Listen Up

The Shures were round and full for modest pop music. They loved Ray LaMontagne. But they couldn't keep up with demanding tracks with thin arrangements and crashing dynamics; Patti Smith kicked this set's butt.

The Etymotics were perfectly, absolutely clear, and perfectly, absolutely boring. Billie Holiday's Decca recordings were practically spooky. But they had no mettle with metal; Metallica mowed 'em down. And they did not have the low-end guts to hold up to a James Hetfield guitar riff.

The Ultimate Ears weren't perfect, either; they were muddy on large orchestral music, and Brahms sounded murky.

The Ultimate Ears also had packaging issues. Their unit showed up in a rack-hangable plastic package, the kind of thing you'd find batteries in at Best Buy (BBY Quote). I found it disrespectful that I was expected to drop $250 for headphones that I might buy off a rack display.

The headphones themselves, however, were far better than the packaging. They came with two storage options: a brushed-alloy case that was reasonably weatherproof, and a leatherette holder that could pass as a suitable-for-a-real-suit pocket carrier. They were well constructed with good parts and solid finish and came with two adapters and tools, such as phone cleaners.

Judging by Its Cover

While I'm on the subject, nothing ruins a good gadget faster than ludicrous packaging that tries to turn electronics into a marketing experience.

Shure's packagers decided their headphones needed to be treated like a poor man's Faberge egg: A red box held another red box that held a red plastic holder that held a case that held the headphones.

When I finally got inside the wrapping, I found the Shures to be decently constructed headphones. But the color? Please. My phones came in a rather odd off-gray. Where did they get this color? The U.S. Navy?

Other details also were lacking. The storage case Shure included barely held the headphones. Although I have nearly four decades of experience coiling everything from networking cable to ancient hemp rope, I couldn't easily create a coil that fit smoothly into case. And the case looked awful; it was a chintzy, faux-leather plastic disaster the shape of a large antacid. Who carries something like this?

Etymotic won the packaging contest hands down. The ER-4 showed up in a normal, well-finished black (get this) box, that I could (gasp) open and close. Stunning. Inside, I found headphones built as well as the box, and a good assortment of jacks and adapters, but no carrier.

But once everything was unpacked, the Ultimate Ears were the clear winner. The sound was hard-driving and lush across all the musical genres and compression schemes I tested: Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash," Leos Janacek's "Jenufa," even Busta Rhymes and Son Volt.

The UEs found a way to harness the limitations of the electronics and materials to uncover the humanity of the music; they transported the listener into the presence of the artist. What an honor.

These headphones were like a blazing 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: rich, complex, smooth and explosive on the palette.

So get yourself a pair, and turn it up, baby.

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