Price Paid:  $90.00 from NYC

Summary:
Fantastic comfort. Have listened to them for 10hrs straight at work (as a computer programmer) and never got any discomfort (actually forgot I was wearing them). Sound is great. I haven't tried any of the high end gear, but I never needed or wanted to after wearing these headphones.

They are just that comfortable and fully satisfy me aurally . I usually listen to ambient, electronic, soundtracks, or accoustical music while working and all the depth of the music is there and highs are clear.

Call me clumsy but I've dropped my keyboard while sitting and listening onto the chord of the headphones. This resulted in the chord being yanked from the CD-Player and bending it to a point where it wasn't making good contact and ruined the headphones (well actually I did that when I thought I could cut the end off and solder a new connector on... oops). Also, I bought some replacement earmuffs after 2 years because mine had started to tear after constant usage and these were really expensive directly from Sony.

Being an open eared design they do let sound leak out so if you're working close to others that demand absolute quiet then you might consider looking elsewhere. However, sound leakage isn't too bad and, after all, the open air deisgn is what helps these sound so good. Most of the time this isn't a problem especially if you're listening for a long time (and therefore keep the volume reasonable to begin with).

I recommend these for anyone that appreciates high quality sound and wants to use headphones for extended periods.

Strengths:
COMFORT!!! sound is really good.

Weaknesses:
Replacement ear muffs were expensive and the connector got bent. Can't find a new pair anywhere.

Similar Products Used:
When purchased (in 97) I tried many similarly priced headphones and these fit the best.

Summary:
These headphones are great if you're looking for something comfortable to listen to for hours. The headband automatically adjusts to your head and the open ear design makes them feel like they're not directly on your head. Granted, I don't use these for my recording studio, but they are a great pair of basic headphones nevertheless.

Strengths:
comfort, great sound

Weaknesses:
bulky, limited range

Similar Products Used:
sony mdr-v6, sennheiser-575

Summary:
These appear to be Sony's top of the line "open air" headphones. I bought them for $50 dollars plus shipping from one of the mail order companies well known in "the music world." I never expected them to sound as good as they do. I can hear detail in CD's, vinyl and well recorded cassettes, with which I am very familiar, that I never noticed before with other headphones or on any loudspeakers. You can pretty much adjust your loudness and tone controls, (horrors...!), however you like and still have excellent results. Plus, they are very comfortable for extended wear, sitting up or lying down. I would not hesitate to recommend these, except maybe to the "blue bloods" who look at Stax as entry level and the Sennheiser Orpheus as an acceptable means of listening to music.