PreSonus - HD9 Over-the-Ear Headphones - Black

For the money, these are as good a pair of closed-back monitoring headphones as something more expensive, but not without limits. There's some sound bleed (some people are annoyed by that, but I don't care), the cable's long (ditto), and they're better for listening than referencing vocals. That's it!

Before I begin the review, I think that potential shoppers should be aware of the fact that these aren't true noise-canceling headphones. They're noise canceling by virtue of the seal they create on your ears. They're decent at blocking out surrounding noise, but not nearly as good as a true (active) noise-canceling headphone would be. This isn't a fault on PreSonus, by the way. This is all on Best Buy and how they label the product. Because, if you look at the box and the marketing material on this headphone, there's no real reference to noise-cancellation. Anyway, about the headphones. First, the build quality is solid. Especially at this price range. They're super comfortable and use a soft leather material. As expected at this price, it's got plastic-y elements, but it doesn't make the headphone feel cheap. On sound quality, it's got a nice warmth to it. It feels fuller than my Sony MDR headphones, which are a widely recognized 'Professional-Grade' headphone. I haven't had an extended listening session (over 3 hours), but it doesn't seem to fatigue my ears in the way that in-ears do. Definitely recommend this headphone.

Somewhat bassy at low volumes. While not accurate, the extra warmth is usually a plus at low volumes. When played at low volume they sound quite good. They can also get extremely loud with very little power. However, a lot of the clarity goes away. While not sounding distorted, per say, they sound strained. Granted it's probably not a good idea to listen to headphones that loudly, so it may not be a big deal. Like most over the ear headphones, they can become uncomfortable for long listening sessions. But, I prefer the attenuation the over the ear design provides.

Very comfortable, can wear them for hours at a time. Good sound quality. I use them for gaming and music and they are very good for the price. They do come with a 1/4 adapter initally you just have to unscrew it to get to the standard 1/8 (3mm)

I have a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) on a Macbook Pro with a Presonus Sound Module, which has always been an excellent company for sound modules, so I tried their headset. The sounds are clear and clean. The cord is a good length. These are possibly the best headphones that I have ever owned for producing clear and balanced sound. The only downside is that they are not comfortable after extended hours of use. For an hour they're great. For four hours, I have to remember to take them off when I can or it becomes pretty uncomfortable. But I will take that for a headphone that covers my ear and prevents sound leakage as well as these do.