V-Moda Xs On-Ear Metal Noise-Isolating Headphones - Matte Black, One Size

Being a travelling Audio Visual Technician, the most important headphone attributes to me are durability, compactness, professional features & a reliably true representation of sound. I took months deciding which new headphones would best suit me & the V-Moda XS appears to balance all these needs in equal measure. I’d prefer writing a 6-month review but am so impressed after just 2 days that I couldn’t wait to shout about this great find. Subjectively, this review won’t be music to everyone’s ears but from my perspective it already feels like V-Moda have eliminated every single issue I’ve encountered over a 15-year career working with portable monitoring headphones & crafted the XS’s just for me, in one awesome looking package to boot: bonus.Delivered to my local collection point at the time promised & in a sturdy, attractive product box. The included zip-up travel case, which snugly holds folded headphones & cable, fits in the palm of my hand & seems solid enough for a kick-about at Twickenham. It’s hard, contoured design minimises wasted space & benefits from the natural structural integrity of the clam shell it resembles. I’ve removed the mini carabiner supplied but it could easily clip onto bag, belt-loop or bike if that’s how you roll.The headphones themselves are very compact, folded or unfolded. Their strikingly unique design is aggressively modern with a nod to retro-aviation, while the engineering & quality displayed by the all-metal framework, hinges & screws exceeds high-end equivalents at twice the price from long-established manufactures. The hinges make a reassuringly satisfying metallic click when opened or closed, which sounds pure class & lets you know they’re ready for business. There’s a good amount of padding on the headband which fits my small head well with arms fully retracted. Each arm extends about an inch so all but the most boffin-sized noggins should be off to the races. While the headband lies evenly across my head without gaps, it’s not particularly grippy so not suited to sports use but listening on the bus/at home/work/studio should pose no problems. The on-ear cups fit perfectly & snugly over my wee ears but the larger over-ear V-Moda headphones may be more comfortable for prolonged listening periods if overall size isn’t an issue for you.There’s enough flex & memory in the headband for DJ’s to use off-the-neck, though the cups themselves don’t swivel on left/right axis – only up/down ensuring a good seal with ears. I’m no DJ so personal preference is advised. Overall weight & bulk are surprisingly low considering all that lovely aluminium, giving comfort in use or at rest around the neck.Although bass-heads may prefer a louder headphone with bias towards a fuller low-end drive, this wasn’t important to me & I found the bass clean, punchy & well defined without interference to other frequencies or vice versa. My reference audio files have never sounded better & I’m able to pick out all the small nuances that give me a kick from song to song, though I’ve only had other on-ear headphones for comparison. Incoming & outgoing noise isolation through the closed-back cups is good enough for me but not 100% so use in extremely noisy or silent environments may be semi-problematic to some.A medium length & highly visible orange braided cable is included, which features in-line mic & call button for use with phones + natty 45degree angled jack at source end – bit of a gimmick but one of several USP’s which represent the attention to detail breathed over every inch of this product. Some have mentioned cable sends noise through mic when rubbed on clothing but personally untested nor relevant to how I’ll use these headphones so either way I couldn’t give a monkey’s myself.The cable is fully detachable/replaceable (essential for pro cans) but what makes this model stand out are the twin inputs on left & right cups, meaning you can choose which side to plumb into: sounds like another gimmick but in reality, I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been distracted in the past by a cable trailing across my ever-changing workspaces & sound desks. It’s also good having the back-up port if one fails outside warranty. Equally impressive is the option to use the second port as a pick-up for your BFF’s cans too if you feel like sharing, or at a push send a monitored feed from your desk if running short on outputs. The ports can be blanked-off with small plastic bungs, which are fiddly for large fingers but worth having & using all the same. I’m a huge fan of the standard jacks supplied, which firmly push-in/pull-out without needing a twist – I’ve found locking cables a weak point on other headphones & a frustration when cables can’t be interchanged nor quickly uncoupled for moving about the studio. I’m surprised no ¼ inch jack adapter supplied & would prefer inclusion of longer coiled cable option as standard but these are my only negatives, which I’m happy to accept if helps keep unit cost of such thoughtfully produced kit this low. The fixed cable linking left & right cups, although fully braided itself, is partly exposed either end between headband & cups so needs a certain amount of respect (i.e., zipped away during storage or in transit).Spare cables, ear pads & other accessories are available as options, as are personalised side plates which look seriously tempting but may not be easily available in the UK. The slightly cheaper silver & white XS option will look good to the Mrs or out on the street but my industry is black all the way & mine are proper, full-on stealth-bomber black. 2-year warranty + Immortal Life guarantee tells me this product is built to last & that V-Moda is a serious audio player I want to do business with. It’s no surprise design, style & engineering come from California, Italy & Japan respectively, though I note final assembly (whatever that stretches to) occurs in China. Pretty standard I guess but still disappointed my hard-earned is funding a kleptocracy.You can buy cheaper, smaller headphones that are basic, ugly, tinny & will fall apart or plush, all singing, all dancing studio cans at the expense of valuable space & cost. The V-Moda XS seems to take the best from all these worlds & is like nothing else I’ve seen. Great sound & features, ridiculously portable, beautiful design & build quality that genuinely raises the bar. In an ideal world, headphones would last me 5 years plus: This is the first set I’ve owned that look like they could actually deliver that small slice of utopia. I commend V-Moda for producing a set of headphones absolutely unique to the market at a price I’m happy to pay…I’d probably pay a little more if I knew production took place alongside design or engineering. Very much looking forward to using in anger at a sound desk or video camera near you all soon…UPDATE: Used for a few weeks now & these cans just keep making me happier! Absolutely no ear pain experienced even after 3+ hours constant use. The headband makes contact across the width of my cranium, which disperses weight well. Great sound quality across the board. Small solid case fits any nook & cranny in bag & kept headphones in perfect condition on working road trip across Europe. I can confirm the cable does send noise to cans/mic during calls when rubbed on clothing but I think this is a trait of all braided cables - I still prefer braided for durability & this doesn't bother; if it did I would just swap out the cable. I've tested these with other jack to jack cables & they all work fine. Phones are comfortable around neck & cable easy to plug-in whilst wearing. Even at full volume I've found little distortion to sound. I don't use for pleasure listening - If I did I'd definitely want louder drivers & would opt for larger over-ear model.UPDATE 2: A couple of months of professional use have exposed an issue. Cups started to wobble, on closer inspection 7 of the 8 hinge screws were very loose, the 8th was missing completely. Ordered replacement screws (M1.6 x 3mm) from auction site then tightened with allen key (1.5mm) using threadlock. 2 further weeks of use & threadlock is doing its job well - cups feel firm once more. Problem rectified & still in love with these cans, just sad & surprised to find a major fault so soon after purchase.

I wasn't sure about these headphones, but was assured by amazon, that if they don't perform as expected, there ought to be no problems returning it - this was purely as I couldn't seem to try anywhere else prior to buying them. This is the first report on amazon I'm leaving and felt compelled to do as I think these are excellent.I tried the P3's, and Momentum's as well. The P3's are great, but what swung it formed was the attention to detail on everything - the headphones themselves, the cable, and the case for instance. Loved the packaging it arrived in as well - felt like an adventure opening them up!The Momentum's I discarded as they didn't fold up, and also when testing them on some similar tracks, I really felt the sensitivity wasn't there, and hence, you had to turn the volume up more to listen to those tracks. Lower quality MP3's and flac's compared, the XS's are well balanced and treat the music well. The XS are very sensitive, as are the P3's, so both are good, but loved the overall look of them so ordered them. Love them. Very comfortable to wear as well. If wearing on daily commute, there is a little leakage, but when on ears, and with some background noise, not so bad for others! Love the fact that they fold into really small footprint so if you haven't got the inclination to put into their case, they do fit into a suit side pocket easily!Bass is not massive, but these "aren't for bass" headphones - there are others for that. But there is a really good balance. If the tracks you like listening too have a lot of base, this does come through though!Only given 4 stars, as think it's mean that there is no volume control on the lead and this is bought separately (although I haven't figured out where), and that the single button lead I find is difficult sometime to move to the next track and find it annoying sometimes when it pauses rather than push onto next one.For quality of sound, I would give a 5.