If you’ve got the cash and listen mostly to your tunes sitting still, you can begin and end your search with the unbelievable Etymotic ER-4P or its sibling, the ER-6 (www.etymotic.com). Slide your choice of rubber or foam tips into your ears–way, way up into your ears, like earplugs–and prepare to be blown away. Every recorded detail is perfectly reproduced inside your head. You’ll hear the spit sticking to Dave Matthews’s lips and the valves on Sonny Rollins’s sax clapping shut. The ER-4P is extremely isolating–even with the music off, you won’t be able to hear the telephone ringing next to you. That’s great for blocking out that screaming kid on the plane, but it makes them a little hazardous to wear jogging or walking around in public. It takes some fussing to get them in and out, and you’ll hear it every time the “microphonic” cord rustles against your shirt. And at $299 street, they’re hardly cheap. For listening on the go, I preferred the $140 ER-6, which to my ears sounded nearly as good and let a little more of the outside in.
If that’s more cash than you want to spend, or if sticking things into your ears gives you the willies, the $50 Koss Porta-Pro (koss.com) is a great alternative. These light, compact headphones are supercomfortable, deliver crisp, detailed sound and fold into a fist-size bundle. If all you want is tiny headphones that won’t break the bank, try the Sennheiser MX-400 (sennheiserusa.com). These buds rest in your outer ear and sound darn good, considering that they cost a measly $13. They may not make you feel as if Elvis himself is traipsing around inside your skull, but they’re still way better than what you’ve got on right now.
