Crossfade II wireless
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published: Jul-9-2017
NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘wiggles’. I do not use smoothing because some info about sound quality is lost when plots are smoothed.
Aside from a small correction of the microphone itself also some correction in the lowest frequencies is applied to the plots to compensate for the perceived loss of bass when using headphones. This is described HERE in more detail.
A ‘horizontal‘ frequency response curve on the shown frequency response plots on this website thus indicates a perceived ‘flat’ tonal signature.
ALL measurements are made with a good SEAL on a flatbed measurement rig.
The shape of your head, bone structure, pad size, pad ‘softness, (compliance), hair or no hair and or wearing glasses may (drastically) change the frequency response of some headphones, so… your personal experience may differ substantially from these plots.
Frequency response (tonal balance) is the most sound-determining aspect of headphones. A horizontal line shows audible neutral response in the plots on this website. Deviations in different severities at different frequency bands have an effect on the sound character.
The bigger the deviation the stronger the effect.
Below an aid to help determining the sound character of headphones with relation to the frequency response.
V-MODA Crossfade II wireless
The V-MODA Crossfade II Wireless is a closed dynamic headphone with built-in amplifier and Bluetooth receiver. The build quality is high and is designed to be used in portable applications mainly.
It retails for around €320.- in Europe. It is highly customizable. The headphone looks small yet it certainly is not in many ways. The pads are replaceable. This new model has the XL memory foam pads fitted as standard.
These headphones are known for their huge bass … and that they deliver. It should satisfy bass-heads.
It should be noted that it is unclear if in passive mode (wired, as tested here) the internal amplifier is bypassed or not. I have no idea whether or not this headphone can still be used when the battery is depleted. Some headphones work fine in passive mode even when the batteries are exhausted, others simply stop functioning. This is not tested.
specifications:
Type: Over ear, closed, wireless (bluetooth, aptX on rose-gold version)
Usage: Portable, commuting, office and home.
battery capacity: 430mAh, approx. 14 hrs on full charge
Driver type: dynamic, Dual Diaphragm
Pads: pleather (fake leather)
Foldable: Yes
Headphone connector: 3.5mm TRS
Cable entry: single sided entry (+ sealing plug) or dual sided
Cable: 1.3m screw-able 3.5mm TRS (+ screw-on 6.3mm adapter) to 3.5mm TRS plug
Driver size: 50mm
Max power rating: unknown
Max. S.P.L.: unknown
Impedance: 32 Ω
Efficiency: 100dB @ 1mW
Sensitivity: 115dB @ 1V
Weight: 310 g.
Clamping force: medium/high
Accessories: Hard carrying case, 6.3mm screw-on adapter, Carabiner clip, 2x plug sealer, 1x stereo cable and 1 cable with mic/remote, micro-USB cable (for charging)
Measurements:
note: All measurements are done wired, so the aptX bluetooth connection is NOT used
Below the frequency response of the closed crossfade II wireless (Left, Right)
The frequency response is far from flat (neutral). When looking for a hi-fi headphone you need to look elsewhere. The boosted bass is obvious. +6dB opposite the mids.
Channel matching leaves something to be desired.
The dip around 400Hz ensures that the bass and lows are somewhat dis-attached from the rest and prevents the sound to become ‘bloated’ and ‘congested’.
The mids are forward/present. The treble quality is not super high. It slightly lacks treble extension and finer nuances.
This headphone has quite some resemblance to the M100, both in shape and somewhat in sound. One could call this an improved M100 while retaining its strong points (da bassss).
Below the difference between the crossfade M100 and the crossfade II wireless.
It shows the differences quite well as well as the common traits.
Common traits: bass extension, treble extension, dip at around 400Hz.
Differences: slightly less bass boost, more upper mids (clarity/presence), slightly smaller treble peak.
output resistance / damping-factor
There were no differences when driven from a high or low output resistance amplifiers.
This could be because in passive mode the internal amplifier is still used or that the driver simply doesn’t care (see M100).
For this reason no plots are shown as it is pointless.
Below the distortion plots of the crossfade II wireless : (only Right channel shown)
The distortion products are shown in dB.
Note that this headphone was measured at 
where unavoidable background noises were present in the demo room. Distortion level performance may thus be better in reality than shown on the plots. Due to this headphone having a good ambient sound attenuation the measured values are most likely not affected that much.
Below the same plot except shown in percentages.
The distortion is (pleasantly) surprising low for a dynamic driver. The distortion in the bass remains (2nd and 3rd harmonics) below 1% which is excellent. Above 300Hz, where distortion becomes audible as a sound degrading thing the 2nd harmonic distortion is around 0.1%. The more nasty higher order distortion is well below that so very nice numbers here. Distortion figures appear slightly better than that of the M100.
Below the CSD of the crossfade II wireless (Left and Right channel are superimposed)
Aside from some short-lived ringing at around 2.5kHz, 7.5kHz and 11kHz there is not much to worry about. Not an exemplary performance though but also not worrying.
Below the spectrum plot of the crossfade II wireless. (Left channel)
There is a small ringing visible around 1.2kHz, 2.6kHz and a shorter one at 3.2kHz. This plot is looks pretty much O.K. No deal-breaking resonances.
By lack of oscilloscope shots (not enough time to measure that) below a step response plot of the crossfade II wireless . (Left channel)
The (mid)bass boost is clearly visible. There is also some ringing visible but slightly smaller in amplitude than that from the M100.
The step response shows this is not a hi-fi headphone with a realistic sound but rather has a bassy and ‘fun’ nature.
Below the Right channel.
summary
The crossfade II wireless is not a headphone that measures well. It does have some small issues as shown in the measurements but the audibility of those remains to be seen.
The sonic character is great for listening to pop and rock etc on the go directly from your phone in noisy environments (commuting etc) The boosted bass can really help to make the sound more pleasant.
For Hi-Fi and home usage this headphone should probably be avoided. The better recordings will sound boomy and ‘fat’ and not realistic, but it is a little bit ‘clearer’ sounding than the M100.
This headphone serves a clear purpose.
Those looking for a highly customizable and well supported and high quality fashionable wireless headphone for on the go while playing music from your phone will have a very enjoyable experience and look good on the side as well.
You will have to love da bassss from this headphone. That’s what this is headphone is mostly about (and its looks).
DIY-Audio-Heaven 