Sony mdr ex 85sl

first of all, i believe, sony wanted to make hybrid earbuds for a better sound my expanding the soundstage, however the strategy failed. the soundstage has improved (the large size helps a lot too), but the isolation lacks and the sounds are distant (they seem tiny as if they're far away). the ex300 and ex500 from sony offered better soundstage and isolation.
as for sound, yes, it's balanced. but bass is lacking and doesn't sound warm and full. the soundstage is good, to me, it felt that the sound is coming from behind (can't remember, i had them 2 years ago). 
these look sleek, i had the blue one. one of the best looking earbuds ever had.
 
these are extremely durable. they lasted more than a year, even after they way i tortured them, i modded them as head-fiers mentioned. played around with them, smashed them on wall.
 
for price, you will find better earbuds, even from sony. people would prefer a complete IEM rather than hybrid as they want good isolation. 
 
probably, amping and other audiophilic stuffs would make them sound better, but i am not an audiophile. 

These are great earphones, and similar models are often packaged with Sony's excellent sounding and extremely cheap media players. If you want something cheap to stuff in your bag or keep as spares at work, you can't go far wrong. Just make sure they're real and avoid bulk packaging and too good to be true prices.