My old Sony MDR-V150 headphones blew the left speaker, again. This is set #3. The first one the cat chewed through the cord, the second I blew the the left speaker as well.  They are serviceable and you don’t notice until high volumes (something I don’t do a TON) but I was really getting pissed off one night and impulse purchased a set of Sennheiser HD555’s after quickly scouring online review sites. I like the around ear vs on ear, as well as the open back. They’re more annoying to people around you (they can hear your music more than a closed design) and don’t keep out as much background noise, but they breathe. I love that i can listen for 3-4 hours and my ears aren’t sweaty nasty messes!  When I first fired them up they were a little tight, and bass response was almost nill. After about 4 hours of play today total they’re really starting to get warm, and bass response and impact has been on a steady rise. From other reviews I’m not expecting out of this world bass impact, but I like the direction it’s going. These cans are VERY clear and clean, and a great example of why I should have bought a nice set a LONG time ago. I am never going back to on-ear type headphones! While listening I don’t feel like I’ve got headphones on- the sound stage is so much better than the $15 sony’s.  I actually get excited as songs come on to see what I’ve been missing. I’ve been using cans a lot lately with the roomates and lack of computer speakers. These are going to make that time MUCH more enjoyable.