VModa VTF-100/M100

[dalethorn]

I hope the M100 sounds as good as the bass-reduced UE6000, which is like a Shure 1840 with bass. Real bass. Better than $700 USD for a fraction of the price. I gave my HP100 away.

 

[quadpatch]

Here's hoping something nice from the new VModa, should get mine in a day or two as its being held at a depot until I pay the customs charge but I have to wait for a letter before I know where to go, omg I hate them so much!! It'll be a while before I order anything from america again, and it's not like I had any choice with these or the Mad Dog.

Anyway, how come you gave away your HP100's? I get the impression that the Amperior and the UE6000 are your favourites at the moment. How did the HP100 stack up against those two in terms of sound quality and comfort?

 

[dalethorn]

Here's hoping something nice from the new VModa, should get mine in a day or two as its being held at a depot until I pay the customs charge but I have to wait for a letter before I know where to go, omg I hate them so much!! It'll be a while before I order anything from america again, and it's not like I had any choice with these or the Mad Dog. Anyway, how come you gave away your HP100's? I get the impression that the Amperior and the UE6000 are your favourites at the moment. How did the HP100 stack up against those two in terms of sound quality and comfort?

Funny thing - I've ordered several items from the Hifiheadphones guys, and they've all arrived duty-free here in the U.S. Somebody on your side of the pond is more "tax aware".

On the HP100, the Amperior for example is more dark sounding, and while the UE6000 isn't exactly like the Amperior (the 6000 is more like the Shure plus Amperior), both of these are warm and weighty up through the lower mids, which the HP100 is not. If I went back six months, before the M50, when my headphones on average were tilted slightly toward light and bright, the HP100 might have been number one. But now it sounds like there's something missing in the lower mids to upper bass - and while technically that's not the case, it still sounds like it belongs somewhere else. So we will see how my newer, darker adventure goes.

 

[quadpatch]

I think the reason we get punished is that American products don't include vat so because there is a lot of money to be made by charging it they stop everything coming from the US. Because there is nothing you can do about this (no one to contact or complain to) they just do what they like, sit on it for days/weeks and then tack on loads of extra charges. Maybe if America would just add vat (sales tax) like every other country in the world we could avoid this but who knows. I don't mind paying what I owe, I just hate paying loads of money for shipping, to get things here in a reasonable time and then get screwed by the lazy, greedy customs ppl, who really need to burn in hell! As well as paying 20% tax on the product we pay 20% on the shipping cost (how the hell does that make sense?), duty and an administration fee... it's purely criminal is what it is!!

Anyway... so, more importantly, you are becoming a bass head in your old age Dale 😛. Seriously though, I do know where you are coming from here. I have been hugely impressed by some very bassy headphones (Denon AH-D7000, Grados PS1000) and heard great things about others like the Fostex TH-900.

I have always wanted an active noise cancelling set too so I think I will have to give the UE6000 a go soon as well. Once I've finish this batch of reviews I will think about buying them.

 

[dalethorn]

We learned about the taxman from those early Beatles songs as I've heard. Oh, wait - forgot - the whole Revolution thing was a tax revolt. Not to worry, though. Fewer people are taking shelter here now that they've learned more advanced methods of tax avoidance in international finance. That's not for you or me though. You and me both work for Her Majesty regardless of what else you've heard.

BTW, when you see those prices at Hifiheadphones, those are with VAT included. Now, wouldn't you be surprised to know that when I order from them, the VAT is subtracted. That's why I order from them. Gotta love those treaties!

 

[dalethorn]

... so, more importantly, you are becoming a bass head in your old age Dale 😛. Seriously though, I do know where you are coming from here. I have been hugely impressed by some very bassy headphones (Denon AH-D7000, Grados PS1000) and heard great things about others like the Fostex TH-900. I have always wanted an active noise cancelling set too so I think I will have to give the UE6000 a go soon as well.

I just did a ridiculous thing, to see how bass-centric I really am becoming, so I played Morcheeba's "The Sea" a few times on the Amperior and everyone's (not) favorite headphone, the B&W P3. P3 with treble boost and Amperior flat. If listening to the Amperior is like eating a big juicy steak, the P3 is like a small, lean pork chop. This track (from the CD) has a rather indistinct and boomy bass, yet the Amperior played it well with no hint of muddiness getting into the mids. By comparison, the P3's rendition of the vocals was much less clear and "dry" (if that's the right word). Oddly enough, in spite of much less bass with the P3, the booms became more distinct with the P3. So that might be a good selling point of the P3 - good mid/upper bass impact in a very small light headphone.

I could live with the P3 if it were my main headphone - there's enough detail, lack of harshness, and some useful output even in the deep bass to make it enjoyable. But what a difference going to the Amperior - it's like the music gains a foundation, not just some anomalous low frequency sound.

 

[quadpatch]

Finally got the M-100 today. My first impression is that the bass is plenty powerful! Way more than I was expecting based on the M-80 and way more than I'm used to at the moment with the SoundMAGIC HP100. Anyway, here is a pic of mine with the custom sheilds...

The build quality of these things is amazing. Love the orange cable on matt black!! The folding mechanism is rock solid and they're tiny when they are folded in the case. The 6.35mm adaptor is pretty and is useful for making it work with amps that take it (other brands/generic adaptors cause the channels to go completely mental just like the M-80. The music sharing cable is cool and the boom mic for gaming is a nice touch (although those last two are optional extras for the next pre-order/production models).

I'm really happy with these headphones! Can't wait to write the review for this one!!

If you can't get the big pic check in out here (bottom of link) http://noblehifi.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/fostex-flood-coming-soon.html

 

[Julian_b]

Hope they sound as good as they look.....