Fresh out of the box, with 0 burn-in hours, I put their headphones on my head I immediately noticed the signature hard-clamps of an Audio-Technica and an exceptionally clarity of its sound.

Demoed on FLAC quality audio using tunes from Daft Punk (dance), Lost Fingers (jazz crossover), Best of Chesky and Audiophile tests (jazz), Sitti Navarro (live bossa), Damien Marley (reggae/hiphop crossover), Deadmau5 (house), Norah Jones (classic jazz), everything played nicely.

Value: For an asking price of $70 to $105, this is a steal. The build quality is great, signature sounds of an Audio-Technica; clear mids and highs, punchy natural sounding bass, simply like a baby-M50s

Audio Quality: Lows: The volume of bass of the WS55s is definitely more than the M50s, in terms of quality? The M50s edges them in a tiny fraction. The bass aren't accentuated like the PRO700MK2s, it is definitely more refined, natural sounding, no vibrations, the dual air chamber does its job. Mids: Unlike the M50s where the mids are recessed, the WS55s have a more forward mids, you can definitely here the vocals more (and these babies are fresh out of the box). Highs: M50s are definitely better with the highs, but the WS55s are fine. The highs rolls off politely to the next note. They aren't over-extended, nor they are piercing. 

These are definitely an upgrade from the previous WS50 and WS70 models.

Design: I, an industrial designer myself is impressed with the minimalistic look of the WS55s. They are definitely stylish, but they aren't like an attention whore (like the Beats or other celebrity headphones). The WS55s are like the Mercedes Benz of headphones, beautiful, refined, and classy. While the Beats are like your typical sports car, I need attention, look at me. 

The headphones themselves fold flat, but they don't fold like a shell i.e. M50s. The cups only rotate by 30 degrees that's it, but they do rotate 180 degrees sideways. Also, I would have love them more, if these had removable cables. Another thing about these cans is that the band adjustment is small and it won't fit you if you have a very large head.

Update: I'll be doing my usual disassembly and stress tests. I must say these cans are mighty impressive when it comes to durability. I don't see any structural weakness having the cans disassembled. You can flex the aluminum base, but the plastic structuring were carefully thought about. Props to Audio-Technica for a job well-done

Comfort: A step better than the M50s, the ear pad size is an issue for small and big ears. It has an irregular sized ear pads which sits on the ear, but feels like an over-ear on the tips. But, they definitely have softer cushions than the M50s. They are breathable, plush, almost comparable to the pads you find in the Beats Studio. The hard clamp is definitely a signature of Audio-Technicas mid-range lines. M50s, PRO700MK2s, PRO500MK2s, WS70s, WS50s, ES7s, they all suffer from that same clamping force which Audio-Technica argues that is used to seal the headphones.

But, since Audio-Technica have very rugged build, you can stretch them out flat or rest them into a couple of books to loosen them up.

Update: comfort improved significantly without the headband pads, since the ear pads were able to sit in your ear rather than outside of your ear.

Overall: These babies are worth the purchase, they are definitely great sounding headphones, balanced mids and highs, very clear given a punchy bass to the package. Bass lovers will love it, as well as those who listens to acoustics, classicals, or ambient sounds. They are advertised as bassy headphones, but they are definitely a well-rounder.

If not for the comfort, this is going to be definitely 5 stars. For it's versatility, value for its class this is a 4.5 stars

Accessories: These ship with a leather drawstring carrying bag and that’s it.

Design and Build Quality: The lightweight plastic construction of the headphones themselves is more durable than one might expect when picking them up but they fold flat for storage and the dual entry cable is thicker than many competitors I’ve tested and seems capable of dealing with day to day usage.

Comfort and Isolation: The WS55 is a supra-aural (on ear) headphone with decently padded earpads that are reasonably comfortable but I’d much prefer if they were a bit thicker and softer. Isolation is moderate, nothing special but likely good enough for most uses.

Sound Quality

Being part of Audio Technica’s “Solid Bass” line, the low end is expectedly powerful and full bodied, to the point of sounding bloated in some cases. It has the capability to extend down low pretty well but it loses out on texture for the sake of presence.

The mids are a bit disappointing in that they’re recessed and sound quite thin. Detail and clarity are pretty good because of the thinness of note and a somewhat dry texture but their position in the sound signature sounds off. Is this a big problem, overall? Not necessarily. During my testing periods, I adjusted to their sound and didn’t mind the recessed nature of the mids too much but midrange lovers are likely to be disappointed.

The highs are, like the bass, quite present and nicely extended. Personally, I found the lower treble to be somewhat sibilant, especially with female vocals and makes these rather fatiguing over extended listening periods but the bright and crisp highs add a sense of airiness and clarity to the sound that serves to balance out the aggressive bass.

These follow the signature V-shaped sound I’ve heard in my other Audio Technica headphones and earphones such as the Pro700MK2 and CKM50 and as such, should appeal to casual music listeners and Beats by Dre fans with ease. But be warned, these headphones take the v-shaped sound signature concept to the extreme, which can be a bit polarizing. The presentation is unabashedly forward in nature and sounds a bit closed in because of it but not excessively so.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the WS55 has a mostly agreeable sound signature that appeals to the masses without sacrificing too much quality in order to get there. Personally I wasn’t a fan of the recessed midrange but I imagine casual listeners aren’t going to mind that as much as I did. There are better balanced portable headphones out there like the V-MODA M80 but for the regular going rate of about $50 or so, the WS55 is a pretty good deal for people looking for a fashionable pair of portable headphones suited for bass heavy and electronic music.

This review was re-posted from my site Musical Musings

First, let me thank the people over at Audio-Technica for sending me a sample of these for review. You rock!

I was a bit skeptical at first about how these would sound, but when I put them on and started listening, I was instantly blown away. These headphones really make electronic music shine, especially with more atmospheric songs. DnB, electro and dubstep are perfectly reproduced.
However, these don't just make electronic music sound incredible, but everything I tried with them sounded incredible; from Mozart, to Styx, all the way to Skrillex, Rchetype and back. 

The Audio-Technica Solid Bass WS55 stands up to its name. These have some of the most controlled and detailed bass that I've heard, especially for a bass-heavy headphone. It is deep, impactful, and extends quite well. Even with a major bass boost from an EQ or an amplifier, the bass stays controlled. 


Build is a bit iffy. Overall, it feels a bit fragile, like it might crack if I were to accidentally drop it onto a hard floor.
The back of the cups are made of a nice aluminum with the Audio-Technica logo standing out.
These are excellent for portable use. The swiveling cups allow someone to simply turn the cup and listen to someone talk on either side of them. I find it very useful.

Comfort may depend on the person's head, but I found these to be a bit uncomfortable at first. The clamping force is really strong until you stretch it out a bit.Only took me a couple minutes of stretching to make them more comfortable for me.


The signature on these is more or less a V-shaped signature, but there's more upper-mid presence than I normally find with V-shaped headphones, so vocals don't really sound distant.
Separation is overall average with these. It's limited by the smaller cups.
Soundstage is also average. I wouldn't describe it as too congested, but it's not to spacey. I find there to be a bit more depth than width.

Bass - As stated earlier, the bass is very controlled and tight. It is really magnificent. Some of the best bass I've heard yet. Subbass extension is excellent.

Mids - Mids aren't too prevalent on these, but they're clean, clear, and overall a good presentation from them.

Treble - My favorite part of these headphones is the treble. It is energetic, lively, and sparkly, while not being sibilant or harsh. It can get a bit splashy with certain cymbals, though, but not too much. There's a good amount of detail provided here, but nothing to write home about.


Overall - I would recommend these headphones to anyone looking for something bass-heavy and clean-sounding to use on the go; especially someone that listens to a lot of electronic music. Build could be a bit better. Truly outstanding sounding headphones.

I used and Htc One S and fiio e11 (no bass change)

*this is by no mean hi fi, but then again both of these headphones are entry level and not reall "hi fi" either

Looks/Comfort

Well these things look great when you look at them straight on, but when you actually wear them the parts that connect the driver portion sticks out awkwardly and looks kinda funny. And as for the comfort the the ear pad size (half on/over ear) doesn't help, the ear pads seem to stiffen after a couple weeks of usage. I can only wear it for around 1-2 hours before my years start hurting.

Build Quality

The build quality is fine and doesn't feel like the headphone will break, but one thing that annoys me is that when the headphones are on your head and your rotate the earcups, they make a squeaking noise which concerns and annoys me...

Sound

So I guess I'll compare these to the m50s since they're really well known and easiest for me to compare these to...

Treble

I feel the m50s are a little less prominent when compared to the ws55s the ws55s are in no way sibilant they just have a larger presence, which I personally like. The highs extend decently and are fairly sparkly (can be a pro or con depending on your preferences)

Mids

Well as a beginning "audiophile" I'm not particularly good at describing mids... but what I will say is that the mids of the ws55s are less recessed and makes the music a lot more natural sounding compared to the m50s.

Bass

So... the bass pretty amazing in my opinion, its punchy and there when needed, but doesnt overshadow the music. This is probably the largest difference compared to the m50s... though many people say that the m50s have less bass to me i feel that the m50s seem a lot bassier and seems to bleed into the mids more while the ws55s seem to have less. Also, the ws55 bass seems to be less punchy than the m50's but is still good and outperforms many other headphones I've listened to for the price.

Conclusion

The ws55s are a pretty good value if you want a more portable headphone that still offers decent-good sound. When compared to the m50s it just sounds a lot more natural... for the price you can find this at I feel it is a better value than the m50s. When i first bought this headphone I thought I preferred the m50s, but over time I have began to lean towards the ws55s. One thing to take note is that for electronic genres I still prefer the m50s because of the punchier bass, but for just about everything else the ws55s are a clear cut winner.

PS sorry if this review is really disorganized, but I am new at this and still learning so cut me a bit of slack ;)