I will confess , I be please with these headphone when I get they . Pretty decent sound , good noise blocking -lrb- always a plus in New York City -rrb- . the odd cord length -lrb- very short plus a very long extension -rrb- be a bother , but I manage . I figure , for a set of headphone under $ $ , it be worth it . what I do not take into account be the durability . buy these -lrb- . . -rrb- , and sure enough , the rubber on the cord have almost completely disintegrate . I suspect that the latex content in the rubber be pretty high , and my body heat have cause it to break down since they be design to be wear with the cord drape behind the neck . frustrating as heck . Sony have be in this business long enough to at least get that part right . so instead of buy another pair -lrb- and hope they have fix it -rrb- , I be step up to the Shure e2c 's . I figure they might be twice as much money , but they ought to last longer than 7 month . again , the sound on the Sony headphone be good ... just be prepare to buy another set in a few month .