Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Got these to replace my MDR-V6 headphone pads which, like others', were flaking off the pleather rather aggressively. Other reviews are spot on: these are plusher and enhance bass while taking the harsh edge off treble. The fabric is warmer, but more breathable, so it's a net comfort gain for me. The pads themselves are thicker than stock, and do a good job of keeping the headphones from crushing my ear. Noise isolation seems about the same to me. Regarding installation: 1) Toss the stiff plastic inserts. You don't need them. 2) Pull off the old pads. They just come right off with a good tug. 3) Take these, and flip the edge on each pad inside out all the way around, like turning up the hem on a pair of jeans. 4) Hold the V6s (between my knees worked best for me) so that one ear is pointing straight up and the rest is out of the way. 5) Take the circular backing pad and center it on the V6 earpiece. There should be fabric-on-fabric contact that'll keep it from moving around too much. 6) Place the earpad pad dead center on top of that. As you do the rest, try to keep a little downward pressure to hold things in place. 7) Start flipping the edge down around the earpiece. Don't try to get it in the slot yet, flip it over the entire edge. I recommend starting at the narrow part of the oval, doing one whole half to the other narrow part, then holding that in place with one hand while flipping the other half down with the other. If it slides off, flip it back up and start over. You'll quickly get the hang of holding one part in place while flipping the rest. 8) Once it's flipped down all the way around, pull one part of the pad to the side *very gently* so that the edge finds its way into the groove. Works best in the middle of the wide part of the oval, since it's easiest to pull out there without disturbing the rest of the pad. 9) When you have part of the edge in the groove, you can just work the rest of the way around pressing with your fingernail and the rest will slide in. If any is being stubborn, pull it to the side slightly and it'll fall in the groove. 10) Repeat for the other ear. 11) When you've done both, check that the backing pads are relatively centered (i.e. no headphone innards showing). If not, you can slide fingers beneath the earpad to gently recenter them without pulling the whole pad back off. I switched back and forth between these and the stock pads twice to A/B sound quality noise isolation. First time installing took maybe 5 min/side. Subsequent times were 1-2 min/side. It's pretty simple -if- you start by flipping up the edge. Very recommended.