[longphant]

I have both the V-MODA M100's and the ATH-M50's. I compared the two using a MacBook Air (which has a much better sound card than my Windows laptop, but probably not as amazing as an external DAC). 
 
I listened to a 30 second clip from a .flac song on both headphones at the same volume. I can hear the music so much more crisp and clear on the M100's than I can on the M50's. There are some notes that I can ONLY hear on the M100's that the M50's seem to muffle out. 
 
Now, I know I'm comparing it on a MacBook Air. But if I were to get an external USB DAC, wouldn't the M100's still sound better than the M50's? Or am I missing something here?

 

[kimvictor]

Let me ask you this question: How do you know you have the same volumes? Volume set to 10 on M100 will be different from volume set to 10 on M50.
 
From my memory M100 wasn't a crisp headphone. M50 was much more crisp. Anyways, assuming that you are right, M100 should still sound better than M50 with a good DAC because both of them are not terribly sensitive to source.

 

[swiftW1nd]

I have both the M100 and M50, the M100 sound decisively clearer than the M50. Considering it cost twice as much, it should not come across as a surprise...