They are bulky, but well worth it. I've bought two pairs (one for work and home).Fantastic purchase - but hard to find These headphones are absolutely great. They provide a very clear, exceptionally full sound The only problem is that I think they're a discontinued item. Sony's website doesn't list them anymore, and they're out of stock everywhere now. Grab them if you can, it's hard to find such a lightweight set with such a great sound quality.
Two small things though: First off, the foam that covers the drivers looks like it might wear off over some time, but with good care little abuse (like pulling on it), they should last a few years.
Second of all, I believe these headphones could be improved if the drivers were reversable, so they could be used as mini-speakers. However, because of the open-air design, a lot of sound does escape despite the drivers facing each other. Not a big deal.
Some technical information not found on the page:
Driver Units: 40mm dia. 40 ohms at 1kHz
Power Handling: .5w
Sensitivity: 104dB/mW
Frequency Response - 12-24,000Hz
Mass: 145g (5oz) w/o cord
Cord: 3m (This is LONG)
First thing's first: These things are extremely comfortable. They have a little ring that goes around your ear, and this effectively takes the pressure off your ears. If you intend to wear these for a long time, if you have big ears, (like me) or both, this is reason alone.
The sound quality is among the best I have ever heard. It has excellent frequency responce, and they can get very loud without distortion. If you are into extreme bass, be careful: If said bass comes from a source like Dynamic Bass Boost or the ilk from portable CD players, it tends to distort at higher volumes. Bass from a Stereo system doesn't seem to produce this problem.
One nifty feature is the screw-on adapter. This will fit into standard and mini headphone jacks, via a little screw-own adapter. The adapter fits over the mini jack, and can only be screwed off. Very useful in my '89 Areostar! The mini jack and the adapter are gold plated, and seem very well built. One problem: the adapter can be easy to lose.
The cord from the headset is a full 15' long, versus the 6' of most headphones. Very nice! Cord is also one cord, and not two little ones joined together, like most other pairs. This is great, since you can't rip the cord down the middle. The cord terminates into the left speaker, also eliminating that annoying v-joint most pairs have.
The foam is thick and comfortable, and the headband does not rip out hair. It is spring loaded, however, which means that it always returns to it's normal size after use. I find this useful, but you never know...
Overall, an excellent product. It seems to have been discontinued, so get a pair if you can!
I normally reserve my recommendations, but this one is a great buy if you need new headphones. The sound is good, and the feeling is great.
Not to mention the long cord that prevents you from being so heavily tied to your headphone jack
