If you have been using anything other than the cheapest headphones, the sound will sound hollow and light on the force of the beat/pressure. In fact you don’t feel any pressure.
Now I have long talked about being an HSP and sensitive to pressure. It is true, I can get a headache by listening to music too long. If someone is sensitive to sound, this OpenRunner might help you. For me however, going from a Sonos Ace which is on the higher end to this, is too much of a gap in sound quality.
Now for their purpose they are excellent. If you are a runner and want some sound, this will work much better than ear phones of any other type I have seen. I would whole hardly endorse these if you exercise and want to listen to music. What you give up in sound quality, you make up in healthy ability to sweat and be hygenic. If you have gotten ear infections from earbuds in the past from sweating while exercising, these may be your answer.
It is also interesting for a possible use in a business context. If people feel self conscious with over the ear headphones, this is very discrete and probably most people wouldn’t even notice you are wearing them. These are the most minimal non invasive earphones I have ever had the pleasure to use. For the price I think it is an amazing value. It was about $75 at Costco.
Its hard to accept worse sound quality when you are spoiled by better headphones. The sound is acceptable and you may not be a snob like I have become with these headphones. Its interesting, but you really have to need this to accept the trade offs.