I’ve tried a lot of headphones in my day. I’ve tried high-end brands and low-end ones. I’ve tested headphones of varying shapes and sizes. I’ve worn in-ear and over-the-ear; ones that send sound directly into your ear and ones that vibrate the bone behind your ear, sending the noise in that way.
I’ve learned two things: first of all, if you want a good set of headphones, you can’t go cheap. With speakers and headphones, the idea that you’re going to pay a Toyota price and come away with a Ferrari is absurd. If you want quality, you need to invest in it.
The second thing is that headphones can look great and sound terrible. It takes a truly devoted designer to create a pair that are beautiful when worn and sound just as beautiful when turned on.
The V-MODA Crossfade 2
Enter the V-MODA Crossfade 2 Wireless headphones. Definitely not on the low-end of headphone price, these immediately made me perk up my ears (no pun intended) because it was obvious that they’re meant to be high-quality phones for those who truly enjoy their music. Upon unpackaging them, I noted that they were incredibly attractive headphones.
They looked sleek as I unfolded them from their carrying case. But how would they sound?
The Crossfade 2 Wireless headphone is a bit of a misnomer. They can be used wirelessly, pleasing most of the technological world, but for those who prefer to go old-school, they have wired capability, as well. I still have a classic iPod that I use more frequently than I’d like to admit, so having the wired option is a huge plus for a nice pair of headphones.
The memory foam cups and ergonomic headband makes the Crossfade 2 an incredibly comfortable design that can be worn for hours at a time. They’re amazingly lightweight for over-the-ear headphones, too.
As for the sound… It absolutely blew me away. The crispness and clarity were striking, with beautiful, deep base and vivid audio that made every genre of music a pleasure to hear. This is in part due to the 50mm dual-diaphragm driver that keeps the base separate from the mid- and high-range sounds. In addition to this, the passive noise isolation make them wonderful headphones to wear on a noisy train or plane.
V-MODA’s Crossfade 2 Wireless headphones are good-looking and comfortable, but most importantly, they make my music sound as though I’m hearing it for the very first time. These are definitely a headphone investment that’s worth making.
These are mid-fi at best and easily bettered sonically by the Sennheiser HD800S, any Audeze can, the Focal Elear and new Clear, Mr. Speakers Ethers, Grado’s, ZMF, etc. V-Moda have always been more about style than sonic competency.