If anyone is in the Philadelphia area, World Wide Stereo has the EL-8 in stock.  I bought a closed pair earlier this week from the Ardmore, PA store.  They had two open pairs available when I was there, I believe I got the second and last closed at that store (the dealer said the first was...

Of course, the hard work put into providing the first impression of the open version are very appreciated but I'm also much more interested in the closed headphones.  I'm hopeful this series is more practical for travel than the LC-X and for that usage, closed is a necessity for any use in a...

I see the BMW influence in the wood.  It looks EXACTLY like an interior wood trim option that BMW calls anthracite wood trim.  I wouldn't be surprised if the wood on the EL-8 is the same thing.

Is the 70x constructed out of plastic?  It looks like it in the photos but the press release on the Audio Technica site says: So I wonder if this is plastic or metal.  With the suggested manufacturer's price being US$419 (though as you say, B&H has preorders up for $299), it should be metal.