s out, I wouldn't be able to take out that much from my wallet =x

 

[Jzbass25]

I don't see the stigma with amping, if they do it well then the headphone could scale with better and better amps/rigs. I feel like that is worth it. Like I said earlier if it is an unamper and is like the m-80 where amping doesn't do much, then I probably will not be getting it. I rather see a competitor to things like the dt880s and senn's hd600. Btw I don't own an amp at the moment either, other than a cmoy but that doesn't power much.

 

[Gilly87]

Maybe it's overly wary of me to say this, but I almost feel kind of duped; the original line we heard from Val was "M-80 with LP2 bass!" if I remember correctly. Then I saw the size, and I thought, "Oh, ok, LP2 with M80 mids and highs. Cool. That's exactly what I want." Now suddenly its an at-home phone unless you are ok looking like you have a hard on in public and shelling out $150 more than the M80.

 

[djsquared]

Quote:

Maybe it's overly wary of me to say this, but I almost feel kind of duped; the original line we heard from Val was "M-80 with LP2 bass!" if I remember correctly. Then I saw the size, and I thought, "Oh, ok, LP2 with M80 mids and highs. Cool. That's exactly what I want." Now suddenly its an at-home phone unless you are ok looking like you have a hard on in public and shelling out $150 more than the M80.

 
In Val's own words: "Trust."
 
I think V-MODA is fully capable of putting out a great balanced product that won't be toooooooooo LP bassy, and won't suck tooooooooooo hard compared to M-80s unamped. The consensus on this thread so far seems to be: 1) It'd be cool if the M-100s were M-80 sound / LP2 form factor, with over-ear isolation and bigger driver resulting in higher-quality (not simply MORE EMPHASIZED) bass. 2) If amped the headphones should sound fully fantastic, and if un-amped then the headphones should still sound fantastic, just maybe less so than amped.
 

 

[The Doctor]

Quote:

 
In Val's own words: "Trust."
 
I think V-MODA is fully capable of putting out a great balanced product that won't be toooooooooo LP bassy, and won't suck tooooooooooo hard compared to M-80s unamped. The consensus on this thread so far seems to be: 1) It'd be cool if the M-100s were M-80 sound / LP2 form factor, with over-ear isolation and bigger driver resulting in higher-quality (not simply MORE EMPHASIZED) bass. 2) If amped the headphones should sound fully fantastic, and if un-amped then the headphones should still sound fantastic, just maybe less so than amped.
 

This  EXACTLY.
 
Val wants to bring something to the market which might be newer than the M-80's and might be far more balanced than the M-80's. Yes there are those out there who want just a larger pair of M-80's but the fact is if they need amping to make the M-100's perfect I am fine with it. These are going to be very high end portables which will need some help getting off the ground rather than without an amp like before. I rather keep the M-80's as they are and let the M-100's be as what they should be which is a more improved and powerful set of cans.
 
Also look at it this way, if you want a larger M-80 perhaps down the line one might exist as a re-release like the LP2's. I am not saying it will exist, I am just saying it could. That said lets see what power the M-100's truly have before we start saying what we want power wise. Also who knows what type of amp it might need, we are all making assumptions here and the more we assume the farther away we get from what we actually do know and what is simply assumed from the rest of us.
 
 

 

[Gilly87]

 
It just sucks. $150 is a lot of money to some of us.

 

[MrNurse]

Quote:

Also an E5 is not going to do justice to anything like the M-100. It probably wouldn't do justice to the M80 for crying out loud; even my Shure SE215 sounded worse with the E5 than without...

I wasn't being literal. I just thought of a very cheap and very small amp, since some people are complaining about portability/size of an amp. I'm wondering how much less the SQ of the M100 is from the M80 unamped and maybe an E6 might bring it to the SQ level of the M80.
But yea, of course something like an E11, A10, Arrow HE, etc would bring it to/close to it's full potential.
The size of my Clip+ and ZO2 is smaller than my iPhone.
 
And again, the M100 unamped would probably sound twice as good as the beats so I don't see why general consumers wouldn't purchase it.
Quote:

 

Thank you for responding Val! I am glad to hear that, and as with everyone else its well worth the wait since you are going out of your way with the quality of this product. I am looking forward to owning these perfect cans when they are set to release!
 
 
 
I can see that actually being true. Even with me I would go out of my way getting an amp if I am already going out of my way getting $300 headphones to reach perfection. I wonder if its at all possible that the M-100's unamped would be closer to M-80's current sound quality. If it is, than amping would just bring out the full potential of the M-100's while unamped they stand on their own as just a large pair of M-80's which I would imagine not many people at all complaining about it. However this is just a stray thought of mine.
 


How does the e11 fair up with say, a Zune 120? Also is fiio the only company to have portable amps? I admit I do not have too much experience in this subject so I might as well ask before I start making assumptions.

 
Quote:

I don't see the stigma with amping, if they do it well then the headphone could scale with better and better amps/rigs. I feel like that is worth it. Like I said earlier if it is an unamper and is like the m-80 where amping doesn't do much, then I probably will not be getting it. I rather see a competitor to things like the dt880s and senn's hd600. Btw I don't own an amp at the moment either, other than a cmoy but that doesn't power much.

Yes, if they're pretty similar in SQ and there's not a huge difference, then I don't think there should be a problem.
 
And again, for being $300, I think the M100 deserves to be amped.
 
 

 
Quote:

Yea, agreeing with the no-amp group here. If the M100s really do require an amp to be at it's full potential, the price of the M100 would be $250~300 + $65 (E11) at least. As much as I want to try the M100s out, I wouldn't be able to take out that much from my wallet =x

Idk, I believe at $300, a $65 amp wouldn't be such a bad dent. Again, if the M100 don't sound bad unamped, many consumers probably wouldn't care. For audiophiles, I would think most people that want to spend $300 would already have a portable amp.
 
People are willing to pay $300 for extremely crappy Beats so I don't see why it's bad to pay $300 for M100's that will sound better than the beats w/o an amp, and MUCH better with an amp.
 
Quote:

So the price for VMODA's best sound currently sits at around $365, S&H, and a bulging pocket, according to Val, Amazon, and my jeans.
 
Val, I hope that I don't come off as overly critical; perhaps I am a bit harsh. If you do read this, it truly is generous and sincere of you to come to a place like a web forum yourself and take the time to hear our opinions. But you can't ask for it and not expect sincerity! 

 

 
I don't see how amp size should be an issue. There are good affordable amps that are very portable.

 
I feel like, if people are penny-pinching for a product to the point where they wouldn't care that the product is NOT made to the best of its ability, then they should 1. Look elsewhere or 2. Wait for prices to come down 3. Buy it slightly used.

 

[Kagelou]

Quote:

 
It just sucks. $150 is a lot of money to some of us.

Yep, especially for those in college xD
 

Quote:

Idk, I believe at $300, a $65 amp wouldn't be such a bad dent. Again, if the M100 don't sound bad unamped, many consumers probably wouldn't care. For audiophiles, I would think most people that want to spend $300 would already have a portable amp.
 
People are willing to pay $300 for extremely crappy Beats so I don't see why it's bad to pay $300 for M100's that will sound better than the beats w/o an amp, and MUCH better with an amp.
 

hm, you got a point there.
I dunno about most people, but when I get something, I ALWAYS want it to be at it's fullest potential. So if the M100s are considered to be at there full potential with an amp (even if they are good without one), I would probably need to buy an amp as well haha
All well, release date is said to be April, so we'll see how it goes! Maybe Val will choose some guinea pigs like he did with the M80s

 
 

 

[skyline315]

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Yep, especially for those in college xD
 

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Maybe Val will choose some guinea pigs like he did with the M80s

 
 

Sign me up!