Well, here it is, folks: my reasons for rejecting the new M-100 Master without even personally listening to it (in no particular order). Bon appetit!
1. I do
extreme EQ'ing and amping with my portable setup, and everything I've read leads me to believe that the original M-100 is better-suited for that purpose than the new model. For example, in my portable system with everything combined, 40 Hz typically gets a grand-total boost of 30-60 dB for most songs. And it is running though a Cayin C5 portable amp, which probably does about 900 mW RMS.
2. The language that V-Moda uses (on their website) to introduce the new model...doesn't contain any buzzwords that would spark my interest over the original model. Nothing about increased power handling, X-max, or sub-bass sensitivity.
3. I could care less about "Hi-Res Audio" stickers and 40,000 Hz. The original model already sounds great as it is.
4. I'm unenthusiastic and unconvinced about the things most of the positive reviews for the new model say, and
the negative reviews for it make a lot more sense for what I value in a headphone. I love my bassy headphones and my lossy MP3s at my longtime chosen bitrate of 192 kbps.
5. According to most reviews and charts,
the new model has less bass and flatter treble than the original. I prefer a more V-shaped sound.
6. The new model
uses the same driver as the Crossfade 2 Wireless (CF2W) that came out in 2017 -- a model which I'm also unenthusiastic about and passed over, as well.
7. My EQ-preset app is used to adjust the sub-bass, midbass, and treble to match each song that's currently playing on the original M-100 -- correcting the midbass / lower-midrange
bloat that tends to occur with a lot of songs on the original M-100 without an EQ. My app gives the original M-100
an amazing soundstage and presence -- and with its excellent sub-bass sensitivity that also enables it to "hit" and "throb" at the same time.
In other words, I can already make the original M-100 sound awesome as it is. The extra "soundstage benefit" of the new model is utterly moot for me.
8. I'm concerned that the new model has less sub-bass (and midbass) sensitivity and SPL capability than the original model -- especially with the thicker earpads creating a larger interior earcup enclosure space that the bass has to fill up, and without any better drivers (for this purpose) that can overcome this loss.
9. The new model
doesn't create enough of an added benefit to me...in order to justify a huge revision of all my 2 sets of more that 600 custom EQ presets in my app. I'd have to figure out an "adjustment formula" to make it sound similar to my original M-100s, and then modify each and every one of these 1200+ presets for the new headphone model. That's a heck of a big project, and is simply not worth it in this case.
10. Now for the sad reasons. Much to my disappointment and dismay, the entire headphone industry seems to be moving away from headphones that have very much bass emphasis. Whether browsing the Head-Fi forums, whether visiting the
local hi-fi headphone shop in my home city recently, or even while surfing V-Moda's website, it is all very clear that bassy headphones are not only
not being improved upon for "hardcore basshead" tastes and purposes, but these models are also being phased out and discontinued from sales and production, as well. Very, very sad.
Because this is the general trend in the headphone industry, I have every reason to believe that V-Moda's new M-100 Master is also following in this direction, as well: toward less bass emphasis.
11. I've really been disappointed with the direction V-Moda has gone in since it merged with Roland in 2016. Val Kolton sold 70% of his ownership stake in V-Moda to Roland in August 2016, and then
sold his remaining stake to Roland in early 2019. Val is no longer there at V-Moda,
it's unclear whether V-Moda's design studio in Milan, Italy, still exists there or not, and V-Moda no longer exhibits at any of Head-Fi's CanJam festivals -- not even the one in the Los Angeles metro area where V-Moda's international headquarters and warehouse are located! Neither Val nor any V-Moda staff make any more posts on Head-Fi, nor do they interact with the users and fans on Head-Fi anymore as they did years ago, either. Really, really sad.
12. Saddest of all...V-Moda told me in an e-mail that
they no longer are manufacturing any additional units of the original M-100. So once they sell out of what's left in their inventory, that's it. So not only is Val Kolton gone from V-Moda, but his ultimate pride and joy (i.e., the original M-100) will also be gone from V-Moda sooner or later, as well. In fact, personally, I plan on unsubscribing from V-Moda's e-mail list in the near future, as they've sadly gone off in a different direction than where my tastes and preferences are.
13. Because the new M-100 Master isn't available in China yet (where I live), because I personally can't listen to a pair in any convenient and economical way right now, and because I'd like to grab a couple of unused extra pairs of the original M-100 while I still can (and still get a warranty on them), then this situation has totally forced my hand and has forced me to act now based on the information I have.
14. On average, one of my M-100 headphone drivers tends to wear out and get blown about once every two years, due to the extreme sub-bass of my system. I need a couple of unused new pairs
right now while I can still get them with a warranty, so I can start using them immediately in my dual-listening setup. This way, I can make sure they aren't
lemons. All my other pairs of M-100s can be relegated to "spare-tire" status: to be used as backup. And this is the way it's going to be for many more years, or even longer.
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So ladies and gentlemen, that's what's been happening. Hopefully I'm making a little more sense now.
Oh well....
LONG LIVE THE ORIGINAL M-100!
, I went ahead and ordered two additional pair of original M-100s from Tmall!
Ha ha
And the new model's barely been out for a month!!!!!!!!!!!!
You might be right about that.
