I bought these as my first try into "high end" earphones.My very first contact was not the best, the in-ear fitting was weird and after a while it became itchy. I stored them for a time and stuck with mySennheiser CX 400 In-Ear Headphone (Black)(which are way cheaper), until one bud died out, after a life span of more than 3 years.Then I took these ER6's out and gave them a second go.I tried the alternative foam ear cushions, but they suck worse than the silicone ones.Eventually I got used to the silicon earpieces, and alas, after only 6 months of use, one side became faulty, sounding very low. I changed the filter but it did not fix the issue.Maybe there is certainly a point to consider that eventually you will pull from the cable to get it out of your ear, and this will damage the piece.For such an expensive product, this performance just sucks.I find that I cannot change the first rating I gave, currently I would give only **