V-MODA CrossFade Wireless Headphones Review
As I’ve said before, audio is a very personal thing. I’ve always been intrigued by over the ear headphones, but the only pair I tried for the longest time was the Audio Technica ATH-M50X’s, good sounding wired set. However, I gave them to a friend to use since they couldn’t quite fit my head, and I ended up selling them after about 7 months of ownership. Beyond that, I’ve used strictly earbuds. About a month and a half ago, I ended up ordering a set of V-MODA Crossfade Wireless’s: V-MODA’s first wireless headphones.
The Crossfades are only available online, either on V-MODA’s own site or Amazon, where I ordered mine. If you venture to V-MODA’s site, you can order the headphones with your choice of aluminum or 3D printed fiber shields in a plethora of colors. Since I purchased mine on Amazon, options were limited to the base colors, and I ordered a black base color with black shields, but when the headphones arrived they had silver shields installed and an extra set of gold shields. I ended up enjoying the silver, so I can’t complain too much.
When they arrive, the headphones are inside their very sturdy carrying case, alongside the other included accessories: a carabiner to clip the case to a backpack, an audio cable for wired mode, a flat micro-USB charging cable, and an adapter for plugging the wire into a guitar amp or similar connection. All of these accessories can be placed inside the case itself with a very clever board that attaches to the case with velcro, and features elastic loops for the keeping the accessories in place. The headphone surround this board, and the entire case is very sturdy and compact. I encountered no problems with throwing this case in a backpack.
Onto the headphones, the second you pick them up you can tell how well they are constructed. Most of the body is made from metal, so it’s nice and sturdy. Most of the controls are on the right ear cup: the volume down, play/pause, and volume up buttons are on top, with the off/on/pairing switch right below the metal shield. Each shield has six small screws that can be removed to replace the shield with one of a different color or material. On the bottom of the right ear cup is the audio jack for wired mode, and microphone for voice calls during wireless use. The instant you plug the wire in, the Bluetooth radio shuts off. The audio jack is a 3.5 mm plug, so any standard cable will work if you dislike the included cable. The left ear cup is bare, except the Micro-USB charging port at the very bottom.
The volume down, play/pause and volume up bottoms should be better at this price. They aren’t very tactile, so I often had to press them a couple times to get my press to register. The included cable is high quality and braided, and includes a microphone for phone calls, and its own play/pause button. If you intend to use these headphones for gaming, you can also upgrade to the Boom Mic cable. The microphone on the right ear cup does a decent job of picking up my voice, but those on the other end of the call said they always heard a bit of static. I tested the default cable with the Xbox One headphone adapter, and it worked great. It’s amazing how clearly I heard other players insulting my gameplay.
Another negative for these headphones are the included ear pads: they’re just too thin for most people. If you are going to purchase these headphones, spend an extra $20 and buy V-MODA’s XL ear pads. You’ll enjoy the headphones much more. The ear cups hinge and can extend from the headband to get them in the perfect position. V-MODA claims the headphones last 12 hours in wireless mode, which matches up well with what my average battery life was. If your headphones are out of juice, they can still be used in wired mode.
The headphones stay in place very well, even when I’m working out. The only downside to using them at the gym or on a jog in that you’ll get very sweaty underneath the ear cups, which can get uncomfortable very quickly. For gym use, I still prefer a pair of earbuds.
None of what I’ve written would matter if the sound from these headphones didn’t live up to the hype, and I’m happy to say that the sound from these headphones is amazing. The sound isn’t just “good for wireless headphones”, it’s great no matter what. I did notice a slight amount of extra detail when I used the headphones in wired mode, but wireless mode still sounds fantastic. There’s no active noise cancellation, but the seal headphones themselves provide a good amount of passive noise cancellation. However, be wary of cranking these too loud around other people — as the video below demonstrates, it’s very easy for others to hear what you’re listening to. That was at the very painful maximum volume, so you have a bit of room to get loud sound without being too obnoxious.
My tastes in music is varied, to say the least. On my phone, I’ve got everything from Hank Williams Sr. and Patsy Cline to Black Sabbath and Danzig, and quite a bit in between. Whether I was listening to old country or newer hard rock, every genre sounded great. Podcasts and audiobooks also sounded clear.
Despite how much I love the sound and versatility of the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless’s, I’ll be returning them to Amazon. Even with the XL ear cups, these just aren’t comfortable for me to wear more than thirty or so minutes. Despite my grumbles, these are very good headphones, and they’re worth a try. Amazon offers 30 day returns, while V-MODA offers 60. If you’re considering a pair of high end headphones, these are definitely worth a listen.
