The V-Moda Crossfade LP2 Headphones: Timeless yet contemporary, they are some of the most stylish headphones we've yet reviewed.
Headphones can become a bit of an obsession for DJs. After all, we’re rarely far from our headphones, and they share some of our best and worst times with us! If you’re one of those people for whom standard and predictable just won’t do, you’re may just want to take a look at the V-Moda Crossfade LP2, which we’re reviewing today.
Metal constructed, with a kind of timeless quality that is understated and stylish rather than brash and fashionable, the V-Moda Crossfade LP2 have an almost museum-piece quality. But how good are they once you crank them up? Let’s take a closer look and find out…
First impressions
They’re lovely. They’re full sized but not too big, thanks to the slim metal earcup couplings and just-big-enough casing around the 50mm drivers.
The elongated hexagonal design brings to mind Aviators and 50s America, while still possessing something contemporary, and the leather they’ve used in both the earcups and the headband design is of the highest quality.
My favourite touch is that the cables are fabric rather than plastic covered.
My favourite touch is that the cables, both wired within the units themselves and the detachable cables that come with them, are fabric rather than plastic covered; you feel plastic covered cables just wouldn’t cut it!
The LP2s come in a moulded hard case that’s equally cool, containing two cables (an iPhone remote cable and a normal version – no coiled cable for DJing though), plus two gunmetal replacement plate shields for the earcups, a fixing kit for those (screws / Allen key), a cleaning cloth, a little instruction book and an 1/8″ to 1/4″ adaptor.
In use
Firstly they’re really comfortable. They sit nicely over the ears, and the leather and padding are soft. They look nice and slimline when on, too; a factor of their slight design. This means you won’t look a fool wearing them out and about.
The detachable cables have no “twist to lock” function, but the plug fits quite tightly, so unless you thrash your head around a lot when listening to music, or like to run through bushes with your headphones on or something equally extreme, you’re not likely to accidentally yank the cable free from the earcup.
The V-Moda Crossfade LP2 with the iPhone remote cable attached. There' s a normal straight cable too, but no coiled version for DJing.
The earcups don’t move much. Most DJ headphones have a lot of movement in the earcups, but these have maybe a 30 degree up/down movement in them, and no front/back movement at all. If you habitually monitor with one earcup turned 90 or 180 degrees in one direction or another, they won’t suit you.
But if like me you tend to physically hold one earcup on one of your ears when beatmixing, you won’t worry; because they’re not very big, it’s easy enough to tuck the other earcup out of the way. Alternatively, if you tend to tuck the unneeded earcup a bit further back on your head when Djing, they’re fine.
Also due to their slimline proportions, they sit nicely round your neck when you’re between mixes. If they were any bigger this wouldn’t be the case.
I had no complaints at all about the sound quality, or the isolation – two important things for DJs, of course. Sound-wise they had deep bass, nice stereo staging, and a comfortable tail-off as you reached the top end, with everything present but nothing too dominating. They’d be great for long-term listening, but th good level of isolation (due to those soft pads) means they’re equally well suited sound-wise for DJing.
Conclusion
These are clearly a boutique item, reflected in the price, accessories and ethos. For instance, if you break them, you can send them to V-Moda and they’ll send you a 50% off voucher for your next purchase, so once you’ve bought one pair, you’re always going to get replacement pairs at half price.
The package contents, showing the moulded hard case and the alternative gunmetal earcup shields.
Because they’re very lightly branded (there’s a subtle V-Moda on the headband that I didn’t even notice at first), they’re ripe for customisation, and the enclosed gunmetal replacement earcup shields are begging for you to paint on your own logo or other custom design.
Here at Digital DJ Tips, we like stuff that can be used in more than one way. Headphones that can be used for DJing and when you’re out and about tick that box for us – and when they do it as stylishly as these do, there’s really not much to dislike.
If you are looking for the best, but don’t want a big, cliched pair of chunky DJ phones, and particularly if you want just the one pair that you can use for all your monitoring needs, these have the looks, longevity and sound quality to tick your boxes.
If only they’d included a coiled cable for DJ use (preferred by many DJs, including me), they’d have been pretty much perfect. But as they are, they’re close enough.
Video
Summary
We like:
- Iconic, understated design
- Excellent sound quality
- Good for DJing and street
We don’t like:
- No coiled cable in box for DJ use
Star ratings:
|
Features: |
|
|
Build quality: |
|
|
Sound quality: |
|
|
Value: |
|
|
OVERALL: |
Product details:
Weight: 0.6lb (260g)
Price: US$199
Buy from: Amazon.com
What do you think?
What’s your first impression of these? Are you a DJ who already uses them? Please share your thoughts on the V-Modas in the comments below.
Now go to:
Review & Video: AIAIAI TMA-1 DJ Headphones
Review & Video: Allen & Heath Xone XD2-53 Headphones
Review & Video: Ultrasone DJ1 Headphones
Want to escape the bedroom and play in public - fast?
Our 1000s-selling How To Digital DJ Fast video course shows you how.
Learn to DJ Free - email course plus bonus PDF book
Sign up for our weekly email course for beginners now...
Trouble choosing a controller? Visit the web's #1 guide!
DJ Controllers: The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide 2013.
Tags: crossfade, dj headphones, lp2, pro dj headphones, v-moda, v-moda crossfade lp2
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
I’ve been using these headphones for about 8 months and love them. Sound quality is as good as any headphones I’ve used and they are comfortable to wear for hours at a time. The build quality is rock solid. At the time i purchased them, I had never heard of them, but I saw them at Costco for $99 and decided to give them a try. They are a no-brainer at that price. At that time, I wouldn’t have spent $199 for them, but after using them awhile, I would pay that price if I were in the market for new headphones.
[ link ]i had these, the problem with the headphones is when the ear pads gets worn out, no replacement for them since they don’t have a standard size. went back to hd 25s
[ link ]you can actually buy new ear pads from v-moda now in 3 different colors. they are very easy to switch out.
[ link ]wow these are very slick!
[ link ]I tried them, besides the fact that they are hella expensive (still much cheaper than the Beats by DRE) I must confess I was not very satisfied with the sound quality, I mean they are excellent for listenting to music in the subway and hella cool to show around, but for dj use, I think that the bass is really too strong for that. It’s my personal opinion, of course, but I believe that djs should really try them out before purchasing the, they could reveal a very very deep bass…
[ link ]This Lp2 have more punch than the Lp which have work perfect for me for 2 years
[ link ]Hey Phil i own a set of V Moda the thing you need to watch the cable the wire will kink and come out the braided cable cover.
[ link ]Don’t understand what you’re saying, it isn’t just fabric as Phil said or braided cover,that is kevlar
[ link ]love em, love em, love em, Professional quality fair priced.
[ link ]As always, good sound for listening and good sound for mixing is not the same thing.
That really deep bass U love listening to music, will only be an obstruction when U R mixing.
[ link ]I totally agree. This is the problem with these headphones! They are even as good as the Beats by DRE and cost much less, but they’re good only for listening and showing around…For djing: Hella no!
[ link ]I’ve got a pair of lp’s and i love them, my only one complaint being that after about 7 months, there is a bit of squeking between the metal components if you shift them in use. (obviously only noticeable if no music is playing)
[ link ]I agree with DjRedicc! Mine are starting to go around the same time. They are great for listening to new tracks but when it comes to live performance and you bump up the volume in your headphones it sounds extremely muddy. If you are in a small room this is obviously problematic..larger venues maybe different though.
Time to retire mine for sure though.
I’m just glad modeselektor signed them first
[ link ]I think these are the same ones Avicii currently uses?
[ link ]http://s13.postimage.org/d4w9dvytz/Avicii.jpg
I’ve had these for nearly a year now, and I love the hell out of them. Nearly indestructible, fantabulous LOUD sound, and a slight bit bass heavy (without overpowering the mids/highs) making it perfect for beat-matching. For the price of $150 or so I paid for them – probably more than I would have paid for cheap, easily breakable headphones – I couldn’t be happier, and now I’m eagerly waiting for the new model coming out soon.
[ link ]You really can’t beat the price, and this has everything you need for DJing AND personal use at a price far less then competitors. I have no doubt that there are better sounding headphones, and better headphones for DJing, but for this price, you won’t find anything close.
Been using them since they first came out in 2010. I loved the fact that no one else had them
[ link ]I’ve also been using these since they first came out back in 2010. Rock the white cans myself. Absolutely love them and have zero complaints. Still no problems with them either, and I use them to DJ, some production, and occasionally causal listening. If something happened to them I’d prob just buy another pair… love em that much.
I also agree with ricardo- love that no one else has or, a lot of the time, has even seen them. So maybe I should be saying they’re shite… they’re shite guys, don’t get em!
[ link ]