At $310, V-Moda’s over-the-ear Crossfade M-100 headphones are competing at the high-end of the headphone market, and they are the best sounding headphones I have found.
Great highs, great mids, and great bass with wonderful separation make these the headphones I have been looking for more than a year. That great sound is combined with quality materials, a very compact case, and even great looks if you care about that sort of thing.
For context, I’ve listened to roughly ten sets of headphones competing in this price range, though only three of those sets were in the comfort of my own home. I’ve also listened to innumerable in-earphones, scads of less expensive over-the-ear and on-ear headphones, as well as Logitech’s Ultimate Ears UE 4 custom-fit in-ear monitors.
I have experience with desktop reference monitors, and I usually can’t say enough good things about Audioengine’s A5 desktop speakers for listening pleasure. In short, that makes me more experienced (and more of a snob) than your average bear, but I’m far from a high-end audiophile.
Biases
Let me interrupt this review by declaring my biases so that everyone knows how I am approaching it: I love Dr. Dre both for being awesome and for reinvigorating the over-the-ear headphone market, but I do not care for his product. Beats Studio are well-built headphones that feel oh-so-comfortable on your ears, but they are much too low-end heavy and muddy for me. Your mileage will certainly vary.
For more on my biases, check out my listening list at the bottom of this review. Note the preponderance of rock and pop tunes that form the foundation of my listening needs.
Bass
This is the biggie for me. I want great sounding bass that doesn’t rampage all over the music. This year at CES I tried as many quality headphones as I could. Most were muddy and thumpy like a freight train wallowing in a tar pit. A couple had adequate bass that left me wanting more.
What I want is bass that punches through without getting in the way. That’s not too much to ask, and V-Moda delivers with the Crossfade M-100s.
Take a song like Nine Inch Nail’s “Down In It” with that delicious Akai 808 bass note in the bridge. Through the M-100s, that note rings out clear and glorious, like God knocking on your front door.
I can’t stress this enough. I know there are folks out there who think that “too much bass” is an oxymoron akin to being “too healthy” or having “too much money in my bank account.” Those people are in luck because there are a ton of headphones catering to them, but the Crossfade M-100 headphones deliver the right amount of bass for people looking for a balanced sound.
Mids & Highs
Let’s not forget the mids and highs. These headphones produce very clear and crisp mids and highs, and the separation is fantastic. The balance between all three parts of the sound spectrum is wonderful. Each has its place and each plays its role in making sweet, sweet love to your ears.
Comfort
I do a lot of writing at noisy coffee shops, and I tested the M-100s for more than 60 hours in that kind of environment. My sessions last as long as four hours, and it’s the length of those sessions that made me turn to over-the-ear headphones in the first place.
I have a largish head and medium/large-sized ears for a man. These headphones fit both my head and my ears securely and comfortably. People with very large ears might feel differently about the cup size as I didn’t feel like I had a lot of wiggle room to spare.
I also wear glasses when I write, and these headphones still felt very comfortable at the end of a long session.
Read More: macobserver.com