[Jeff Campbell]

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/01/...is-it-worth-it/

"You probably all know a music lover/headphone snob that looks at you with despair every time you pull out your stock iPhone headphones. Too often, it follows by him trying to sell you on the "We can hear the difference" cult while pushing his dirty $600 piece of plastic in your ears."

I'm a bit tone deaf myself, so I never wanted to spend much on a set of ear buds, opting to stick with the earphones that came with the iPhone, even though they never stayed in correctly. So when Apple came out with their in-ear headphones I immediately upgraded for about $80.00 USD. They sound fine to me, but in my business of having to wear a headset for hours on end for about 14 years, I'm not the go-to guy for a sound quality opinion. I'm more impressed with the fact that Apple's In-Ear Headphones stay in my ears. So if you can't stomach the $100.00 USD Bose version, you might like Apple's In-Ear version, I know I do. But don't use me as a roadmap for the sound quality, and if that is the most important aspect for you, then you may want to consider the Bose as well. The author seems to like them just fine. 

[Jeff Campbell]

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/01/...is-it-worth-it/

"You probably all know a music lover/headphone snob that looks at you with despair every time you pull out your stock iPhone headphones. Too often, it follows by him trying to sell you on the "We can hear the difference" cult while pushing his dirty $600 piece of plastic in your ears."

I'm a bit tone deaf myself, so I never wanted to spend much on a set of ear buds, opting to stick with the earphones that came with the iPhone, even though they never stayed in correctly. So when Apple came out with their in-ear headphones I immediately upgraded for about $80.00 USD. They sound fine to me, but in my business of having to wear a headset for hours on end for about 14 years, I'm not the go-to guy for a sound quality opinion. I'm more impressed with the fact that Apple's In-Ear Headphones stay in my ears. So if you can't stomach the $100.00 USD Bose version, you might like Apple's In-Ear version, I know I do. But don't use me as a roadmap for the sound quality, and if that is the most important aspect for you, then you may want to consider the Bose as well. The author seems to like them just fine. 

[Stinger]

I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum, I guess. I don't understand why someone would spend $300 on a music player and then use the cheap bundled headphones.

I wish more people did. The bundled headphones have terrible noise isolation. I'm tired sitting next to people on public transport and hearing their tinny music blasting out.

[doogald]

I was able to get a pair of Bose in-ear buds a couple of years ago at a very discounted price (I knew somebody at Bose who bought them at the company store) and they sounded fantastic - better than the Apple In Ear buds that I have now. The only issue was that they failed - the wire at the left bud split, so I decided not to buy another pair. However, I think when these Apple in ear buds fail, I'm going back to Bose. I've tried Sennheisers, Shures, Apples, but those Bose were the best of the lot.