[supracrazy_tommy]

For those that pre ordered it recently, like a few days ago.  It really is still in pre order stage meaning that these aren't the general release ?  I just want to know if I really have to wait till 2 months to actually get the headphones.

 

[robble]

Quote:

For those that pre ordered it recently, like a few days ago.  It really is still in pre order stage meaning that these aren't the general release ?  I just want to know if I really have to wait till 2 months to actually get the headphones.

M-100's have a slated release of december, so yeah, it'll be round 2 months

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

Is there a limit to how much an amp can improve these headphones then? When compared to just direct computer audio (standard)? 

When I ran them straight out of my old iPod touch they sounded compressed compared to my RX MKII. When I ran them out of my Studio V which is supposed to be a audiophile DAP with a good amp section they also sounded pretty good albeit not as good as my RX MKII. I still haven't run them out of my UHA-4 but from my experience with other cans my UHA-4 isn't to far behind my pricier RX MKII. As for limits, a headphone is tuned a certain way and if you want to drastically change the sound you won't do it with an amp. If you want that you want an EQ where you can tune it to where you like. As for onboard audio, my computer is a 18 month old cheapy Acer tri core laptop which sounds ok but not great. Before that I had a Toshiba Satellite which sounded terrible. Tp my ears my amps make my headphones sound better. Be warned though, some headphones will respond quite well while others the audio changes will be very subtle and for a lot of people not worth the extra money to amp. The M-80 for example when amped the changes are very subtle while the the M-100 it isn't as subtle to my ears. Again, this is just my early findings using only my RX MKII and my Studio V. The big difference for me was the soundstage of the M-100. Everything sounded more compressed and muffled when I didn't amp it. Unamped the sound was ok but I liked it better amped.

 

[Emospence]

Is there some format the picture file for custom design has to be in?

 

[miceblue]

I'm still in my listening/burning-in phase. The only other pair of quality headphones I own is the M-80 and I've been doing some A/B-ing and testing with my phone and laptop, both amped and umamped and don't feel I've spent enough time to really nail down what I'm hearing and how to describe it.

My initial thoughts echo the characteristics that others have already noted:
- Wider soundstage than the M-80.
- Much deeper, extended bass response (mine purrs from my phone[Wolfson DAC] with or without an amp).
- Sparkly, crisp treble is present and actually changes some of the songs I've listened to dozens of times with the M-80.
- Sounds fantastic plugged directly into my phone or laptop, and even better with an amp(cMoyBB v2.03), but it's not a crazy difference where I couldn't live without the amp. I will note that if you have an amp with bass boost, like the cMoy does, you're in for a treat. While the amp affects the M-80 slightly, but not in anyway that justifies buying an amp for it, the M-100s absolutely take whatever you decide to run through it and literally has a blast. Bass boost switch on cMoy + M-100 + Dubstep = Eargasm! Purr? Try roar!
- Mids are more recessed than M-80. Actually, the bass seems a bit recessed, too. Because of the wider soundstage on the M-100, your position in relation to where the music is coming is set a bit further back, whereas the M-80s have a more in-your-face, sitting next to the speakers kind of feel. I remember someone saying that it seemed like the M-80s had a stronger bass impact, and, depending on your source or whether or you not you have an amp, it does sound that way. I made the same observation when I first A/B'ed them and actually preferred the sound of the M-80 over the M-100. Once I played around with my cMoy and the bass boost switch, I realized that the M-100s bass is miles ahead of the M-80s and requires that you feed it the proper juice.
- Last thing. On the M-80, a particularly drafty day will lead to a wind tunnel effect on the headphones replacing your New Found Glory cover of Rocketman with a horrible whooshing sound. Not so with the M-100. Maybe that's the purpose of the felt cloth adhered to the vents beneath our V-MODA crests. The M-80s lack this piece of felt.

I'll have a more detailed review when I spend another week or two with them.

Width ≠ depth in terms of soundstage.
If I recall correctly, the M-100 has nice depth, but a rather limited width (in comparison to the SRH940). Other people have said it has nice width.
I'll need to do more listening, but I might be confusing instrument separation with soundstage width. The M-100 has very nice instrument separation from the time I listened to it.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Hm, so I'm having some pretty serious problems with comfort with these!  The cups are just too shallow and my ears press up against the driver housing, and it's pretty painful!  I did stuff some tissues under the back of the earcups though, which seems to have helped quite a bit but it's still not perfect.  I really hope that if those larger earpads come out, they offer extra depth too, because that's the main problem I'm having right now!
 
But that aside, the sound is pretty excellent.  I was worried I was maybe getting some channel imbalance in the bass, but it's probably just me...for some reason, certain headphones and IEMs do that for me (probably a strange hearing loss of some sort, I should have it checked out).  But anyway, these are actually surprisingly dark!  I didn't expect them to sound so bassy all across the spectrum, but they still sound clear and open somehow.  In a way the M-80 sounds a bit...clearer, possibly because of the slightly lowered bass levels?  But the M-100 seems to extend more on both ends, and just have a nicer sound overall.

Gonna need to give them some more time though!  Hopefully the comfort doesn't bug me too much.
 
Oh also, the issue with getting the wrong colour is apparently my fault, apparently I had actually ordered the Shadow in the first place but just hadn't noticed it!  Oh well, no big deal.  I am going to get the shield engraving redone though - it turned out a bit too pixelated due to the file I sent in being too low-res, and also that it was actually a scanned ballpoint drawing...I vector-ified it though and sent them a new one, and also asked for the design to be a little bit bigger, and hopefully it turns out perfectly next time!  Customer service was really nice to talk to, and were prepared to go the extra mile to help me out!
 
Actually, one of the reps here on the forum PM'd me about my issues when I first posted them just a few pages back!  Pretty awesome.

 

[Octose]

Quote:

 
Awesome! I love the listening to this also with Q40 + ZO2.1, I feel every drop as "punching" my head in a similar way as a speaker do but for the body. 

Baauer is the man!!!! 

If you like this listen to these songs


TNGHT - Higher Ground
Settle Down (Baauer Remix)
Move to the Ocean (Baauer Remix)


Baauer has a lot of other great stuff too - TNGHT, LUNICE, Hudson Mohawke, All those guys are great!!!

 

[IBeN8]

I just bought a Fiio E6 for my M-100. does anyone have this amp with their m-100? does it improve the sound? make it worse?
 
btw i have an ipod nano 6th gen

 

[dilinator]

Val, as far as I have read, Faders seem to be designed for concerts/gigging environments. Have you ever thought of making a version just for plane travel? Planes have identifiable  range of frequencies which you get in the cabin, which only seem to change slightly depending on where you are relative to the engines. In fact, I would think of the cabin as akin to a formant filter, with parts of the cabin and the position of the cabin relative to the engine emphasising some frequencies in a band-pass sort of way. 
 
Perhaps a passive set of earplugs with a mechanical (fader) switch that alters the representation of some frequencies?

 

[Craigster75]

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Vastly superior across the board, now you have me drooling. Would you say the bass is more, less or similarly emphasized compared to the Amperior?

After burn-in, bass is one of the few relative strengths I found with Amperior.  I enjoy M-100's bass more overall, but I would not make a purchasing decision based on M-100 providing more bass than Amperior.  I would say bass in the M-100 complements the mids and highs rather than competes with the mids and highs.

 

[Craigster75]

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first impressions out of the box:  

1. One of the best sounding headphones I ever heard in my semi-limited experience
2. Midrange resolution and detail is fantastic
3. High end resolution and extension is even better than I imagined.  There is sparkle with no hint of sibilance, just beautiful, smooth, clear, detailed highs
4. Bass has superb tightness and punch; bassheads that want the biggest, deepest bass ever will be disappointed; music enthusiasts who appreciate beautifully presented impactful bass that complements detailed mids and smooth extended highs will love the bass;  bass is noticeably enhanced with amping
5. Build quality is fantastic.  M-100 is more compact than I thought, very solid, design is really an innovative work of art, especially the hinges and goes right down to the smallest details.  Cups are smaller than I thought, but I can still squeeze my ears in.  Oversized leather pads in our future??  Val's passion and ingenuity created something really special here.

 

Now that I have owned the M-100 for a week, I thought I would provide an updated comparison to my impressions out of the box.  After reviewing the above, I found my impressions haven't changed.  I will add the imaging is exceptionally wide to the point of perceiving instruments behind me.  Also, the M-100 is driven as well through my Iphone as any headphone I have heard.  I have found the combination of bass tightness and punch with the imaging provides the most amazing presentation of drum solos in particular (think Rush).  Similar examples could be provided for every instrument and certainly vocals-WOW.  What I have found makes the M-100 most special for me is the freedom they provide to have an uncompromised audiophile experience anywhere, with any source.

 

[Kendoji]

That's fantastic to hear.  When mine arrive I think some heavy abuse of my Rush FLAC folder will be the first order of the day.

 

[plakat]

The final pictures do look nice (the matte black version with orange cabling especially). After reading first impressions I decided to try them out and ordered my pair from the official release batch. International shipping plus import tax do sum up quite a bit though... Nevertheless looking forward to them

 

[miceblue]

Good news:

• for people who wear glasses, the M-100's pads don't press on your glasses' arms too much and still retains a good seal (unlike the SRH940)
• these do have a pretty nice sparkle without having the fatiguing feeling
• bass extension is really good
• drum pedals have a really nice kick/thump to them

Bad news:

• the sound has barely changed (if at all) since pre "burn-in"
• I still think the drums are laid back relative to the mids (initial cymbal and drum hits don't have the "bite" I think they're supposed to have)

And now if you'll excuse me...I need to get 2.5 hours of sleep before I head out to school and let the headphones break-in to prepare for phase 3 listening.

 

[cssimone17]

Quote:

Hm, so I'm having some pretty serious problems with comfort with these!  The cups are just too shallow and my ears press up against the driver housing, and it's pretty painful!  I did stuff some tissues under the back of the earcups though, which seems to have helped quite a bit but it's still not perfect.  I really hope that if those larger earpads come out, they offer extra depth too, because that's the main problem I'm having right now!
 

I'm having the same problem.  I love them so far, but its just so painful to keep them on for an extended period of time.