Sony MDR-XD100 Stereo Headphones

Whenever I see a cheap pair of headphones at the Goodwill I pick them up if they look vaguely interesting. First I get a little audition from my iPhone then they go home. These are no longer sold but you can easily pick up a pair for 20 bucks on eBay. I just did a shoot out of these with a pair of PX 100s by sennheiser which are extremely well thought of headphones and surprisingly the Sony’s are so much more pleasant to listen to mainly because they have a fairly open sound and a nice clean signature. They are not bury you in warmth and coziness expensive Sennheiser or punch you in the gut shimmering grados what they are is a very nicely done inexpensive (I daresay cheap) headphone that will give you a nice pleasant open clean sound for almost no money. The build is cheap plastic but they are comfortable enough, even the pads. I was listening Frank Zappa‘s thing fish on the PX 100s and these and these are just so much better. My former experience in headphones is everything from the HD 600 to the grado GS 1000 and for 20 bucks if you need some slight weigght phones for yourself for your kids these are a nice buy.

Got these as a gift one christmas and the long cord was very impractical at that time. They were then kept in my closet unused for 3 years. Took them up again recently and immediately took note to how clear the treble sounds. Voices are very clear and quiet sounds in the upper register are heard. However the lower register is not great and the headband hurts more than I like. I use these as a second pair of headphones when I want to hear new parts of songs since a lot is often covered in the bass. 

These headphones are not for a true audiophile person. If you just want to watch movies on YouTube and talk with your friends on Skype - they will do the job for you. But if you want to enjoy your favorite music don't expect that you can get much out of 30$ peace of plastic. They look good from the distance, but all materials have that cheap feel when you hold them in your hands. Comfort is acceptable though, they fit nicely around the ears, the only think that can cause discomfort is plastic bent that is on top of your head, sometimes it can really hurts and if you use them for more than 10-15min you can feel the pain on your skull! There are no soft materials on top.
I think that most reviews about these pair of headphones are dishonest, they glorify something that is just not true. Firstly, they are not loud enough, you can maximize the volume and still don't hear as loud as it should be. Bass is bad, weak, distorted. Middles are below awerage, highs are the worst of all! Sound is leaking like they are open air headphones, which they are not, and it shouldn't leak as much.
I just can't recommend them because I don't like how do they sound.
If you are a person with a limited budget and just need cheap headphones to play games, watch the movies, talk on Skype and look somewhat ''cool'' while wearing them - buy them, they will serve good enough. But if you want to listen to your favourite music look further, these will just distort your favourite songs and make them sound like cr*p.