V-MODA - Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex Edition

I bought this headphone In March'19. Currently when I connect my headphone to Bluetooth then left speaker is not working. I reached out V-Moda support and they informed me that we can't repair your headphone as its not under warranty.

Think twice before buying V-Moda products as they wont repair/replace your headphone if it is not under warranty. Rs. 29990 is useless now.

Check below email communication with V-Moda Support.

Ticket ID: 211771

Your request has been deemed solved. If you wish to reopen your ticket, reply to this email

Billy, Jul 21, 2020, 2:55 PM PDT:
Hello,

Unfortunately we do not offer a paid repair service. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Rock On,
Billy

Nayan Chauhan, Jul 21, 2020, 1:00 PM PDT:
I know headphones are not under warranty, it doesn't mean that you can repair also. I am ready to pay for the expense.

This is almost $400 headphones and giving issue within 2 years.

What is the use of these headphones if the left speaker is not working?

Regards,

Nayan Chauhan

Billy, Jul 21, 2020, 10:45 AM PDT:
Hello,

I apologize for the issues. Unfortunately your headphones are out of the warranty period and we are unable to repair or replace your heapdhones. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Rock On,
Billy

Nayan Chauhan, Jul 21, 2020, 3:48 AM PDT:
Hi Team,

This is regarding Warranty ID: 138963.

I am staying in India and I need to send my headphone to US location. Is there any way you can arrange courier pick from my location?

Less sound is coming from left speaker while connecting over Bluetooth, issue resolved when I connect cable to 3.5mm jack. What do you think what could be the issue ?

Is there any way you can call me on my cell phone ?

Regards,

Nayan Chauhan

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: V-MODA Warranty
Date: Tue, Jul 21, 2020 at 3:39 PM
Subject: Your V-MODA Warranty Submission - Warranty ID: 138963
To:

Warranty ID: 138963

Ciao Nayan Chauhan

Thank you for filling out the warranty form at V-MODA.com. For your reference, your warranty ID number is 138963. Please print the PDF form (that downloaded after you submitted the form) and send that in along with your headphones to the following address:

V-MODA Warranty
5100 S. Eastern Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90040-2938
United States of America

First of all, what kind of high-end audio company provides a tacky orange aux cable with matte black headphones?!

Note: for the Pros of this product, please refer to other reviews.

I bought them for around 30K at the end of 2018. Initially, I was blown away by the superior sound quality of these headphones. But then, the problems started creeping in. The 3 buttons for the wireless control are loose and you can hear them louder than the playing music if, for instance, you are going down the stairs. Now comes the wireless part. I never could get 14 hours of battery life out of these headphones (8-9 hours is my record). One side stopped working in wireless mode after 10-11 months (lucky me as the warranty is 12 months!). Had placed a warranty claim request which only wasted more of my money (courier charges), and no fix. They are as good as dead now (within 2 years). This is a 30K device which is supposedly "built like a tank" but has the basic functionality wrong. If you are buying these for wireless usage, please reconsider. The sound quality is really good, but not at all worth 30K, or whatever they are priced at now.

Now comes the fault of HPZ. Let me start with the fact that one of them ("headphone guru") actually suggested me (I called them up for advice) to go for CF2 over 1000XM3, and he didn't even try, IYKWIM! Anyway, I went with CF2 as I had seen good reviews everywhere; blunder. Then came the stupidity of their support team, whom I contacted for the wireless mode issues. At the time I made a warranty claim request (Sep 2019), it was mentioned on the V-MODA page on this site that a faulty unit will be "replaced". But the support guys "repaired" the headphones and sent them back to me. When I asked them what would happen if this "repaired" unit starts malfunctioning, they replied with this:

"...for your query that what if the unit gets defective again after the warranty period gets over, so in such a case we are sorry to inform you but after the warranty period expires we cannot handle any cases as per the V-MODA brand's policies. ...".

CF2 stopped working within a couple of weeks of this "repair". I didn't want to send them again for repair to anyone as the warranty had ended by then, and it would waste more of my money in the delivery process itself and I knew this product was as good as dead. So I used them only in wired mode for the rest of their life.

Imagine buying a 30K sound device, after which the people nearby will consider you crazy, then defending your purchase by bragging about its superior quality, and then that device just fails to function properly.

Masterpiece Headphone. Brilliant packaging, rugged carry case, superb audio quality with great bass, in starting might feel uncomfortable in wearing for long hours but after 4 to 5 usage it improves. aptX retains audio quality when using Bluetooth and going wireless. Haven’t charged even once from day one. Its actually built like a tank - the claim is authentic.
Also thankful to Sameer and Praveen from Headphone Zone for their prompt support. Even though their site had a wrong mention of the price - when I placed the order - they called back and said it’s not your fault as a customer - so we shall offer you at 5000 rupees less so this costed me 24,990 vs. 29,9990. Thanks HZ for retaining my faith in you. I truly am a proud owner of a world class product from a world class and professional Headphone one team.

Pros - Fits perfectly around the ear contours.
Cons - 430 mAh battery isn't sufficient.
Overall, great deal even though it's expensive.
Headphonezone has been helpful for my queries, after sales service can't be judged as no issue has been arised until now with the product.
Hope they understand that customer service begins after the product is brought by the customer and not the contrary.
Thanks Headphonezone, for this experience!

One of the best wireless headphone with great sound quality.
Pros--
Very sturdy
Great design and looks
Very good sound quality and clarity with enough bass.
Sound quality is same in wireless and wired; which is not the case with other wireless brands
Passive noise isolation is good enough for normal day to day life.
Very compact when folded.
Fantastic case

Cons-- (These cons are minor for me)
Not comfortable as Bose headphones
14 hours battery range is less when compared with other products in the same price range
Slight pain on my ears. I have an XL size head, so planning to take the headphone through a stretch exercise.
The buttons on the headphones are just ok, needs get used to. Especially changing the songs (2 clicks / 3 clicks) are not easy with these buttons

Short review : Close you eyes and get one. Then again close your eyes and uplift yourself to aural nirvana.

Long review : Yeah.. You heard me right. There IS now, a category called basshead audiophile. Only thing you require to comprehend the idea is a pair of V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex Edn.
I was searching far and wide for a unique headphone with the a sound signature that would cater to my weird aural tastes.
The biggest challenge was the clear-cut distinction between bass heavy and high resolution audio and headphone makers sticking on to either one in their product offerings. Even premium brands defaulted to neutral ( often praised as the "real" sounding) signature and my search went on and on. 3 months back while browsing through the top lists in HZ, I finally decided to check out the V-moda models (I usually wouldn't look at models greater than 15K in price). The models looked weird, but somehow astonishing in design. I delved deep, frequenting review sites and hifi discussion forums and finally decided to go with Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex. 30K was still a daunting ask, but after watching numerous videos on the product, I decided to take the plunge.
The ordering process was a breeze and special thanks to the HZ team for incorporating the laser engraving option originally offered by the brand. There was some issues with the engraving process, but eventually they got it right and the product was delivered.
Oh boyy.. The Unboxing was an experience. The packaging is unearthly. Every inch of the package oozing quality and design excellence. And finally I connected the pair to my lap and, woah...
I never heard such clear but punchy bass. Believe me, the bass is so clear it goes to really low levels. And the mids and highs, especially on high-res tracks were brilliant.
Its worth every penny and some.
Thanks again to the HZ team for bringing this masterpiece to us.

NB: You might wanna invest a bit more and get the XL pads, You wont regret it.

This is it, I have found a pair that looks beautiful, has really really good sound, is built tough and is WIRELESS.

The sound quality from these headphones is really something, although I feel like it is dark, Very closed and centric sound. Like everything is happening right in front of my face but still has a respectable sound stage. I could hear the guitars playing in my right ear and the keyboard on the left, a bit further o the left was the rhythm guitar and The vocals, drums and bass right on my face. Pretty awesome when you think about it, its like a concert happening in front of you.

The darkness of the sound comes from the bass, Oh my god the bass. Its really really good. Not too much, but its there so you can notice. I love it. For the music I am listening I need that bass, I thought I wasn't that focused on bass, But I have realized that if a pair of headphones or earphones has a very flat signature I do not like it. The only thing is though, I really like open and very large soundstage headphones. These do not provide that, They are NOT warm at all, they are very closed. So in that regard I am a bit disappointed because when you spend 24k on a headphone, you want it to be everything.

Its okay though, I love them. Not because of the money but because of the form factor, comfort, looks, the connectivity and the sound.

The comfort level is awesome, I loved wearing them for hours. and I loved watching movies with them as well. I am lying on my bed whilst watching movies on tv and its brilliant.

The connectivity is amazing as well, very fast and I can connect to 2 devices at once, so I connected them with my laptop and with my phone at the same time and its pretty sliiick. Very smooth and instantaneous.
The buttons for volume, track change, call answering are on top of the right Ear cup and I like them more than the touch thing because they feel more responsive. They are not hard to touch they are smotth and I feel like they are gonna last long time for me.

The wired connection is also amazing and I really found discrepancies in the music I have, so many Lossless files I got have problems in the recording. It really shows with these headphones and they made me buy some albums for the quality purpose. The battery life is pretty decent, I listen to them everyday and I have yet to charge them, it shows 50% still at the time of writing this review and you can put the playtime to 12 hours with 50% to go, pretty decent.

The sound again I want to mention is dark, I dont know something about them dont make you feel happy. But they do make you feel something, which I think is good. They are not flat, they are not smooth, they are not angry, they are just V-Moda I guess.. And the electronic music I have sounds absolutely amazing. I have never heard those sounds anywhere before, the instrument separation in my psychedelic Music and Jazz is brilliant. And the bass is oh so good. Buy them and I assure you you will not regret it.

For me, As far as closed backs, single drivers go., I have fulfilled the desire, I dont need a pair of headphones for at least 2-3 years now and they are wireless on top of that, which is a extremely handy gadget to have, very useful.

Next for me personally, I wan to get a decent amplifier, a tube maybe and I want to get Planars. I really wanted Audeze Mobius as even the guru on headphonezone told me that for my purposes they fit the most. But I couldn't wait as they were not available and a bit more expensive than these. For the price of mobius I can get a decent pair of earbuds plus these as well but they are planar, so thats the point. I really want to get planars next thought because if you are like me and want a soundstage and instrument separation for the next level I thin thats the way to go.

So all in all, amazing looking headphones, Wireless, confortable, Nice battery and Connectivity, Awesome bass, and very good sound but soundstage not the best. for that you need planars perhaps. or as Gaurav said Meze Classics.

Thank you headphonezone for giving me a nice new year present. I am very grateful :)