V-Moda M-80 - Are they really that good?

[quadpatch]

Well I took the plunge and purchased a pair of these today. I must admit it helped that I managed to get them at a bargain price, because they were an unwanted gift. I collected then this evening and the box was still sealed.

These are the white version (well beggars cant be choosers :roll: and I am not sure that they are really an ideal colour for me).

Excellent packaging and a nice carry case..albeit again white. Initial impressions when I unzipped the case...WOW these are small.

I have had them on for about 15 minutes and initial impressions seem to be quite good. Obviously need a bit more time with them to really get to grips with the sound and comfort and of course how the colour sits with me. but so far so good...seem like they could be a good addition to my growing collection and definately more of an out and about / commuting headphone.

My Arcam rPac arrives tomorrow...so looking forward to having an extended listening session in the office connected to the rPac :dance:

Glad you like them so far Jason. They are small aren't they?! Especially considering their sound. Sitting directly on my ears there is no way for them not to be painful after 30-40 mins (used to be much less), but I have been using them every day at work for the last 6 months - jast taking frequent breaks. I really like the V-Moda signature sound! I'm very curious about the M-100.

You were lucky to get the white ones as they typically sell for a lot more and are more fasionable (I still prefer black). Have you checked to see if they are real? There are fake V-Moda's going around. I had to check mine as I bought mine for a good price on eBay also. There are photos here but it's for the older black ones, it's possible they got better at faking them since then of course, but I imagine the white ones would be hard to fake:

http://v-moda.com/fugazi/

I'm curious what you think of the M-80's after getting used to them a bit more. Also give em a go with the rPAC, I quite like the combo but use the Yulong U100 mostly at work.

 

[Jason36]

Bloody hell you had me worried for a while there mate....but I have double checked everything and they are definately originals

For some reason I really didn't think they were that small.....and the sound is unbelievably large to say how small they are. Just having a listen to a bit of Led Zeppelin directly out of my iPod with them at the moment. I am surprised how airy they sound...and not a bad soundstage either. Listening to Bron Yr Aur on Physical Graffiti and the guitar sounds clear, lively and well placed.

Cant wait to get them hooked up to the rPac tomorrow and have a proper session with them. Also want a proper listen directly out of my iPhone and also amped with the TTVJ from the iPhone. I'm hoping this is a winning combination, because it means that I can leave the iPhone connected to the portable amp and answer my phone using the in line controls when necessary.

Im still not sure on the colour maybe if I was twenty years younger it would be a different matter.

 

[quadpatch]

Sorry for the scare, but it's best to know. If you bought cheap Beats (not that you would ) then there would be a much bigger chance of fakery, although they are actually better than the real ones . Anyway, glad yours are real. It sounds like you are really enjoying them so far. The button and mic is very handy for an iPhone, neither cable worked with my Android phone or about 4 other devices, luckily you can stick any old cable in there so I got a nice QED one that even matches the M-80's 'shadow' colour scheme so I don't mind. So few HPs cables are removable, let alone have a generic plug! The cable options on the M-100 look very cool but I will have the QED ready just in case. I need to upgrade my phone soon anyway, you can probably tell from my last post .

 

[Jason36]

Quadpatch or Dalethorn,

Do you know if the M-80 need running in at all. I've had a more extended listen today and I have a couple of observations on them....the first being, quite thankfully, the fit and comfort don't seem to be a problem for me. I have just worn them for about 1 to 2 hours without finding them uncomfortable or them hurting my ears.

However the second observation and more of a concern for me is the Bass....it seems to be very overpowering and to be honest quite unbearable, especially on rock music. It seems to be more of an overpowering rumble and is really muddying the rest of the music.

Can either of you comment on this for me?

Just as an aside this is with the M-80's connected to my iPod directly or Via my iPod and TTVJ Slim portable amp. They don't seem to have the bass heavy problem when connect to my laptop via my Arcam rPac playing Spotify.

 

[dalethorn]

Not only is my current M80 and former V80 not bass heavy, they actually have a very starkly neutral bass that has no upper bass or lower midrange emphasis at all. You should check the EQ settings on the iPod of course, since those EQ settings not only affect headphone output, but also LOD analog and digital out too. Yes, the EQ gets through to digital to ipod-compatible DACs.

If your EQ is off, then it's a mystery, which raises the genuine headphone issue Quadpatch mentioned.

Or, look for EQ settings or other such things.

 

[Jason36]

Cheers Dale,

Actually my iPod is running RockBox software, so it actually could be that the EQ settings need messing with and setting up correctly...however having tried the iPod and TTVJ with my Beyers / Grado's and IE6 i have noticed the same music is not as Bassy through those.

I will have a play around and see what happens.

Cheers