Shure is the Cadillac of headphones (or earphones, in their parlance). The SE530's are VERY pricey ($500) but also sound amazing! Great response and super clear imaging. I listen to a lot of ambient and electronica which is often very dependent on the quality of the sooundscape produced by the speakers. While no headphones can give you that body-rumbling sub-woofer feel, the Shures do an incredible job of making you hear those bass notes.

My one complaint about Shures is the cords are very thick and have a connector section (to allow you to plug into longer cords). between the weight of the cord and the heavy connector, they are not good for doing sports unless you are wearing a skin-tight shirt which holds the cord/connector pressed against your body so they wont bounce out

These headphones are a travelling audiophiles dream come true. They have triple speakers including a dedicated tweeter and dual woofers. It includes a premium fit kit so that you can choose sleeves that best fit your ears. Great sound isolation reduces background noise with out hiss. They also include a 'push to hear' (PTH) option to mute your music or movies so you can hear someone ask you a question etc. About $450.

I got a chance to try these and I have to say - they are amazing. They come in a sleek looking, brushed steel box with Applesesque accesory packaging, so you know at first sight this is something serious.

But I digress. The two most important things with earphones are 1. how they sound! and 2. how they fit - they have to be comfortable, otherwise they're almost worthless.

The Shure SE530/SE500 (one has the Push To Hear module, the other does not) are amazing little earphones. They're not much bigger than their teardrop shape. The manufacturer suggests wearing them with the wire behind the ears, which you can get used to pretty easily, but you can also wear them straight in your ears with the wire in front of you.

1. The sound - amazing. They have a perfect, crystal clear range. You will hear sounds, effects and voices you never noticed in songs you thought you knew by heart. They are practically acoustically perfect - nothing artificial; just what the musicians created. They reproduce amazingly accurate treble, mids and bass. the bass is not exaggerated like most headphones so they don't 'thump', but if you listen to a bass heavy song, you will certainly get a good dose of it, and hear every nuance as well.

2. The fit is great. It comes with a nice selection of tips so you can choose based on personal prefrence. They ahev the stanadrd rubber type plugs, the triple-flange things (that go WAY deep in your ear-canal) and lastly, foam tips. I suggets heading straight to the foam. You simply squish them and insert them in your ears. Hold in place for about 5 seconds and that's it - you're good to go. The foam provides nearly perfect sound isoloation so you don't have to crank up the volume to block out outside noise. They are also extremely comftroable, as they conform to your ear's shape. lastly, they are even washable (!) so one pair will last a while.

If you afford it and want musical nirvana on the go, I highly recommend these earphones.