Crossfade M-100 Master

I have been using these headphones for over five months now and I love them! I used to have Klipsch Image One headphones and while the sound was great, the build quality and comfort left more to me desired. The Crossfade M-100 Master solves both of these issues and sound slightly better than the Image One.The Image One was made of plastic and my most recent pair broke twice in two different spots around where the earcups meet the headband (I glued them back together the first time this happened). I take meticulous care of my things and it isn’t like they broke because I sat on them or something like that. The Crossfade M-100 Master is made of metal in these areas and so I don’t expect these to ever break in the same way. Another problem with the Image One is that, once the cushions began deteriorating, I couldn’t find replacements from Klipsch. Not only did they look unsightly, but I would find small pieces of the cushion in my hair! I can purchase new cushions easily from V-MODA’s website for $15! The last issue I had with the Image One in terms of build quality is that the cable could not be disconnected from the headphones. Once the cable began falling apart, I essentially needed to replace the headphones entirely. With the Crossfade M-100 Master, not only is the cable seemingly much stronger, but it is also removable. If it fails in the future, again I can go on V-MODA’s website and purchase a variety of new cables in a variety of different colors. Their cables also only connect to one earcup, instead of both like the Image One. This makes the Crossfade M-100 Master less restrictive since I don’t have a cable dangling under my chin like a chin strap to a helmet. I expect these headphones will last me an exceptionally long time!The final issue I had with the Image One was with comfort. If I had them on for more than two hours, my ears would start to hurt. I would need to take them off to give my ears a break. The first few times I wore the Crossfade M-100 Master I experienced slight discomfort after extended listening sessions, but that issue quickly disappeared. Perhaps the headband loosened up a bit with use? I have since enjoyed many months of extended listening sessions with zero discomfort!You do pay more money for this increase in build quality and comfort, but for how much I use these for TV shows, YouTube videos, and video games the investment is well worth it for me.

I got a pair of these for portable use in noisy places. I had the Sennheiser Momentum on-ear headphones and the Sennheiser Amperior headphones. I also have the NAD VISO M50. These are all excellent. In the summer, I'll wear the Sennheisers since they are cooler, being on-ear, and in winter, I will wear the V-Moda or the NAD, since they are warmer, being over-ear types.All of them are plenty efficient enough to be powered very well by any portable source without needing an extra amp.All of them will be comfortable, lthough, for the V-Moda, if your ears are large, the available ($20.00) XL ear pads from V-Moda will be absolutely necessary. The Amperior and V-Moda will be stable and stay in place on the head for very vigorous activity. The Sennheiser Momentum, and the NAD VISO, are stable on the head for moderate activity levels.They all offer terrific sound quality with wonderful deep bass, and great midranges and trebles.To differentiate between the NAD and the V-Moda, as they are both over-ear with similar closed can sonics, The V-Moda has slightly better details in the highs, and a bit more laid back mids than the NAD. They both have excellent bass that is well balanced and extends as low as you can hear, tight, flat, and with low distortion and no bloat. In both, the frequency response follows the Harmon curve closely, which means, they carry a good amount of weight in the lows, a natural sounding midrange, and nicely balanced brilliance in the highs. Either pair work well in imaging, and instrument separation and placement in the sound field. The V-Moda has a slightly smaller sound stage...very slightly, but more than makes up for that by the great detail and resolution it can produce in the image. If I were forced to pick one of these two headphones as the only ones I have, it would be a hard pick, since they are both so good. If I were able to EQ the NAD VISO M50 up 3dB in the top octave (over 10Khz) it could be my choice. Straight from any source, the V-Moda Crossfade M-100 Master is my pick, for sound, and style. It is better looking for public use, without sacrificing comfort or build quality, and has the edge in comfort and stability.

The original M-100's are a great pair of headphones. The Masters are packaged in similar high quality fashion. You can tell V-Moda cares about their quality. These build upon the original M-100's and increase the clarity. I quickly sampled a handful of 192kHz/24bit Hi-Def songs, everything from Jazz, Progressive Rock, Techno and more. Every song, had new life. Ran a drum set on my Roland TR-8S and a DJ set on my controller, I couldn't believe the difference these cans make. I also noticed when DJing that they seem more flexible than the regular M-100's. The bass is low and very punchy but not muddy. The highs are very crisp, but not harsh. They seem to have a very well-balanced frequency response. Very durable feeling, just like the original M-100's. The newer pads are almost as thick as the XL pads, have a high-end feel and are comfortable enough to wear for prolonged amounts of time. I may not switch out of the pads to my XL ones, but time will tell. I am a professional DJ and music producer and will be using these all the time. Super happy with this purchase, now to get custom plates made for the sides.