I bought these because they are intended to plug into a device and sound alright. Well they do a little more than sound alright. They sound great. I feel like they don't over-color the sound, and aren't too warm (or distant/cool for that matter). the bass and low mids are even and not boomy, upper end present, not shrill. I listen to the following kinds of sound: orchestral music, chamber music, podcasts, cuban, mexican, korean traditional music, classical music from Iran Iraq Turkey India Japan Ethiopia. I also listen to a lot of jazz, including free jazz 60's-present, oh, and some kinds of metal. These cans have increased my quality of life DAILY since I got them.