Price Paid:  $30.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
These headphones are awesome for the money. Once settled within the ear, they are capable of very good imaging and resolution. And they are pretty quiet, for those who want to find out how quiet, just simply cover them/your hear over with a hood while listening. I won't go into detail about bass because there is no headphone out there that can render bass notes like a good speaker or a REL subwoofer ... no point comparing because there is no comparison. Tonality is not spot on with a slight exaggeration in the highs but, whatever ... $30? How much do you think is possible for $30?

I also own a pair of Sennheiser HD600's running out of a Musical Fidelity X-CAM v3 headphone preamp (source is a Marantz DV-8300) and for the difference in money between the two headphones, the difference in presentation is not huge, although the Sennheisers do sound more real, tonaly accurate and have better bass impact ... but they retail for $650. Stil, I can say with certainty that the $30 Sony headphones can still pull me into the music on well recorded pieces.

If the "stick them in your ear" approach does not bother you, I highly recommend them. I got two pairs. They avoid that "cuppy" sound present in other headphones in their price range and even three times above it.

Value: 5 (very good value for the money)

Overall: 4 (they sound good but not true to the real music)

Strengths:
Portable,
Durable,
Sound for the money (imaging and resolution),
Light,
Affordable

Weaknesses:
Highs notes exagerated

Similar Products Used:
Sony MDR-J 11 G (smoother in the highs with more resolution), Sennheiser HD600.