God, what a difference a year and a few months can make. When I first started listening to my Phonaks, I absolutely could not stand them and couldn't understand the hype. This was coming from someone who thought the Sennheiser HD-280 pro sounded good. No, they didn't sound "good" naturally, they only sounded "good" with liberal EQ adjustments. For their price range they were still pretty decent sound wise, but my eyes have been opened since to what audio is actually supposed to sound like with either an IED or quality headphones.
It was suggested that my ear would have to adjust to the sound before I found the Phonaks to sound good, and I scoffed at the idea. Actually, it has more to do with unlearning what I was used to than adjusting to something else--because after using these, as well as two other and somewhat distinctively different headphones--the Sennheisers just sound absolutely awful in every way. They are also probably the most uncomfortable set ever. I don't EQ anything anymore unless it's a 320k Mp3--which just gets BBE and "MP3 enhance", but no actual adjustments to the frequencies.
I really only use the Phonaks when I'm out and about with my Cowon, so I don't know how they compared to other IEDs, but I don't really need another pair right now. At home, I'll still use headphones over these however. It's mostly a comfort issue though.
The only real negative I have with these would be the ear clips that the wire is housed in. They don't actually fit properly, and you have to pull the wire a bit lower than the end of the clip just so that you can actually rotate and place the drivers in your ear. The silicone/rubber also has a tendancy to pull itself off every now and then.