[sagep]

But what about the mids, how are they? How neutral are they In comparison with a very colored headphone like the aiaiai tma-1. Are they more or less neutral then the m-80?

 

[DigitalFreak]

@ miceblue
 
Give the following video clip a shot and tell me what you think.

 
Edited: Ok here's a decent clip of the song I want you to sample

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

I am actually surprised how much this mod changes the sound. The M-100 went from a great portable headphone to an absolute BEAST of a headphone that definitely holds its ground against the headphone I had a hard time putting down.
 
I will definitely need to note this in my long impressions post.

Some hope for the larger pads that may be coming soon.

 

[miceblue]

But what about the mids, how are they? How neutral are they In comparison with a very colored headphone like the aiaiai tma-1. Are they more or less neutral then the m-80?

I haven't listened to the M-80 in detail, nor have I listened to the TMA-1's so I can't give any comparisons in that regards.

The mids are fairly neutral overall. They are slightly held back, but are still forward in my testing (not in-your-face forward). Upper mid (violins and female vocals) are slightly more forward than the other mids.
I think there is some bass bleed (not a lot) into the mids; I don't know if that's the right term to use, but decreasing the bass either through an earpad mod or EQ tends to make the mids more in-focus/clear.

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

But what about the mids, how are they? How neutral are they In comparison with a very colored headphone like the aiaiai tma-1. Are they more or less neutral then the m-80?

I have heard the TMA-1 and the mids/highs are starkly dark compared to M-80.  The M-100 is definitely brighter than the M-80.

 

[Y260]

Just ordered a pair of white M-100's. I'm hoping my YouTube themed shields turn out well:
 
 

 

[SwKWhiteKnight]

Quote:

 
Hello there! Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet.
 
Unless you prefer super boosted bass, yes definitely. The M-100's offer a much much much cleaner bass response that doesn't bleed as much into the midrange, a midrange that is very well-defined, and highs that are sparkly, yet not harsh-sounding.
 
Sorry if your response is ill-received here...people here tend to regard the Beats by Dre headphones as some of the worst headphones on the market. I do have to give them props though for introducing people, such as yourself, into higher fidelity audio equipment.
 
 
It depends on the type of headphone you're looking for and for what genres of music you listen to.
The M-100's bass is good for a lot of different music genres, where as the Beats' bass is mainly aimed for modern pop/hip-hop/rap/R&B music listeners. Music genres aside, there are a lot of options for bassy headphones nowadays that all do a better job at rendering the bass more accurately than the Beats headphones.
The M-100's have a very clean-sounding bass response that is slightly accentuated to compensate for external noise heard during mobile listening. They are also closed-back headphones so they isolate background noise.
If you want a headphone only to listen to music at home, I would consider another headphone that has less bass, and is open-back.
 
As for comfort, the M-100's are a mixed bag. For some it's really comfortable, such as in my experience, but for others the earcups are too shallow and/or small in size. I admit that the Beats headphones are very comfortable though.
 
For style/appearance, I also agree that the M-100 is a really excellent headphone for that purpose. With different colour schemes, shield colours, and the ability to have a custom design/logo engraved on the shields, V-MODA's headphones offer a level of customisability that no other audio company offers!
Walking on the streets with a pair of clunky-looking Shure SRH940's isn't exactly a pretty appearance. XD
 
For the price, I would say the M-100's are a fantastic headphone for the overall sound, slightly emphasised bass response, appearance/style, and comfort (for me).
 
 
Again, it depends on your preference of overall sound presentation and music you listen to. For example, I don't think I would recommend the K/Q 701 if you listen to dubstep, electronic, or modern pop/hip-hop/rap/R&B because its bass response isn't well-suited for those genres.
 
The headphones you listed are more traditional audiophile headphones and don't have the same bass, midrange, and treble response as the M-100. The M-100 was built for mobile listening, so it has more of a U-shaped sound signature (slightly boosted bass and treble), compared to the relatively more neutral headphones you listed. Also, all 3 of those headphones are open-back, so they tend to have very little noise isolation and some noise leakage; not ideal for mobile use.
 
In fact, those headphones are completely different in sound signature signature compared to that of the M-100. I own a Shure SRH940 which has a similar sound signature to those 3 headphones and it's definitely much different than the M-100 in terms of sound (bass light, airy and analytical, vs slightly bass emphasised and more "fun"/musical)
 
 

Spoiler: Relating%20to%20amps

 
Amping theoretically helps a headphone perform at its best. It's hard for me to describe it specifically so I'll give you a classic example.
 
Plug in the AKG K/Q 701 into your iPod and you get "meh" sound quality at a quiet listening level even on max volume on the iPod.
Plug in the AKG K/Q 701 into a Schitt Asgard amp and you can fully appreciate the sound the K/Q 701 can produce at a much higher listening level.
Why? The K/Q 701 is notorious for being a headphone that's hard to drive properly, I think due to its high impedance rating. The higher the impedance rating is, the more power you need to feed your headphones. An iPod doesn't have enough power to drive the headphones properly so you get relatively poor sound out of the K/Q 701.
 
 
It's pretty easy to do. Just plug in your headphones into the amp, connect your amp to a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), and you're pretty much set (of course it depends on your setup too, sometimes an amp needs to be hooked up to a power outlet and sometimes the DAC needs to be hooked up to a source of music such as your iPod).
 
 
If you have a headphone that's easy to drive, it doesn't affect the headphone that much other than volume level.
If you have a headphone that's difficult to drive, it can make a huge difference.
If your amp is coloured (it has a certain sound to it, such as a tube amp's warm, vinyl-like sound), then it can make a big difference in a headphone as well.
 
 
Yes and no. It depends on how powerful, portable, and type of amplifier you want to purchase, in addition to the quality of sound it produces.
 
Examples:
A solid state FiiO E11 is portable, meant to drive smaller headphones and only costs ~$60 USD nowadays.
A solid state Schitt Asgard is a desktop amplifier, needs to be hooked up to a power outlet, can drive larger, higher impedance headphones, and costs $250 USD.
A Woo Audio WA22 fully balanced tube amplifier is also a desktop amplifier, needs to be hooked up to a power outlet, can drive larger, higher impedance headphones, and costs a whopping $1900 USD; add other vacuum tubes to it and those by themselves easily cost $100+ each.
 

 
Quote:

That was me

 
To my ears when I plug my M-100 into my iPod Touch 3rd gen the soundstage shrinks meaning the sound sounds like it's more in your head. End result everything becomes more compressed together and blurred. When I amp with my RX MK II the presentation expands and instrumentation becomes more pin point clear in it's placement in the soundstage. When I amp with my UHA-4 the soundstage decreases a little more but everything is still quite clear.. Matter of fact I'm getting a very small touch of more rumble with the UHA-4 due to the op amp I'm using. When I run it straight through my Studio V which has a better built in DAC and amp then say an iPod I'm getting a small touch more treble due to the player having more extended highs that are more slightly forward when compared to an iPod whose treble is more smooth. When I plug my M-100 directly into my laptop it sounds better then through my iPod but still not as good as any of my amps. Of coarse YMMV, others have commented they're happy with their M-100's unamped which is perfectly fine. If you decide to buy an M-100 and upon listening to it you decide it works for you without an amp then run with that idea and enjoy. In the end it's your ears that matter after all not mine or anyone else's.
 
 

I can not thank you guys enough! I've decided I'm getting these headphones and I'll definitely try out an amp. Again, thank you DigitalFreak and MiceBlue. You guys answered my questions and gave great advice/opinions I appreciate it very much! 

 

[sagep]

So would you say these cans are mostly neutral with good mids and highs but with a bass emphasis? I was wondering because that's what the m-80's are and i'm wondering if it's overal more or less neutral then those. Before I take the plunge, no one has said much about the mids and I would like to know how they are... and how is the overall detail? Thanks very much.

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

So would you say these cans are mostly neutral with good mids and highs but with a bass emphasis. Before I take the plunge, no one has said much about the mids, and how is the overall detail?

Some have said mids are slightly recessed.   I have not found that to be the case and feel they are exactly where they should be- neither recessed nor forward.  I find the detail to be excellent and one of the sonic features I appreciate about the M-100.

 

[DigitalFreak]

If you're coming from the M-80 you'll find detailing in the mids an upgrade. Don't worry the mids are generally pretty nice. This headphone is no giant killer but it's a pretty nice headphone for the bones tossed on the table.

 

[miow]

Quote:

Just ordered a pair of white M-100's. I'm hoping my YouTube themed shields turn out well:
 
 

 
Loved that.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

 
We are making more white/grey/black M-100 ear cushions and developing alternative sized ear cushions for M-100, including Velour.  The first part is easy, but the new size cushions/velour options I need your help.  Because for me, the current configuration is perfect.  I need 3-5 people to help me test alternatives who own M-100s, Joe from Engadget is 1.  Who else is in?  I'll send prototype cushions.
 
 

Hey, so if this offer is still open, I'd like to nominate myself as well!  They honestly get painful for me after even about half an hour, and after awhile my ears just get raw and rather painful.  It is better with the napkins wedged into the back of the cushions but still kind of hurts after awhile...though not quite as badly as it did before.

Anyway, those are just my experiences with the stock pads!  I'd still be okay with waiting for the official, mass release of them though.

 

[jonnio]

Quote:

@miceblue
 
I'm going to do some more listening. What I've observed thus far has only been from a quick 10 minutes of listening. I need more music to pass final judgement. Is there anyone else out there who has tried this mod and has anything to add?

I have spent quite a bit of time listening to the headphones with the mod during my travels, so I actually thought you guys were a little nuts about the differences, but I just pulled the napkin out and did an A/B/A.  I did the mod out of necessity as I only get 30 minutes or so of listening otherwise.
 
My reference track for the A/B/A is Concerning Hobbits from the LOTR soundtrack.
 
With a napkin stuffed under the pads I notice that there is a little less bass, especially on some of the sub bass notes that are background throughout the piece and the trebles to me have been blurred and slightly reduced.  By blurred I mean that this track has a very distinct bow on string sound during much of it (something that I am accustomed to from years in the orchestra) and it is all but lost with the napkin in there. [I wonder if miceblue's observation that the treble is easier to hear isn't from an overall blending of the bass/mids/treble]  For this style track I greatly prefer the sound unmodded, but due to comfort I will keep "stuffing the bra" so to speak.  I also have not done an extensive A/B/A with vocal tracks and I can see where the blending effect that I am hearing could help people that think the mids are overly recessed.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

I have spent quite a bit of time listening to the headphones with the mod during my travels, so I actually thought you guys were a little nuts about the differences, but I just pulled the napkin out and did an A/B/A.  I did this out of necessity as
 
My reference track for the A/B/A is Concerning Hobbits from the LOTR soundtrack.
 
With a napkin stuffed under the pads I notice that there is a little less bass, especially on some of the sub bass notes that are background throughout the piece and the trebles to me have been blurred and slightly reduced.  By blurred I mean that this track has a very distinct bow on string sound during much of it (something that I am accustomed to from years in the orchestra) and it is all but lost with the napkin in there. [I wonder if miceblue's observation that the treble is easier to hear isn't from an overall blending of the bass/mids/treble]  For this style track I greatly prefer the sound unmodded, but due to comfort I will keep "stuffing the bra" so to speak.  I also have not done an extensive A/B/A with vocal tracks and I can see where the blending effect that I am hearing could help people that think the mids are overly recessed.

I understand where you're coming from. Keep us informed.

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

I have spent quite a bit of time listening to the headphones with the mod during my travels, so I actually thought you guys were a little nuts about the differences, but I just pulled the napkin out and did an A/B/A.  I did this out of necessity as
 
My reference track for the A/B/A is Concerning Hobbits from the LOTR soundtrack.
 
With a napkin stuffed under the pads I notice that there is a little less bass, especially on some of the sub bass notes that are background throughout the piece and the trebles to me have been blurred and slightly reduced.  By blurred I mean that this track has a very distinct bow on string sound during much of it (something that I am accustomed to from years in the orchestra) and it is all but lost with the napkin in there. [I wonder if miceblue's observation that the treble is easier to hear isn't from an overall blending of the bass/mids/treble]  For this style track I greatly prefer the sound unmodded, but due to comfort I will keep "stuffing the bra" so to speak.  I also have not done an extensive A/B/A with vocal tracks and I can see where the blending effect that I am hearing could help people that think the mids are overly recessed.

I have tried this mod with other headphones more for comfort.  Regarding the M-100 sonically, I am taking the following approach:  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."