They’re not totally flat & there’s some cushion as well. Surround volume 12 (this really makes your rear speakers kick in for basically every type of content). The tiny NPCs are actually pretty funny, though. I bought this rack to hang by the door, for kids coats and bookbags. The shoe itself is very comfortable and is true to size. I’m a size 6 and although a good fit I think I could’ve also got away with a 5. So sad to have wasted money on these. I have had the left earbud cut out for a fraction of a second but that was only once out of probably 9 hours of listening so far. Took a few hours to put together THE BAD- ANC is horrible.