Price Paid:  $65.00 from Bay Bloor Radio

Summary:
I've just replaced my Sony MDR-V300's with these Sennheiser HD-457's due to the earcup bracket on the Sony's breaking for a second time. I've put the Sony's through a lot of abuse in the last ~4years though, and they've served me well. Upon shopping for a new set of portable outdoor-use headphones I tried a number of models in the $60-$100 CAD price range and liked the 457's the best. When I had purchased the Sony's, they had just edged out the Sennheisers in that price range at the time. Being a huge Sennheiser fan I'm happy to hear the tables have turned again. The 457's sounded a slight bit nicer all around than the MDR-V300's. The powerful bass of the 457's is great for a portable set, but it's plainly too much for the audiophile. These are perfect for an iPod, not an expensive home stereo. Since I bought these strictly for portable use, and that's what they're marketed towards, I think these deserve a five star rating.

Strengths:
The boosted bass response, while annoying at home or in quiet environments, is good for portable, outdoor or noisy environments - which is what they were designed for. These are great while you're outside as the open design lets you know what's going on around you and the great bass response lets you feel the music. The upper range is a little better than the also good Sony MDR-V300's. It's clear and detailed without being as brittle and sibalant as the Sony's. To be fair to the Sony's (which served me well for 4 years) I never noticed the overt brightness until I compared them back to back with these similar-price Sennheisers.

Weaknesses:
The overboosted bass is too extreme for at-home critical listening.

Thin flimsy cord feels low quality.

They're not quite as clear across-the-board as the previous generation was. They don't sound as nice as my NINE-YEAR-OLD HD-455's.

Similar Products Used:
Sennheiser HD-455 (superior sonic quality all around, but a little thin on deep bass)

Sony MDR-V300 (very good headphones, but a little too bright - though the bass isn't as overboosted as the 457's)

Sony MDR-P10 (Utter garbage)

Price Paid:  $39.00 from Circuit _tiy

Summary:
These phones are the best I've ever owned. I've owned quite a few, from the old Koss Pro-4AA, Yamahas, etc..to the SONY MDR-V6. I got my SONY's for $85 retail. If I'd known better I'd have saved my money by going for the Sennheisers. The SONY's are pumped-up and have a gimmicky, "commercial" sound compared to the 457's. With the lower-spec 437 and the higher spec 477 and 497's you have your choice of choosing between price and slightly greater refinement(s) across this range of under-$100 cans. I chose the 457's because only the 437/57's are the open "circumarual" type - and because they were the only one's available at my local C_City. Not so long ago they used to have a kiosk type stand where lots of phones were hanging out on display for you to check out. Not any more...

Strengths:
Flat frequency response. Efficient. Can be driven nicely from a portable CD player. The cord isn't one of those coiled monsters to weigh them down. Comfortable to wear and a they have a nice (if a bit spacey) style to them.

Weaknesses:
If you're used to other cans with artificially boosted bass or midrange it may take awhile to get used to these babies. What you gain is non-fatiguing sound and more detail than you ever thought possible. Multitrack (pop) recordings reveal all the recording engineer's "art". Carefully produced classical recordings are well-served too.

Similar Products Used:
SONY, KOSS, YAMAHA, etc. The folks at HeadRoom helped me out with my selection.