A Fickle Fit

[DesireUsername]

Howdy,
 
     I'm in a slight pickle. Over this upcoming spring break I’ll be going on a trip that will consist of a very long flight, as well as lots of riding in buses and trains. I'm really looking forward to it but I'm not comfortable with bringing my Sennheiser HD 595s on the trip for fear of damage stemming from them being bulky to carry around and not having an adequate case. So I've decided to look into getting ear-buds of some sort, which I realize is very vague.
 
     I've only ever really looked at headphones and source components in any sort of depth so I really have no idea about ear-buds, which are apparently classified differently than IEMS? Anywho this second part to my pickle consists of my source (Archos 48 http://www.archos.com/support/download/spec_sheets/ARCHOS_48_Internet_Tablet_spec_sheet_en.pdf) which is great however the only experience I've had with it is trying to play the standard iPhone headphones which despite being at full volume was barely audible in a bus. (My entire music library on the Archos is made up of FLAC files
 
    So, I'm wondering what ear-buds (preferably under $70, I'd go up to 100 if it would make a HUGE difference in that price range) would be sound canceling, offer decent sound quality (FLAC files, don't know if that'll make a difference), and hopefully would be loud enough from the Archos (I might have to get an amp if this isn't do-able). If an amp is necessary do they make very, very small ones?
 

 

[Selenium]

Your Archos should be fine. The reason your iPhone headphones were barely audible in a bus most likely is because they offer almost no isolation and as such the ambient noise of the bus drowned out your music. In-Ear Monitors(IEMs) don't have that issue(well, most don't).

I'd recommend the Meelectronics CC51, but there are a lot of options out there.

 

[DesireUsername]

I appreciate the diagram, perhaps I should've paid more attention to the name I gave to the thread I'm liking CC51s, just curious though is this an insanely good deal or did amazon just mismark the original price http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-CX-500-B-Stereo-Headphone/dp/B000WOGAJO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318134844&sr=8-1

 

[tinyman392]

The MEEs are great that are listed above.  I have no idea what the HD 595s sound like, so I really can't help find a signature similar to it...  IEMs have become a new hobby for me...