Before these, I had the Etymotic ER6's and the Ultimate Ears TripleFi.  I'll be comparing the Klipschs to these.     First off, let me explain quickly why I bought these.  I lost my TripleFis and frankly just wanted a pair of headphones quickly and cheaply.  I had been curious about the Klipsch product and when I found these for $30 on Amazon with free 2-day shipping, I jumped: that's impulse-buy prices.   The sound quality on these is great for $30.  But if you're going to compare it to either the Etymotics or the Ultimate Ears...well then...

These were my first in-ears, and since owning them I've had the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi and the Klipsch Image S3s.  I'll be comparing the ER6s to these.     I remember the Etymotic's sound being very warm and natural, absolutely never harsh sounding.  You could throw it the hissiest, most cymbal-laden music and it would sound wonderfully dark.  It really had a unique sound that took me a day or two to get used to, but was worth it.  In comparison, the Ultimate Ears were much a little colder, and the Klipschs are tinnier.   Now despite my...

Before buying these, I had the Etymotic ER6s and now I have the Klipsch Image S3s.  I'll be comparing the Triple Fis to these.   The TripleFis have an incredibly balanced sound and exceptional bass output that doesn't sound fake or pumped-up.  They might be a tad on the bassy side, but coming from someone who listens to a very wide range of music, from Classical to Folk to Metal to Electronica, it wasn't overkill; any genre of music sounds good on these buds.  The TripleFis are loud too; you'll be playing your iPod at 75% volume, at the most...