Maybe I'm in the minority but running with no pads sound the best, then maybe the black. No pads has the perfect balance of sparkle without every being sibilant. This is obviously after you've burned them in either driver or brain wise. When I first received them, the jury was out bigtime for me but after some quality burn in and head-time, the bass most definitely tightens up, is even more punchy and the treble just shines. I've always thought the mids were spot on so that never changed for me at least.
This is one fine headphone and competes and even bests (while staying toe to toe) with the LCD2-C and even the Atticus, even though the Atticus is a closed back. I gotta say, for a closed back, the Atticus has a really nice soundstage and may be even better then the AFO. The AFO is quite "polite" and narrow but I have no complaints because it does so many other things just right. Love it.