Shure E4c headphones
MP3 players will come and go, but if you buy a good pair of headphones they should last you a lifetime — well, a good portion of it anyway. We name the in-ear headphones that rock our world.
Year after year, MP3 players have progressed from CD-based behemoths to today's sleek flash-based, video-playing variety. This annual evolution looks set to continue with the iPod Touch pulling the genre into the realm of PDAs, while the decline in flash-memory prices will one day make hard-disks a thing of the past.
So chances are, choose a great MP3 player today and within a year or two there'll be a newer, sexier and more capacious model enticing you to part with your hard earned. Buy a good set of headphones though and, assuming you treat them well and don't leave them on the bus, they'll be around for the better part of a decade, if not more. To help you along we've collected our favourite in-ear headphones.
One last thing to keep in mind: headphones are great presents for oneself but, a bit like sporting goods, they don't make great surprise presents. Everyone has their own personal tastes regarding audio — some prefer booming bass, others delicate mid and high tones. So, if you're planning on getting them as a present for someone, please discuss it with them first.
Shure E4c headphones
Philips SHE9850 sound-isolating earphones
Denon AH-C751 sound-isolating earphones
Klipsch Image X5 headphones
Sennheiser CX 95 sound-isolating earphones
