Don't understand the rave reviews. Muddy sound.
935819
These speakers are all bass, but in a muddy way. Tone knob does nothing. If the tone knob is all the way down, the sound is absolutely dreadful; if you turn it up half-way, it's better but still super bass heavy... and in a muddy way; it's not crisp sounding AT ALL. If you turn the tone knob more than halfway, it doesn't do anything at all. I'm disappointed because I thought these would be an upgrade from my old speakers (which I gave away) and they actually sound a lot worse. I hate the hassle (and cost) of returning things, so I tried to adjust to them, but it's about one month later and I'm still hating them. So I'm returning them while I still can. They look so attractive that I was hoping I'd get used to the sound, but it really falls short and I think I'll invest more $ in whatever else I buy to replace them.
4770358
Not the best sound. I was expecting more from these and I wouldnt recommend them. They catch on the strings and make your sound muddy.
1437434
I never would have bought these speakers if I had known how bad they would sound. I've played jazz from several sources through these speakers and one movie. In every case, the overall sound was muddy and disappointing to my ears. The middle tones are murky with a kind of echoing mushy quality, and the base is too strong (with no way to adjust it.) The high frequency range is pretty good but it can't save the day. I'm taking this system back to the store where I bought it; looking for something way better.
4929495
Pretty muddy sound, drops out from time to time becoming disconnected when I'm sitting right next to the computer. Asus BT-400 bluetooth 4.0 dongle in use. Computer is new. I don't think the sound reproduction is that great. Wired sound earphones sound much better. Wireless still needs work. Switchology and product fit and feel are fine but the audio is disappointing......:-(

I was hoping to avoid $400 for Bose and/or Beats wireless but I'm waiting for Black Friday pricing to see if there might be some deals....
3333328
I honestly don't know what these headphones have such great reviews. I thought they sounded like two laptop speakers pressed against my ears. they had zero bass as well. I do not recommend.
829644
First off the sounds from this is very muddy making the sound quality very poor. Secondly the muddiness worsened just a month after I bought them and now I can't listen to anything from them. I would not recommend these.
1334356
I bought these because I saw excellent reviews from cnet and amazon.  I was looking forward to finally finding in ear headphones that could deliver bass (most seem to be terrible at this).  I put them on and after trying the different fitting sizes to ensure proper fit and sound, I have to say the bass is very loud and impressive for in ear headphones, and the fit is fairly comfortable.  Unfortunately, those are the only good qualities.  The rest of the sound spectrum is just horrible.  Highs just sound garbled and muddy, mids are far too loud, and overall everything just sounds muffled.  I tried playing them through my PC where I spent a considerable amount of time adjusting the graphic EQ, and eventually got them to almost sound tolerable, but even getting the right frequencies boosted it still sounded muddy across the spectrum.

These might sound decent to someone used to cheap in ear headphones that just wants to listen to hip hop or rap, but DO NOT buy these for sound quality.  I am going to try to return these.  If I can't I'll probably give them away.
1325910
Muddy, muffled terrible sound.  Seems almost as if a cassette recording was used as the master.  Save your money and go with the MoFi version of this which has fantastic sound.
314043
The sound is terrible.  Don't waste your money.
4656500
Sound quality is muffled and lacks clarity. I was very disappointed. It would be ok i guess if it were one of the $30 bluetooth speakers, but for $120 it needs to be much better. A friend had an older JBL bt speaker and his sounded much better. I got a bose instead and it's almost a bit too clear/bright sounding, but much better than this. It sounds like the speaker is playing from inside a cardboard box or a sponge or something.
441390
Sounds pretty bad and the volume is REALLY low.  Maybe it needs a DAC?  I dunno.  Design is pretty s*** too.
2897907
Sound is terrible. I don't understand how this item could have so many good reviews. I can only imagine they were bought. I strongly suggest staying away from this item.
2518688
I'm not sure why so many people are praising these headphones. My guess is that the HD280 might be good for listening to a one instrument at a time during recording. But when music comes together they produce completely lifeless sound - all the vibrancy of the music composition is lost.

I tried them with different sources iphone, pc, and stereo amplifier. I tried different music styles: from David Brubeck to Radiohead. But the results were the same - flat and lifeless. Then I compared them with other headphones I have - AudioTechnica ATN-ANC7 and Koss PortaPro. Both had by far better tonal balance and IMHO are more convenient to wear.

Anyway my verdict is very simple: NOT RECOMMENDED.
3106891
Very upsetting because I loved the way they sounded at first. I went through the whole break in stage, and once I tried to turn them up louder than half way, distortion started. I didn't think nothing of it at first but the louder and louder it got the worse. It started popping and making a very very muddy bass. It's almost like these speakers or "monitors" don't have enough power. I ended up buying a different pair of monitors and compared the sound. In the end, I found out that even at a low volume, they sound muddy and unclear. Almost like it was trying to cover up something in the music. If you are looking to buy these for the multi media use, then it is a good buy. But because of the fact it's not a flat sound, isn't crisp and not enough power, I don't believe they should be called studio monitors.
3437988
After the great reviews - I thought the quality must be good.  But like others have said, they sound tinny.  Messed with the equalizer settings and still can't find an acceptable sound.  Also have others have said, you can't work out on these.  If the cord bounces on your body at all, there is horrible feedback into the sound stream.  On the bright side, the case is nice.  But I would not purchase again.
1047042
The sound for this album is really muddy.  I know that it's a live album, and an mp3 version of the disk instead of the original, and I'm not a real audiophile if I'm willing to listen to either.  That's fine, I'm willing to accept that.  But the quality of this is much worse than I'm used to for either mp3s or live albums.

(Why does this mp3 album no longer show up when I search for Joy Division & Unknown Pleasures?  I could only get to this item by going through my download history.  Maybe I'm not the only one who had problems with this?)
4406511
The sound from these speakers were so muffled that I couldn't even make out what people were saying much less enjoy a song from it.  I'm not sure why the sound was so bad when all the reviews say that the sound is pretty clear.  Maybe I got a faulty one.  I was very disappointed in these speakers.