Hi all, in *no* way to disparage this drop but if this model were built around ESS's original "Heil Air Motion Transformer" (ESS marketing term), a folded ribbon, I'd buy them in less than a heartbeat, lol. I owned a pair of the original ESS 'phones. Imho, those were the closest I'd heard to my reference Koss electrostatics, and could def play louder. Hope all who buy these enjoy, as at $100, they seem a good deal. Thanks!