Best I've found, though a bit pricey
I've been looking for decent in-ear headphones for quite a while. I've tried Sonys, and eventually bought the Bose offering, which was disappointing given Bose's reputation and price. Still, they were better than the ones that came with the iPod, so I had just about resigned myself to the fact that I was never going to get from earbuds the kind of sound over-the-ears headphones provide. Then I tried these, and the difference was night and day.
The first thing a good pair of headphones has to do of course is isolate the sound from the ambient noise, especially in a car. The Monster turbines do this better than any I've ever heard, even nearly obliterating the sound of a competing car radio. (I worry about hearing sirens while driving, they're so good).
Once the background is taken care of, the sound is superb -- clear, balanced, and finely detailed. I'm a fairly eclectic listener, and everyone from Puccini to Sigur Ros sounds good through these. It remains undistorted even at high volumes, but high volumes are less necessary with these. Finally, these are comfortable to wear. The soft rubber tips (a variety of sizes and shapes provided) fit comfortably in my small ear canal, and hardly ever fall out.
The only reason I give these 4 stars instead of 5 is the price, which I find to be a bit excessive for ANY earbuds. But it may be a case of getting what you pay for.
