Never would've guessed these were $20-$40! I'd say at LEAST 100 honestly. Only thing that really lets them down is the build quality - there are some scratches on the sliding sides used for adjustment (came from the factory like that I'm guessing), cable is paper thing, leather on the headband moves around it like it's not fixed down, earpads are a bit wonky, etc. They're by no stretch BAD but they just aren't as up to par as everything else.
Now, compared to the mdr 1rmk2's:
Comfort: this is a big win for the sonys, they're the most comfortable headphones I've ever used so there's really not much to say here. Softer leather cups, softer leather headband and they're also over ear, not on ear. Vt h68's are still comfortable though, nice soft earpads (leather is a bit rougher though) and headband, also a nice clamping force, not too tight, not too loose.
Build: sony's are better put together but the vt h68's have nice feeling metal or metal coated cups and I can't see any plastic on them either. Sony's have some plastic but it's solid plastic and the components themselves are put together much more nicely. No rattles or squeaks, just very solid feeling. Vt h68's have the problems I mentioned up there^ but they're definitely not bad. Still feel solid enough that I could comfortably chuck them in a backpack without a worry.
Price: No brainer here, vt h68's are a 10th of the price of the sony's. What a bargain!
Sound: vt h68's sound more balanced than the sony's (by quite a fair margin actually). Sony's have a mid-centric sound with pretty subdued bass which makes them very pleasant to listen to for long periods of time as they're quite lush and non-fatiguing. Vt h68's also have an overall more mid-centric sound but only *barely*. It's enough to also make them non-fatiguing though, I could listen to these for ages as well. They have higher quality, punchier bass than the sony's and the mids are still nice sounding although not quite as lush. Treble on both is quite similar, not reaching super high but enough that they don't sound lacking (I've been spoilt by my b&w p7's for treble, can't really say much more than that
).
Soundstage is wider on the sony's but that's to be expected as once again, over ear vs on ear. Instrument separation on both is nice, easy to distinguish where the instruments are and they sound distinct.
It's a bit strange comparing these as I'd say the vt h68's sound a bit more crisp and clean unless you're playing a song which has a lot going on. When there's a lot going on I find the vt h68's get a little overwhelmed (not really sure how to put it - cramped maybe?) sounding because of their small soundstage in whichcase the sony's sound cleaner as they don't get muddied up when there's a lot of instruments and vocals playing at once.
I'd say the the sony's pick up a little bit more detail than the vt h68's too but that's just probably due to the fact that they'd be using much higher quality drivers that come with the higher price point.
Overall they're actually pretty comparable in overall sound quality. I like sections of each but I'd still have to give the nod to the sony's for the extra detail they can pick up and the wider soundstage. Love the overall balance of the vt h68's though, it's really quite fun to listen to. There are songs that I prefer on either headphones.
Kinda crazy how well a $20 headphone holds up to an (at least) $200 (usually ~250 here in aus too) headphone!
Just want to add in - compared to the b&w p7's, the only thing I really like about the vt h68's are the mids and overall balance. If the p7's mids were just slightly more forward then it would be a straight win for the p7's. P7's are $400 though so it's a bit of an unfair comparison.
