Played on portable music players flat (no EQ) and after break-in, the sound is clean and clear, mid-centric, and somewhat shy on both the high and low ends. In that sense I would rate it as a good value for its price. However, not all headphones of this type improve with a simple portable music player EQ, and using the 'rock' EQ setting on i-devices (or the equivalent on other players) to lower the midrange to the level of the bass and highs, the sound is much improved with no negative after-effects. In this latter sense I would rate it as an exceptional value for the price.