Last year I bought some Sony headphones that I thought were pretty good, but had some problems.
Sometime in the summer I left those headphones in my pocket and they did not survive the washing and drying. I was on the lookout for something new and found a lot of raves for Sennheiser CX300 earbud headphones. These lacked the over-the-ear clip of the Sony but were otherwise essentially the same design, down to the 3 sizes of rubber ear parts which are interchangeable with the Sony ones (making me wonder if Sony doesn’t build these for Sennheiser). Both block out most but not all noise around you, so they are good for MARTA. And both have different lengths of cable to each earbud so that you pass the longer one (on the right) behind your neck (not sure if I like that or not). These cost more, $50 vs. $30. But the sound is much more even. With the Sony I would have to cut back on the bass and treble to get an even frequency response, but with the Sennheisers I don’t have to make any adjustments. Also the cord seems a little heavier duty than the Sony cord which some people on Amazon said would disintegrate over time. So I’m quite happy. As much as people rave about these on iLounge, Amazon, and elsewhere, you would think these would be a life-changing experience. However, it’s not like the music gets any better.