First of all, I must give a big THANK YOU to Symphonized! One of the reasons why I chose to go with this product was based upon the positive reviews given by other buyers, not only because of the quality of sound for the price, but many have stated the excellent customer service. So if you're on the fence in terms of the make of the earphones, just know that they stand by their product: if you have any issues, let Symphonized know and they will FIX it.

As far as the sound is concerned, it's actually the best I've ever heard. It's likely due to the wooden make of the earbuds: the sound reverberates very much like an acoustic guitar--in fact, if you listen to a lot of acoustic guitar music, you're in for a treat. You will hear those strings vibrate! If you are listening with an iPhone, I would suggest using a "flat" setting since it gives it a neutral platform for the sound.

Once again, thank you Symphonized! Hopefully, you'll be making an "air pods" version because it seems like devices are eventually going this way.

These are truly impressive headphones!

Opinions on these things are unavoidably subjective and depend heavily on personal tastes and listening habits, so it's probably relevant to state those of mine upfront: My enthusiasm for classical music veers dangerously close to the nutty edge, as my collection of 2,100+ CDs (about 95% classical) would attest. For decades, I have also attended (and sometimes participated in) performances of symphony orchestras, choral groups big and small, as well as chamber ensembles and individual recitals. So, even though I am not "audiophile" enough to be equipped with headphone amps, I sure know what my music should sound like.

I also have a bunch of headphones for comparison listening, including

-Sony XBAH1
-Sony XBA-C10IP
-Marshall Mode
-Brainwavz Delta
-Panasonic RP-TCM125 Ergo Fit

All of these were among Wirecutter.com's top picks one time or another recently, and all of them I have found pleasing in one way or another. After a few months of living with my Symphonized NRG 3.0 headphones, I come to the conclusion that, over all, I would prefer these headphones to all the others.

The very first thing I noticed right away with my Symphonized NRG 3.0 pair was the exceptional efficiency of volume production. At the usual volume setting I listen with other pairs, these are considerably louder. I like to listen to music loud enough so that the full sound quality of the instruments/voices can be clearly discerned, but not so loud as to bust ear-drums. It is known that people tend to favor louder speakers/headphones during listening comparisons, so in forming my opinions I have tried my best to reduce the player's volume setting to offset its higher efficiency when I listened with the Symphonized pair.

The first few recordings I listened to using the Symphonized pair happened to be string quartets. I was awe-struck by how good they sounded. It took a while before I figured out what gave the additional listening pleasure: The four instruments are presented vividly at four individual locales in the sound stage. And thankfully, this was not accomplished with edgy or shrill sound. The tones are pliant and alive and the instruments are clearly and palpably THERE! The quality of the Sony pairs listed above that I appreciate the most is their ability to render individual instruments with air around them (so to speak). But the Symponized pair presents the instruments with a steady vividness unlike anything I heard before. This effect may be a little less noticeable with other instruments or orchestral sections but still quite noticeable. I have no idea whether this has anything to do with the fact that wood rather than plastic is used for the ear-pieces, and honestly I really don't care. Sound quality is what matters to me.

Like most people, I often wish headphone could produce a bit more bass than they are usually capable of. Here the Symphonized 3.0 pair also does a lot better than most other headphones. Better yet, the bass sound is musical, sounding like real low strings or timpani should, not at all boomy or boxy. It's probably not for people who prefer to hear heavy drumbeats over everything else, but it's plenty satisfying for me. I want the bass to provide firm support for the music, not be the prima donna of it all unless during a timpani or double-bass solo.

On good stereo recordings, the Symphonized 3.0 pair produces the sense of an unusually wide sound stage and a fairy nice sense of depth too. It fills the whole sound stage with a warm, unforced, and very musical sound. Though occasionally I hear some hollow piano tones, I suspect that's more the faults of the recordings.

All in all, I have found the Symphonized NRG 3.0 headphones a very happy purchase that makes extremely pleasurable listening, especially if your musical tastes and listening habit resemble mine. You will find their sounds warm and full. More than any other headphones I have listened to, these give a lot of vivid presence to the music. Very very impressive indeed!

I could wish for clearer indications on the ear-pieces to distinguish the left from the right, but that probably amounts to ungrateful nit-picking.

Update 1/28/18:
Unfortunately the controls on the new pair of headphones they sent me don't always work with my iPhone 6S. Sometimes the volume up button actually turns the volume down, for example. Not sure if this is an issue with the headphones or my phone though.

Update 12/29/17:
I have to increase the rating because of the company's incredible customer service. They followed up with me and replaced the pair I purchased saying they were faulty. The new pair doesn't seem to have any of the issues the first pair had with the mic or the controls. But the cord is still too long and gets caught on things, yanking the earbuds out.

Previous Review:
For the price, I'd expect more. I'd expect that the microphone functions perfectly all the time. Instead, it sometimes distorts the voice or makes noise. I'd also expect that the controls (the volume up, down and off/hang up buttons) would work all the time, but they don't always seem to respond with Spotify on my iPhone 6. The most annoying thing is that the cord material is slightly grippy and when you combine that with the length of the cord, it's always catching on random things and getting yanked out of my ears. Maybe part of that is the fact that the earbuds don't stay in well unless you really push them in.

On the plus side, the sound quality is good and the design is nice. And so far, they haven't stopped working or gotten finicky like cheaper earbuds do after a few months. Not sure if I'll buy them again though.

Got these as part of my wife's Valentine's Day gifts. The ear buds she used prior were just...like...bought at Target or over-priced Best Buy stuff which by-and-large are the same thing. She'd complain that the sound was "tinny" ... You know, the usual stuff.

Well, I went out on the net and started fishing around and found these on more than one list as being best for the buck. Still, I was leary even as I read the reviews here on Amazon. You have to be able to sift through the reviewers who pan everything and those who give 5 stars because the packaging was intact.

Understand I am nobody's audiophile. Used to be...more important things to worry about as we age. Anyway, I took a kick at the cat and ordered these solely because of the wood earpieces. They showed up and I tested them on my phone...with some Head East, Deep Purple, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, George Strait and The Moody Blues. TWO WORDS: Truly Impressed!

Now, I'm not the real benchmark. My kid seems to have more money than God and owns a set of those $150 'beats' that it seems all iPhone owners HAVE to have. Without telling him I paid $25 for this set, I had him try them out. His exact words were: "For once you didn't cheap out, Old Man". After my initial inclination to backhand the young turd passed... I made him elaborate on what be thought. Solid base while not sacrificing mid and high range ... He said be too loved the wood and the overall sound. Then I told him they cost $25.

Me? I prefer full head phones ... But these are really good buds. I'm getting a pair for myself. That's my review ... No specs or superlatives. Just a good product.

The sound is great but the mic and volume controls are so cheap that they broke off already"“I've only had these for a month.

Edit: After posting my review, Symphonized worked with me to understand what happened and offered to send me a new pair despite me voiding my warranty because I accidentally broke my headphones. This was a big surprise and they definitely went out of their way to help. I'm changing my review to 5 stars.