Simply put? The lower midrange just isn't there.   Everything else, though, is pretty damned nice. Vocals? Clear as hell. Bass? Plenty of impact, and it gets LOW*   With that out of the way though, the lower midrange has problems. If I was feeling mean I'd some up with something witty, but **** you.   You like powerful vocals, orchestras, or metal? You better start running and screaming. Like R&B? Stick around, these will do you well.   *modded with m50 earpads, at least. Without them the midrange changes for the better, but they're...

Overall sound: Forward with aggressive treble, neutral to slightly cold midrange tonality and a sub bass boost. Bass: The 680's have specifically emphasized sub bass, unlike the SRH840 and ATH-M50 which emphasize both midbass and sub bass. This is good and bad in a few ways - for one it doesn't flavor the midrange and allows the driver to respond faster since it doesn't have as much bass to choke over, but it's a less natural sound, and it loses a bit of texture. Overall though I really like it, as it has nice sub bass performance for hip hip...

It's like listening to music with an electron microscope.   If you're looking for recording flaws in your music, by all means pick these up, they have no modestly in pointing out every single one. But for pleasure? Forget about it. Simply put, these headphones are too hot in the treble. If you want more nonses tacked on to the end of that sentence please read some other review. Other stuff: Soundstage: Imaging is certainly more sophisticated sophisted than the srh840, but it's really only noticeable on classical or live recordings. Still, the...