I haven't found any conventional closed headphone that I could mix with live as well as the Extreme Isolations. A lot of companies claim high isolation, like Sennheiser, but it's just not enough for me. These really are isolation headphones. There are some much more expensive types on the market now available, but I haven't tried those yet other than the HN. The HN is better sounding overall one could argue and definitely higher isolation, but they were just too glassy-sounding to mix at high volumes. The bass was also too deep without having enough kick and resolution. The big benefit of the HN is smoother highs than the MDR. The earpads were the kicker. I do not use the EX-29s for recreational listening. But when there is a live sound system pumping 100dB+ around me and I'm wearing musicians earplugs to boot, the last thing I'm worried about is audiophile sensibilities. That's why I have my other headphones. When flying and doing other loud things, I use the ER4S. I can't take the Ety off and put them in again quickly and repeatedly, though. The owner of Direct Sound has also really worked with me to get parts and new drivers for very reasonable cost when I've needed them. Nice guy. I've got three spare drivers and cords in a closet just in case I need to install them. Ortofon just sent me a pair of O2s to show off for them, and if you want a bit more bass than neutral of very high quality and fairly good isolation for a conventional headphone, I find them to be better than the Pioneer 1000…my prior standard for conventional DJ headphones. The O-One is definitely an audiophile headphone, though.