[fuzzyash]

I have the S500s. While they do have a good sound for a headphone that is designed to be very portability, keep in mind that the people that are talking them up have also generally changed out the earpads. They are also not for sale in the US yet, which makes returning a faulty set or warranty work a problem. 

people are changing out the earpads primarily to increased comfort and listen to them hours at a time, they still sound good with the stock pads
they are cheaper new than the above mentioned used vmoda
they run for around $50 without shipping while the vmoda run around $160 new
there hasnt been any complaint about a faulty pair so far for the jvc and if there is concern, they are cheap to replace

edit: but by all means, if vmodas are the style your son likes, go get him one

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

people are changing out the earpads primarily to increased comfort and listen to them hours at a time, they still sound good with the stock pads
they are cheaper new than the above mentioned used vmoda
they run for around $50 without shipping while the vmoda run around $160 new
there hasnt been any complaint about a faulty pair so far for the jvc and if there is concern, they are cheap to replace
edit: but by all means, if vmodas are the style your son likes, go get him one

 
That's not accurate. Most people are changing the pads out to improve the sound. I'm not saying they sound bad. I think that they are a good value. But a lot of the testimonials in the owners thread are colored by the fact that they are using them with different pads. 
 
Also, you forgot to mention that the shipping is international. So cost on these is around $75.