Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
Outstanding full - sizing , on - auricle headphone is imposingly rugged and truly portable .
There ’s a lot of train out there for your Apple twist , but how do you know which are deserving your time and what ’s not deserving your money ? In our Gear We Love column , Macworld ’s editor tell you about the ware we ’re in person using — and love .
As the headphones guy cable on stave , I see a lot of audio gear . But unless a product is really extra , once I ’m done testing I go back to my former favorites . five - moda ’s newXS on - ear headphoneis one of those special product .
Over the past few years , V - moda has released a numeral of great headphones that offer the company ’s “ innovative audiophile ” sound signature : overall accuracy , but with a bit of bass emphasis for a toe - exploit kick . In addition to great sound lineament , these headphones have all been impressively well built , and they ’ve had designs that are — at least to my eyes — much more fashionable than the typical higher - remainder phone . But the XS just may be my favorite of the clustering .
The XS fundamentally takes the acclaimed Crossfade M–80 and improves on it while making it in truth portable . The XS has the same sturdy , leather - wrapped headband — which can be root for and wrick to an amazing degree without breaking it or bear on its condition — and the same compact earpieces with piano , retentivity - foam earpads . The metal hinges are rugged , and though the entire computer software weigh less than seven ounce , it feels like it should be able to handle a undecomposed amount of trauma .
( V - moda say the XS has been tested to hold up over 70 cliff onto concrete from 1.5 meter , and that it can exist extreme temperatures , humidness , salt atomiser , and UV rays — in other words , as long as you do n’t drop the XS in the pool , it should last a while . The company provides a two - year warrant , and V - moda ’s “ Immortal Life Program ” promises that if you ever demolish your XS , regardless of the suit , you could get a replacement for half terms . )
But whereas the Crossfade M–80 is only moderately portable , the XS is specifically aimed at portable economic consumption : The earpieces close up up into the headband , allowing the XS to fit into the let in hardshell travel case , which is compact enough to outfit in even a small laptop cup of tea or backpack . Alternatively , you could employ the included carabiner to clip the example to the outside of your handbag — the typesetter’s case is sturdy enough to protect the headphones from most fairish insult .
Another heavy improvement over the M–80 is the XS ’s unique headband design . Whereas a traditional headband rest most of the weightiness of the headphone on the summit of your capitulum , with gap on the side of your head , the XS ’s headband is shaped to remove those disruption so the headphone ’s weighting is circulate more evenly along both the side and the top of your attic . The result is both an aesthetic melioration ( the phone looks less bulky ) and , more of import , a noticeable increment in comfort . With many full - size earphone , the crown of my head eventually gets sore due to the weight resting on that single point ; with the XS , I ’m capable to listen for minute at a clip without discomfort .
An interesting feature of the XS is that it includestwoinputs . At the bottom of each earpiece is a 1/8 - column inch jack for the included headphone cable , so you may pick out to have the cable connected on the left wing or right . But these jacks can also process a couple other purposes : you could plug a second audio source into the unused diddly — the XS combine the two inputs — or you could connect a ally ’s earpiece so that you could both listen to the same source . ( The XS ship with two “ V - Cork ” wad to cover the redundant old salt when not in use . )
speak of cables , the XS includes a material - covered , Kevlar - reward , 4.5 - foot headphone cable with inline remote and mike mental faculty . V - moda says the cable length can defy over one million plication , but my favorite feature here is that V - moda separate the mic and remote , placing the mic nearer to your backtalk for better audio pickup while positioning the distant module further down the cable television service to make it easier to reach ( and see ) . I am let down , however , that the cable television offers only a single - push button remote , instead of the fellowship ’s nicer three - button version . ( you could buy the three - button version on an individual basis . )
As for audio performance , V - moda says the XS improves on the M–80 , and though the difference are subtle , I agree . You get treble and midrange that are clear and well balanced ( a bit more so , to my ear , than with the M–80 ) , along with basso response that ’s blotto and recondite , but emphasized just enough to get your head bobbing without sounding boomy or bloated . It ’s , as V - moda has appropriately named it , audiophile - grade sound with a modern kick .
Noise isolation , on the other hand , is only moderate . It ’s good enough to block off out a comely amount of external disturbance , and to keep your music from trouble oneself others , but it ’s not as good as with a set of closed , over - ear headphone , or withB&W ’s on - pinna P5 , another on - ear pet , which uses a unique leather earpad that excels at isolation .
However , I came aside liking the XS better than the P5 in many ways . The XS folds up into a more - compact traveling contour ; it feel more tough ; and though the P5 has a tranquil overall sound and better isolation , the XS is a moment more , well , funto take heed to thanks to honest top - end detail and that supernumerary kick at the lowly end .
In our reappraisal of the V - moda M–80 , R. Matthew Ward called the M–80 “ the best pair of seal off , supra - aural [ on - capitulum ] headphones I ’ve tried . ” I think the XS sounds slightly well , its improved headband is more comfy , and its fold - up innovation crap it more portable . If you ’re looking for a great headphone — great sound , great looks , and great fit — the XS is tough to beat among on - pinna models .
( The XS is uncommitted in mat pitch-dark or clean / silver . As with V - moda ’s other full - size of it headphone , the metal “ shield ” on each earpiece are standardized and customizable — you canorder your own shields with laser - engraved textbook or logos . )
