V-Moda Crossfade LP Review

Introduction

V-Moda, if you’re not familiar with them, is a Hollywood, CA based company that is in the business of merging style, fashion and sound technology into super-hip products they think we will be proud to wear. Sound familiar? It should because the “street-style” approach to making headphones has caught on in a big way. Do a quick search on “stylish headphones” and you’re likely to see a lot of new names replacing industry heavyweights like Sennheiser, Grado and Audio-Technica. A generation of iPod listeners has moved passed the honeymoon period with their portable players. Now that just about everyone has an iPod or music phone, they demand accessories that are as much about making a style statement as they are about making sound. Here, we review the Crossfade LP headphones that V-Moda dubs “audio art”. We test them to see how they hold up to the audio portion of that designation.

Out of the Box

The Crossfire LP headphones come packaged in a striking molded case that looks like it could have been designed for Spiderman. Its form-fitting contour and webbed, charcoal colored ‘exoskeleton’ opens to a bright red interior. On either side of the interior we find two pouches laced with elastic bands and backed with Velcro, each with wires and accessories secured within. We found one 6 foot cloth covered headphone cord, a separate 3 foot cloth covered cord with phone mic and a 1/8” to ¼” adapter for connecting the Crossfire LPs to receivers, DJ Mixers or anything else that takes the larger connector.

Features and Design

The Crossfire LP headphones have a striking appearance. Each earphone is backed in a glossy black plastic and accented with chrome. From a distance, they appear to be accented with chromed metal, but closer inspection reveals these pieces are actually made of chromed plastic. This choice may keep the weight of the headphones down, but unfortunately gives them a slightly cheap feel.

The headband is minimally but effectively cushioned and the ear-cups are made of soft, supple leather over very squishy foam. The removable cables attach to the bottom of the left headphone and we’re pleased to note that V-Moda labeled these for the left and right ear very clearly. The Crossfire LPs are available in Gunmetal Black, Phantom Chrome and White Pearl.

V-Moda touts a 5hz-30khz frequency response – a bold claim that they say is made possible by a patent pending “Dual-Diaphragm” driver design. This 50mm driver, in theory, delivers the deep bass and ultra-high treble usually associated with more costly multi-driver designs. The Crossfire LPs also sport cloth covered connection cables that are difficult to tangle and tend to kink less.