my pair just arrived today.
these are the most comfortable fones i've ever tried, that alone is worth its purchase price.
out of box they sound pretty nice. though there is this nasalness to vocals and mids seem slightly recessed. they're not bright at all like it's claimed, i figure those people are just hearing their upstream gear. i have to say, the cord is friggin dumb, very tangle prone.
there is no decay to speak of and the bass is quite impactful though it doesn't extend very low, perfect for the music that i listen to. so far the supposed 'amazing detail' is not jumping out at me which is a good thing. although i gotta admit it sheds light on some background details that are usually more of an ambient. part i like most is the clarity of the treble. there is no fuzz or smearing.
cold and thin? i think not. mids could be meatier but i'm sure it can be fleshed out by using beefy sounding associated gear if desired.
so far with less than an hour in, i'm digging these a lot. makes me want to hear the qualia's. i'm glad they went away from the cd3k sound which were god awful. they're quite colored in that the sound of the upstream doesn't show up as much. maybe things will get more transparent with break in but i have a feeling these inject its own flavor strongly into the mix.
with the lack of distortion/shrillness i can listen with these louder than i can with other fones. not that i do, it's just worth noting that it doesn't cause ear fatigue.
