[valkolton]

Quote:

 
Heh... the Mixr does indeed deserve its own circle of Hell: torturous clamping, rigid pads, and a metal frame that compounds said rigidity.  And that isn't to speak of the sound "quality."
 
Back on topic ~ I'm still searching for my optimal M-100 comfort positioning, but am now on my 3rd straight hour of listening without removing.

 
I think most people will find them comfortable, the clamping force on this first batch is slightly above our LP/LP2, but that can be fixed by gently bending the steelflex headband outwards if it is not naturally adjusting fast enough.  By the way, 3 hrs is longer than you should listen to headphones at any given time according to OSHA and moi, depending on your SPL:
 
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=9735

 

[TJB679]

Val are you going to reveal what the "easter egg" was exactly on the VTF-100's?...I removed the outer sleeve to reveal the more sleek package design and the qr code but it won't scan?...is this what you were referring to?

 

[BRSxIgnition]

Val are you going to reveal what the "easter egg" was exactly on the VTF-100's?...I removed the outer sleeve to reveal the more sleek package design and the qr code but it won't scan?...is this what you were referring to?

I managed to get it scanned with QuickMark, and it links to:

www.v-moda.com/m-100-box

Thing is, it didn't show anything, it just auto redirects to the main V-MODA page.

 

[fuzzyash]

Quote:

 
public class M100LaunchCountdown {
    public static void main (String[] args) {
        int count = 0;
        int launch_date = 60 //change this if the launch date is less than 60 days
        boolean v_moda = false;
        while (v_moda == false) {
            System.out.println("Must pre-order M-100's...");
            count++;
            if (count == launch_date) {
                v_moda = true;
            }
        }
        System.out.println("Veni. Vidi. Vici!");
    }
}
 
I think my Java programming skills are too rusty. XD
 

Those "cushions" were the most uncomfortable things I have ever worn. I'm surprised they added them to the Mixr headphone.

 
haha way better than java programming
only thing i remember from a year of it was system.out.println
i used comp sci class mostly for playing games 

 
its going to be interesting to see what the other 2 type of sound signatures val is looking to use in the next headphones

 

[Curly21029]

Quote:

By the way, 3 hrs is longer than you should listen to headphones at any given time according to OSHA and moi, depending on your SPL:
 
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=9735

 
Noted and taken under advisement.  However, my hearing was measured as being that of "an eight-year-old" (I'm now 28) during my last vist to the otolaryngologist, so pending this assessment doesn't degrade I fear that I may continue on this self-destructive course of rampant fandom.
 
...but yes, I've grown accustomed to rocking out at responsibly low volume levels.

 

[miceblue]

Noted and taken under advisement.  However, my hearing was measured as being that of "an eight-year-old" (I'm now 28) during my last vist to the otolaryngologist, so pending this assessment doesn't degrade I fear that I may continue on this self-destructive course of rampant fandom.

...but yes, I've grown accustomed to rocking out at responsibly low volume levels.

Whaaat? I need to go to a Costco hearing center to get my hearing checked out some day...the maximum frequency I can hear is around 17 kHz ± 500 Hz, and I'm 21 years old.

 

[Curly21029]

Quote:

Whaaat? I need to go to a Costco hearing center to get my hearing checked out some day...the maximum frequency I can hear is around 17 kHz ± 500 Hz, and I'm 21 years old.

 
Eh... it's not all it's cracked up to be.  The perpetual whine of electronics (some light bulbs, in particular) can be incredibly irksome and dozens of simultaneous conversations of bar patrons disorienting.  Additionally, I have an issue with my right eustachian tube that causes it to close periodically -- a physical defect resulting from being born with a slightly asymmetrical head.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Looks like Val was having a good old time at RMAF. Love the suit dude
 

 

[jonnio]

Here's my review after an exhaustive day of auditioning the M-100 while flying -- posted to the other "review" thread, but cross-posted here for folks that aren't following both.  Please don't excoriate me for not being as technical as some of the others, but hopefully this well help others like me.
 
Can't wait to get and review mine as well...I will be replacing this post with a multi-faceted review so that if anyone else is in my shoes they might get some help.  (My shoes are a budget conscience person who appreciates good music, doesn't have a huge history with high end headphones, but is looking for as close as possible to a single do-it-all product.)
 
iPhone/iPod portable use
Although my iPhone 4s is probably going to remain how I drive these guys the most, I have also been playing with my old 20 gig iPod (4^th gen I think) and am quite pleased.  I think Anakchan has covered the technical terms, so I will break it down a little differently.  For me, one of the things that I noticed was the way that I was immersed the music in a way that I haven’t yet been with my IEMs.  My first moment of this came with the squeezebox (read below), but I was even able to get it on the plane listening to Jimmy Buffett’s Boats Beaches Bars and Ballads.  If you closed your eyes you could visualize how the stage was set up when the songs were recorded, seeing Jimmy up front, his background singers spread on both sides of the stage just slightly behind him, etc…  It really did put you that into the music.  The harmonica portions just sang with beautiful clarity and detail to complement the rendering of the vocals and guitar.  The experience was so enjoyable I spent probably 2x as long listening to music today as I have on previous flights in the last few years.
 
The iPhone 4s does what I would consider an adequate job, which is really not a fair statement.  The M-100s driven this way really sound great and everyone I let hear them is blown away (except my wife, but that’s another story), but now that I have heard other sources I have to say it’s not my favorite.  That’s partially me though -- Had I plugged them into my phone and stopped there, I still would have loved these headphones, but the bass punch isn’t quite there and the general tone to me is just less pleasing.  (still learning the terms and I want to say that the mids seem more recessed).  Right now though, partially because of all of my experimentation, when I hear a wonderful sounding song I can’t help but think…what what this sound like with __________ (insert amp/DAC combo here)  I am going to keep tinkering with this setup though.  Mainly, all of my iPhone music has been either Rhapsody or Pandora, so I need to put some high quality tracks on there to ensure that I am giving the cans a fair shake when being driven by my 4s.
 
 
Being driven by my bedside Squeezebox at night
I can’t decide whether I should be excited or sad about this setup.  I am super excited because it sounds AMAZING, but sad that I really feel that I need to spend more money on my mobile setup now in order to try and get this level of fidelity on the go.  If you aren’t familiar with the old pre-logitech SLIM Devices products they were well known for solid components and design to produce high quality digital audio players.  In my house this is probably my best DAC/Amp setup for driving headphones…for now…  Listening to a lot of my standard tunes each and every new song that came on just put a smile on my face.  To maybe put some folks at ease, even in a perfectly quiet environment with a fairly high power amp I did not find the bass to be over powering or obnoxious.
 
This basically took all of the great immersion and sound characteristics that I mentioned above, but improved to a drastically noticeable degree.  I am actually a little disappointed sitting here typing this that I don’t have my boom with me at my bedside to be listening right now.
 
 
As gaming headphones paired with my Astro MixAmp
Prior to just recently this has been about 50% or more of my listening and I have been impressed.  I have spent a few evenings playing World of Warcraft (don’t laugh) which is a game renowned for its soundtrack and audio in general and I have to say, it has never sounded better.  The audio track is amazing and there is a whole new level of immersion to the game now.  This is one of the areas that the bass of the M-100 really shines.
 
<random detour> The other night while playing I got a phone call, so I thought I’d try something fun.  I had the game running into one ear and plugged the boom mic into my phone on the other side.  There was a seamless integration between my gaming and the phone call.  It was pretty cool.
 
Probably just as important is the mixamp and M-100 on a full 5.1 surround  sound game.  I fired up Halo Reach and went to town to see if the headphones would be able to hold their own in this setting.  The M-100s ability to accurately represent full surround sound was, in my opinion, a testament to the fabulous soundstage that it has for a closed can.  I have to imagine that the 598s do better in the surround sound arena and that the “gaming” headphones with super bright highs do better for enemy location, but for an enjoyable night of gaming, I can’t imagine much could top these.  The bass was strong and accurate, the background music was warm and the mids and highs made for an enjoyable, but realistic weapon firing sound.  Toss in the boom mic and I think the M-100 is a serious contender for someone that wants an audiophile/gaming headphone.
 
On an airplane with and without faders in
OK, so first things first about the M-100 in general as out and about headphones.  I spent from 0400 to 1900 today in airports/airplanes, so I got to do lots of experimenting.  I also took some of my IEMs with me etc…  In the airport, these are amazing and killed my IEMs, there is just enough isolation that the cans are able to shine to their maximum potential.  On the airplane, I am still torn.  I measured the background level of my last leg at 87 dB and it was a little quieter than my middle flight.  For music that has a constant background beat they are awesome and allow you to get the immersion that you get from less noisy environments, but for pieces that have very dynamic volumes and for movies I found the quiet scenes were having to compete with the background noise quite significantly.  I actually found myself constantly messing with the volume while watching Avengers, which is something I don’t typically do with my Shures, but admittedly some of this was due to the pilot making major changes in engine RPM etc…  However, the overall experience was still very positive and I think in many scenarios the sound was still superior to my less expensive IEMs and often rivaled my Shures.  I FOR SURE appreciated the bass boost while in these environments.  When competing with the drone of an engine that extra punch was very welcomed.
 
With the faders in a few things come to mind.  First, HOLY COW this is quiet, even without music playing there is almost no outside noise coming in.  Followed quickly by a second, wow, I can’t do this for long.  For me, there just isn’t enough room inside the headphone in order to have my ears, much less a pair of plugs in.  I went ahead and did some testing anyway and I can say that the faders do well, but still pull the mids way back and mute the highs to a quite dullness.  I was able to EQ a lot of this out such that I would probably use this as my default setup, if only I could live with it for more than 5-10 minutes.
 
As an aside – I wore just the faders for a bit on my first flight and actually found them quite enjoyable once I got them set.  I should have brought all the different size tips with me though as after an extended time wearing them my initial choice was wrong.
 
Closing Thoughts on Comfort
I really really wish the bigger pads were already out for these headphones.  As it is, I am going to give it the rest of this trip to see if I can get used to it, but a few times throughout the day I really was fatigued by wearing them.  For me, at this price point, I need to be able to wear them on these all day trips in order to justify the cost over my IEMs that I can wear for 3-4 hours at a time.  Granted, I went over 14 hours with most of the day having them on, but I was having to move them around here and there and sitting here now, 4 hours after I have last put them on, my ears are still a bit unhappy with me.  As much as I love the sound I am concerned that they aren't physically built for me, even though sonically they are exactly what I wanted.
 
Closing Thoughts on Build Quality
These headphones are really wonderfully built.  I have posted my thoughts in other places, but after more and more time with them, I just want to reiterate how much I enjoy picking them up.  It really gives a sense of money well spent because of the solid construction and attention to detail.

 

[JohnLD]

What are the major differences between the V-Moda Crossfade LP's and the M-100's that are coming out? should I stick with my Sennheiser HD439's and wait for the M-100's or buy the LP's now?

 

[valkolton]

I am finalizing the product description and press release right now for WEDNESDAY.  I hope I nailed the sound description.  I'll post some areas I may need input on.
 
-v 

 

[Octose]

Better sound quality (Similar to the M80s from what I've heard). Better construction quality, hinged design allowing for easier portability and storage and a whole bunch of different features including a more flexible headband etc., new cables, and so on. I'd wait for the m100s if I were you, especially if pre-orders are supposedly going live this Wednesday!
 
 
EDIT: Wow didn't realize I didn't quote this, in response to JohnLD

 

[Leon Dota]

Has anyone found out if the bits of cloth covering the vents of the M-100's make a difference in sound signature or anything of that sort?
 

 

[EveTan]

Quote:

Has anyone found out if the bits of cloth covering the vents of the M-100's make a difference in sound signature or anything of that sort?
 

For me, it doesn't seem to affect the sound signature. If it does, it's only by a little. I assume it's because the vents are already covered by felt. But compared to the M80s, which sounds really muffled when you cover them, the M100s shouldn't have much of a change.

 

[scrypt]

Quick notes (since I'm only just hearing the M-100s tonight and am cheating in the sense of listening without burn-in):
 
Even if V-Moda had missed a detail in the packaging and inclusions with my pre-release M-100s -- and I'm not saying they did -- aesthetically, they missed nothing. The box might have shipped in a bubble-wrap manila envelope and been slipped into open plastic that wasn't taped, but that's actually rather evocative.  It makes you feel the level of care was couture: handmade things are rarely factory-sealed. 
 
Every post-order note I made, every request down to the disposition of graphics on each shield, was lovingly observed. The obsessive attention to extras shows a level of care you're unlikely to find anywhere else.  It's as if that one customer service foont who made an exception for you at some superb but faceless audio company had quietly taken over said company and focused its attention solely on you.
 
Re the supposedly unbreakable build:
 
You have to be extremely careful with the matte black plastic or it's likely to scratch. There was already a slight ding on the left cup just above the metal shield when I received them.  I'm still wondering how I feel about that -- whether that sort of ding is inevitable with daily use or not.
 
False calamity 00.010a:
 
When I first plugged into my work computer via my Fiio E10, the resultant din was depressingly familiar: that silk-moth post-mortem gumbo, that '70s-car-stereo cavern effect, which afflicted the Crossfade LPs and, thankfully, never managed to infect the M-80s.  Heartsick, I found that my long-anticipated M-100s chirped, echoed and clicked as if the music had been run through an HLF. 
 
Then I remembered I hadn't used Fiio's LU1 extension to connect to the E10, which is necessary whenever an iPod cable is used.  Immediately, the bass and treble extension filled out and the soundstage became natural.  In the name of the fjord, what a monumental relief!
 
If only that had worked with the LPs!
 
To truly get a sense of the quality of these headphones, I'll have to compare them to the rest of the skull Edisons at my disposal, not my memories of the 'geists of noggin-sets past.
 
The surprising aspect of the sound so far is not the lows but the highs. Listening to the music of Anton Webern (as I tend to do while editing) and then switching to composer David Lang's "sunray" as played by Bang on a Can, it was the separation and clarity of the higher strings and percussion that interested me.  That sound we call "air" (really the sound of protracted exhalation) was quite forward, and the relationship between the instruments had the sort of detail I'd never heard from V-Moda from their IEMs to their circs.
 
Likewise, Bang on a Can's orchestration of Conlon Nancarrow's "Piano Study 11" was conveyed with such clarity that I could follow the sub-harmonies of each secondary or tertiary instrument (any of which outlined one of the contrapuntal voices) as if it were the lead. 
 
At first listen, the M-100's soundstage, though broader than that of the M-80, seems slightly more intimate than wide.  And truthfully, I'm more interested in detail than stadium simulation.
 
In the course of the night, I listened to DJ Food's 2012 album, The Search Engine (more modern digital production values than on the historically more important albums), Bill Evans' "Twelve Tone Tune" from Blue in Green (a bit boxy sounding on the M-100s -- the Live in Tokyo version was far more open and listenable because of the treble emphasis of the recording), Fred Frith's album of music for string quartet, The Eleventh Hour, DJ Hidden's The Words Below, Kangding Ray's album on Raster Noton, Automne Fold (talk about air -- the pads were positively breathy).  I'm still trying to decide what to think about the representation of low and muted instruments.  What I will say is that the M-100s can make you very conscious -- possibly too conscious -- of their sig when the music contains natural acoustic lows. I'm thinking specifically of classic studio jazz with upright bass.
 
(I don't intend to listen to any rock because, frankly, I've had to play on a lot of rock albums to make a living and that music always seems more anthropological than fresh unless I'm writing the arrangements for strings, which is always fun.  I've always found hiphop and electronic sessions more interesting than rock sessions, in which everyone's a musicologist whether they know it or not.  I do find black industrial music amusing.)
 
Deadmau5 is another matter completely on the M-100s:  If you play it on a source that emphasizes the club sound for which the music was made, the warmth and rumble are practically tactile.  Resonance filter sweeps tickle viscerally like the slow flourishes of foreplay in an upstairs dressing room as your nerve-ends register the spread of that endless pulse from the dance floor somewhere below.
 
I sampled DM5's 4x4 and thought the sound was both useful flat and responsive with careful lower end emphasis.  I didn't listen to the tracks with Melleefresh's voice because I have a girlfriend, for the love of ultraviolet chastity belts.
 
(OT:  If you want to hear one of the most aesthetically nuanced resonance filter sweep tracks ever recorded, have a listen to Monolake's "ionized.")
 
In terms of headphones and electronic frequency emphasis, Monolake's Momentum and Ghosts, and Bola's Gnayse and Kroungrine, are what I'll listen to more often than Deadmau5. I still use the decades-old Pole 3 to test low frequencies with desktop speakers -- if you can't hear them clearly and place them spatially, then buy a different set,   It's like a mutated subterranean version of the classic DX100 bass -- with its square wave like a filled rubber tub with click transients floating on the surface -- that used to be de rigeur on so many reggae sessions.
 
I meant to refrain from posting, but something about the combination of a club-friendly sig with near reference-level separation and detail left me prone to reminiscence. 
 
My hoary iPod Classic has been sucking on its USB iron lung for all this time.  It seems to be charged at last.
 
Until just now, I hadn't heard the spatial/reverberant qualities which other members had mentioned.  A different source and style of music seem to have brought out a widening sense of space and placement in the past twenty minutes.  Later, I'll determine whether that's related entirely to the recording, the source or both.
 
Clearly, dubstep uses reverb and panned echoes in particular ways that will bring out spatial elements in an exaggerated fashion.  But if the effect is really as striking as other members say, then it should be apparent with dry recordings as well. 
 
Imaging and soundstage's stadium trails become a bit more pronounced when the recording gives you a sense of space -- the feeling of three-dimensional sonic objects floating all around you.
 
In the past, I've noticed that reverb seems practically to awaken V-Moda headphones (like the right incantation does a mummy with a grudge)