Cool! How would you compare the noise isolation with the MDR-1A's?

Whoa, not a lot of love for the original hybrids here. I'd never switch them to an IEM that's constantly being described as "shrill", "harsh" and "shrieky" in the highs.. 

  I've solved it now, all it took was a little bit of bike oil.  

My HD 4.30 sounds awesome but the headband has started to make creaking sounds where it connects to the cup. It creaks when I move my head or jaw. You can only hear it when wearing the headphones but it's pretty annoying when you just want to hear the music.

Aren't they the 2nd generation of hybrids?

Yeah they feel really sturdy. The only other pair I've owned in this price range that had better build quality was the Sennheiser Urbanite, which was built like a tank (but doesn't sound as good as these IMO). I think they're comfortable. The pads are really soft. If your ears aren't too large...

I got the HD 4.30 the other day and I must say they are very decent sounding. Lots of bass for a Sennheiser headphone. At first I thought vocals sounded a bit tinny and a little distant, but I don't hear it like that that anymore. Must have gotten used to the sound quickly! Great build...

    there is no evidence supporting physical "burn in" as a real thing, and sources barely mean anything when it comes to IEMs, unless you use a really old and crappy DAC

damn, still no L shaped plug.

  Those are going to be a pain to clean now..

I always baby my stuff, but these broke in the headband when I was putting them on my head. my first pair had a faulty driver. no quality control, no customer service; good riddance.   but yeah they did sound amazing.

they break after a short while anyway. crappy build quality, and non-existent customer support at that.

crap it's great you guys have girlfriends. just wanted to say I find the mdr-7506 to be bright but that they're nicely balanced up by the great bass response. I guess I like that V shaped response.. good for music listening, for me at least.

they worked (and i dried them with rice for a few days) but the bass had basically disappeared, i had to order new ones : ) good they're cheap.

When did you order them?