Listen Up

For the gadget aficionado, Apple's (AAPL Quote) iPod portable music player is a must have.

Simply go to your local Apple store and pick out the color of nano or iPod you like. Done.

Enjoy the iPod for what it is -- a marketing triumph disguised as a gadget.

But headphones for iPods? That's another story.

As much as Steve Jobs has redrawn the digital landscape with his iPod and other Apple products, he has turned a deaf ear to his headphones. IPod headphones, like all things Apple, certainly look cool; those little white earbuds are as ubiquitous as they are iconic.

But as headphones, they are a disgrace. IPod earbuds are shrill, have no low-end definition and muddy up even mush-music like early Beastie Boys. Plus, iPod earbuds hurt. After just a few minutes, my ears ache.

The good news is there are excellent aftermarket choices for high-quality headphones for portable music players. These headphones sound better. They fit better. They last longer and they look slicker.

So buy some better headphones, and you'll have a better iPod.

Monitoring the Situation

Though the world is littered with hundreds of headphones for portable devices, forget about everything but so-called in-ear monitors.

In-ear monitors are not earbuds. They are actually high-quality small speakers that fit inside the outer part of your ear canal and sit close to your eardrums, providing better sound at lower volumes.

When properly inserted, these monitors isolate sound from the outside world. The result is ridiculously good audio quality and comfort. They walk the fine gadget line of looking slick while not seeming dorky, which is not easy.

The three brands to know for in-ear monitors are Etymotic Research, Shure Electronics and Ultimate Ears. I tested three of the better units from these companies: the Etymotic ER-4 ($330), the Shure E4c ($299) and the UE super.fi 5Pro ($249). They are available at better Web retailers such as Bozeman, Mont.-based HeadRoom.

For in-ear monitors to work right, however, they must fit right; most use a variety of plastic bits and sleeves to match the unique size of your ear. The Etymotic, Shure and UE all came with the proper assortments of ear-fitting inserts.

There is much debate about which insert works best, plastic or foam. But for me there is no debate: Foam inserts produce the best audio quality, and they're more hygienic -- they absorb the nasty wax residue that clogs headphones. And instead of cleaning old earwax off permanent vinyl or plastic ear molds, when foam inserts get foul, you can simply toss them.

There are drawbacks with foam -- you have to compress the inserts before you place them in your ear, so first-time fitting can be a pain, and they wear out in just a few uses. But still, foam inserts are the preferred choice.

Start Me Up

Now we get to play.

The audio quality in all of these units was solid. Really solid.

But even good things are not created equal. For me, audio equipment is like red wine -- you can go and on about the stuff, but you know right away what's best.

And the standout in this group was the Ultimate Ears.