Review on 🎧 Samson Technologies SR850: High-Quality Black Semi Open-Back Studio Headphones by Black Croom

First they need to be broken a little. Very sharp upper mids and bass are somewhat muted right out of the box. I let them play in their own box at a moderate volume for about 20 hours at a time. This seems to have smoothed out the upper mids a bit, making the bass a bit better. But I still use the equalizer function on my phone with a little bass boost at 60Hz and a little bass cut at 8kHz. Yes the soundstage is better than the closed models and even with some attenuation at 8kHz they still have better detail than my bluetooth headphones (Edifier W830BT). I hope they keep getting better as they break in, although [*not so] in terms of fit and comfort, they need better ear pads. Velor pads are a great idea, but these pads aren't soft. The velor of these pads reminds me of the material of a lint brush. They look like they could be easily removed and updated. And the clamping ratio is too high, but the wire frame is easily adjustable for more comfort. Keep in mind these are $30 headphones and at this price point this is a lot. Even more expensive brands require a break-in period. My kit had a 6ft cord, so I don't understand some of the comments about short cords. Replacing ear pads can be a good investment. (UPDATE) I have since bought the Fiio A3 portable headphone amplifier and the sound quality of the headphones has improved across the entire frequency range. They seem a bit weaker than my Samsung J7. [*UPDATE - one year later] well, they are still a bit boring. Yes, very detailed, but some music calls for upper mids and highs. I recently modified them with a round cotton make-up remover pad a few millimeters thick and exactly 50mm in diameter positioned just above the driver's grille. The cushion can be removed just as easily as the inner fabric cover and everything returns to its place. Truly tamed sharpness with no dead detail. I'm hesitant to recommend these things, however, as most people don't have the time or inclination to nod, but as I said, they're not expensive (although I can see the price has gone up a bit).