The ATH-ESW9s are a pair of on-ears from Audio-Technica. The ATH-ESW9s actually have wooden backs, which lends them a very sophisticated aesthetic. Their price is reflective of this, falling around $300-$400. The headphones themselves certainly look like they cost this amount. Their leather-printed padding is comfortable, but the headphones themselves were a bit tight – you should try them on for a while to get a sense of how comfortable you think they are.

The ATH-ESW9s are a set of light-weight headphones that are probably best used in your home. Their poor isolation and leakage control makes them a poor choice for your commute.

Performance  (read the full lab performance results at HeadphoneInfo.com)
The ATH-ESW9s did well on this test, proving they have both form and function. They didn't have the best result on our frequency response test: the highs might sound a bit muted. The headphones did have a nice, even emphasis to their low-end, however. They had a relatively even tracking, meaning the left and right channels played at more or less the same decibel levels. The headphones shined on our distortion test, showing a negligible amount. In the same vein, the headphones were capable of very loud output without a significant amount of distortion. These headphones don't isolate particularly well compared to other on-ear or over-ear headphones, however, which might not make them the best choice for a morning bus commute. 

Comparisons  (read more in-depth comparisons at HeadphoneInfo.com)
The Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9s are a good pair of headphones that have the price of a great pair of headphones. They're probably best viewed as a luxury item, since aesthetics are definitely factoring into its price. Unlike a lot of luxury items, however, the ATH-ESW9s actually work, and work fairly well at that. If you're a budget buyer, there are plenty of better options for you, like the Sennheiser HD 555s. If you want better performance, but not necessarily a nice wooden facade, try the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PROs.