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  • Introduction

  • Comfort Design & Features

  • Audio Quality

  • Conclusion

  • Science Introduction

  • Frequency Response

  • Isolation

  • Other Tests

  • Introduction
  • Comfort Design & Features
  • Audio Quality
  • Conclusion
  • Science Introduction
  • Frequency Response
  • Isolation
  • Other Tests

Pros

  • Durable steel frame construction

  • Works well for bass-heavy music

  • Includes a sturdy carrying case

Cons

  • Treble could sound muddled

  • Headband is on the tight side

Introduction

Comfort Design & Features

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Insanely durable, customizable, and comfortable to boot

If there’s one thing the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2s have, it’s durability. If there’s two things the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2s have, it's durability and style. Without launching into a long peek at how headphone design works, just look at the Crossfade LP-2s. While many users will be big fans of the current look, you can also create your own designs on differently-colored plates to be laser-etched by V-Moda, at a price.

If there’s one thing the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2s have, it’s durability.

As we mentioned before, these headphones are durable to the extreme. With a metal housing, single-piece aluminum band, removable kevlar ensconced cables, replacement cables, a carrying case, and even replacement metal backings, these cans were built to withstand a crazy amount of abuse. While you really shouldn’t subject any pair of headphones to the abject terror that the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2s are capable of withstanding, it's good to know that they can take whatever you can throw at them.

Dropping the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2 on your noggin, you won’t notice an overwhelming clamping force, nor will you have any issues with trapped heat or movement. These are pretty comfortable, as many of the high-end over-ears are. Over a period of 6 hours, the comfort level didn’t really change all that much, and none of the test subjects reported additional problems.

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Audio Quality

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Pleasing performance, decent isolation

For starters, the headphones do preserve most of the low and mid tones really well, and only de-emphasize some of the harsher cymbal sounds and shimmer to be about half as loud as the rest of your music. The high end sees a short emphasis before falling off at limits of audibility, but the real important feature here is a huge bass emphasis that will be very prominent in any music you listen to.

If you like bass-heavy music, these are great, just be careful how high you crank 'em.

What that super-high emphasis on the lowest frequencies does not only includes making you feel like there’s a subwoofer in your head, but it also has the physiological effect of making your inner ear tighten up your tympanic membrane (eardrum) to give the illusion of boosting some of the highest-end sound in a way that we can’t measure with a microphone. So if you like bass-heavy music, these are great, just be careful how high you crank 'em.

With a very low distortion measure and a passable tracking response (meaning you won't hear any shift in volume from ear to ear), there's very little else to take note of in terms of audio performance. With all the pieces combined, the {{product.name}}s have audio tailored to an audience of smartphone users and casual listeners looking for a set of headphones they won't have to replace.

Conclusion

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Durable, well-performing headphones for the bass-lover

Overall, the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2s are a solid set of headphones if you need to take your cans with you into the outside world. Many people find the cost of having a set of “at home” headphones and “on the go” headphones quite prohibitive unless you’re in the music industry, so if you’re willing to spend a little extra money, you can get a solid set of headphones that will probably need a tank to break.

That being said, there are some minor shortcomings, such as the leakage issue and the minor underemphasis ranges in the frequency response. While these are may not land on a super-hardcore audiophile’s desk, they are a decided step up from many of the popular models out there at the same price point for mass use.

If you’re in the market for a set of cans that dramatically boosts bass, looks great and can withstand most of the abuse you can hurl at it, there probably isn’t anything else quite like the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2s. While they aren’t going to replace a set of open-backed mixing headphones anytime soon, they fit the role of high-end portable consumer headphones to a T.

Science Introduction

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Don't want to take our word for it? Numbers are much more fun anyways. Let's break down the Crossfade LP-2s' performance in the lens of what works for your average user.

Frequency Response

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Pleasing frequency response, aims more for equal loudness contour than flat response

If you're not mixing music or using an equalizer on a regular basis, chances are very good that a perfectly flat frequency response is not going to be fun to listen to for you. Instead, most users gravitate to headphones that more accurately reproduce frequencies with an emphasis that mirrors what's called an equal loudness contour. With that in mind, it becomes clear to see why even though the frequency response of the {{product.name}}s isn't flat (and therefore not perfect in our scoring), the emphasized bass 15+dB above mean volume becomes less perplexing, and makes sense for someone who's using the headphones without any special equipment.

Sure, the erratic response in the mids and highs may or may not create some strange issues in your playback, but as the worst underemphasis is in the 6.5-8kHz range where cymbal sounds and sibilance lives, you shouldn't notice any glaring flaws except for hi-hats sounding a bit quiet.

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Isolation

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Not so great isolators due to difficulty getting a good seal

These on-ears actually do a better job than most, as they manage to block out more of the mid-tones like engine noises and squeaky brakes anywhere from 5-27dB depending on how high-frequency the noise is. Still, like most cans, the V-Moda Crossfade LP-2s don’t block out much of the low end, so you will hear trucks, buses, and metro cars if you’re outside.

One of the more perplexing results gathered from our testing indicated that these cans leak a fair bit of sound into the outside world. While it’s true that any headphone will do this if you don’t get a proper seal, it’s difficult to get if the ear cups do not fit well over your ears. While several tests have confirmed our results, that’s not to say that your ears will allow a better seal or not. Still, be wary of others around you, as they may discover your embarrassing secrets regarding musical tastes.

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Other Tests

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Meet the tester

Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas

Staff Writer, Imaging

@cthomas8888

A seasoned writer and professional photographer, Chris reviews cameras, headphones, smartphones, laptops, and lenses. Educated in Political Science and Linguistics, Chris can often be found building a robot army, snowboarding, or getting ink.

See all of Chris Thomas's reviews

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