V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless: codex vs non-codex? Or something else entirely?

Bashrag · August 21, 2019

I've been looking for headphones for quite some time and am finally considering the V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless headphones. I absolutely cannot decide between the codex and non codex versions. I understand that the Codex versions are "better", but is the upgrade worth €70 or would the difference be barely/not noticable? I appreciate good audio, but am by no means a die-hard audiophile and have very little experience with super high-quality audio; if everything else was far superior, compromising a little bit on audio quality would not be a deal-breaker. While my budget is flexible, I'd like to maximise value for money.

If, in your opinion, V-Modas are trash, what would you recommend?

Here's a list of things I'm looking for:

Budget: €150 - €400
Source: OnePlus 7 Pro & Windows Laptop.
Use case: Casual, on the go music listening (95% outdoor use - music exclusively wireless), phone calls and gaming (good mic essential). Noise isolation not essential.
Tonal Balance: Balanced. Not a basshead or anything.
Music Genres: Classic & Hard Rock, Heavy Metal (eg: GnR, Deep Purple, Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Pink Floyd, Alter Bridge, Breaking Benjamin)
Past Experience: Jabra Street BT3030 & Dell / Corseca DM5710BT
Form factor: Absolutely do not want anything that's in-ear. I hate what it feels like.
Sizing: I wear glasses and some models of over-ear headphones that try to cup the entire ear tend to press my glasses against my ears / head and this gets painful quite quickly. Ideally something that doesn't clamp very tight around the head and has very soft pads would be great.
Controls: Volume & Track controls are essential. Voice assistant control not needed.
Connectivity: Bluetooth (for music + phone calls) + Wired connection (for PC Gaming) essential. Bluetooth 5.0 would be nice to have, but I'm not sure if it's worth chasing.