Ok, long overdue SJ5 impressions, but Ive owned them for a month now so here they are. Please, take into consideration that my ears are virgins, Ive only used a pair of Sony EX-71 (Mine), Sony V7000 (A friends) , ipod buds and other crappy cheap buds.
First of all, my first surprise was the bass, it was nice and bumpy, well defined too! Clearly beats out anything I've used before. I laughed when I compared them to my friends V7000, in comparison his cans bass sounded muddy and drab.
Second surprise was how efficient they where, they drive great on my PowerBook G4, but a lot of headphones drive well on laptops, but you know they are efficient when they drive well on my PSP! Nice and loud too, I got goose bumps on a certain MGS PO scene. "I...I..I WILL KILL YOU!" "Before you can bring your accursed snake children to this world!"
Sound stage was pretty good, I could tell well certain instruments are in a live orchestra recordings. Flutes in front slightly too the left, to their backs where the violins, to the far right was a trumpet and some trombones. Really nice, again, much better than the other things ive heard before (notice how i stopped calling the other things "headphones"
Mids dont seem as defined as as bass and highs, but they are fine. Overall, you cant beat them for the price. The sound is awesome and its signature doesn't tire me out.
Build quality is top notch, I have a bad reputation of killing headphones in less than 2 weeks but this are holding great, just like the day they got here from japan.
I've let a group of university mates borrow them for a while too see their response, they where wowed by them, one of them said that he wanted me to buy him a pair (he didn't have a credit card) and that he would pay me extra for them.
Also for the person asking about the cup size. They fit all around my ear, they are about 3 inches in diameter. They dont provide much isolation unless you have a big head maybe. They are very comfortable, I can wear them for 4-5 hours without them bothering me. Very portable, you can wear them around your neck barely notice them after a while.
A friend of mines is gonna get a pair of AKGs 81. We might do a in-depth
comparison when he gets them.