Make your iPod sound better

Sony PSP headphones sound a ton better than iPod's, are a ton more comfortable (to me), wrap behind your neck (and seem to do a better job of that than sony's), and are white. Plus, you can get them used at EB Games for $3.99! I have bose triports, which sound super, but are kinda unpractical for going around town and sony ex71 but couldn't stand the in the ear canal factor...makes my jaw hurt! I use my PSP's headphones more than anything else! : )

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/web2/systems/product.asp?section=systems&sub=ls&prodid=33

Those are my babies! I used to have Sony Fontopia but i hated in ear and how uncomfortable they were for me. These things probably have slightly better quality, absolutely NO distortion whatsoever in any way, a guy at B&O told me in 10 years of working there noone had brought back blown hardware. They also look fantastic, are amazingly comfortable and come with an awesome leather pouch :D

90 though :S

For everyone else out there that has too much money to spend on headphones, the best experiance I've had has been the Bose triports. Yeah, they were 150$, but my ears thank me every time I put them on.

After trying many headphones both inexpensive and expensive, I've finally come to the conclusion that the Ultimate Ear super.fi Pro 5 are the best in-ear headphones I've ever used. My main problem was the lack of bass in the Etymotic series (specifically the Etymotic ER-6, which I own) which I orginally bought for its astouding clarity, but paid for it later when I missed the clean and clear bass found in even the inexpensive Sony Fontopia series. BUT I warn everyone who either owns the Fontopia series headphones or is considering buying them:

If you own them, be careful of the part of the wire that is supposed to go behind the neck, its breaks EXTREMELY easily and renders the headphones useless. To anyone considering to buy the Fontopia series headphones, be sure to buy the Neck Strap Headphones MDR-NX1 because they are the same headphones internally but have the addition of a neckstrap that won't wear away to nothing. But be warned of the headphone's short cable as well, it should be fine if you put your MP3 player in your breast pocket or have a small MP3 player like the mobiBLU Cube that can simply hang from the input jack, but for everyone else, either use an extender or if you own an iPod, consider the Apple iPod Radio Remote.

Hope this helps some poor soul like I once was trying to find the perfect headphones.

Dude, if that is your real name, perhaps you didn't notice that I said, 'since I am no audiophile,' thereby stating that I wouldn't notice the difference between the two headsets (and I haven't when I tried). So, it isn't an 'ignorant statement,' but rather a statement of fact for ME. Whist quoting me you left out one little bit: 'I am not losing anything.' See the 'I' there, that means I am talking about myself. I did not say 'Since MP3's are hardly lossless you aren't losing anything if you use crappy headphones.'

Had I said that, your well thought out (though insult ridden) response would have been appropriate.

Scotty, your comment about MP3's not being lossless is true, however "not losing anything" in terms of audio quality on dirt cheap standard ipod earbuds is an ignorant statement. Even the seperately purchased "premium?" apple ear buds are bad in terms of sound quality. You need to listen to high end inner ear monitors from etymotic, shure, or some open headphones such as sennsaphonic's 580's/600's. The audio reproduction accuracy of most headphones below $50 (and some costing even more) is awful. Apple earbuds sound fine to someone like yourself, but that is only because that's all you've listened to. It's like saying a unicycle is a great way to commute 5 miles to work not knowing a bicycle, car, or train exist. A blog as popular as TUAW should not have a lame article opener containing some clueless writing that shows how detached you are from the topic you wish to share with your readers. Share useful, insightful information with your readers instead of nonsensical opinions.

The Sennheiser CX 300 are your best choice for 50-60 dollars. They're in-ear, sound really good, block out most noise, and are quite comfortable.

I got the Etymotic Research 6i earbuds as a gift and absolutely love them.

Those apple in-ear headphones (pictured) constitute the worst 40 bucks I've ever spend in my life. Not only was I unable to get a good fit (which is kind of the whole point, especially when shipped with 3 sizes) but after 9 months of extremely infrequent use the darn things fell apart! The 'glue' that holds the end pieces together seems to have softened and now they just pull apart all the time. Nothing a bit of superglue won't fix, but that really shouldn't be necessary.

Oh and they sounded crap too, even worse than the default earbuds.

BTW, anyone have some experience with SONY's Noise Canceling Headphones MDR-NC6?

etymotic