I've owned: Sony CDR-950 $300 Sony MDR-F1 $250 Grado Labs SR80 $100 Sennheiser HD-595 $180 I started to shop arnoud for a new pair of headphones to use at work when my 6 year-old Sony MDR-F1 s earpads completely wore out (it costs a whopping $100 to replace just the foam earpads!). I am a 3D computer artist, and I sit in front of the computer all day, so comfort was a major factor in my purchasing decision. Additionally, however, I am really into music, so sound quality is extremely important to me. I've always loved the sound of Grado Lab's phones, they are bright and lively, but they have never been very comfortable, especially for long listening sessions. Conversely, my Sony MDR-F1s were only decent from a sound perspective, but they were incredibly comfy. I took a listen to a co-worker's HD-580 s, because I'd never listened to or even tried on a pair of Sennheisers. To be honest, my impression of the 580 s was not super positive. Sennheiser has called the sound quality of the 580 s and 600 s polite', but to me they seemed to have a slightly subdued sound, heavy on the bottom-end, but not really up-front like the Grado's that I like so much. I realized that the impedance of the 580 s and the really expensive HD-600 s was 200 OHMs which could've explained their subdued quality. I AM listening out of a headphone amplifier, but it's a tiny HeadRoom TotalAirhead which possibly didn't have enough power for the 580 s. It was then that I started becoming really interested in the HD-595 s because of their 50 OHM impedance. I decided to take the plunge on the 595 s last week and ordered them from Amazon for $181. After 2 days of listening to music from my PC via the HeadRoom TotalAirHead all I can say is - WOW, these are the best headphones I've ever heard . The Sennheiser proclaimed polite' quality that I didn't like about the 580 s is non-existant in the 595 s. They are so lively, up-front and exciting to listen to. They have so much detail, and my little amp has no trouble whatsoever driving them. I DID have to push the bottom end of the EQ a bit to get the fullness that I like out of my music, but this wasn't a big deal. I have not tried them sans-amplifier yet, but it seems that the low impedance would make them ideal for portable players also. Additionally, they are SO COMFORTABLE, if a bit hot-on-the-ears with the velour earcups. They look cool, they are super lightweight, and they come with this nifty headphone stand' that clamps to a table for hanging the phones when not in use. I love listening to these things, I give them 5 out of 5 stars. Hogarth de la Plante Boston, MA