Sorry Flint. I have a set of Sonys (don't know the model number) and I love them. Perhaps you simply have too many adjectives? If you can't change that, try to at least cut back on the "quotation marks".

What are you comparing the experience in the headphones "to"?

Other headphones? No headphones? Perhaps the standard that all these are falling short of have an element of un-cancelled noise that lends the missing ingredient? It sounds like you're having a difficult time finding something you like.

No, sorry if I wasn't clear.
The Sony MDR-7506s sound superb, and I have no issues with them. They are an industry standard, I've used them myself for 20 years.

My issue was that I got caught up in marketing claims of "sound isolation" --quotations because I am referencing something I now recognize as a meaningless, bullshit term-- when all along, my trusty old Sony headphones weren't lacking in this area at all. They just don't brag about it.



Lesson learned. All the other headphones have been sent back, and I'm still using the Sonys.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I still don't know the model number of my Sonys (they're not with me at the moment) but they *are* a noise-cancelling model. They have a spot for an AA battery and an on/off switch. The most dramatic demonstration of the technology was when I was wearing them in a room with some background noise, like fans and general walla. I put them on, no music, and could hear the crap. I switched them on, crap gone, just gone. This was repeated, reversed, it sounded like a magic trick. The effect was dramatic. Coupled with the music, used as intended, they're excellent. I love them.