These are the shiny black. I normally like shiny black stuff, my entertainment center is black glass for example. (Requires me to dust constantly though!)
They are almost too shiny...I kinda wish I had ordered them in matte black. Obviously they are fingerprint magnets, but I think I would have liked them more in matte black. (I ordered the matte black headphones...if you have the shadow ones maybe you'd think differently, since the shadows have some more bling to them)
The engraving came out pretty well, no complaints there. I might be returning the headphones though. I ordered the XL earpads and even after switching them on, the pads don't feel large enough. I've been told I have ears on the smaller side, but these still rest on my ears more than I like. I'm too accustomed to the Sennheiser earcupe shape I guess. (For what it's worth I'm really not seeing the 30% increased diameter at all...they are thicker, and that's about it. Also since the earcups are a fake leather style material, they don't breathe at all.
I'm going to give it a couple of days, and if my opinion doesn't change I'll probably pick up some AT athm50x's and the velvet pads for those that I've seen.
The phones seem pretty durable though...although when I was taking off the earpads I ended up popping the earphone out of the clamp which scared the heck out of me. It didn't break, but the little connector that goes into the headphone seems like it should be stronger than what it is. It's a plastic piece and looks capable of breaking, where the rest of these seem tough as nails.
