[Greggo]

+100
 
My experience exactly, though I am only half way there... I switched to XL pads and fell in love with the improved comfort, but the reality for me is that the sound changed just as you described.  I have been spreading the love a bit for the M-100 because I think it is a great value for those wanting good sound at a fair price with some decent portability.  If I hadn't of ripped the stock pads trying to get them off, I would be back with them right now for exactly the same reasons you described above.
 
WIth the XL pads, they sound very nice at very low volume, like a "loudness" button on an old stereo receiver, but crank them up and the bass craps all over everything.  Not as bad as other bass head phones, but bad enough for me to lose interest.
 
I am just going to live with the XL for little while longer and order some stock pads soon.  What a bummer.  If only the stock version of these cans were a tad lighter, had cups that could rotate just a bit more from front to back when on your head (they don't do this at all, and I feel pressure more at the back of my ears than the front because of it), and had just a tiny bit more comfort in the stock pad.... they would be perfect.  I think the stock sound is "on the money" and that is why I will still be keeping these for a long time.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Switched the XL pads back to stock yesterday and wow, what a difference. With the stock pads the bass is far tighter and less wooly, and as a result the midrange is more clear. The sound is also a little more intimate which i assume is because the drivers are closer to the ear. Listening with the stock pads the sound is far more tolerable without an eq, and so I'm leaving them on. For me the slight loss in comfort is worth it for the better sound, as the XL pads spoil the best part of the M100's sound-the tight and controlled, deep-reaching bass.

All those aspects sounds like big plus to me (and my preferences, "intimate sound" for example is a subjective preference and I like it that way when it's "in-my-face"). I'm surprised not more people are critically listening for differences with the pads but guess some people value the comfort much higher, I know personally I couldn't settle for a worse sound even if comfort is improved. xD Sound differences are the first thing I usually focus on with padswaps to know if I will leave it like that or not.

 

[designbykai]

I wouldn't call it worse sound, just different. But I did notice the difference when I swapped to xl pads; definitely not as tight/detailed bass. I'm tempted to switch back to stock and compare again with a few fav tracks. But I really warmed to the XL sound (find it great on DnB and glitch/idm which I listen to mostly these days), and comfort. The improved isolation is a positive for commuting too. Its a tough one, especially if you don't have fit issues with stock pads (I didn't).

You really need to try both for yourself and come to your own conclusions before forming an opinion I feel. If I hadn't read these forums I may not have noticed the difference in sound that much; its not massive.

On another note I'll be picking my Fiio Rc-MH1 cable up from the post office this week sometime, look forward to seeing how it fares. The fluro orange default cable is getting on my nerves (colour) and is still heavily kinked after months of use. Plus it has unnecessary iphone controls/mic which I never use and could possibly be degrading the signal path. I found the share play cable to be a bit better for some reason but it kept making my DAP pause playback (contacts issue). I doubt the fiio will sound any different, have rarely if ever have heard a difference in SQ with cables, but it has a lower impedance so should be a bit louder with less volume/amping.

Also found it interesting that with the new Focal Spirit Professional, Focal admitted the 'portable' cable with inline controls isnt as good quality and doesnt provide the sq of the coiled one. Makes me skeptical of all cables with mic really.

 

[PsychoGenetiX]

I made a new breakbeat track! Enjoy!!!
 
https://soundcloud.com/psychogenetix/swept-away-breakbeat-version
 
Mastered and mixed on the M-100's, should be the most enjoyable on them.

 

[Mr Pineappleman]

Customized my M100's today with new black shields and the XL Pads.
Before

After

Just look at that detail!

 

[AngryGuy]

This might have come up before, but does anyone know if the production model of the BoomPro cable is different from the BoomPro cable that was included for M100 preorders back when they came out?

I remember someone talking to V-Moda about it way back when and saying that the one in the preorders was not a final revision but I do wonder if they actually ended up changing anything with it or not. 

 

[JonnyN]

So its well into 2014 now and as far as I know its still next to impossible to get accessories like the BoomPro microphone or CoilPro cable in Europe (specifically the UK). Does anyone know of any announcement by V-MODA or Val about why its taking so damn long?! I don't want to be having to pay to ship things from the US just to get the accessories I want and I'd love to be able to use the M100's as a gaming headset

 

[Andii]

The pair that I bought recently were defective. They pass audio, it even sounds like its reproducing all frequencies, just with a very harsh eq curve that's anemic in the lows and not punchy. They just sound like normally functioning terrible headphones, thats the best way to describe it. They went back and forth between sounding amazing and as described to that and then remained that way. I tried different cables and both jacks. Its a strange issue, probably a bad connection somewhere.

Between that and the earcups collapsing slightly and the grills causing pain they have to be returned. what a terrible experience. They sounded amazing when they were working properly. I'm out around $30 of shipping costs.

I would just get it resolved with vmoda support but I emailed them once about the earpad issue and got a bad vibe from them. I don't have time, money and patience enough to send anything back and forth in the mail until I have some that work right.

 

[SkiJunkie]

Customized my M100's today with new black shields and the XL Pads.


Before





After





Just look at that detail!

 


Wow. That looks almost 3D.

 

[iAmCalm]

  I made a new breakbeat track! Enjoy!!!
 
https://soundcloud.com/psychogenetix/swept-away-breakbeat-version
 
Mastered and mixed on the M-100's, should be the most enjoyable on them.

 
despite your shameless self-promotion by way of excessive use of giant bold text, I quite enjoyed your little jam.  
especially the bluesy riff that goes from about 00:00:27-00:00:40
nice.

 

[PsychoGenetiX]

   
despite your shameless self-promotion by way of excessive use of giant bold text, I quite enjoyed your little jam.  
especially the bluesy riff that goes from about 00:00:27-00:00:40
nice.

 
I admit that might seem quite blatant, but this is like the only place I post these things. I don't promote myself or sell my music.
What's most important for me is for people to enjoy it (and possibly give me tips while they're at it).
 
I used bold text because I noticed posts tend to get buried unless they include pictures... And I won't spam pictures for my post to get noticed.
 
What I do when I post one of my tracks on here is refresh the page every 10 minutes for the next couple of hours to see if anybody listened to it and how they liked it. So that's enough proof I guess that I'm not trying to self-promote or anything.
 
Thanks for listening though, and good to know you enjoyed it!

 

[PsychoGenetiX]

  Customized my M100's today with new black shields and the XL Pads.
Before

After

Just look at that detail!

 
Awesome! Skyrim!!!
 
Nice shields bro.
 
Edit: This was unintentionally a double post. Sorry x3

 

[miceblue]

Engadget has some pretty nice electronic music playing in replace of their CES 2014 live coverage.
http://www.engadget.com/

It sounds pretty awesome with the M-100s.

 

[JPFrost]

I'm so pissed right now.
 
Almost a month ago I ordered the XL Pads and audio cable. As I live in the Netherlands I knew it would take a while and customs would only slow the process. After a couple of inquiries with the courier service, the pckage finally was released and on its way to my home. Or so I thought. The track and trace service informed me that the package was returned to sender yesterday as they tried to deliver it to the wrong address and the package was denied.
 
Apparently, V Moda put the incorrect address on the shipment and it has been sent back to the US. As ordering from the official website is currently the only way for me to get a hold of these products, I'm already paying quite a lot to receive the package (especially considering the customs charges, but that's not V Moda's fault).
 
I've read good stories from you guys about their customer service, so I'm curious to see if they can live up to the good reviews. Not sure if Val will read this, or if he feels inclined to respond, but I'm quite dissatisfied to say the least.
 
There isn't anybody from Europe who happens to have their XL pads for sale on these forums?

 

[dragoonv]

I've got few, but I am not in Europe.