Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware
We have been covering products from V-MODA since 2007, and since the very beginning, it was clear to us the company is set on making products that are both fashionable and high performing. The V-MODA Crossfade Wireless, as its name suggests, is the wireless version of the excellent Crossfade M-100, just like how this review is a modified version of our Crossfade M-100 review. Starting from the design of the Crossfade Wireless, I have to say it is an excellent combination of subtle elegance and modern touches. The dark color scheme of our Gunmetal unit is complemented by a pair of replaceable side shields for a high degree of customization, and needless to say -- whatever your taste takes you -- it looks great both on and off your head. Our photo above shows the stock shield from V-MODA's online design gallery, which will not cost you any extra money.
From a practical perspective, the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless has to be one of the most well-built headphones I have ever encountered, along with the M-100 and XS. It feels absolutely solid in the hand, but this is not just my personal opinion. The SteelFlex Headband is designed to support ten-plus flat bends. The ear cups are attached to the headband by a pair of solid metal brackets, each reinforced with multiple screws at every end to ensure a secure assembly. The company also claims it can survive "severe high/low temperatures, humidity, salt spray and UV rays" per the MIL-STD-810G test standard. With the new wireless components, V-MODA no longer claims it can live with more than seventy drops from 1.5m onto concrete, but this is not a big deal. I have done none of these tests on my particular pair, but these claims are quite believable to say the least.
Our photo above shows the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless in full profile view. Unlike the Crossfade M-100, the Wireless is not collapsible. I am quite surprised at this change, since the CliqFold Hinge -- V-MODA's name for the pivoting hinges -- are traditionally a feature on the metal brackets, which can easily be implemented onto these headphones if needed. My guess is the wireless components are probably placed around the headband area, which repeated folding may exert too much stress on the electronics, and in turn reduce long term reliability. You will lose out on how compact the Crossfade M-100 and XS can become in its collapsed state when going wireless, but this is not a big deal.
Two cables are included for use with the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless, as you can see in our photo above. We will dig into the details of the cables in just a moment, but for now, keep in mind the USB cable used for charging is flat and goes into the left side, while the "SpeakEasy" 24k gold plated 3.5mm cable goes into the right side, just the way I like it.
Pursuing the end of ubiquity are not empty words, but a slogan with substance. The company thinks choosing from three or four different colors is too mainstream, and being able to configure your headphones with custom shields is their latest pursuit. The online configurator reminds me of an automotive website, and rightly so. 3D printed shields are available in a variety of materials, including fiber, aluminum, stainless steel, and precious metals. Unless you come from Dubai and want splash literally a car amount of money (Well, an American kind of car money for $27,000), not Dubai kind of car money) for some golden bling, most peasants like us will stick with the remaining options. As aforementioned, the photo set in this review shows the default shield from V-MODA's online design gallery, which costs you nothing. A couple of custom shields, including one with our website's logo printed on, were demonstrated in our Crossfade M-100 review I wrote back in September. Swapping them is quite easy; simply remove six hex screws, and you are on your way.
Moving on, the design philosophy of the Crossfade Wireless what V-MODA refers to as ABC+P, or "anything but circles + plastic". The first part of this theory is heads are not circular, and neither should the headphones that go over it. I did not quite understand the merits of this theory, until I actually started using the V-MODA XS last year. I do not have a particularly big head, despite the fact I am doing my thesis based Master of Science in Electrical Engineering here in the University of Calgary. That said, even with every sliding increment set to the smallest scale, these headphones fit me perfectly with minimal gaps anywhere. Yes, I did look in the mirror. On the other hand, my colleague Aaron Lai, who has a much bigger head than me, tried these headphones on and -- stunningly -- fits his head like a custom made hat as well. He did expand it a few notches out, but needless to say, I am impressed. The SteelFlex Headband is nicely padded on the inside, and wrapped with some hipster vegan leather on the outside.
These over-ear circumaural headphones are specified with a weight of 292g without the cable, which is pretty light to behold. It is only 12g heavier than its wired counterpart. The drivers are 50mm M-Class dual diaphragm, high fidelity units with a rated frequency response of an impressive 5Hz to 30kHz. This means they are 10mm larger than the XS drivers, and are identical to the M-100. These specifications are, quite frankly, quite a bit beyond the hearing range of any normal human being of around 20Hz to 20kHz. The rated sensitivity is 107dB @ 1kHz 1mW with an impedance of 30 ohms. It will work quite well with unamplified sources such as your smartphone in wired mode, but amplifying it does have its benefits, and I have evaluated in my SilverStone EB01-E and EB03 review last year. But we did not buy Bluetooth headphones to use it in wired mode, did we?
BLISS memory foam cushions wrapped in soft leather surrounds the M-Class drivers on the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless. Not only are they very comfortable, but they also exhibit excellent noise sealing properties. To demonstrate, I tried playing some music through these headphones at regular volumes. Next, I pressed the cups together. At this point, most of the sound that was clearly audible just a moment ago sudden became cut out. This is not black magic; just good design. They will not block out noise like in ear monitors, but they are decent enough for use on the train. With all these in combination, I will have to say the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless not only looks good in the mirror, but is also very comfortable in everyday use. Compared to the V-MODA XS, which are on-ear headphones, the Crossfade Wireless, like the M-100, are more comfortable with slightly sealing properties, since they are larger, and sits around your ears.
Exclusive to the Crossfade Wireless are three buttons at the top of the right ear cup, as well as a three-way slider switch at the bottom, which you will see in the next picture. We will talk about that in just a moment. For the three buttons, the user interface is identical to any smartphone headset remote; hit the multi-function button with V-MODA's logo once to answer a call, and hold it down to reject. For music control, press once to play, twice for next track, and three times for previous. The '+' and '-' should be self-explanatory -- they adjust the volume up or down, respectively.
At the bottom view, here is the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless with the cable attached. Yes, these are wireless Bluetooth headphones, but you can still plug in a regular analog cable into the right side to turn it into what is essentially a Crossfade M-100. This way, you can bypass wireless limitations and the Crossfade Wireless' internal digital to analog converter for improved sound quality and reduced latency -- at the expense of convenience, of course. Using it in passive analog mode does not require any battery power though, and plugging in the cable will automatically disable its wireless electronics. I think this option is great, since you can get the best of both worlds. Unlike the M-100, however, there is no audio passthrough on the Crossfade Wireless; the port on the left ear cup is a USB input used for recharging the internal battery.
The black Kevlar reinforced "SpeakEasy" 24k gold plated 3.5mm cable is rated for over a million bends. It goes into your Crossfade Wireless via a straight plug on one end, and via a forty five degree strain relief on the other end for the input source, such as your amplifier or smartphone. The cable has a special name, because it features another microphone in addition to the integrated one on the headset (More in this in just a moment), as well as controls compatible with Apple, Android, Kindle, Windows, and Blackberry devices. The microphone is rated at -42dB @ 1kHz. The cable is somewhat prone to microphonics, but I would not consider this a big problem. Also, this is made to be a wireless headset, so what microphonics?
At the bottom of the right ear cup is a three-way slider switch and an integrated microphone used for making calls. If you slide it all the way to the left, it will turn off the Crossfade Wireless. To turn it on, move it to the middle, and the integrated white LED in the middle will blink once per second until a connection is established. If you want to pair it with a new device, slide it all the way to the right, and hold it there for three seconds until the white LED blinks twice per second. The Crossfade Wireless can be paired with up to two devices at the same time. The same LED also doubles as a charge indicator; when it is blinking orange, it means battery is low. A fading orange LED will indicate charging is in progress, while a constant white LED when plugged in means charging is complete.
With excellent build quality, impressive attention to detail, cool customization options, and remarkable comfort, here is the most important question of them all: Does the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless sound as good as it looks? What losses will we get switching from wired mode to wireless mode? We have the entire Page 3 dedicated to presenting our auditioning results.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
