As for sound lock in/out with the Wicked Cushions I'm not an audiophile or experienced enough with headphones to say any more that they're quite a bit better than the Steelseries ones or my old Sony Gold's, but both of those were fine on that front for my needs (house with minimal noise outside of some road traffic or my wife watching TV in the next room). They are significantly more comfortable than any headphone earpads I've worn and made the already comfy Arctic 7x (love the ski google strap design, makes them feel super light).