I agree with Ultrainferno, I haven't heard a big improvement with an amp for the M50s. They sound pretty similar (great!) out of anything I put them in, even my iphone If you had to get an amp, maybe try one with a bass knob

Not to be an apple fan-boy, I can say that their new ear buds that come with the iphone 5 are pretty decent, and can be found for under $25. The fit is especially nice and a nice improvement over their old buds

Not sure how many open headphones are available for under $100, going from $100 to $200 would usually see a significant improvement. I thought the king of 'fun' headphones at ~$200 was the Denon D2000s. With a recable, they can improve their SQ even further

Interesting, never thought Philips was a leader. I would say Audio Technica offers one of the best cans at about $150 - $200 with the ATH-ESW9. Very forgiving and great SQ

Try anything from "Nightmares on Wax" or "Infected Mushroom" They should give you a good idea of how low your cans can go

"Wanted Dead or Alive" -Bon Jovi  

Try out Case Mate. Just got a case for my iphone 5 and had no issues with the out jack

The audio technica ath-ad2000 is close to $300 and is a great open-style HP

The ESW9a is easily my favorite portable headphone. They don't change much with different setups, and are very forgiving even straight out of an iphone with punchy bass.

The key word being 'VOLUNTARILY' If a company decides to increase profit margins by manufacturing their products as cheaply as possible, there is little the consumer can do. If '5%' is not manufactured in China, then I'll take that 5% over the 95% any day. At least I know I'm not buying...

LOL @ chinese faking chinese equipment i'm sorry, but why would anyone voluntarily buy chinese made earphones? 

x2 for cueripper EAC works well too but i dont mess with settings much

"Greatest Song in the World" - Tenacious D

Can't say I've heard the v-link, but the usb converters from m2tech are a good bank for the buck. Maybe taking a hardware change approach instead of software would make a difference? I believe the high quality usb converters should clear up any snap, crackle, and pops from your usb