Initially I was completely turned off by the sound signature of this 'phone. The warm, bassy signature bothered me. I did expect them to be colored, but not to this extent. However, eventually, with a bit of listening, I became accustomed to the sound signature—to an extent. After a while I just knew I'd have to EQ them in order to get fully lost in music played through these. I personally tend to stay clear of very colored headphones and speakers since a far from neutral sound signature can remind me too much that I'm listening to 'phones / speakers...