[ashutoshp]

Measurements for the Downtown look awesome on the Innerfidelity website. I did consider them as a cheaper office pair. eBay has some good deals.
Anyone mods possible with the V-modas, eg, the ear pads? 

 

[theinvertedsky]

I got my downtowns for $30 at a tj maxx in nj, so yep pretty darn cheap!

 

[coolmen777]

Measurements for the Downtown look awesome on the Innerfidelity website. I did consider them as a cheaper office pair. eBay has some good deals.
Anyone mods possible with the V-modas, eg, the ear pads? 

So, back to XS and measurements. Is there any significant audio/sound improvement that will be achieved by upgrading from Downtowns to XS? Or is it primarily size & styling? Are there any comparable measurements out for XS yet? Sorry, I am not good at interpreting the charts. Thanks.
P.S. Got my Phillips for $30 from Target clearance as well!

 

[Tom22]

So, back to XS and measurements. Is there any significant audio/sound improvement that will be achieved by upgrading from Downtowns to XS? Or is it primarily size & styling? Are there any comparable measurements out for XS yet? Sorry, I am not good at interpreting the charts. Thanks.
P.S. Got my Phillips for $30 from Target clearance as well!

 
well the graphs seem to show that both the downtowns and the m80s (don't have the graphs for the xs so you'll have to make due with that) have a polite rolled off treble
 
and its been noted many times the treble is more extended on the xs >m80s 
 
both the bass reaches down very low as well. and both are efficient off smartphones and the like
 
the mids the m80s look there theres some emphasis on the mid to upper mids, i guess the forward mids are measurable
 
but in general if you want a bit more specifics from someone more reputable then myself you'll have to kinda do some indirect review comparison
 
through reading the downtown review by tyll here :http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/philips-citiscape-downtown
 
and compare to the noontec zoros (which i own) and he actually compares it to other sub 100$ on ears (aka the downtowns in the review)
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/inexpensive-and-terrific-noontec-zoro
 
and finally reading the vmoda m80 review he has http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/v-moda-crossfade-m-80-and-v-80-true-blood-headphones
 
not sure if that helps but i do noe that the noontec zoros are very very competent under 100$ for an ear (hence what tyll said its on the wall of fame, still is despite its "beats like look"
 
and i do find the just in general its clearer, better instrument separation, vocals are less muffled and you can hear the unique timbres of each person's voice.
 
and i haven't even gone into the build (its good for the long run >downtowns i imagine) earpads and cables are replaceable and the warranty is top notch (customer service is not too bad anyway =) haha no its really good

 

[ashutoshp]

Great review Tom22. Headphone.com has measured the XS (use link below). Could you or anyone else say how much to make of their numbers/plots for the XS in comparison to the m80 and other headphones you know? Thanks

http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID%5B0%5D=4333&graphID%5B1%5D=&graphID%5B2%5D=&graphID%5B3%5D=&scale=30&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Update+Graph

 

[theinvertedsky]

..BTW, does anyone have long enough hair to comment on if the xs might take a few hairs with it when you take it off?

 

[SpiderNhan]

..BTW, does anyone have long enough hair to comment on if the xs might take a few hairs with it when you take it off?

My friend has long hair (down to mid back) and it's removed quite a few hairs from her head when she's not careful. It mostly happens when she transfers them from around her neck, with her hair draped over the XS as opposed to having the XS pinning her hair against her neck, to her ears.

 

[Tom22]

 
 
i dunno if i agree with this graph.. as on ears like the m80s and the xs have trouble sealing
 
there seems to be quite a boost on the bass compare to the m100s and even the m80s =0 and the treble peaks a bit earlier along with a bit more upper mid- upper midrange presence 
 
hm.... anyone else wanna chime in?

 

[SpiderNhan]

Measurements tell you what a computer hears. I'll always trust my own ears more.

 

[tinyman392]

 
 
 
i dunno if i agree with this graph.. as on ears like the m80s and the xs have trouble sealing
 
there seems to be quite a boost on the bass compare to the m100s and even the m80s =0 and the treble peaks a bit earlier along with a bit more upper mid- upper midrange presence 
 
hm.... anyone else wanna chime in?

 
There are quite a few things that don't match up on that graph.  I don't hear the XS rolling off nearly as early as the graph shows.  Also, the treble on the M-100 looks off  

 

[tinyman392]

Measurements tell you what a computer hears. I'll always trust my own ears more.

 
This I disagree with...  There is a correlation to what the mic pics up and what your ears hear...  We actually have a good correlation matching up what we hear to the graph...  Going the other way around, using the graph to "guess" what it'll sound like, is an entirely different game...  We simply don't understand enough, or know enough, to make this secondary judgement. 

 

[ashutoshp]

   
This I disagree with...  There is a correlation to what the mic pics up and what your ears hear...  We actually have a good correlation matching up what we hear to the graph...  Going the other way around, using the graph to "guess" what it'll sound like, is an entirely different game...  We simply don't understand enough, or know enough, to make this secondary judgement

Cheers for all this. The reason I get interested in these plots is because I stay in central PA where as far as I am aware, the closest thing to a hi-fi store is a good 160 miles at least. On the other hand, I've bought a few headphones only to return them and all that return shipping adds up not to mention the disappointment. Therefore, these plots are my best friend.
Regarding what tinyman392 is saying in the later part of his post is what I had in mind. Can you actually take these plots to "guess" what it'll sound like? I was interested in the M100s with the over ear factor but that dip from 4-8 kHz got me thinking if they would sound a bit 'sucked out' in comparison to the XS, for instance. Secondly, how accurate is it? 
Overall, after cross comparing with ~75% of their headphone database, I see that the NAD Viso HP 50 and to some extent the ATH-M50x (not M50 or M50s) had a similar sound signature which actually brought me to this thread in the first place. The Beyer Custom One Pros were similar but with less treble and a hump in the mids. The Thinksound 01 is supposed to have even more bass than the XS. 

 

[theinvertedsky]

My friend has long hair (down to mid back) and it's removed quite a few hairs from her head when she's not careful. It mostly happens when she transfers them from around her neck, with her hair draped over the XS as opposed to having the XS pinning her hair against her neck, to her ears.

ha, guess i'll just have to be careful then..! 

 

[tinyman392]

  Cheers for all this. The reason I get interested in these plots is because I stay in central PA where as far as I am aware, the closest thing to a hi-fi store is a good 160 miles at least. On the other hand, I've bought a few headphones only to return them and all that return shipping adds up not to mention the disappointment. Therefore, these plots are my best friend.
Regarding what tinyman392 is saying in the later part of his post is what I had in mind. Can you actually take these plots to "guess" what it'll sound like? I was interested in the M100s with the over ear factor but that dip from 4-8 kHz got me thinking if they would sound a bit 'sucked out' in comparison to the XS, for instance. Secondly, how accurate is it? 
Overall, after cross comparing with ~75% of their headphone database, I see that the NAD Viso HP 50 and to some extent the ATH-M50x (not M50 or M50s) had a similar sound signature which actually brought me to this thread in the first place. The Beyer Custom One Pros were similar but with less treble and a hump in the mids. The Thinksound 01 is supposed to have even more bass than the XS. 

 
There is a second thing that the frequency response doesn't show, which is equally as important (in my mind) and that's time domain stuff.  You'd get that in a square sine wave or a CSD. 

 

[ashutoshp]

  Cheers for all this. The reason I get interested in these plots is because I stay in central PA where as far as I am aware, the closest thing to a hi-fi store is a good 160 miles at least. On the other hand, I've bought a few headphones only to return them and all that return shipping adds up not to mention the disappointment. Therefore, these plots are my best friend.
Regarding what tinyman392 is saying in the later part of his post is what I had in mind. Can you actually take these plots to "guess" what it'll sound like? I was interested in the M100s with the over ear factor but that dip from 4-8 kHz got me thinking if they would sound a bit 'sucked out' in comparison to the XS, for instance. Secondly, how accurate is it? 
Overall, after cross comparing with ~75% of their headphone database, I see that the NAD Viso HP 50 and to some extent the ATH-M50x (not M50 or M50s) had a similar sound signature which actually brought me to this thread in the first place. The Beyer Custom One Pros were similar but with less treble and a hump in the mids. The Thinksound 01 is supposed to have even more bass than the XS. 

Further to what i wrote earlier, in my earlier post, I sent a link for the relative frequency response which gives an idea about how the bass is relative to the mids and treble for THAT headphone. Hence, the data is 'compensated' if you will.
In links 2 & 4 below, its the same headphones but how they should really sound to your ears, i.e., the raw sound at all frequencies. These plots might be more agreeable to some folks.
Thoughts?
 
1) Relative frequency response of V-Moda XS, M80 and M100
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID%5B0%5D=4333&graphID%5B1%5D=4001&graphID%5B2%5D=4011&graphID%5B3%5D=&scale=30&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Update+Graph
 
2) Raw frequency response V-Moda XS, M80 and M100 (no compensation/alteration OR as is)
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID%5B0%5D=4333&graphID%5B1%5D=4001&graphID%5B2%5D=4011&graphID%5B3%5D=&scale=30&graphType=-2&buttonSelection=Update+Graph
 
3) Relative frequency response of XS, NAD VISO HP50, ATH-M50x and Thinksound TS01
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID%5B0%5D=4333&graphID%5B1%5D=4283&graphID%5B2%5D=4313&graphID%5B3%5D=2491&scale=30&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Update+Graph
 
4) Raw frequency response of XS, NAD VISO HP50, ATH-M50x and Thinksound TS01 (no compensation/alteration OR as is)
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID%5B0%5D=4333&graphID%5B1%5D=4283&graphID%5B2%5D=4313&graphID%5B3%5D=2491&scale=30&graphType=-2&buttonSelection=Update+Graph