I purchased my first set of 4AAT's on the recommendation of a friend who owns some rather old Pro 4AAA's. One selling point for me was the flat frequency response -- if I need booming bass, that's what equalizers are for. When I first used them, I noticed the weight compared to my old headphones but after the first couple of times listening to music with them, I stopped noticing. On the con side, they are not the headphones to use when exercising as you'll find your ears in a mini-sauna. As well, they are not the most efficient headphones so hard to drive to very high sound levels without an amplifier. Hmmm... maybe that last item should be a pro given the damage many of us have done listening to music at overly high volumes. Overall, I'm very happy with them as they provide excellent sound reproduction for everything from classical to rock.

This review is being written after ordering a second set to avoid the fighting with my daughter over her "borrowing" my set.

I'll start with the positives first. These headphones are great when it comes to sound quality, I'm no expert but I do notice that you can hear all the sounds very clearly in all the ranges from high to low. For example I have since noticed that there are a lot more sounds in the music that I listen to than I had previously known of.

But unfortunately here is the bad, I expected them to be a lot louder for how large they are, I was disappointed when I put them on for the first time and cranked up my music full blast and I could still hear the TV in the background. Ipod headphones are actually louder than these. The bass is not nearly as powerful as you might expect it to be from a pair of headphones this size. Also I don't like the material of the ear pads, they make this annoying squeaky noise whenever you move. And make sure you don't get too into your dance moves because pretty soon your ears will get all hot and sweaty.

Overall, for the money that I paid I was hoping to get a more powerful set of headphones but other than that they are very good. As long as you stay still to avoid that annoying squeaky sound.

So...

I got these things about 10 years ago when they tended to still sell right around $100. I thought at the time anything that cost $100 would have to be good. For the time that I used them and the reference points that I had at that age (I was then a teenager) - it seemed like the headphones were really quite crisp and accurate sounding. I enjoyed the huge amount of ambient isolation that they provided though they were kind of a monster to drive (very power hungry). The years came and went and I kept them around while buying nicer and nicer monitoring (headphone) toys to play with...Fostex T50RPs, AKG 141s, AKG K700s, Beyerdynamics, Sony V7506s, etc., etc., etc. Eventually, I realized something interesting the longer I had the headphones...

They actually suck. The image and stereo field is cramped into the middle of your head, the bass feels undercut and lacking all the time (which is even weirder considering how much of a seal they create against your ears), the things are relatively freaking heavy and uncomfortable, the cord is too short, and the sound is weak and simply not realistic in representation. For $100 headphones...they were pretty much garbage in comparison to even modest buys like the AKG 44s (which are extremely popular for very good reason). You would be better off making mixes on a pair of Koss Portapros to be completely honest. These headphones (what, with all their "titanium" coating and that nonsense) really fall flat on their face, and not in a frequency response 'good' kind of way. They simply fail.

Anyone who thinks other wise needs to immediately go out and find the nearest guitar center or hi-fi shop and start actually comparing similar price headphones through a decent headphone amp. Most anything costing a Benjamin will sound a least a couple times better and be multiple times more comfortable than these things will ever be. Only headphones I've ever had where one of the drivers eventually died on me. The one saving throw of these things is of course the lifetime warranty. That's it - the one grace that things allow. You would be completely foolish to buy it on that merit alone however.

Don't get them, they might have been okay 10 years ago and to someone who's only ever heard their world through bose and cheap earbuds...but believe me, that's really not going to give you a good standing point to judge things by. At least pick up a pair of the AKG 44s if you want something really decent for the money and don't look back.

I replaced a very old Koss set with this one, and they sound as great as I expected. Purchasing without listening was tricky, that's why I went with Koss and their reputation. While the sound is fantastic, they are heavy, and may get some getting used to, especially if you are not used to full size headphones. But, if you want great sound, this is it.

I have owned Koss sporta pro which I rated highly. But this one, with much weaker bass and high, I can not rate it highly. I also have Sony-V6, which is also a close type of headphone, I hope this one can replace it. But this phone sounds much worse to me, no way to replace it. I could not believe Koss produce headphones sound so different.
One factor is that phone is high impedance, it is supposed to be driven with a headphone amplifier for large volume. I do not have it, but in theory normal amplifier should have no trouble to get good sound except with smaller volume.
If you have a headphone I mentioned above and try to replace it with 4aat, you should expect a different sound.