If I ever do tangle with a snake Ill be back hopefully to update my review about the experience. Omgod Finally ! I assumed white metallic. Im not sure how to articulate how they changed, but it is subtle and they sure dont sound bad afterwards, just different (possibly a little more airy?). Volume and sound quality are excellent for the price. Attention si vous avez ajouter un grip sur votre manette il faudra le retirer pour installer le S. Not sure whether it is easy to clean. Very disappointing for $70 headphones. These also have a really nice fixed single 3 meter braided cable, which is curiously exclusive to the A990z within its own line up. This item KNOCKED me out as soon as I got it.