A big thank you to Mike & Lieven from Headfonia for their help and posting this review!
With the explosion of digital audio in recent years high-end headphones are taking a real boost in popularity. VModa comes rather late to the party but with a fresh perspective. Their M-80 model has made a big impression since it's launch in August 2011 but if the looks make you sceptical please read on, unlike a lot of new designer headphones their beauty isn't just skin deep. Let's take away the great looks, the awesome customisation options, the military grade durability and focus on what's really important for a moment - the sound...
I've heard people describe the M-80's sound character as neutral and I can see where they're coming from but this doesn't paint quite the full picture. The sound is not neutral compared to a professional monitor headphone and for most people's music listening this is probably a good thing. They are neutral compared to a bass heavy headphone like a Dr. Dre Beats, VModa LP/LP2, compared to some they are neutral enough to make them feel well balanced, clear and uncoloured but there is a little more excitement in the mix.
The bass is nicely pronounced but fast, punchy and with reasonable depth but most importantly it doesn't feel bloated. The upper midrange gets a similar treatment, very slightly forward giving vocals a subtle but noticeably enjoyable push. Both of these deviations from neutrality only aid in creating a more pleasant presentation. They feel carefully tuned to be more about an enjoying listen than scrutinising. This balance of neutrality and subtle 'v-shape' enhancement seems to have a positive affect on genre versatility too but I will come back to that later. The treble is also very impressive in that it's rarely painful, it's well controlled without sounding restrained.
The M-80's detail resolving capabilities are great, instrument separation is also good and keeps up with the competition well (something like the Sennheiser HD25-1 II). The subtle porting in the metal cups help give a nice airy sense. Soundstage is impressive for a closed back design, a little isolation is lost in this process but this trade off with soundstage is probably a nice balance for a majority of listeners. They would still be a good choice for use on public transport. Although better isolation can be found they will most likely not touch this balance of great sound characteristics and certainly not at this price.
AMPLIFICATION
Plugged directly in to any portable player they perform admirably. With a low impedance of 28.5ohms they're unlikely to have volume issues with any source. The iPhone 4 was loud at 60%, the Samsung Galaxy S at about 75%. They are also quite forgiving of compressed music but more so when listening to a non-amplified source. Connected to a portable DAC & headphone amplifier all of the M-80's many strengths get a healthy boost but even getting used to this boost in quality didn't ruin the experience of running them directly. I connected them to an iBasso D7 for a whole week while I was working and it has been a real joy. The sound got a tighter and more textured bass, being more detailed, faster and even more enjoyable.
When deciding how a certain headphone performs with different music it's usually pretty easy to find some genres that perform better or worse than others but in the M-80's case this proved really difficult. I have described headphones as versatile before but after hearing the M-80 it makes me want to withdraw my previous statements and crown these as the new king of versatility (at least for their category).
Nero's 'Welcome To Reality' sounded pleasantly energetic whilst feeling neither boosted nor constrained. The bass impact is quite impressive without feeling muddy but it might lack some bass extension for the dubstep crowd. VModa's own LP2 could step in here although I wonder at what cost to versatility. I'm really curious to try this music with the LP2 because I find it hard to believe that it could be generally better than it is here already. The M-80's bass, although not big as some, is just so nicely presented. Pop music is not exactly my forte but it sounded nicely balanced - bright and bold, good separation on the vocals / instruments, generally lively and a lot of fun.
The heavy industrial metal guitar and energetic female vocals of Velcra's 'Between Force and Fate' were displayed with a healthy dose of power and aggression. The bass and energy on display was especially impressive given the M-80's small size. The guitar from Tool's 'Lateralus' album was similarly satisfying. Nicely detailed for such a densely musical rock track, it can be difficult for this kind of music to sound engaging on closed headphones but the M-80's do a commendable job.
John Williams's classical orchestra in 'Tin Tin' does a great job at conveying a lively and dramatic energy. There are many deep and powerful sections to this album which are presented very well considering the M-80's size / price, only headphones much larger and more expensive can take the edge off the slight congestion and add some deeper bass while keeping the control on offer here. Rodrigo Y Gabriela's live (in Japan) latin album really shines for it's detail and fast rhythm but there is also plenty of heavy influence from their roots in Metal music so is a great test for any headphone. There are some heavy guitar thumping moments that are deeply impressive and rhythmic but also soundstage gets a good workout and treble articulacy is on top form.
For this section I will mostly be comparing the VModa M-80 to the Sennheiser HD25-1 II because these headphones are aimed at a very similar audience: Both are small, have great build quality, good isolation, versatile signatures and class leading sound quality. The HD25 (I'll use this truncated name now for sanity reasons) was a favourite of mine at work and on the move for the past 5 years. Then along came the M-80 and completely won me over. To improve on an iconic headphone such as the HD25 is really something quite special as this is a lot of people's favourite.
The M-80 feels faster and more detailed, the bass kicks harder and is more textured. The upper midrange sounds nice and forward like the HD25 but despite this the M-80 feel less sibilant (a common complaint of the Sennheiser). The 'v-shaped' response feels less apparent with the M-80 but that still makes the mids a little recessed. Personally I like this approach but it makes the M-80 feel more neutral / less bright by comparison and that could disagree with some people's preferences. Generally speaking I think the M-80 improves on pretty much everything over the HD25 but apart from the subjective mid presentation there are a couple of small areas where the HD25 has the edge. The first is comfort, the HD25 feel a bit nicer on the ear for slightly longer periods being a little larger headphone but it's still an on-ear so the difference is not huge. The second aspect is isolation, the HD25 wins here too because of the M-80's porting but this is a double edge sword because it also provides a nicer soundstage. That's not to say the isolation of the M-80 is poor, far from it, they're just not as good the HD25.
The build quality of the M-80s could easily be described as 'tank-like' and maybe the military grade durability is influencing me there but it's a fair statement. There is a lot of metal used in the construction, both in the cups and the headband. This shows when you pick them up as they feel considerably more dense / heavier than say the Sennheiser HD25 but that's certainly not a criticism. They don't feel too heavy and are generally pretty comfortable (albeit not for long periods - see above). VModa do make a larger over-ear headphone in the form of the more bass-heavy LP2 and are rumoured to be planning a combination of the LP2's size with the M-80's sound signature (M-100?). I for one really hope this is true.
Apart from being strong and aesthetically pleasing the large screws you see on all VModa headphones are also for customisation of the metal shield plates on the cups. New plates can be ordered in several colours but you can also have a set design (or any monotone image you send them) laser engraved to the surface. Given the already great looks and build to this design this is a wonderful way to increase the desirability factor even further for people who want to show them off. For the first time people can be just as proud of the sound quality as the style.
If you are looking for a neat, sturdy, good looking, fairly neutral, well isolated headphone with absolutely stunning sound quality then I highly recommend them. Their performance and versatility is extremely impressive and a good DAC/amp pushes that quality even higher.
The relatively neutral response yet great bass & mid tones, the good isolation yet surprising sound-stage, the durability yet customisation... This is an amazing example of balanced features that not only works but puts it on top of my recommendation list for this category.
They might be difficult to try before you buy but if you are aware of their minor shortcomings I don't think you can be disappointed. The fact that they do all this and with such aesthetic styling just seems too good to be true. The competition should be very concerned indeed - this newcomer is making the headphone business look easy.
