lol.....'tis like saying buy a porsche as the ubiquitous and venerable civic just doesn't cut it for 'real driving', comparatively.
i'm sure we'd all agree there is a night and day difference, but for what these are used for (mine are for the gym or as a replacement/transition/backup)
they do just fine. reminds me of a car reviewer who'd had all the $$$$ cars in his driveway at one point or another per his column, but he once said
that the civic was simply one of the most 'fun' cars he reviewed, out of all the test cars he'd had over his long career.
and to me that is what these apple iems are: unpretentious and fun, with very decent sound, and thus offering good value.
Yep. Apple did their homework with the pods.
They have a better soundstage than most IEMs in my opinion.