Sound is in my opinion, great on these headphones. The frequency range is all present and anyone with their hearing intact will discern the entire spectrum being reproduced. The bass is present, not "boomy", tight, and not overwhelming. The highs are clear, precise, a bit forefront, a little piercing, almost to the point of sibilance. Love it or hate it, if you know B&O's sound signature, this is their characteristic sound. The Beoplay app does allow one to adjust the audio signature if they'd like, so one can get the sound that they like to match the style of music they prefer. The headphones do seem a tad quiet during Bluetooth operations but with it connected via the headphone jack or USB-C (very few headphones support this), audio levels can be increased further. The ANC works well enough but seems to remove some of the audio's mid-range (- half a star) so I only use ANC when I need to. If you're looking for ANC, there are better choices out there. The ear cups, the softest I've ever felt, do a great job of blocking external noise anyways. Speaking of which, the ear cups will fit most people but those with large ears should be wary. The gesture controls are easy to use and work even while wearing gloves. It does take a little getting used to, because "touch controls". The proximity sensors which detect your ears work perfectly fine for me. I take the headphones off, they stop playing music. I put them on, audio resumes as expected. The headphones don't support AptX of any kind, but don't let that be a deal breaker. Apple's iPhone only currently supports AAC which is still a very good audio codec. A Google search will yield plenty of testers, with audio measuring equipment that will demonstrate that one isn't losing anything audio-wise due to AAC. It's such a contradiction to hear other reviews complain that not having AptX is a deal-breaker, yet they then proceed to gush over the audio quality which is absolutely on par with the competition. Unfortunately, the built-in mics don't pick up audio as well as its competitors and using it for phone calls is not particularly good. If you take a lot of calls, these will disappoint and there are better choices out there (- half a star). For extended listening, I found the headband isn't quite as padded as other competitors but small adjustment will resolve that for me. Lastly, the design of the headphones is gorgeous and luxurious. I mean, we're talking lamb skin and memory foam ear cups, matching leather headband, brushed aluminum arms with undiscernible mating points, gliding extensions, smooth points of articulation, and high quality plastics. These headphones are truly a work of art, and beautiful to hold and enjoy. Though these are not the newest piece of tech available, their styling and replaceable parts means one can use them for a very long time. Very few electronics today have user replaceable batteries, and this does! As long as the device is handled with care, the drivers and head band should last a very long time, out-living the wearable parts. Sure, the new H9 3rd Gen's have nearly 30 hours of usage time, but what's the point if you have to replace the entire headphone in one and a half to two years because the batteries no longer hold a charge? In my opinion, these headphones embody how technology should be like today: It marries function, timeless looks, and premium materials, while throwing "forced obsolescence" out the window.