V-Moda may not be the most well-known headphone brand out there, but as they’ve proven with the V-Moda Forza headphones, they certainly have a lot to offer. Now, however, we’re taking a look at one of the company’s more premium over-ear cans — the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones.
The headphones are a cool $300 — which is no small price, though the company has been known to offer excellent value for money. To top it off, they certainly have an interesting look — but do they have the sound quality to match? We put them to the test to find out.
Design
As mentioned, the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones have quite an interesting look. While perhaps not as unique as Blue’s headphone offerings, they still have somewhat of an alien aura to them — and like in Blue’s case, that design works for the headphones rather than against them.
The headphones come in a few different colors, with standard options including “gunmetal,” “rouge,” “white silver,” and “phantom chrome.” Judging by the images on the website, all of the colors look great — but we’re reviewing the “rouge” pair. Not only that, but you can also customize the headphones with dozens of extra “shields,” or plates that you’ll screw onto the side of the headphones to give them a different look. We love the idea, and while changing the shields isn’t the easiest thing to do, it’s nice that you can customize the color of the headphones.
The ear cups themselves aren’t circular, like most other headphones. Instead, they’re hexagonal, which is an interesting touch to the design. In our pair, the red plate on the side was complimented by red accents on the headband, which looks great. On the right earcup, you’ll find the microUSB port, while the left one is where the 3.5mm audio jack is located — as well as the the power switch, the volume buttons, and a middle, multi-use button for pausing and playing, as well as for controlling calls.
Apart from the hexagonal ear cups, the headphones have a nice-looking and sturdy frame that seems like it could stand up to quite a bit of abuse — so if you’re looking for something to take on the road, this might be a good option.
In the box, you’ll find a nice slew of accessories, including a nice, sturdy carry case, a microUSB charging cable, a 3.5mm audio cable, a 3.5mm – 6.3mm adapter, and even a carabiner — which we assume is to clip the case to your bag or purse. It’s really a nice selection — and there’s nothing extra we would have liked to see. Those accessories are well-built, too. The audio cable, for example, is protected with a braided nylon rather than plastic, which helps ensure that it’ll last as long as the headphones themselves.
Comfort
The V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones are decently comfortable, but you might need to take a few seconds to adjust them to the right positioning, and those with larger ears might have trouble with the headphones actually sitting all the way around their ears. Over-ear headphones are generally more comfortable than on-ear headphones, but half-on-half-off-ear headphones are the worst. Thankfully, the Crossfade Wireless headphones did sit completely over our ears, but only just — and we only have medium sized ears.
Still, V-Moda has thankfully included a nice premium memory foam in the earcups, which helps mitigate any discomfort. In general, the headphones are more comfortable than not, but we would have liked the earcups to be a little larger.
On the headband, you’ll find a nice leather on the top, and a mesh on the bottom. There’s plenty of foam underneath the earband, and thanks to the fact that the headphones are generally quite light, there’s no need for more.
Sound
The V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones sound excellent — but audiophiles beware: these are meant to sound fun and exciting, not necessarily natural.
Let’s start with the bass, which is deep, powerful, and extremely present. Kicks will punch you in the face, while bass guitars and synths are smooth and deep. They manage to do so without sounding too muddy or overdone, too — which is an excellent achievement on V-Moda’s part. Those that enjoy deep and powerful bass will love the sound profile that these headphones deliver.
The midrange isn’t as well tuned as the bass (or the high-end, for that matter) — but it’s still pretty nicely done. The low-mids offer some warmth, and while the mids in general aren’t as clear as we would have liked, they still offer plenty of depth to the sound, especially for those who are mainly looking for bass-heavy headphones anyway.
The high-end is nice and crisp, and it gives the vocals and guitars a nice sheen. We would have liked to see a little more of the super high-end, which would have help those cymbals shine through a little better — but in general there’s plenty of nice, shiny highs to go around.
One thing to note about the the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones is that they don’t do much in the way of isolation. You’re going to hear plenty of outside noise, and those around you might hear a good amount of your music, too. V-Moda stops short of calling these open-back, but they’re not as closed as they could be.
Performance
The V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones are fine in the performance department, but they’re not going to blow any minds. Pairing them is a bit of a pain — instead of using a voice over that says things like “pairing,” the headphones use somewhat cryptic sounds, which gets a little confusing. Still, all you really need to do is hold the power switch down for a minute to enter pairing mode — so things shouldn’t get too complicated.
The battery life on these headphones is fine, but could be better. They’ll last 12 hours on a full charge, which is a little disappointing compared to many other wireless headphones, like the B&O Beoplay H4’s, which last 18 hours. Most wireless over-ear headphones should hit close to 20 hours, so you’ll want to try and remember to charge these a little more often than you would have to with other headphones. Thankfully, if you do happen to run out of battery on the go, you can just pop in the aux cable to keep listening — that takes no battery.
Conclusions
In general, the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones look great, sound great, and are decently comfortable. Of course, they’re not perfect — but thankfully their imperfections lie firmly in the minor details. Sure, there are a few minor quibbles to note in sound quality, and some might need something a little larger, but if you’re looking for a premium pair of wireless headphones in the sub-$300 range, these are an excellent choice.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$299.99 |
 |
$299.98 |
| V-Moda | $300 |
| Frequency response | 5Hz – 30kHz | Active noise cancellation |
No |
| Driver size | 50mm | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type |
Dynamic | In-line controls | Yes, and on ear |
| Design |
Closed-back | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | 107dB | Earpad material | Memory foam |
| Rated impedance |
30Ω | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion |
Unknown | Water resistance | No |
| Rated input power |
Unknown | Battery life | 12 Hours |
| Maximum input power |
Unknown | Wireless distance | 10m (33ft) |
| Wireless connection |
10m (33ft) | Cable length | 1.2m (4ft) |
| Wired connection |
Yes | Case type | Hard case |
| Detachable cable |
Yes | In-the-box |
|
| Weight | 292g (10.3oz) | Colors | Gunmetal, Rouge, White Silver, Phantom Chrome |