The return of the on-ear design of the infamous M80's are back with the proprietary Cliqfold hinge design originally developed by V-moda for the M100's(the bass heavy over-ear older brethren to the XS). Same style as always along with the customizeable shields available for engraving directly from V-moda. Aside from the usual visual style of these they have also been designed to sit closely to your head, making them look less cumbersome and thus more fashionable. In comparison to the M100's and LP series sound from V-moda it's an emphasis on mids and highs while still retaining a good amount of bass. The bass extension sure isn't as low but it does have a harder and faster impact. As with all V-moda headphones these are a very coloured sound profile; meaning they are not flat sounding(not for reference/production). Don't let that fool you, for being a very coloured sound in a V pattern(bass and treble emphasis specifically) they are incredibly versatile with everything from EDM and hip-hop to folk/bluegrass and jazz. So what does that all give you as far as value is considered? All of V-moda's over and on ear designs already meet MIL-STD-810G consumer standards for high and low temperatures, humidity, salt spray and UV exposure so I would expect the same from this model. Steelflex headband and kevlar wrapped cables as well as a useful case are all a part of the package. You see those hinges? Again those are proprietary design to meet V-moda's standards since no one else could meet them. Now talking about standards; V-moda leads the industry in quality control and driver matching. CEO Val Kolton has made a considerable effort to control quality as well as listening to consumers; crowdsourcing feedback from artists, producers, headfi forums and online users for years to create these products. Not to mention the included 2-year warranty, 60 day trial AND Immortal Life program which allows your to buy the same pair again for half the current price if something should ever happen to them outside of the warranty. BTW; these cans will benefit from a good DAC and amp. A good portable option on a budget is the Fiio E07k and E17k as well as the added E09k desktop unit. For something more expensive V-moda makes a portable device that attaches to an iphone or Samsung Galaxy. Though these can be driven very efficiently with mobile devices regardless. Also it should be noted that "burn-in" doesn't make a major difference with these, 40+ hours of mixed pink and white noise along with various genre collection have shown little results.

I bought the V-Moda 100 and they sounded fantastic. However, they were heavy and uncomfortable, so I returned them. Read several reviews online about this specific brand and I wanted to give it a try. I bought the V-Moda XS. If you enjoy clean bass, dance music, these are the best for $200. The Bose and Beats are cheap plastic and they sound muffled compared to the XS. Treble, mids, and lows are perfectly synchronized. You don't need an amp for these, just plug-in it to any portable device, laptop. These are my second pair of headphones that I use on a daily basis. My iMac headphones are the Bowers & Wilkins P7 and those are connected with an Audioengine D1. So, again, for $200 I challenge you to find a better set of headphones! Go ahead and get the XS, don't waste your time with other brands.

Bought these for my wife for a recent international trip. I was hesitant to spend a couple of hundred bucks on headphones that I had not been familiar with. I normally use AKG-K240's at home and wanted her to take a pair of those with her, but the size was an understandable constraint. So I picked these up just before she left and then took them on a trip myself a couple of weeks back. I was thoroughly impressed with both the quality of construction on these as well as the sound. I am not a fan of the Bose headphones and was glad that these were not trying to duplicate there methods. These are fantastic full range headphones without the low end bump that many manufacturers are adding such as Beats. They are built like a tank, fold up nice and come in a very sturdy travel case. If you need some travel headphones I couldn't recommend these any more!

Best on ear headphone I have owned. Clamps well to ears and ears do not feel tired of use from clamping force until after a couple of hours of listening. I listen to a variety of music. Rock, country, classical, hip hope, dance, progressive trance, dub step...you name it. It sounds great. The headphones are heavy in bass, but does not sound muddy or distorted. Definitely designed for the basshead, but will please anyone who listens to any genre. Have owned Sennheiser Momentum and Beats over the ear, but I wanted a headphone more portable and lighter. These definitely are very portable. You will have to own a pair to see how portable they are.

I did a lot of research on headphones in general. Besides sound quality, I wanted some sturdy ones because I tend to have horrible luck with headphones. These have a steel head band and it's very comfortable to wear. Doesn't feel like it's crushing your head, like a lot of headphones tend to feel. Now for sound quality these headphones have a very neutral sound, with good mids and highs. There's so much info on the sound I suggest to look some of this info up since it's too much to post here. Overall these will sound great with various types of music. The carrying case is a nice addition that makes it very easy to carry around since you can fold them up.

Great sound, some good features too like durability, replaceable cable, carrying case. It was super uncomfortable at first, but after a few days of breaking them in, they are pretty comfortable. Still somewhat uncomfortable after several weeks, so - 1 star for that since it detracts from my enjoyment.

I love this headphone. It is lightweight and does not cause fatigue from usage as my other headphones do. I am not an audiophile but these sound awesome to me. I love when folded and packed into the exoskeleton case, it does not takes up a lot of space. A wonderful product

This is one of two best headphones available today. At the Best Buy sale price, I could not overlook. Music is clean and uncolored. Headset is very compact and travels exceptionally easy GRET BUY. Recommend all read reviews on V-Moda website and view uTube videos.