[knowimagination]

So I have been reading through as much of this thread as possible to find my own answers, but after reading the last 40 or 50 pages I didn't see exactly what I was looking for so I will ask, both my question and for forgiveness for repeating what has surely been dealt with before. 
 
I have a pair of M80s right now and I really like the sound on them, but comfort wise they are just not going to work anymore. I have had them for a little over a year and tried everything I could find to try and increase the comfort, but if I wear them for more than 30-45 minutes I am in pretty serious pain. I know part of it is because I wear glasses, but I also know I tend to prefer over ear headphones in general. I bought the M80 right before the M100 officially became available (right around when people were ordering VTF units). From everything I have read about the M100 the sound signature seems like I would enjoy it, but I am worried about how improved the comfort is. I see they have released XL pads so that is something to keep in mind, but I would like to have an idea before I order them if people have made the move for comfort reasons also and if the M100 is working out much better for you? 

 

[MaxMusic]

Yes that is exactly what it is. A sound card is essentially just a DAC, with some additional features such as surround sound compatibility, etc.
 
As far as music listening is concerned, a sound card and an external DAC such as the E07K and E17 are the exact same thing. The problem is, integrated sound cards suffer from signifgant interference due to their proxcimity and connectivity to the entire PC, and most integrated sound cards are of terrible quality as far as. There are exceptions, such as the ASUS Xonar Essence lineup, but their value is questionable. Their DAC is great, but interference problems coupled with not-so-great amplification generally leave even the best sound cards as a last choice. Additionally, for the price of high tier sound cards you could buy an Objective 2 amp/DAC combo, which is superior in every way as far as music listening is concerned. 

 

[miceblue]

A soundcard contains both a DAC (digital to analog converter) and an amp (amplifies the line out signal from the DAC) . XD

But yes, back on topic, the ODAC and Objective 2 are a great pairing with the M-100.

 

[MaxMusic]

Quoting myself:
 
" but interference problems coupled with not-so-great amplification generally leave even the best sound cards as a last choice"
 
I am very aware of what sound cards are, please read the entirety of my post before making statements about it. 
 
However, back on topic, the ODAC and Objective 2 are a great pairing for almost any high-end headphone.

 

[MaxMusic]

1. knowimagination, 

​
The question of comfort you have posed is, in my opinion, a highly personal preference that simply cannot be answered accurately by anyone but yourself. Simply based on the fact that you find discomfort in the M80s and prefer over the ear as opposed to on the ear cannot allow me or anyone else to accurately gauge if the M-100s will be comfortable to you. I have no idea what the shape or size of your ears are, the width of your cranium, let alone where your nerves poke. 
 
I recommend you purchase the product through Amazon. Test it out. If it is uncomfortable, simply return it.
 
The issue of the XL earpad adds a level of annoyance to this process if you find the included pads uncomfortable and think it is due to them being too small. In that event, you could order some XL pads, try them on, and make a decision. Still doesn't work? You have 30 days to return them to Amazon, so you are still good. Although ordering the pads and returning the headphones (if you decide to) will cost you a little bit of currency. 
 
I wish I had a better answer, but comfort, in my opinion, cannot be completely confirmed through someone else's experience on an internet forum. I made a comfort recommendation earlier based on LP2s vs M-100s, because they are almost identical in exterior construction. However, M80 to M100 is totally different.  
 
 

 

[asdfvtn]

So I have been reading through as much of this thread as possible to find my own answers, but after reading the last 40 or 50 pages I didn't see exactly what I was looking for so I will ask, both my question and for forgiveness for repeating what has surely been dealt with before. 

I have a pair of M80s right now and I really like the sound on them, but comfort wise they are just not going to work anymore. I have had them for a little over a year and tried everything I could find to try and increase the comfort, but if I wear them for more than 30-45 minutes I am in pretty serious pain. I know part of it is because I wear glasses, but I also know I tend to prefer over ear headphones in general. I bought the M80 right before the M100 officially became available (right around when people were ordering VTF units). From everything I have read about the M100 the sound signature seems like I would enjoy it, but I am worried about how improved the comfort is. I see they have released XL pads so that is something to keep in mind, but I would like to have an idea before I order them if people have made the move for comfort reasons also and if the M100 is working out much better for you? 

I bought the M80 almost the same time/bit earlier than you, and bought the M100 a couple months ago due to a great deal from Amazon.ca. I loved the M80 sound, and still do, but decided to give them to my girlfriend's sister since her Klipsch image one's broke and she loved the M80 sound.
For me, the M80 wasn't ridiculously uncomfortable, but it did get pretty noticeable and irritating after an hour or two.
The M100 on the other hand, sits on my head for probably about 3-4 hours before I notice it's time to rest a bit. I'm using the stock pads.
One thing to keep in mind is that the sound is quite a bit bassier than the M80. Personally, Ive been EQing the mids up/bring lows and highs a bit down, except for EDM.

I definitely don't regret the purchase though!

 

[Nirvana1000]

I ordered the XL pads and red shields for my matt black M100s.Can't wait for their arrival! Anyone have any idea how long regular shipping to Canada will take?

 

[Nirvana1000]

These headphones also sound excellent with Metal.They have the dynamic range,speed and quality bass that is needed for the double bass kick drum.

 

[adamlr]

but I would like to have an idea before I order them if people have made the move for comfort reasons also and if the M100 is working out much better for you? 

personally - yes. i had really bad comfort issues with the m-100, and no modding i did fixed the problem, only mitigated it.
with the xl pads, which i have slightly modded (just stuffed some cable under the pads for more depth), i can wear the m-100 for much longer before any discomfort arises. moreover, i try to take a 5 minute break after every hour of listening, which is supposedly good for your ears health (dont quote me on that though) and if i do that, i can spend hours with the m-100...
 

  The problem is, integrated sound cards suffer from signifgant interference due to their proxcimity and connectivity to the entire PC, and most integrated sound cards are of terrible quality as far as. There are exceptions, such as the ASUS Xonar Essence lineup, but their value is questionable. Their DAC is great, but interference problems coupled with not-so-great amplification generally leave even the best sound cards as a last choice. Additionally, for the price of high tier sound cards you could buy an Objective 2 amp/DAC combo, which is superior in every way as far as music listening is concerned. 

i dont think thats necessarily true... it is sometimes, but id hardly say that onboard dac\amps are always inferior. it all depends. my laptop had a very hissy headphone jack. whether it was the dac or amp i dont know, but i got an external set (see below) in order to overcome the problem. however, a friend of mine has a desktop computer and he installed some onboard soundcard (something by ASUS i think) and it sounds great too.
 

But yes, back on topic, the ODAC and Objective 2 are a great pairing with the M-100.

ill second that, i have the Odac+O2 and im very happy with them.

 

[golferbrad6664]

whats a better music player to use with an m100. Neutron or poweramp

 

[kyuuketsuki]

  whats a better music player to use with an m100. Neutron or poweramp

 
Neutron is better at decoding audio files (aka just sounds better). Poweramp has unmatched EQ. Both sound great though.

 

[Allucid]

whats a better music player to use with an m100. Neutron or poweramp

CanOpener. 3.99 on the App Store.

 

[money4me247]

hey if anyone is interested, I am thinking about selling my Shadow M100s (new, unopened box, still being shipped to me) at a discount b/c I got the HE400 during the black friday sale. Otherwise, I'll just return it. PM me if interested.

 

[kyuuketsuki]

CanOpener. 3.99 on the App Store.

 
You do realize that the two apps he asked about were Android apps and CanOpener is an iOS app... right? 

 

[asdfvtn]

whats a better music player to use with an m100. Neutron or poweramp

I tried them both, and for the sake of UI, I'm using poweramp. Neutron's UI is clunky. There's trials to use