Ok so here's my initial review of these beauties. I simply love them. With every other closed-back headphone I've ever used, I've always compare them side-by-side with my Shure 1540s. These are the first ones that I didn't do that with. The reason, because I couldn't take them off my head. I just wanted to keep listening to them.They seem to be built very well and they look awesome in person. They're heavy, but they disperse the weight very evenly and are comfortable, but not as comfortable as my 1540's. I love the weird headband mechanism, but a little less clamping force would be great. But these are new so that may happen with time. As for the sound, I thought they sounded great right out of the box in passive mode. I did have to turn my iPhone sound up very high though, so these planar drivers need power. All I can say is that they present sound in a very neutral way and the timbre sounds very natural to me. The bass is tight and has impact without a trace of bloat, the mids sound liquid and smooth, and the treble extends well with a little bit of sparkle and no signs of sibilance or harshness at all (no Beyerdynamic sizzle). I'm sensitive to treble, and I could listen to these babies all day. The transients seem fast and pace better than my dynamic headphones. These decay very fast like the PM3's. But unlike the Oppo's, these babies have life! Even without burn-in, I think the soundstage is very good for a closed back. The earpads are actually shaped like ears, awesome job Blue, but they're narrower at the bottom and larger at the top, so the soundstage is presented in a way I've never heard before. It's not as wide as my 1540's but it's taller if that makes sense. I love it. I can't emphasize how well balanced all the frequencies are so that really helps to create an expansive soundscape. Nothing trespasses into the other ranges. Turn on the amped mode and the sound gets slightly warmer and the already great treble extends just a little more. Yes, the soundstage gets even larger and everything gets more immersive. I tell you I got chills listening to some tracks by Dire Straits, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, and Adele. You've got to listen to Metallica's live S&M album in amped mode. Good Lord in heaven! The amped mode seems to create a slight U shaped sound signature and it does it so tastefully. I love these cans.Surprisingly, even on amped mode, I still had to turn the volume up around 80%. These planars are power hungry I guess.What about sound leakage? They're excellent! I had Tool cranked up to 90% on amped sitting right next to my wife, and she had to lean in to hear anything. They do, however, let more noise in than out. I love these. After over 2 years of searching, I've finally found a successor to my beloved 1540's. These are what I had hoped the P9's would have been.Listening to Adele Live at the Royal Albert Hall in amped mode, made it sound like I was there in concert and she was singing just to me. I will admit that I haven't owned very many open back headphones, but these have to come close with how well they present the music