Casey, You are right. The Amperiors do sound superior. When I picked them up, I was surprised by the plastic. The aluminum cups were awesome and provided wonderful sound, but the rest of the build was surprisingly poor, or underwhelming. In the end, design won out. The B&Ws sound was good...

Why did you choose the Sennheisers? I, too, have faced this decision. I have until 9 tonight to return the B&Ws. I don't really want to spend more coin but might do it. I'm sure the Amperiors will sound better, but how much better? The B&Ws may be a little warm-sounding but they still sound...

Just out of curiosity, how are you measuring the quality of the iPhones, iPods? You listen to each with a few types of headphones and see which device produces the best sound? As is well documented on the site, the headphones make a big difference. I'm testing each of my iPods/iPhones and  have...

Thanks everybody for the links. Got some reading to do. 

I was wondering if Apple improves the sound quality with each iteration of its devices.   In other words, is the 4 or 4S any better than the 3? We'll have to wait and see, but I wonder if the 5 will be any better than the 4s.   Additionally, I have a bunch of older iPhones in the house...

Mee . . .    Thanks. What I have now, the headphones I am thinking about, are the Monster Miles Davis Trumpet in-ears, which, to me, have excellent highs and mids and clarity but the bass lacks a little punch -- which is what set me off on the journey in the first place. I'm suspect to add...

Thank you proton007. That makes a lot of sense. I've decided to go straight for the headphones and not mess with the portable amp for now.

To start, just want to say what a great resource this site is how knowledgeable you all are.   I want to ask about quality headphones and portable headphone amps. I currently use Monster Mile Davis Trumpets for in-ear listening. I'd like a tad more bass for non-jazz listening but not at the...