[RenZixx]

Hi friends.

I´m thinking about buying the Crossfade 2 Wireless aptX codec and I want to know the difference between my M100 and Crossfade 2. Does still keep the same sound and the same bass? I´ve read that the sound with cable is better and louder.

Thanks a lot.

Well what is your taste in music?

 

[fune]

Well what is your taste in music?

Hi.

Electronic music. Depeche Mode, Jarre, 80´s, ATB, Covenant, Digitalism, Kraftwerk, Orkidea, Orbital, Royskopp, Torul......more? jajajaja.

Any balanced cable to buy?

Thanks.

 

[stuck limo]

Hi.

Electronic music. Depeche Mode, Jarre, 80´s, ATB, Covenant, Digitalism, Kraftwerk, Orkidea, Orbital, Royskopp, Torul......more? jajajaja.

Any balanced cable to buy?

Thanks.

You'd want to stick to M100 then, generally speaking.

Balanced cables I use which are nice-ish, but definitely not the "nicest" (but work):

https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...44036054&sr=8-3&keywords=vmoda+balanced+cable

https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...44036054&sr=8-2&keywords=vmoda+balanced+cable

 

[CarlosAudio51]

I've read a few posts/discussions on whether balanced headphones are actually worth it or not. I'm not looking for responses on the merits/disadvantages of balanced headphones. I want to try it for myself, so has anybody tried to mod the M100 for balanced audio?

My DAC/headphone amp is a Fiio Q1 Mk II whose, according to the link below, 2.5 mm TRRS balanced socket has a R-,R+,L+,L- wiring.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...-ak4452-20-hours.855282/page-37#post-14147090

To convert the M100 to balanced audio, the cable connecting the 2 earpieces needs to be cut to remove the common ground between the earpieces. Each earpiece has a 3.5 mm TRS socket. So the question is, what is the correct wiring of the new Y-cable (2.5 mm TRRS plug to 2x 3.5 mm TRS plugs)?

I've been emailing back and forth with surfcables.com and this is their answer:
- Each 3.5 mm TRS plug has to be a long-shaft to fit the V-MODA cavities.
- Connect 2.5mm tip (R-) and ring1 (R+) to right channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is not connected, ring is R+ and sleeve is R-).
- Connect 2.5mm ring2 (L+) and sleeve (L-) to left channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is L+ and sleeve is L- and ring is not connected).

Is this correct? Does anybody know of an aftermarket cable that meets these requirements?

Surfcables.com also responded with the wiring for a new unbalanced cable (now that the earpiece-to-earpiece cable has been cut). It's a Y cable with 3.5 mm TRS plug to 2x 3.5mm TRS plugs wired as follows:
- At least the left/right channels 3.5 mm TRS plugs have to be long-shaft to fit the V-MODA cavities.
- Connect 3.5mm source (ring= R+, sleeve = ground) to right channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is not connected, Ring is R+ and sleeve is ground).
- Connect 3.5mm source (tip = L+, sleeve = ground) to left channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is L+ and sleeve is ground and ring is not connected).

Is this correct? Does anybody know of an aftermarket cable that meets these requirements?

Now we have a balanced and an unbalanced cable.

EDIT: Just saw the post above about the NewFantasia cables. Would this work for the balanced cable?
https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...44036054&sr=8-2&keywords=vmoda+balanced+cable
The product page also does not state that the earpiece-to-earpiece cable has to be cut, which to my understanding is necessary to get a truly balanced audio out of the M100. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[RenZixx]

Hi.

Electronic music. Depeche Mode, Jarre, 80´s, ATB, Covenant, Digitalism, Kraftwerk, Orkidea, Orbital, Royskopp, Torul......more? jajajaja.

Any balanced cable to buy?

Thanks.

Ah! If you do not really mind slight leak (and I mean slight) go for a used pair of Fostex tr-X00 for that aggressive signature or a pair of Argon MK3. But if you want that wompin thompin bass that just womps your head and doesn't really get muddy go for the M100.

 

[fune]

I've read a few posts/discussions on whether balanced headphones are actually worth it or not. I'm not looking for responses on the merits/disadvantages of balanced headphones. I want to try it for myself, so has anybody tried to mod the M100 for balanced audio?

My DAC/headphone amp is a Fiio Q1 Mk II whose, according to the link below, 2.5 mm TRRS balanced socket has a R-,R+,L+,L- wiring.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...-ak4452-20-hours.855282/page-37#post-14147090

To convert the M100 to balanced audio, the cable connecting the 2 earpieces needs to be cut to remove the common ground between the earpieces. Each earpiece has a 3.5 mm TRS socket. So the question is, what is the correct wiring of the new Y-cable (2.5 mm TRRS plug to 2x 3.5 mm TRS plugs)?

I've been emailing back and forth with surfcables.com and this is their answer:
- Each 3.5 mm TRS plug has to be a long-shaft to fit the V-MODA cavities.
- Connect 2.5mm tip (R-) and ring1 (R+) to right channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is not connected, ring is R+ and sleeve is R-).
- Connect 2.5mm ring2 (L+) and sleeve (L-) to left channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is L+ and sleeve is L- and ring is not connected).

Is this correct? Does anybody know of an aftermarket cable that meets these requirements?

Surfcables.com also responded with the wiring for a new unbalanced cable (now that the earpiece-to-earpiece cable has been cut). It's a Y cable with 3.5 mm TRS plug to 2x 3.5mm TRS plugs wired as follows:
- At least the left/right channels 3.5 mm TRS plugs have to be long-shaft to fit the V-MODA cavities.
- Connect 3.5mm source (ring= R+, sleeve = ground) to right channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is not connected, Ring is R+ and sleeve is ground).
- Connect 3.5mm source (tip = L+, sleeve = ground) to left channel 3.5mm TRS (tip on this is L+ and sleeve is ground and ring is not connected).

Is this correct? Does anybody know of an aftermarket cable that meets these requirements?

Now we have a balanced and an unbalanced cable.

EDIT: Just saw the post above about the NewFantasia cables. Would this work for the balanced cable?
https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...44036054&sr=8-2&keywords=vmoda+balanced+cable
The product page also does not state that the earpiece-to-earpiece cable has to be cut, which to my understanding is necessary to get a truly balanced audio out of the M100. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

So, you are telling us that there are no funcional balanced cables for the M100? Balanced cables are not really "balanced"? A new Fiio M9 is coming and I want to connect this to my M100 and my Revonext QT2. Revonext has a balanced cable and it´s a low cost in ear headphone.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-5mm-to-3...rossfade-LP-LP2-M-100-M-80-V-80-/292724437238

Is this what your are looking for?

 

[CarlosAudio51]

So, you are telling us that there are no funcional balanced cables for the M100? Balanced cables are not really "balanced"? A new Fiio M9 is coming and I want to connect this to my M100 and my Revonext QT2. Revonext has a balanced cable and it´s a low cost in ear headphone.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-5mm-to-3...rossfade-LP-LP2-M-100-M-80-V-80-/292724437238

Is this what your are looking for?

No, what I'm saying is that the M100 has dual inputs. You can send a stereo unbalanced signal to either earpiece. This means that the 2 earpieces share a common ground. This is required for unbalanced signals. If you are trying to mod the M100 for balanced audio, you need to remove the common ground (by cutting earpiece-to-earpiece cable).

Scenario A: Leave earpiece-to-earpiece cable as is.
Regardless of whether you replace the cable with a balanced cable, the 2 earpieces will still have a common ground. According to the person I was emailing with at Surfcables, the sleeve in the 3.5 mm TRS sockets is the ground in both earpieces and are connected thru the earpiece-to-earpiece cable. If you plug in a balanced cable, the 2 earpiece will still share a common cable, defeating the purpose of the balanced setup. Now I'm not entirely sure how much this effect actually is. Maybe somebody with better knowledge on the forum can answer.

Scenario B: Cut the earpiece-to-earpiece cable
No communication of left/right earpieces. The Y balanced cable can provide R+,R- to right earpiece, and L+,L- to left earpiece.

On the Revonext QT2, I haven't researched them thoroughly but based on the Amazon page, this does NOT come with a balanced cable. The picture shows a TRS plug on the source. You CANNOT transmit a balanced stereo signal over a TRS plug. Only thing the QT2 cable does is separate left/right channels but the ground still join either at the Y or at the TRS plug.

No, that eBay cable won't work. Wrong 2.5 mm TRRS plug wiring for Fiio Q1 Mk II. That cable has a very uncommon 2.5 mm TRRS wiring (L+L-R+R-). Not sure what amp these will fit. Also, the 3.5 mm TRRS plug will not work because the M100 has TRS sockets. Well, I say the M100 has TRS sockets based on Surfcables feedback. I haven't actually disassembled the M100 before to confirm this. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[fune]

No, what I'm saying is that the M100 has dual inputs. You can send a stereo unbalanced signal to either earpiece. This means that the 2 earpieces share a common ground. This is required for unbalanced signals. If you are trying to mod the M100 for balanced audio, you need to remove the common ground (by cutting earpiece-to-earpiece cable).

Scenario A: Leave earpiece-to-earpiece cable as is.
Regardless of whether you replace the cable with a balanced cable, the 2 earpieces will still have a common ground. According to the person I was emailing with at Surfcables, the sleeve in the 3.5 mm TRS sockets is the ground in both earpieces and are connected thru the earpiece-to-earpiece cable. If you plug in a balanced cable, the 2 earpiece will still share a common cable, defeating the purpose of the balanced setup. Now I'm not entirely sure how much this effect actually is. Maybe somebody with better knowledge on the forum can answer.

Scenario B: Cut the earpiece-to-earpiece cable
No communication of left/right earpieces. The Y balanced cable can provide R+,R- to right earpiece, and L+,L- to left earpiece.

On the Revonext QT2, I haven't researched them thoroughly but based on the Amazon page, this does NOT come with a balanced cable. The picture shows a TRS plug on the source. You CANNOT transmit a balanced stereo signal over a TRS plug. Only thing the QT2 cable does is separate left/right channels but the ground still join either at the Y or at the TRS plug.

No, that eBay cable won't work. Wrong 2.5 mm TRRS plug wiring for Fiio Q1 Mk II. That cable has a very uncommon 2.5 mm TRRS wiring (L+L-R+R-). Not sure what amp these will fit. Also, the 3.5 mm TRRS plug will not work because the M100 has TRS sockets. Well, I say the M100 has TRS sockets based on Surfcables feedback. I haven't actually disassembled the M100 before to confirm this. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Firstly sorry for my English.

Ok, now I understand you. If we don't cut the common cable between the aerpieces we won't get a balanced sound although we connect a balanced cable to the M100. Anyone want to try this? jajajaja.

On the other hand, my Fiio M9 has a 2.5 balanced output and a new upgrade balanced cable is coming to Spain from China for my Revonext QT2. I'll tell you if I notice something special with the new one. The only thing I know is that the 2.5mm balanced output is more powerful than the 3.5mm and this is a good thing for all of our headphones regardless the positive and negative signals are working inside the cable.

To sum up, it is not the best idea to mod the M100 I think. With the famous upgrade cable which we have all in this thread, the sound is great.

 

[Not an Audiophile]

Hello! After 4 years, my V-MODA Crossfade M-100s are still what I use in my every day commute, and the "vegan" leather handband has gotten so bad to the point it's not looking too great. Luckily, when I googled the issue, it seems to be a common issues with V-MODA headphones before the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless' and I found that you can completely peel off all the "vegan" leather off. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the headband before I started peeling away all the material, and by the time I remembered, I was already half way done.

I thought I would reflect on this whole process, as a nice first post to the Head-Fi forums, and maybe someone will find it helpful, even though it seems to be common sense, I didn't think to completely peel off the plastic-like leather until I saw @dosie's pictures, as shown here.

So I started the process off with a piece of cloth and some 90% isopropyl alcohol. I dipped the cloth into some isopropyl alcohol and ran it along where the plastic-like leather is stitched to the nylon mesh cushion, and to my amazement, the "leather" wiped off quite easily. There was also some type of membrane-like layer that the "leather" is stuck to, and sometime it doesn't wipe off along with the leather, but applying some pressure seemed to have dissolve it. After I wiped off all the vegan leather on the underside, I moved on to the sides then finally the top portion, where the V-MODA logo is proudly stamped. This is where I had to use some actual strength, of course rubbing the alcohol-soaked cloth parallel to the headband wasn't going to work, so I have to rub the cloth perpendicular to the headband, and once again, it wiped off easily, still leaving behind the membrane-like residue. When it got to the outer wing plates that bear the V-MODA logos in black (I have the Shadow Black variant of the M-100s), it seemed like the leather goes underneath it, so I had to unscrew the inner-side wing plates, that bears the L & R icons, but it looks like it's stuck or something, so I just screwed them back in place and left the leather material be, since I didn't want to risk cracking the wing plates (another common issue with V-MODA headphones).

Then finally, it looks more pleasant again!

The plastic leather stuck under the wing plates

The plastic leather + membrane-like residue that was wiped off

Some notes I have taken so far:

• When I was wiping the top side of the headband with the cloth and isopropyl alcohol, I went a little overboard, so the headband was kind of wet when I was done. I let it dry out for about an hour or so, which is a bit overkill, since alcohol dries quickly, but hopefully I didn't do any damage to the headphones themselves since it is isopropyl alcohol and the headphones were not powered.
• The fabric underneath the leather is very smooth
• The fabric seems to attract a lot of lint and fibers to itself, so I occasionally have to pick them off
• If you are too rough with the cloth when wiping off the leather, you can cause fabric pilling
• I feel like these headphones will no longer be viable to wear in the rain, since it could drench the fabric and maybe cause corrosion. So to be extra careful on my commutes, I can only have them on during the ride. (Which sucks, since Vancouver is known for its rainy weather )

I personally think it looks even better now without the leather, but with some trade-offs.

 

[dosie]

Thanks, you can use black color acrylic paint to paint the garment and make the cloth layer back to black again.
And for the rain issue, you can use water repellent spray. Cheers

 

[stuck limo]

I might end up doing this for mine. It's peeling very very badly, but I'm too lazy to really do anything about it.

 

[hifinoob005]

Not sure if this has been discussed before, I would like some clarification in regards to the bass port. It's not mentioned at all on the V moda website.

On the exterior (under the plate) there seems to be a fabric patch(5:13):


This one just shows the jack input.


Can't find a picture with the interior.

Does the port actually exist?
Has anyone tried modding it?
If it were covered up would it improve isolation and sonic performance?

 

[RenZixx]

Not sure if this has been discussed before, I would like some clarification in regards to the bass port. It's not mentioned at all on the V moda website.

On the exterior (under the plate) there seems to be a fabric patch(5:13):


This one just shows the jack input.


Can't find a picture with the interior.

Does the port actually exist?
Has anyone tried modding it?
If it were covered up would it improve isolation and sonic performance?

Yes, it will improve isolation no doubt. But if you find the M100 too bassy/flabby/muddy then sure cover it (when you cover it make sure to experiment with covering quarter, half or maybe full). If you cover too much of the port then that would result in a 1k peak and that would be a slightly cuppy feel. But make sure to experiment, afterall the modding game is all about trial and error.

 

[jwalsh1]

Ive found conflicting reports...are these truly circumaural? Id be using these on flights and dont want anything resting on my ears but rather around.

 

[SolaVirtus]

I think it depends on which pads and your ear size. For my average sized ears, the XL pads are truly around-ear, though still snug. The stock/standard pads are certainly smaller and harder for me to call them around-ear.