I was blown away when I first tried these earphones, no exaggeration. I was in awe to know how much sound I was missing in the songs I was regularly listening to. If you are an audiophile, using these earphones and enjoying the recordings as the creators intended them to sound should be the best way to honor music.
The ear fit is tight, which I appreciate; however, this causes me to feel a little uncomfortable after wearing them for more than a few hours. Also, I can't wear this at my work desk because I couldn't hear it when my colleagues were trying to catch my attention. However, if you have been annoyed by sound leakage, these earphones should resolve that issue. Tightness of the sound is perfect if you only want to focus on the music you are listening to.
This feature could be important for someone—I don't believe it says it on the product page, but Bluetooth does come with a mic, so you can take calls wearing them. As a matter of fact, the mic quality is great. Before this pair, I had the latest model of Bluetooth earphones by Bowers & Wilkins until I lost them. They were easily twice the price of the Studio Master Combo (so USD $400+), yet the mic quality was terrible, and my husband used to complain that I sounded like I was underwater. With these earphones, he says my voice is coming in clearly, and the audio listening experience is also better than that of Bowers & Wilkins. I also notice myself loving the remote controller and the promptness of the connection when you power them on.
Why 4 stars, then? A few minor reasons. 1) The snap-on system of earphones on the cords kind of freaked me out in the beginning, but now I got used to it. However, it is yet to be seen whether repeated snapping on and off of the earphone heads will change the quality of sound (by connection issues? I dunno) down the road. 2) I mainly use the Bluetooth. I really actually love the cord so that I'm not afraid to drop either earphone on the ground when scrambling to wear them, and if I need to speak to any random people, I can easily take one side off and leave it hanging. However, those bars on the cord are weighing it down in a weird way, so until you find a comfortable spot around your collar for them to sit, it can be slightly annoying, and you might find yourself constantly adjusting the wear. 3) I live in an urban setting and take the subway (NYC). I have noticed that when passing by people or in a crowded area, the sound has gotten interrupted here and there, and I think it could be due to the strength of Bluetooth or something like that. This should not be an issue if you don't use them in similar environments to mine.
Having said that, compared to other Bluetooth earpods out there, you cannot beat the quality of the sound-hearing experiences. I am hopeful that these will endure for an extended period (I purchased the E-prototype prior to the pandemic, but it unexpectedly stopped working one day after a year or so), and I assure you that the price is well worth it.