[rckyosho]

Quote:

There is NO WAY I can imagine the Verza having 5x the affect on sound that the C&C BH does for 5x the price.
 
I'm in awe.... wow. This amp really brings the M-100s to life. The thing is, there's so many configurations with this little thing, it's really configurable to taste. So far I prefer LOD > OUT2 with GC on low, and both LF and SF switches on. I think OUT1 is more mid centric, but I've been using OUT2 because the volume pot is less sensitive to turns and the sound has a warmer tilt.
 
Micro detail like never before. The bass boost is very generous, and is VERY clean, I'm extremely impressed by it. I prefer it over the ZO. The SF switch does wonders for the sound stage. It boosts the highs a bit and crossfeeds the channels giving more depth, and height it's really magical - The soundstage opens up substantially.
 
The amp itself (no switches on) brings the mids a little more forward, and I found the sub bass (especially) is cleaner and a tad more present; really makes the M-100 purr. Vocals have better presentation than unamped imo - especially with SF on - and background instruments are given more room to breathe. If you thought the M-100 was detailed before... 
 
Like I don't know what kind of black magic is going on here, but the background instruments and noises are coming right out, and the soundstage has become so much more 3D. Mids are not taking a back seat anymore. Well integrated into the rest of the song. Drums, vocals and guitars are all much better presented now.
 
I'll come back with impressions on a different configuration later. 
 
EDIT: Upon a little more careful listening, with OUT2 the SF switch cross feeds, and brings mids and lower treble forward, where the LF switch boosts lows generously, and the highs a little bit giving it a V-shaped EQ almost. This is a fun little amp. I don't even know if I care to get another one for comparison sake.

 
Glad to see another C&C BH amp with the M-100.I have similar settings to yours except I'm using OUT1 instead.

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

So after a hiatus I am back and I can gladly say I have a job now.
 
Tell me, are they as great as we all hoped? Also, is there still a discount/deal up if I order straight from V-Moda? I am so ready to get these!

It is that good, and I already have 2 pairs but now considering a 3rd!!  Deal wise you won't get the Faders anymore, but for $310 you can still get an extra pair of shields with custom engravings on it, and that's including the new gold shields (MSRP $50.)

 

[valkolton]

Quick update, I am so sorry for being gone for so long but I have never ever been busier with CES and planning global supply chain of M-100 and the launch of M-100/VAMP VERZA/METALLO globally.    We have 11 new SKUS launching in the coming weeks and we are opening a Milan location. 
 
I have marked my last post and will read all posts since then soon.  I sincerely hope everybody is happy overall, as you know we'll do ANYTHING within reason to ensure a 6-star experience. 
 
Supply Chain Headaches
We sold out completely of White and Shadow, but it is because we have made so few M-100 units compared to normal in order to have the highest QC and monitor the community feedback.  I am surprised that even though Matte Black outsold shadow almost 3 to 1 initially that Shadow is almost 1:1 lately.  Any ideas why?!  It helps my forecasting.
 
METALLO
Our next product is called metallo... shhhh.... it launches soon and is quite amazing.  It is not a headphone but fits into our new "trifecta" line.
 
VAMP VERZA
the main reason I've been so busy... this thing is complex but worth the wait...
 
DD EAR CUSHIONS
we have not forgot but we have hit a holiday that delays testing.  Don't worry!  we have prototypes for testing.
 
BOOMPRO MIC
Shipping soon, I have to finish photos and copy.  It passed our "VMQA".  
 
DEFECT ANALYSIS SINCE LAUNCH
So far we have seen a very very low % of defects for a new product and every defect we have analyzed and made additional QC processes to ensure 6-star satisfaction.  We make a few in every batch so that quality is #1.  Obviously, every single issue I take very personally as I deeply care about customer satisfaction.  Happiness is V-MODA's objective and your reviews = our incentives.  
 
Overall, I am extremely happy to have seen Avicii's FIRST M-100 that was used nightly for 3+ months auctioned on eBay.  It was heavily abused but still functioning even though the screws were starting to become a tad rusty.  Yet this first unit I gave to him at Radio City had more character, sounded amazing and it still worked like a charm after months of heavy abuse on tour.  Our other "beta" test musicians have had similar positive results.  I tightened a few tolerances in small areas but I wouldn't compare it to the "revs" in most production runs of other products (and I know from seeing them first hand at the factories).  Keep in mind, I am obsessive about QC as we build these to be professional gear that must not fail under extreme circumstances.  
 
Crazy quality is what delays us so long on launches, one of our competitors said correctly "Val is V-MODA's main competitor"!
 
COILPRO CABLE
The latest test hit 250k bends in our cable flex machine today, I think it'll hit 1M+ bends easily so I am giving it an okay to go.  It uses a spring strain relief that I was curious about, but it definitely works.  Look for late March.
 
SPECIAL EDITION M-100s
We made a few special edition Subliminal 24k gold models and Avicii models using denim. I'll post pics on Facebook soon, they are incredible but we don't have plans to sell them.  The denim models will be in stores worldwide for listening stations.
 
RETAILERS
We added more USA and worldwide retailers, but we are out of stock for almost 6-8 weeks of shadow/white. M-100s should be in many stores worldwide soon on listening stations, has anybody seen them?!!
 
PICTURE!!!
 

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

 
Glad to see another C&C BH amp with the M-100.I have similar settings to yours except I'm using OUT1 instead.

I think the C&C BH is a pretty nice piece of kit give the price, but to be far the V-moda VAMP and Verza are both DAC plus AMP and not just an AMP.  However, I do agree that to most people they will not offer 5x better sound, and the law of diminishing returns apply here.

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

Quick update, I am so sorry for being gone for so long but I have never ever been busier with CES and planning global supply chain of M-100 and the launch of M-100/VAMP VERZA/METALLO globally.    We have 11 new SKUS launching in the coming weeks and we are opening a Milan location. 
 
I have marked my last post and will read all posts since then soon.  I sincerely hope everybody is happy overall, as you know we'll do ANYTHING within reason to ensure a 6-star experience. 
 
Supply Chain Headaches
We sold out completely of White and Shadow, but it is because we have made so few M-100 units compared to normal in order to have the highest QC and monitor the community feedback.  I am surprised that even though Matte Black outsold shadow almost 3 to 1 initially that Shadow is almost 1:1 lately.  Any ideas why?!  It helps my forecasting.
 
METALLO
Our next product is called metallo... shhhh.... it launches soon and is quite amazing.  It is not a headphone but fits into our new "trifecta" line.
 
VAMP VERZA
the main reason I've been so busy... this thing is complex but worth the wait...
 
DD EAR CUSHIONS
we have not forgot but we have hit a holiday that delays testing.  Don't worry!  we have prototypes for testing.
 
BOOMPRO MIC
Shipping soon, I have to finish photos and copy.  It passed our "VMQA".  
 
DEFECT ANALYSIS SINCE LAUNCH
So far we have seen a very very low % of defects for a new product and every defect we have analyzed and made additional QC processes to ensure 6-star satisfaction.  We make a few in every batch so that quality is #1.  Obviously, every single issue I take very personally as I deeply care about customer satisfaction.  Happiness is V-MODA's objective and your reviews = our incentives.  
 
Overall, I am extremely happy to have seen Avicii's FIRST M-100 that was used nightly for 3+ months auctioned on eBay.  It was heavily abused but still functioning even though the screws were starting to become a tad rusty.  Yet this first unit I gave to him at Radio City had more character, sounded amazing and it still worked like a charm after months of heavy abuse on tour.  Our other "beta" test musicians have had similar positive results.  I tightened a few tolerances in small areas but I wouldn't compare it to the "revs" in most production runs of other products (and I know from seeing them first hand at the factories).  Keep in mind, I am obsessive about QC as we build these to be professional gear that must not fail under extreme circumstances.  
 
Crazy quality is what delays us so long on launches, one of our competitors said correctly "Val is V-MODA's main competitor"!
 
COILPRO CABLE
The latest test hit 250k bends in our cable flex machine today, I think it'll hit 1M+ bends easily so I am giving it an okay to go.  It uses a spring strain relief that I was curious about, but it definitely works.  Look for late March.
 
SPECIAL EDITION M-100s
We made a few special edition Subliminal 24k gold models and Avicii models using denim. I'll post pics on Facebook soon, they are incredible but we don't have plans to sell them.  The denim models will be in stores worldwide for listening stations.
 
RETAILERS
We added more USA and worldwide retailers, but we are out of stock for almost 6-8 weeks of shadow/white. M-100s should be in many stores worldwide soon on listening stations, has anybody seen them?!!
 
PICTURE!!!
 

Thanks for the update and I do have a theory on the color choice between matte black vs. shadow: I personally don't think the photos show enough differences for people to tell them apart, plus shadow has a bit of red to keep in line with the black/red theme and added a bit of contrast.  In addition, I don't think people realize that the material used for the head band for each color are different, as I was quite surprised to found out that the head band for the shadow was made out of cloth and not leather compare to my white one.

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

Supply Chain Headaches
We sold out completely of White and Shadow, but it is because we have made so few M-100 units compared to normal in order to have the highest QC and monitor the community feedback.  I am surprised that even though Matte Black outsold shadow almost 3 to 1 initially that Shadow is almost 1:1 lately.  Any ideas why?!  It helps my forecasting.
 
DD EAR CUSHIONS
we have not forgot but we have hit a holiday that delays testing.  Don't worry!  we have prototypes for testing.
 

 
Color forecast: I would guess that initially the people who bought the m100 right when it was released were head-fi-ers & other headphone enthusiasts that kept up with headphone news and probably closely followed the m100 development cycle. These people would probably prefer traditional low key black color scheme without any flashy highlights as their focus was probably mainly on audio quality. Regular consumers who read good reviews about your product and decide to get it would probably prefer something that stands out a bit more for the price range as the combination of stylish looks and SQ would probably be what would lead them to choose the m100 over other similarly priced headphones.
 
...or perhaps vampires (who would obviously prefer the red/black headphone color scheme) have more time to sit at home & browse the internet looking for quality headphones now that winter is ending & the days are getting longer.
 
PS: I really do love your vmoda m100 headphones, but please please release DEEPER (more comfy) EARPADS!!! I have been having serious comfort issues your m100 due to the shallow earcups, and that is the only thing keeping me from being 100% happy with them. Thank you for reading my post  

 

[JonnyN]

Quote:

Supply Chain Headaches
We sold out completely of White and Shadow, but it is because we have made so few M-100 units compared to normal in order to have the highest QC and monitor the community feedback.  I am surprised that even though Matte Black outsold shadow almost 3 to 1 initially that Shadow is almost 1:1 lately.  Any ideas why?!  It helps my forecasting.
 
RETAILERS
We added more USA and worldwide retailers, but we are out of stock for almost 6-8 weeks of shadow/white. M-100s should be in many stores worldwide soon on listening stations, has anybody seen them?!!
 

 
Thanks for the update Val, it still amazes me how well you keep in touch with the community, I hope you never lose that touch on reality like a lot of business heads do as its a real example of a quality product that you care about

 
As for the supply delays I guess I'll be sitting on my Amazon UK pre-order of a pair of Shadow's for a while yet lol at least they don't charge till dispatch!

 

[SIDWULF]

Quote:

Sort of off topic: I just made some Gundam related shield templates as psd with GIMP, and please feel free to use them.  Too bad I did my custom shield with only JPG and PNG, so my own Nu Alpha and Hi-Nu logos wasn't as nice as these.. .  Have fun.
 

 
 

WOW, the last one is AWESOME!

 

[SIDWULF]

Quote:

 

AWESOME!!!!!
 
And thanks val...Waiting on the XL pads and boom mic pro, ears are still red from these shallow stock ear pads! Otherwise I am just loving these headphones and I am glad I decided to keep them regardless of pain.
 
Take your time, either way TAKE MY MONEY! As a previous owner of both the D2000 and Pro 900, I highly approve of the M100.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Supply Chain Headaches
We sold out completely of White and Shadow, but it is because we have made so few M-100 units compared to normal in order to have the highest QC and monitor the community feedback.  I am surprised that even though Matte Black outsold shadow almost 3 to 1 initially that Shadow is almost 1:1 lately.  Any ideas why?!  It helps my forecasting.

 
It's down to this; statistically true headphone enthusiasts like on head-fi gets to know about headphones a lot sooner than the mainstream crowd. I'll separate people into two categories, headphone enthusiasts and mainstream crowd to explain my thoughts further.
 
The headphone enthusiasts statistically tend to prefer matte over glossy due to the reason following reason, popular "fashion accessory headphones" (I don't need to mention any names) tends to look sleek, glossy, flashy and well the glossy color has this kind of "bad stamp"/association with it. This for headphone enthusiasts tend to look/feel "cheaper" due to popular mainstream headphones tend to use that look and they don't want their headphones be associated with that same market segment. They care more about sound quality than the looks.
 
So when mainstream crowd gets to know more about the M100 the Shadow glossy color picks up sales wise as the mainstream crowd tend to like to wear glossy/sleek/flashy stuff on the streets. For them it's very important with the look and well glossy stands out better. 
 
This is why Shadow has picked up sales wise over time versus Matte Black. Initial big wave of headphone enthusiast sales fades over versus increased more and more "mainstream crowd" sales. I think from an economical stand point for a headphone company (and depending on their brand image) it's important to cater to both segments.

 

[Kendoji]

One factor could also be that a lot of the early adopters had previously either bought or were very familiar with the Shadow M80s and therefore were drawn to something with a new and different look.

 

[Apo0th3karY]

Quote:

Quote:

Supply Chain Headaches
We sold out completely of White and Shadow, but it is because we have made so few M-100 units compared to normal in order to have the highest QC and monitor the community feedback.  I am surprised that even though Matte Black outsold shadow almost 3 to 1 initially that Shadow is almost 1:1 lately.  Any ideas why?!  It helps my forecasting.

 
It's down to this; statistically true headphone enthusiasts like on head-fi gets to know about headphones a lot sooner than the mainstream crowd. I'll separate people into two categories, headphone enthusiasts and mainstream crowd to explain my thoughts further.
 
The headphone enthusiasts statistically tend to prefer matte over glossy due to the reason following reason, popular "fashion accessory headphones" (I don't need to mention any names) tends to look sleek, glossy, flashy and well the glossy color has this kind of "bad stamp"/association with it. This for headphone enthusiasts tend to look/feel "cheaper" due to popular mainstream headphones tend to use that look and they don't want their headphones be associated with that same market segment. They care more about sound quality than the looks.
 
So when mainstream crowd gets to know more about the M100 the Shadow glossy color picks up sales wise as the mainstream crowd tend to like to wear glossy/sleek/flashy stuff on the streets. For them it's very important with the look and well glossy stands out better. 
 
This is why Shadow has picked up sales wise over time versus Matte Black. Initial big wave of headphone enthusiast sales fades over versus increased more and more "mainstream crowd" sales. I think from an economical stand point for a headphone company (and depending on their brand image) it's important to cater to both segments.

 
+1. I'm actually a little surprised the Pearl White hasn't taken off a little more than Matte Black since mass release. The fact that most popular smart phones (iPhone, GS3) have white or black options lends me to believe people will want to colour match their accessories... Miceblue, any reason why you went for PW vs MB/SHD?
 
I for one am on the side of the glossy black/red look to have that bad stamp on it. A few pages back someone had said they had been shamed by somoene behind them inline for wearing 'mains tream V-Modas'. I wonder if it was Pearl, Matte, or Shadow, or just entirely brand ignorance.
 
 

---

I'll also say what's obvious already. V-Moda, for how flashy they look, meets right smack in the middle between style and substance. I've had some snobby DJs comment on what they thought were my new SkullCandys, and then they are BLOWN AWAY by the sound. I tell them it's not just some Skullcandy headphone, it's V-Moda's flagship headphone... and they just kinda look at me wondering what I just said. and these are DJs; familiar with different brand names and have no idea who or what V-Moda is/about.

 

[rckyosho]

Quote:

I think the C&C BH is a pretty nice piece of kit give the price, but to be far the V-moda VAMP and Verza are both DAC plus AMP and not just an AMP.  However, I do agree that to most people they will not offer 5x better sound, and the law of diminishing returns apply here.

For DAC I have the ODAC for conversion duties.It sounds neutral and great to my ears and it's all I ever need for now and with the S3 I9305 as source I'm a happy camper right now.
Add the M-100 for portables and I have all my mobile needs covered with great SQ to boot.
The ODAC + C&C BH cost about half of the price of a VAMP or Verza.The battery life on the C&C BH is crazy man..I'm going on 2 weeks without charging and that's with 2 to 3 hrs of
usage daily.There's more configuration options than most amps to tailor your sound to...I forsee this to be my goto portable rig for quite a while.
I'm not saying to peeps not to buy the VAMP or Verza.....go ahead if you can afford it(nobody would listen anyway

) but bang for buck the ODAC+C&C BH+M-100 is a killer combo.
 
Okay sorry for the derailment off topic.......continue with the M-100 disscussion.

 

[tokendog]

Quote:

For DAC I have the ODAC for conversion duties.It sounds neutral and great to my ears and it's all I ever need for now and with the S3 I9305 as source I'm a happy camper right now.
Add the M-100 for portables and I have all my mobile needs covered with great SQ to boot.
The ODAC + C&C BH cost about half of the price of a VAMP or Verza.The battery life on the C&C BH is crazy man..I'm going on 2 weeks without charging and that's with 2 to 3 hrs of
usage daily.There's more configuration options than most amps to tailor your sound to...I forsee this to be my goto portable rig for quite a while.
I'm not saying to peeps not to buy the VAMP or Verza.....go ahead if you can afford it(nobody would listen anyway

) but bang for buck the ODAC+C&C BH+M-100 is a killer combo.
 
Okay sorry for the derailment off topic.......continue with the M-100 disscussion.

 
I don't find this to be off topic.  You're talking about options in regards to source and amplification of the subject matter - the M-100s.  I'd say this is useful information considering the M-100 does in fact, one way or the other, require both of those.  Be it a phone, mp3 player, or a stand alone device.
 
Thanks for sharing the info.

 

[Evshrug]

So after a hiatus I am back and I can gladly say I have a job now.

Tell me, are they as great as we all hoped? Also, is there still a discount/deal up if I order straight from V-Moda? I am so ready to get these!

People have been noting a smile-shaped frequency response (more "fun" than "for studio mixing"), and have overall been quite happy except for those whom the freq response puts the mids more recessed than they prefer. Many of those people (and those whose ears hurt from the earpads not being deep enough for their earshape) have picked up on Miceblue's mod of rolling bits of paper towel to stuff up the pads a bit, which changes the sound (bit less bass FWIR, no personal experience).
Congrats on the job!