So my Sennheiser CX300s came today. As you may remember, I was talking about them in my last entry. Initial reaction: definitely much better than the things I've been using since my Sony MDR-EX71s died. These block out a comparable amount of ambient noise, which was one of the main positives of the MDR-EX71s. Others have complained that the vibrations to the cord will travel up, but my experience has been that they're barely noticeable when playing music. That having been said, I'm not sure if they're significantly better than the MDR-EX71s. These cost almost twice as much retail, but the sound quality is quite similar. The MDR-EX71 seems to have heavier (but also muddier, apparently) bass. Overall, I'm quite satisfied.