: Powerful bass, bungee at cable connection, solid build quality
: Recessed mids and highs, high impedance at price, very uncomfortable
Initial Impression:
Immediately upon seeing these, many moons past, it was very funky. The black and hot pink colour scheme stood out and they seemed very cool, more so than anything else. They felt very good to the touch with the rough fabric-like dome covers and I was immensely impressed with the bungee cord that loops around the cable where it plugs into the headphone.
Aesthetics:
These are designed to be flashy and funky. They're made to draw attention to the wearer and to themselves as they are large, black and hot pink. On the domes, there is a grey design to keep it from being boring whatsoever and overall they are good-looking though obnoxious.
Build Quality:
Over the three years that I have owned them, they have held together quite well in typical Sony fashion. The cable has been good and the only degradation I've found it the little plastic-y decals on the domes have started to fall off. The headphones feel strong and sturdy though they don't collapse or do any tricks with the earcups.
Comfort:
These headphones are NOT comfortable at all. The pads are firm and the plastic is not soft. The headband is lined with hard nubs for no conceivable reason. The pads are very short too leading your ears to go right up against the inner wall of the earcup. The only thing that makes them at all bearable to wear is how light they are (approximately 9oz).
Sound Quality:
They sound like any other decent $100 headphone except these sacrifice a little it of the mids and highs to get some massive bass. Now most affordable headphones have low impedance but these don't. At a hearty 70 ohms, they don't sound awful unpowered but they definitely improve a lot from a decent amplifier.
Sound Signature:
These headphones are a budget basshead's dream. Costing only $100 (at most), these deliver very powerful bass in return for quieter (but well executed) highs and tinny and recessed mids. It's like a v-shaped sound signature that is tilted a little to the right.
Overall:
These headphones wouldn't know what subtle is if it was hit over the head with subtlety itself. Whether it's the obnoxious looks or obnoxious sound, these are very in-your-face and very good value.