Bought these for my partner who is permanently listening to podcasts and his expensive "quality" earphones kept breaking so he had to keep sending them off and waiting for a replacement via the guarantee. He says these headphones are the best he's ever had - he loves that they're wireless and says the sound is excellent - he uses them travelling around London, and says the noise-cancelling quality is brilliant. He also always uses the microphone when he's out and about and we've never had problems with the sound over the phone. As he uses them every day he keeps them in his pocket and the pouch they came with seems to be enough protection as there are no signs of them breaking after 6 weeks of solid use. Highly recommended!