I didn't quite believe what I read when I heard all the hoo-haa about these headphones. I thought to myself, hey, when I have a spare thirty bucks lying around - maybe I'll try them out.
 
A friend happened to ask me what I'd recommend as a cheap set of cans, and knowing about the existence of these - I thought I'd try them first before telling him the usual 'lots of other people on the head-fi forums say these are great'.
 
Basically (as I realise has been said before) believe the hype! I was foolish not to trust you head-fi.
 
I let these burn in for a week back in December. I normally use a pair of DT990 Premium (600ohm). I also use a pair of DT1350's at work (great isolation) and I'm a fan of the RE-Zero/Audéo's when I use IEM's. The sound from this pair of 'cheap' headphones almost matches the quality of much pricier headphones, especially when driven by a nice amp - i'm using the iBasso D-Zero as my DAC of choice right now as it sounds very nice paired with this set of cans.
 
#Tested using:
- Audio Research DAC8 / iMac / iMod with D-zero
#Sound selection:
- After Dinner - Paradise Replica
- Andy Stott - Passed Me By
- Jenny Hval - Viscera
- The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
- Charles Mingus - Ah Um (2 disc)
- Portico Quartet - Isla
- Claudio Abbado (Wiener Philharmoniker) - Beethoven Symphony No.9
- Nat King Cole - The Nat King Cole Story (Capitol Remaster)
- Demon Fuzz - Afreaka
 
Sound:
They are semi-open backed, so as expected, they leak sound terribly and have practically zero sound isolation. However, they do isolate against external noise, so you won't hear people talking etc, but they will hear you. It will annoy people if you're sharing close quarters and wanting to play your music loud (and I do play my music loud). That's not a problem at home for me - so I've been trying out a range of high quality live classical recordings, electronica and dance as well as reggae and more bass heavy noise rock.
 
These appear slightly dark and boomy in the bass end, but the detail is there. Otherwise they are very bright in the upper mid area (without sibilance), they provide the great instrumental separation that I expect from good semi-open backed cans as well as the wide soundstage and a feeling of distance between recorded objects (on well recorded sessions). The sound stage isn't quite as great as on my pair of HD650's or DT990's... no real surprise. However, it's worryingly close.
 
I tend to drift toward neutral/warm when it comes to headphone preference. The sound signature on these is pretty close to neutral... every so slightly warm. Another hit in my book.
 
Once you really, properly listen to these, if you have experience on very nice - much more expensive headphones... I guarantee you'll have a 'holy crap' moment. I didn't believe that I would - but I definitely did. I find it odd that some people dismiss them as 'cheap crap'. They may well be cheap - but I wouldn't describe these headphones as crap. Not by a long shot.
 
Build Quality:
This is the area where they suffer - but, it's not THAT bad. It's just your usual cheap plastic construction. They feel like a cheap plastic toy that you'd give to a child... I'm wondering how long the rubber cable connector will last, but otherwise - it's satisfactory. I didn't expect it to be great.
 
I do wonder whether the sound would be more open if I were to replace the stock p-leather earpads with AKG velour pads... I'll try, it's only £6! I might try opening them up more at the back too.
 
Comfort:
I'm a bit of a pin-head to be honest. I heard people complain about the DT1350 clamping down like a facehugger on the back of your head. I never experienced this issue - and I definitely don't with these. They are quite loose if anything but you can definitely tell that you're wearing them. There is no apparent method for adjustment - one size fits all. If you have a big noggin, then you might have an issue - otherwise I don't see it as a problem. A bit sweaty after extended use, due to the pleather pads. I'm going to replace those I think... I'm sure lots of other people did the same. 
I've scored them as 2.5 stars for comfort -which may be a little unfair - they aren't 'uncomfortable'. They just aren't outstanding in this area at all and could definitely be improved.
 
Overall:
I really like these headphones (if you haven't guessed that already) - basically, if you're ok with a very neutral sound and possibly a little fiddling with EQ to get some niggle out of the high end - you can't go wrong. There is simply nothing that I've heard at this price range to match them... All hail Superlux!

I really like my Clip+ 
 
Plus+

1. It's tiny
2. It's expandable
3. It sounds great!
4. Support for a wide range of Codec's / Rockboxing is super easy.
5. It has voice recording and radio 
6. For the price - no other manufacturer that I know of can touch it.

 
Minus

1. Battery life isn't the best... Which is its only real 'flaw' as far as I can see. I'm never that far away from a USB point though... If I were going on an extended break, I'd definitely want to take something with a better battery life.
2. The clip... it's a bit crap... I almost never use it.

 
My thoughts
 
I don't think it's the worlds best kept secret that this is a really good little player. Most reviews (like this one) are very positive. So all of the below has pretty much been talked about by everyone already.
 
Bearing in mind, players these days seem to be aimed aimed at consumers who want 'fancy' OLED displays for 'video on the go' ... So, if that's your bag, don't bother reading further... why are you reading a review for this anyway?
 
First off - I've read of some issues (which are a mystery to me...) some people have mentioned they had problems running it under certain platforms. I run OSX/Win7/ArchLinux and can confirm that it works fine in all of these as a simple drag/drop player - it has never given me any issues (you can even sync it in itunes using 'itunesmywalkman' if you so desire).
 
This powers headphones very well (compared to ipods) and does not need an amp for most portable cans... then again, it will look little silly if you plug it into your HD800's as the Clip+ is tiny. When I needed one (rarely) I used the iBasso T3 / D-Zero.. I have been using rockbox (which is incredibly easy to install on the Clip+).
 
Plus describes it pretty well (because it has a lot of great plus points 'har har'). I bought this when I was a bit low on funds and needed an emergency PMP, the fact that I could shove in a microSD was what made me buy one. After a long period of getting my music pumped via ipod (5g 120GB) or a Cowon S9 (both of which have now been sold); the SQ/price ratio is astonishing from the Clip+. There is a noticeable difference in sound quality between the ipod and this fun, cheap little player. The Cowon, not so much a noticable difference - but it's over £200 cheaper.
 
In terms of SQ - I'd describe the clip as slightly warm (which I enjoy), but overall very well balanced. As a source it plays OGG, MP3, FLAC & ALAC (and more when using Rockbox). It delivers nicely on bass, has pleasant mids and nice highs. I haven't heard it struggle with anything thrown at it so far - and my music collection is a pretty eclectic mix.
 
I have a 32GB micro SD plugged in, so at around 40GB total it's more than big enough for FLAC playing. I've had this for around a year now and I've plugged a few cans in. I'm settled on listening with my Phonak 112's (they sound great on the Clip+), but also I use RE-zero's and this tiny device even reaches fine volume on my Beyerdynamic DT770 pro's (120 ohm). My iPod does not do that... 
 
Nothing in this price-range comes even close.. and it beats the pants out of quite a few more expensive players. I don't need OR want video functionality. I won't rant on about it...  I should re-iterate - I don't have any desire for a portable device to supply video, for me - the fact that the sansa clip+ doesn't have a huge screen, doesn't support video etc and has a very minimal mono-LED interface is a plus in itself.
 
So... save some money on your player and go and invest in some decent cans for gods sake! I'll be happily testing out a pair of DT1350's on this next week
 
One last thing ... Its voice recording functionality is surprisingly good and I've found it useful to record conversations for possible evidence of malpractice / on-spur interviewing where I've needed it... whilst clipped to my pocket. Totally unobtrusive and oddly useful. 

I have no time to scribe a full review here - and there's already plenty written about these phones. I've had PortaPro's for years and they've been jacked into pretty much every device capable of outputting through a 3.5mm hole. What is not to like? They can be slightly muddy in the lower bass regions, but otherwise they are quite faithful warm sounding cans. They compare very favorably to much more modern (and much pricier) equivalents... I've had quite a few pairs and well, there is a noticable difference when you buy a new pair... they burn in nicely. If you need a cheap / good quality pair of headphones that don't hurt your pocket when they go wrong, you can't go wrong really.
 
 

I got these in a parcel on the 13th after reading the reviews on Head Fi and elsewhere - (nearly all comparing them very favorably to much pricier options). The left headphone fell apart within one week of usage. Still waiting to hear back from the seller to see if I can source a new pair. So I'm back to using my Audéo PFE 112's for now... (no bad thing).
 
Bear in mind that I've only owned these for a week so far.
 
Sound Quality
The sound quality Is great for something in this price-range. This has already been said many times before so I won't go into too much depth, but the mid to high end is VERY detailed. They lack warmth and come across as very analytical IEM's quite similar to a pair of Etymotic ER-4P's, but  if possible, more detail in the mids - however, I'm no basshead but I found them overly cold/flat. I was forced to tweak the EQ.
 
After browsing head-fi I tried removing the filters and foam from within the body. This served to make them overly sharp at the high end and found that replacing the filters but leaving the foam out helped reign them in. I found using foam TX400's also helps with the bass (even though seal is inferior to the silicone caps). I believe this really helped the sound and makes them slightly warmer.
 
The sound-stage is impressive and very wide open. These are great (after modding - much much better) to listen to Classical and Jazz, even classic/proggy stuff - hammond organs really shine. Brass is awesome - I tested with:
 

• King Curtis (Live at Filmore West) - Memphis Soul Stew(ALAC)
• Charles Mingus (Let My Children Hear the Music) - Adagio ma Non Troppo (ALAC)
• Dmitri Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 15 in E-Flat Minor Op. 144 (1974) II- Serenade (Adagio) (FLAC)

 
All of the above sounded great. Crystal clear and wonderful clear separation between instruments and vocals nice fast attack. The funk was somewhat removed from King Curtis though... and similarly in other more bass heavy tracks.
 
Bass is detailed, not nearly as terrible as indicated in some of the reviews I've read it does seem lifeless - I found this depends heavily on the seal you get with which tips you choose.... I ran these through several amps. I used them on my imac through a mini 3 at home - this added a bit of warmth and helped out the bass. When on the move I found the E5 is a good (cheap) option to add a bit more drive - foam tips helped the bass here - however, I think they would benefit from a nicer amp.
 
Build/Comfort
I initially used the double flange silicon tips (which are huge) - these isolate exceptionally well, but after switching to the TX400 foam tips, I'm not going back.
 
I have to mention that these fell apart on me after 1 week. The left ear has also started to crackle in more bass heavy notes, but I blame dodgy E5 amplification for that - they were fine on my home amp.
 
Even with the quality of sound - if any headphone falls apart after a week of use I'm afraid it's a write-off. I could just be unlucky though as others don't seem to have had the same bad luck.
 
To be fair - it's just a superglue fix, but if I was out on the move and this happened, then it potentially could have ended up with the wires pulled out or worse. So far these have the worst build quality of any headphone I have ever owned - the cables have a weird memory to them (and they are kind of crappy cables at this price) - the newer version which I have has a banana shaped jack.
 
Overview
After playing with them and hearing the sound change (positively - I'm sure they got a touch warmer) after a week of  burning in and constant wear - I'm in agreement that these are a nice set of IEM's. If you get a 'good pair' and they don't fall apart on you, then great. However, I think they seem to be getting too much praise for what they offer. I'm certainly glad I didn't pay the full launch price for them.
 
I for one will be sticking with my PFE's for a while - they are far superior IEM's for very little more in price and it's preference I'm sure, but they seem to have a nicer quality and mellower bass. I'm honestly hoping for a full refund rather than a replacement set - but they'll make a nice backup pair if I get a replacement.