[musical-kage]

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Well, after some time and a huge amount of stuff to write, I finally took an hour to sit down and write. And write. and write. This'll be copy pasted to the other thread where I reserved some space.
 
My review of the M-100's, or "better late than never" (the review lol, not the headphones, although I guess that fits too).
 
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

 
M-100 Review
 
Wow. It’s been awhile, a long time of wait, development, etc. Quite the journey, but three weeks back, I finally got my hands on these. V-Moda’s latest entry to their Crossfade series, the Crossfade M-100. As anyone here can attest, Val Kolton’s latest piece de resistance has been nurtured for quite some time under his perfectionist eye, and man, these cans are simply delectable. Shall we continue?
 
Design
 
V-Moda is one of the pioneers of the fashionable headphone, and these have the design of stealthy, sleek elegance. For those of you feeling that your headphone collection is feeling a bit too black, you also have the option of selecting the fabulous white-silver edition. For me though, the matte black edition was just calling to me. Sleek, stylish with an industrial, almost cyberpunk quality, these headphones are simply excellent. In spite of its stylistic choices to stand out such as its V-wings, the sheer elegance of an all black design goes well with anything I throw with it.
 
Size wise, I was always under the impression based on photos that these would be sizeable headphones. Just as with the M-80’s, however, the M-100’s are much smaller than expected. When receiving the box, I was almost flabberghasted at how small the box was. In its case, the M-100’s are no larger than a softball! Or a grapefruit. Whatever obloid-shaped object happens to be within your grasps that fits in your hand.
 
Build Quality
 
As expected by V-Moda’s build quality, the cans I have in my hand are top notch pieces of work. The curiosity buzzing around the M-100’s is the hinge and whether it’ll stand the test of time or not. Mr. Kolton has taken care to be sure that the hinge not only stands the test of time but has the feel that it will stand any amount of folding you throw at it. Describing it as a “German Car Feel” by its maker, every fold is accompanied by a *click* sound that is satisfying to fold and unfold.
 
The rest? Fine cloth on the headband, plastic a bit, particularly for the cups (which is fine unless you want to be weighed down by the sheer weight of metal on your shoulders). Overall, the build is metal, and demonstrating to friends the durability brings some star struck faces. The screws for the shields are initially the worst screws ever to deal with (I think the shield change took me somewhere around an hour to finish. But seeing as I’ve got four sets to fiddle around with, I perservered, and now it takes me a little less than 15 minutes to do a shield change.
 
And for the curious amongst some build problems in the first batch, I’ve had no problems. These things have stood up to Sandy, an early November nor’easter, and being handled by my brother, a professional with the midus touch, if midus broke everything in sight.
 
Packaging/Extras
 
Your standard package comes with: case, (for matte black) a black shareplay cable (5ish feet, have yet to measure it formally), an orange one-button cable (4 feet or so), stickers! And a 1/4” -1/8” adapter. As with the M-80’s, the one button cable is *just* the right length for me. It somewhat irks me why V-Moda has the audio only cable and the shareplay cable (both the same length) be longer when the one button cable is fabulous. But the orange of the one button cable works excellently and exquisitely with the matte black design.
 
Along with those are preorder extras. Faders (excellent for keeping out noise when I need earplugs such as crashing at my friends’ place with a rather rambunctious heater) and the Boom Pro mic cable, which I have yet to test out due to lack of a VOIP adapter.
 
Comfort
 
Short and simple for me, these headphones are excellent. I could (and have been) wearing these things for hours on end with no sight of fatigue. I understand that for some fellow members of head-fi that there are comfort issues based on the shallowness of the cups and the tendency of the plush to compress after a period of time, but I’ve been all set in that department. For the most part for other people, it has been the same (we must all have small ears! Read below) Twisting/flattening the headphones decreases clamping force if that’s a problem for you.
 
Sound Quality
 
Alright, let’s get down to the real reason why we’re here. How do they sound? That is the main reason why we’re shooting $310 for a new, unreleased headphone, no?
 
Bass
 
*Bam* *Purr* *Growl*
 
Bass is the star of the show on these cans. But think not of these cans as basshead level cans. The bass here is controlled, detailed, and makes these cans lively as can be. They really purr and growl, and it is simply a visceral experience to listen to bass through these cans. Catbread by Deadmau5  really grooves well as the first top of my head example.
 
Mids
As a fan of forward mids, it is a bit of a change for me to have the mids a tad laid back in comparison to the heavily forward Beyerdynamic DT1350’s. But the mid presentation is well within what I would consider acceptable for me. No bass bleed, and they stand well, if at least a bit behind the rest of the spectrum.
 
Treble
Extension is superior to the M80’s, and that’s excellent. They stand a bit more forward than the mids, but of course in comparison to the Alessandro MS-1’s, they seem to be missing just a wee bit at the top, but I’d say that’s acceptable, especially considering that the grado sound (a treble emphasis that can at points be too sibilant) is not what V-Moda is aiming at.
 
Soundstage
For a “semi-closed” phone? Pretty darn good. I believe miceblue has posted the inner workings of the vents, showing some foam below where the shields are and some sort of second layer of foam beneath that one, which makes it questionable how much the v-port vents actually play a role in the sound, but it is a pretty wide sound for closed-back. Not concert hall, mind you, but perhaps something of a club sort of sound as anak-chan alludes to when he describes the soundstage.
 
Instrumentation
The spectrum layout alludes to this, but there are certain things that don’t stand out as well as I’d like. Cymbals don’t crash as nicely, and string-emphasized pieces, while not presented in a bad way, are not presented in the most accurate way in my opinion. Listening to a variety of pieces over these three weeks, My breakdown as to genre matching with these headphones would go like this:
 
Electronic>R&B>Pop>Hip-Hop>Rock>Bossa Nova>Jazz>Classical
 
By no means is classical bottom-of-the-barrel stuff, simply that the M-100’s would not be my preferred headphone for the selection. Rock is a bit of a mixed bag. Some songs are *okay* while others (Roundabout by Yes comes to mind) are superb, so I’d say that’s where things start turning the tide. It’s a wellrounded phone, but it’s a bit genre specific in the sense that some songs are adequate while others absolutely shine.
 
Multi Review
 
When writing a review, I’d like to keep in mind the perspective of the maker. What is the objective of their designs? Mr. Kolton has kept this design philosophy in mind: “Greatest sound for the greatest number of people.” Has he achieved that goal? Let’s find out.
 
Friend #1: 20 years old female, wore bose because she liked the comfort, less concerned about sound quality.
“Ooh! These are so comfy!”
*ten minutes later*
“Yeah you’re not getting these back for awhile”
“I like these way more than your other ones! (DT1350’s”
 
Friend #2: 20 year old male, actually head-fi member kagelou!
“Yep, these are pretty good.”
“They’re smaller than I thought they’d be”
Overall his impression was that they beat out the M-80’s, and the comfort easily wins compared to the M-100’s due to A) the pads being less stiff and B) the difference in circumaural vs supraaural headphoens
 
Friend #3: 18 Year old male, M-50 owner for a few months, new audiophile!
“Wow. Darn it! I’m going to go home and be like, I wish I had robble’s headphones! It won’t be the same!”
“Some stuff sounds great! But I’m not sure if I’d prefer these over the M50’s by much for some genres”
“I love how Val has been able to marry great sound with great aesthetic design! I wish the TMA-1’s had the sound quality of these”
 
Positive feedback, no? Yes, these three are aged 18-20 and are college students, so this is a bit more of a youth sound, but these are just people that stuck out in my mind in particular.
 
In closing
 
Headphones? Fashion statement? Personal statement? These are all qualities of the Crossfade M-100. But all those man hours and late nights tweaking have led to something really extraordinary. A community semi-open sourced headphone taking the positives of the M80’s and the critiques of audiophiles, the tuning is truly excellent. A wonderful sound for a huge range of people.
 
 

 
Rock on.
 
 

Thanks for the review.
 
It is very weird how some people suggest the bass is overly forward, and compress into the mids, yet some like you state the bass is controlled, tight and doesn't mess up the mids.
How can our ears be that much different from one another? Or is something else going on here?
 
When listening to these headphones, does everyone lay the EQ to flat?
 
On my headphones for example (px-100's) I EQ a U shape on my smart phone to get the best sound, with bass achieving a bigger boost, and treble too.
 
I'll just have to see what works when I receive them.

 

[SpiderNhan]

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My m100s are slightly loose on the area where the fork connects with the earcups. Actually, the entire fork gives an annoying creaking sound when I press on them. Should I return them?

 
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Mine does that too.  Might be due to how they swivel...the cup fell out once for mine and I noticed they had a slightly different design.  Up to whether it bugs you enough, I guess.

 
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That sounds like a pretty serious build issue. My M-100's only creak at the adjustable headband wingplate (again, I think this is the weakest part of the headphone's structure).
 
You don't happen to be one of those people who have claimed to drop their M-100 "over 30 times" are you? XD

 
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Yours doesn't creak at the yoke at all then...?  We should have a poll to see whose do that and whose do not.

I had creaking on my right yoke and it drove me bonkers. I thought it was my glasses, but after a week of playing with them, I figured out it was the yoke itself. I popped the right earcup off (not hard to do) and cleaned the two little snaps that connect into the earcup and the holes on the earcup. No creaking since.
 
And it was only a joke, miceblue. I only dropped them once from 2 feet when I forgot they were still plugged into my phone as I stood up and walked away from where they rested.

 

[valkolton]

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I have the l.p.2 but I want more bass than that

 
Crossfade LP has more bass than LP2!  Get a Gunmetal Black or Phantom Chrome Crossfade LP.  The white ones have SLIGHTLY lower bass.
 
OR just EQ an M-100 by bringing down the 8-20kHz bands...  it has ultra deep extension just like it's LP/LP2 cousins.

 

[aleki]

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Thanks for the review.
 
It is very weird how some people suggest the bass is overly forward, and compress into the mids, yet some like you state the bass is controlled, tight and doesn't mess up the mids.
How can our ears be that much different from one another? Or is something else going on here?
 
When listening to these headphones, does everyone lay the EQ to flat?
 
On my headphones for example (px-100's) I EQ a U shape on my smart phone to get the best sound, with bass achieving a bigger boost, and treble too.
 
I'll just have to see what works when I receive them.

oh my god.. I completely forgot I left my EQ on entertainment. That makes clear sense now(why I really disliked these headphones) 

 

[adman164]

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My definition of bass bleed is when the bass is overly present and colours the mids. In this sense, I think the M-100 has bass bleed, especially for home listening. Adding a bass reducing EQ, or an earpad mod, allows the lower mids to be brought more into the spotlight, thus being more clearly presented.

So in your opinion would just using the bass reducer eq on my iPod reduce the bass enough for the sound to be reasonably balanced? Or would you recommend doing the ear pad mod as well? I'm under the impression that too much bass doesn't suit alt rock all that well.. Thanks for your help.

 

[musical-kage]

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oh my god.. I completely forgot I left my EQ on entertainment. That makes clear sense now(why I really disliked these headphones) 

Seriously? Haha...
 
In my opinion with a pair of headphones, they need to be put to flat EQ.
 
Then, if the sound doesn't entirely suit or you think it could get slightly better, you then EQ it, raising/lowering bands until you get the sound you are looking for.
 
In my opinion, that is almost all it takes.
 
From what has been said about the bass/treble response though, it makes me feel like the EQ wouldn't have to be U shaped like I have with my headphones now, and would lay flat perfectly fine.

 

[robble]

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Thanks for the review.
 
It is very weird how some people suggest the bass is overly forward, and compress into the mids, yet some like you state the bass is controlled, tight and doesn't mess up the mids.
How can our ears be that much different from one another? Or is something else going on here?
 
When listening to these headphones, does everyone lay the EQ to flat?
 
On my headphones for example (px-100's) I EQ a U shape on my smart phone to get the best sound, with bass achieving a bigger boost, and treble too.
 
I'll just have to see what works when I receive them.

YMMV, as they say. I understand why people will say that the bass is too forward because its slant is definitely not an analytical pair and isn't balanced (hence the paper mods). I'm not a particular fan of bloated bass, either, but you can kinda say I was seduced by how well the bass purrs and growls without being too invading to the mids imo. It's controlled to pump out bass that really grooves.
 
Another thing is that, running it through my JVC FXT-90's, there's a particularly sibilant part that always makes me cringe at the very beginning of History by EXO-K. The treble might not be as extended as other phones for the M-100, but I can survive without flinching whenever that song comes on.
 
EQ I notch it a few places here and there, but I feel like if someone switched it to normal no EQ there wouldn't be much differences. Actually anything more than a few notches for bass is too much for bass for me. The changes I made were very very minor. Also, Running it through my Cowon X7 if anyone was curious.

 

[BRSxIgnition]

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You confuse me -- one post these are your perfect headphone and the next you're ready to send them back.  Honestly, your list of "little bits" hits almost every piece of the headphone.

Sound-wise, these are near perfect. But the little things bugging me are the depth of the pads, the exposed cup cables (makes me nervous, since it's another part that can break..), the thin headband, and the plastic cups instead of aluminum or magnesium, the problems people are having with the yokes..
 
But they are exactly that - little things. They don't ruin the deal, and they don't stop this amazing headphone from sounding great. It's more of a preference thing, on all points. I like thicker headbands, a more solid looking/feeling construction, no exposed parts, etc etc. It's all personal. These will be my main headphones until I get a chance to compare them to the AKG K267 Tiestos which I've kept on pre-order. I'll keep what I like more, and sell the one I don't, simple as that. V-MODA has done an AMAZING job with these headphones, and I applaud them for it.
 
Hell, the pad problem can be fixed by releasing new thicker pads - so it's not a massive bother to me. I can still wear them for the duration of a long bus ride, so no real problems.
 
Hope this explains my stance on them, hahah.

 

[musical-kage]

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YMMV, as they say. I understand why people will say that the bass is too forward because its slant is definitely not an analytical pair and isn't balanced (hence the paper mods). I'm not a particular fan of bloated bass, either, but you can kinda say I was seduced by how well the bass purrs and growls without being too invading to the mids imo. It's controlled to pump out bass that really grooves.
 
Another thing is that, running it through my JVC FXT-90's, there's a particularly sibilant part that always makes me cringe at the very beginning of History by EXO-K. The treble might not be as extended as other phones for the M-100, but I can survive without flinching whenever that song comes on.
 
EQ I notch it a few places here and there, but I feel like if someone switched it to normal no EQ there wouldn't be much differences. Actually anything more than a few notches for bass is too much for bass for me. The changes I made were very very minor. Also, Running it through my Cowon X7 if anyone was curious.

Thanks for the details. The idea of purring bass sounds really good in my opinion.
Its also surprising to hear about the EQ.
 
For example, with my headphones at the moment (PX-100) my EQ is set as follows:
 
60hz - 13db
230hz - 7db
910hz - 5db
4khz - 7db
14khz - 13db
 
This is on Spotify (my main music app) running on the Samsung Galaxy S 3. A very wide U EQ. It adds a lot of bottom end, and a bit of sparkle in the top end, whilst keeping the mid range pretty close, but not enough to add too much edge.
 
I will post a review hopefully when I get my M-100's and talk about the EQ if any is needed, that works for me.

 

[aleki]

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Seriously? Haha...
 
In my opinion with a pair of headphones, they need to be put to flat EQ.
 
Then, if the sound doesn't entirely suit or you think it could get slightly better, you then EQ it, raising/lowering bands until you get the sound you are looking for.
 
In my opinion, that is almost all it takes.
 
From what has been said about the bass/treble response though, it makes me feel like the EQ wouldn't have to be U shaped like I have with my headphones now, and would lay flat perfectly fine.

I totally agree, and I usually leave my EQ on Audio Creation Mode(flat); but between the HD598 and Etymotic HF3's, I managed to forget that I left it on, haha

 

[miceblue]

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robbie pretty much nailed it with his description of bass bleed. For me the tip off is the lower mids. If the bass overpowers the lower mids and bleeds into them it will cause distortion and completely ruin lower mid to upper bass transition making the headphone sound almost disjointed, Beats are infamous for this and the Sony XB500 would be another example of a headphone with heavy bass bleed.

---

Quick question to all the boppers on the thread. Is there anyone out there who has owned or heard a HifiMan HE-400? Considering the M-100 and HE-400 are in the same price bracket and are bassy I'm curious how these headphones compare to one another

Ah OK, thanks for the clarification. In that sense, then no the M-100's do not have bass bleed.
 
 
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So in your opinion would just using the bass reducer eq on my iPod reduce the bass enough for the sound to be reasonably balanced? Or would you recommend doing the ear pad mod as well? I'm under the impression that too much bass doesn't suit alt rock all that well.. Thanks for your help.

I'm not sure about the bass reducing EQ on the iPod, but lowering the 50-170 Hz range seems to fix the bass issue I have for home listening; so if the iPod's EQ does that, then yes it definitely is a more balanced sound.
The pad mods change the sound more dramatically so it's something to try out yourself to see if you like it or not. I've worn the M-100's with DigitalFreak's mod for about 1.5 hours now and I have no comfort issues. The bass is slightly reduced though, so I don't get the same exact chest-thumping bass that I had yesterday without the pad mods.

 

[Craigster75]

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Sound-wise, these are near perfect. But the little things bugging me are the depth of the pads, the exposed cup cables (makes me nervous, since it's another part that can break..), the thin headband, and the plastic cups instead of aluminum or magnesium, the problems people are having with the yokes..
 
But they are exactly that - little things. They don't ruin the deal, and they don't stop this amazing headphone from sounding great. It's more of a preference thing, on all points. I like thicker headbands, a more solid looking/feeling construction, no exposed parts, etc etc. It's all personal. These will be my main headphones until I get a chance to compare them to the AKG K267 Tiestos which I've kept on pre-order. I'll keep what I like more, and sell the one I don't, simple as that. V-MODA has done an AMAZING job with these headphones, and I applaud them for it.
 
Hell, the pad problem can be fixed by releasing new thicker pads - so it's not a massive bother to me. I can still wear them for the duration of a long bus ride, so no real problems.
 
Hope this explains my stance on them, hahah.

Something to consider is that, more often than not, a product doesn't live up to the hype, so the K267 may not be the holy grail you seek.  I thought the Signature DJ might be the holy grail of basshead cans.  However, based on a recent review, I don't feel they bring anything significant enough to the table to take me away from my satisfaction with the M-100.  Confusius has a saying, "He who wants nothing has everything."  I am choosing to apply this to the M-100 and be content enjoying them.

 

[miceblue]

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Something to consider is that, more often than not, a product doesn't live up to the hype, so the K267 may not be the holy grail you seek.  I thought the Signature DJ might be the holy grail of basshead cans.  However, based on a recent review, I don't feel they bring anything significant enough to the table to take me away from my satisfaction with the M-100.  Confusius has a saying, "He who wants nothing has everything."  I am choosing to apply this to the M-100 and be content enjoying them.

That may be so, but earpad comfort, and fraying cables are something that should not be taken lightly especially if it detracts from the listener's experience with the headphone.
 
 
As for the cable fraying, the new SharePlay cable seems to be much better-built. I've been using it for 2 days now and there isn't the slightest bit of fraying, even at the point where it rubs against my jacket's collar. Again as I've mentioned, the SharePlay cable is also much more pliable and flexible compared to the rather stiff SpeakEasy and Boom Pro Mic cables. Maybe it's the thicker wiring due to a microphone component?
 
The SpeakEasy cable on the other hand showed some fraying even after during light home use....after paying $300 for a headphone, I think it is unacceptable to have cables fraying after basic use for less than a month. I can't even imagine what it would look like after 3 months of use...poor cable.

 

[sam1907]

would these headphones be suited to electronic music from a good portable source (htc one x)?
Thanks

 

[robble]

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That may be so, but earpad comfort, and fraying cables are something that should not be taken lightly especially if it detracts from the listener's experience with the headphone.
 
 
As for the cable fraying, the new SharePlay cable seems to be much better-built. I've been using it for 2 days now and there isn't the slightest bit of fraying, even at the point where it rubs against my jacket's collar. Again as I've mentioned, the SharePlay cable is also much more pliable and flexible compared to the rather stiff SpeakEasy and Boom Pro Mic cables. Maybe it's the thicker wiring due to a microphone cable?
 
The SpeakEasy cable on the other hand showed some fraying even after during light home use....after paying $300 for a headphone, I think it is unacceptable to have cables fraying after basic use for less than a month.

Strange. That or more noticeable. Idk. All three cables I have (I bought an audio only cable too) have some fraying but none too particularly noticeable. Maybe fraying is more common depending on what material you're wearing?