Now, I know what cheap earbuds sound like. I've been familiar for many years. I blew up a few pairs with my cassette Walkman walking to high school in the '90s. I've had what comes with iPods (please say they've improved these? Probably not.) I've intentionally kept a pair of $5 I think RCA ones around as a mix reference- if there is still any detail at all on these, it is a good mix. Murkiest shit I've ever heard. When I got the Etymotics a few years back they sounded like real 'phones. These sound like real 'phones too. Their one weirdness is the fit- thankfully they provide six different sizes of rubber bit- better than most, so it works out. I have the smallest ones on there now. They take a slight bit of fiddling to get to sit right, but that's seemed to yield the best results. Phantom center, at least on top, seems to hold more detail than the reigning cheep closed-backs (Sennheiser HD201s.) With a guitar panned hard right and it's bizarre 'verb/delay hanging out from center to right, that stuff's a lot clearer in the 'phones. See when the clean guitar kicks in here at 1:08: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13184331/Extinguisher_rough_12_15.mp3. (It's covered up the first time through by a solo.)

They do isolate really well, too. There was an issue with an overzealous smoke alarm and the kitchen the other day. (Oddly, the alarm was in another room.) That thing is loud enough to cause hearing damage, I think. Improv earplugs to the rescue! whilst we flap away like flightless penguins in front of the thing to get it to STFU.

Which makes me appreciate these all the more for general-porpoise walking 'phones. I'm the person who covers my ears at the sound of an ambulance/fire truck/cop car/Harley, etc. That stuff makes me flinch, outdoors. I can deal with a drummer or most loud bands*, I'll the the symphony right up near the stage and you can feel that, I go to plenty of loud clubs- or did, at least- but those sorts of noises I can't take. It's mostly sirens; something about the frequency. The übermensch-motorcycles are just plain loud.

*- now, I will put in plugs at shows. Depends on the band and the venue. I saw High On Fire in a place with a narsty sounding distorted PA- big venue, they opened for Opeth- and it was a necessity. My god, sooooo loud, even with plugs in. I think it was mostly stage volume.

An update: these things still have zero right to sound as good as they do. Even driven by a shitty amplifier.