the good : absolutely amazing sound quality that outweigh all problem , extremely comfortable the Bad : typical drawback of open headphone , not very portable , mess up you hair I get these headphone while look to upgrade from some much cheaper folding one . my neighbor have a pair of they , and after try they out I order my own a day later . so far , I have be nothing but amaze by they . before these I be use to listen on my $ 10 headphone ; they absolutely blow I away and show I what I be miss in my music . obviously the main selling point of the hd-555 be sound quality . these phone be at or near audiophile quality and reproduce any kind of music excellently . they do not have ton of bass like some headphone , but be use to much cheaper headphone it be plenty for I . the first time I try they I be blow away by how amazing my music suddenly sound ; the quality be definitely worth the price . they also apparently use special technology to provide excellent directional sound , which let they basically act like wearable surround sound , good for gaming . it sound like whatever you be listen to be come from all around you ear , not just on top of they . the other big plus be comfort . I wish I could wear these all the time and never take they off ; it be easy to forget they be even on you head . the ear pad fit on you head perfectly -lrb- assume you do not have huge ear -rrb- and there be a extra pad on the headband , so it be basically like wear a pillow . they do not clamp on you head uncomfortably or get hot , either ; it be no problem at all wear they for hour at a time . the open design mean that when not play music , you can hear everything around you while wear they . one purely superficial note : at least for I , they leave indentation in you hair where the pad be . the open design of these headphone , responsible for the amazing sound quality , could also be a drawback for some . for those unfamiliar with headphone terminology , open headphone mean that sound get in and sound get out . they block approximately zero sound , so if there be a lot of background noise it will interfere with you listening . additionally people around you will be able to -lrb- faintly -rrb- hear what you be listen to even at normal listen volume , so depend on you music taste you may want to stick with listen alone . I can usually listen on they around other without a problem , but be aware of the limitation of open headphone . the cord be quite long -lrb- 3 meter or so -rrb- , so you can sit pretty far from the audio source , perfect for movie or video game . it terminate in a 1\/4 '' -lrb- big -rrb- plug and come with a adapter to the standard 1\/8 '' size . this mean that the plug be rather big and cumbersome , though , which can be inconvenient for listen on a ipod . before these headphone I do not concern myself much with music quality , since on my $ 10 phone I could not hear the difference anyway . I do not own many cd at all , but after get the hd-555 I go and buy some of my favorite album on CD so I could re-rip they at 256 kbp . most of my music be 128 kbp , and these headphone be not quite nice enough to make they sound awful by comparison . how you 'll use these phone be very important if you be think of buy they . they be ideal for home listening , movie-watching , or gaming , especially by yourself . if you 'll be use headphone with background noise , other people around -lrb- who do not share you music taste -rrb- , or a portable device , you might want to consider some closed headphone instead -lrb- such as Sennheiser 's 200 line -rrb- . for they intended purpose , though , these headphone be absolutely worth the cost and a great buy for anyone that enjoy music .