[KT66]

I am wearing the xs right now and they are closed. Or at least mine are.

 

[SpiderNhan]

I am wearing the xs right now and they are closed. Or at least mine are.

They're semi-open. If you cover the 3 vents on the shields you can change the sound and make them less bassy. A true closed headphone couldn't be altered in this way.

 

[KT66]

You learn something new every day

 

[Allucid]

I was going to sell my XS, then I saw them with the matte blue shields....Damn.

 

[Armaegis]

I opened the XS again and took out that big piece of felt that I put in last time. It brought the lower bass back up at the expense of increasing a bit of bass distortion as well, but I can live with that.
 
I did cut a small triangle of felt and left it in front of the pcb though. I figure if there's any noise coming in, the extra bit of felt will help block it. I wanted to put a tiny piece behind it in front of the vent, but I just didn't want to go through the trouble of pulling out that acoustic foam already stuck in place. Though I suppose I could just unscrew the pcb and jack and get something underneath... hmm, maybe next time.
 
The sound is pretty good where it is right now though. Bass is trimmed down just a tad from stock and the distortion is better. I'll have to see if I can find a thin plastic/rubber washer or something that I can place on the driver to press against the cup pegs. I think that really does help lower the overall distortion. The dynamat smooshes down too much to be an effective coupler.

 

[aertoria]

All I hope is V moda M100 can be cheaper 

 

[Armaegis]

I feel the XS sounds better. I was not a fan of the M100, but admittedly I had trouble getting a seal (even trying to press the cups against my head). I'd like to try them again with the new pads.

 

[mtliu]

I'm a big fan of my XS. The cups are just a little too small. Although they do look cool, I can never get them to sit comfortably on my ears. I would prefer if they stuck these drivers in a housing like the Sony MDR-7506. I have tried out the M100 where I find demos. While the M100s sound pretty good - I feel they are overpriced. I've got quite a few pairs of headphones by Audio-Technica, Sony, and Superlux that are over ear, and sound just as good (but not the same) as the M100s - but cost 1/3 to 1/2 less.
 
One thing that the XS did teach me was that their cable is worth the $15 they want for it. After buying cheap mic/button cables and having them all break within a month - the V-moda cable was a joy to use because it never breaks. . .at least not yet. It's outlasted all the cheap cables I've bought and had I bought it first, it would have saved me buying around a dozen cheap ones.
 
The XS has the best sound of all my cans - just not the best feel. I've read that people describe the high-end as laid back and soft - and after listening to other cans - then switching to the XS - I did agree. However, after acclimating to the XS - it dawned on me that what I was hearing was accurate and not colored in the least bit. Saxophones sounded like saxaphones rather than a saxaphone doubled with a kazoo at a lower volume. Hi-hat cymbals sound like they do live rather than someone going "tss tss tss tss". The XS also made pop male vocals clearer and let me hear subtleties that I couldn't hear as well with other cans. Then when going back to other cans - the other cans sounded somewhat colored - and some others sibilant - and even some painfully piercingly sibilant.
 
The semi-open on-ear design of the XS make it somewhat inconvenient to use in a monitoring capacity - and I do have to switch to other over-ear cans (like the Sony MDR-7506 or Superlux HD681EVO) to do this - and I usually have to dial back down the treble on the headphone rack to 9 o'clock - but only after if I have been listening to the XS for extended periods. The semi-open nature of the XS are also not open enough when I need to be aware of my surroundings - in this case I use something like the KOSS Porta-Pro.

 

[Allucid]

I sold mine. There's better out there.

 

[alec66]

just received my XS to compare with T51: any suggestions for a better upgraded cable?

 

[romanov89]

http://www.moon-audio.com/v-moda-xs-headphones.html

 

[alec66]

  http://www.moon-audio.com/v-moda-xs-headphones.html

 
I know very well Moon cables but, with all my respects for XS, this time I'm looking for something cheaper...

 

[romanov89]

Haha in search of cheaper cable too.. But if you found one.. Do share bro

 

[SpiderNhan]

@alec66
By "better upgraded cable," did you mean for sound quality, or just a better/different build than the fabric one it comes with?
 
The beauty of the XS is pretty much any cable will work for it unlike it's larger sibling the M-100, which requires a narrow connector sleeve to fit into the input jack. If you need a microphone and a pause/play button, all portable headphone cables will work and if you have an iOS device, then any cable with volume controls will work too. If the microphone or buttons aren't needed then just search Amazon or eBay for an audio cable.
 
Here's a short list of cables I've personally used/tested that I can confirm will work.

Beats cables(all of them)
B&O H6 cable
Auvio cable from Radioshack(half-off $14.99 if you can find a going out of business store)
Skullcandy Aviator cable(not sold separately, but it works)
 
And FiiO makes this cable and specifically lists the V-MODA M-80 and M-100 as compatible on their product page.

 

[romanov89]

Thanks will look into it.. Another cable to consider maybe that i found in the internet
http://www.moshi.com/cable-audio-video-mini-stereo-35mm#black