Hey everyone! Here's my full review of the V-MODA M-200. Hope it contributes to the community!
Disclaimer
V-MODA has sent me this M-200 for review as part of their program. My opinion is strictly subjective and I have not received payment for it. Although, full disclosure, V-MODA will send me “something as a thank you for helping (sic)” afterwards.
I. Introduction
So, yes, the V-MODA M-200. As soon as I’ve heard about this review program my interested piqued. When I think V-MODA the picture that comes to mind is DJs wearing them live and posting pictures on social media. People with strange names I’ve never heard about. And then the M-200 comes out, allegedly kinda aimed towards audiophiles. When I say kinda I say because although the
audiophile word is thrown here and there the product page seems more focused on DJs producing in the studio. But then again, V-MODA is owned by Roland Co. and I come from a professional guitar playing background. All those things considered, they got my curiosity. Costing $350, did V-MODA pull this off? Have they manage to release an audiophile-oriented pair of cans that can compete on its price range?
II. Packaging
Some may disagree, but sound is not everything. When I start paying more than a few bucks I expect to get my money’s worth on the full experience. Take the Sennheiser HD800S for example - it’s a $1500 pair of headphones. I love how they sound but they come boxed in a carton of eggs! I like some foreplay before the climax, it does help. I enjoy the pantomime I confess! The V-MODA M-200 seems to get this. The packaging is nice and the unboxing itself for the first time is a proper experience for a headphone with this looks and on that price range. Superior in this aspect to many rivals. Although my unit was clearly opened before it was repackaged neatly and I could enjoy the whole moment even if I didn’t need to peel any stickers.
Proper unboxing experience!
III. Aesthetics
OK, I need to be blunt. I never got the V-MODA whole aesthetic concept. They are angular, geometric, full of rivets. If I could describe the looks of the V-MODA product line I’d say “Neymar playing Fortnite”. I am not a 40 year-old hi-fi enthusiast that can only listen to his Debussy with a glass of cognac laying on his Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair but still I see no appeal on the V-MODA visual. It looks like it was made by Razer. Something a kid would ask his mother to buy solely because it looks cool. They could keep their traditional lines and still design something less look-I-am-so-edgy.
Good looking and praised, but not my cup of tea.
IV. Built and Comfort
Well, I do not like how it looks, but how does it feel? The M-200 is indeed sturdy and has a nice finish. I’m not a fan of how this finish can leave finger marks so easily, like the Chord Mojo, but as long as you’re not sloppy you should be fine. Again, some quirks here seem to point this is a more mainstream-focused headphone, not audiophile or producer-oriented. So, one plug-only cable? I’m not sold on that, honestly. The cables running outside each cup look cool indeed, but at the same time I’d rather they stayed inside for protection. It would be safer to have one input for each side. What happens if those exposed cables break? Not user replaceable. It’s nice that the M-200 has cable inputs on each side so you can choose to wear your cable left or right. I’d love to test that nice touch but for the life of me I could not remove the cap! I was already risking damaging the plastic piece when I gave up. Too small for fingers, too tightly secure for tweezers. What am I missing here? The instruction booklet did not help me on that. Maybe I did something wrong here so take my experience with a grain of salt. On the other side of the spectrum the magnetic attachment for the pads are a much welcome inclusion firm and hassle-free.
Can I haz plug?
So what about comfort? They feel really light on the head. I’m a small headed guy and the M-200 feels tightly secured and comfortable even lying down. The cups are small for an over-ear headphone, so I suppose big eared people should have an on-ear vibe wearing these - it kinda did even for me. The padding feels nice and comfortable but the drivers are so close to the ear! I have fairly small ears and I can feel the whole driver protective cloth touching them. And this clearly has an impact on the sound. More on that later on.
Over/on-ears.
Noice.
Although the M-200 is comfortable and perfectly able to be used lying down and walking there’s a big con: try not to rub the cable on your clothes or the cans on your pillow/headrest. Everything is super microphonic. Give a tiny scratch on the cable with your fingers and you’ll hear it super loud inside your head. Even louder than the well criticized Focal Stellia cable.
V. Accessories
The M-200 is worth its price when it comes to accessories. A nice, small, well built pouch, 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter, carabiner clip, a cable with microphone and button control and a balanced cable. Everything looks fine for the price range (cool looking and good materials, and I honestly dig the quirky angular connector), although the carabiner clip is indeed fragile. A cable with a microphone shows again I’m not sure what V-MODA is trying to achieve with this product. What’s the demographic here? I am nitpicking for sure on this, so do not take my thoughts on that matter as a big concern of mine.
Pairs really well with this Peak Design Backpack.
All the case candy.
Well, at least the M-200 comes with a balanced cable for the more hifi-oriented clientele. Great! I can’t wait to try these cans on my balan- WHAT? A 3.5mm balanced cable? Now, seriously, this is the same as not including a balanced cable at all. Why 3.5mm? The more popular standards nowadays are 2.5mm and the 4.4mm connectors. Who uses 3.5mm balanced outputs? They do exist but are very unusual. I have no idea what motivated V-MODA to adopt this standard. Also, if a less tech-savvy consumer buy this some confusion may happen. So the 3.5mm balanced cable hangs between useless and dangerous. Since a japanese company owns V-MODA I’d expect a little bit more
poka-yoke from their part. Would be better if V-MODA sold these headphones with only one cable and discounted the cost of the useless balanced 3.5mm one.
VI. Sound
Now the main factor. How does it sound? Well, I’m the kind of guy that needs that WOW factor during the first seconds of listening. Some details and opinions can only come from extended periods of testing, but you can always tell if you’re loving it on the first few moments. When I first plugged the M-200 my immediate reaction was: “well... it does not suck, phew!”. But unfortunately I cannot go further than that. I’ve heard a few puns in the past: “they have V even on their name!” and such. Gladly this is not a basshead boomy headphone nor a SUPER scooped one. But this is not a headphone I’d have. The bass is not super tight but it’s not loose. The highs are pleasantly present without being screechy. Not the most resolutive cans I’ve heard on the price range though. Everything sounds so tightly closed into your ears, like a band rehearsal on dad’s garage. I wonder if putting the drivers further apart the user’s ears would improve that. Sometimes I felt squished by the band playing. Maybe, as stated before on this thread, thicker, bigger pads would fix this. Sound isolation felt good and people around me could not notice any sound leakage.
A bed and a book: the M-200 is a good match.
The biggest problem with the sound lies in the upper mids. I would not say this is a properly V-shaped sound signature, but there’s something lacking so much. Vocals and specially high gain guitars get thrown so much back in the mix. If you switch between other headphones you can clearly tell the V-200 mid-range feels woody, like some tracks on the mix got recorded inside a wooden crate. I am a metal head since birth basically, and this range is especially precious for me and the type of music I listen. Maybe other users would not find that upper mid scoop that unpleasant but this is the main point to consider sound-wise when it comes to buy these.
And since V-MODA is owned by Roland Co. and before a hifi enthusiast I’m a musician, I’ve decided to try the M-200 as a monitoring headphone while playing guitar! This was actually a better use for it. The headphone feels like and snug on my head and does not get in the way when you’re shredding. That lack of upper mids do not impair proper monitoring when playing at home or recording. I would not recommend using it to mix or master though, but then again I would not recommend using headphones for that at all. And since they are fairly easy to drive, my cheap trustworthy Focusrite interface had no trouble pushing it.
Fit for shredding.
Also, they come with a microphone, so might as well try it. Sadly, the mic is garbage. Nothing special about it. Aliexpress level. Not ideal for Zoom calls daring these pandemic times. You’re better off using basically any TWS out there. I’d recommend these only for quick phone calls when you’re too lazy to remove the headphones before answering.
Can I call you later?
VII. Conclusion
All things considered, the V-MODA M-200 can be a good option on its price range. The case is cool, the headphone is well built and portable. Anything can push it, even the iPhone snap firecracker. If you don’t mind all my peeves listed above, why not? To be honest, during the test I could not a/b test it against similarly priced rivals but then again the Focal Listen cost a bit less than the M-200 and is much more to my liking. I’ve missed it a lot during the testing. If the closed back design and/or portability is not a must-have to you, the Sennheiser HD600 still reigns supreme on the M-200’s price range when it comes do sound. The comfort the M-200 provides laying down is not something to take for granted though. That’s very unusual for a pair of headphones on my experience, go ahead and ready a book by the bed using it and it will be a pleasant moment. Congrats to V-MODA, but still not quite there for me. And please ditch the 3.5mm balanced cable.
Gear used
Chord Hugo TT2
Astell & Kern AK380 + amp
Astell & Kern SE200
Chord Mojo
Apple garbage dongle
Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 1st gen
Tidal
Roon
HQPlayer
Some of the albums played
Van Halen - Van Halen
Van Halen - Live: Right Here, Right Now
Van Halen - 5150
Kiss - Creatures of The Night
Freak Kitchen - Confusion to the Enemy
Freak Kitchen - Cooking with Pagans
Bryan Beller - View
Dream Theater - Awake
Whitesnake - Slip of the Tongue 30th anniversary remaster
Steve Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Couldn’t Stand the Weather