HEADPHONE

the first thing you'll notice about V-Moda's new $330 Crossfade 2 Wireless headphone is that it's a little more comfortable than its predecessor. (It retails for £300 in the UK; it's not officially available in Australia, but the US price converts to about AU$435.) The extra comfort comes from its new, thicker earpads. They aren't quite as deep as the optional XL earpads you could purchase for V-Moda's earlier full-size headphones, but they do offer more cushioning.

Why the change? Popular demand. V-Moda customers kept requesting the company include the larger earpads with its headphones, so it did. The new earpads are more like a medium or large size rather than an extra large size.

The other big changes are on the inside: There's a new 50mm driver, more frequency response in wired mode and an increase in battery life to 14 hours. That bigger battery adds weight, however, and the Crossfade 2 Wireless tips the scales at a beefy 309 grams with the included standard aluminum shields (its predecessor weighed 292 grams)