Headphones: Four Great Buys!

Shure SE210
$112; shure.com
Recommended for Musical generalists (and the hygiene conscious)
It should be noted that these IEC ‘phones are meant to be jammed perilously deep into the recesses of your skull. Like brain-tickling deep. Perhaps in consideration of that, Shure dispensed with the one-size-fits-all strategy and includes seven pairs of earphone sleeves made of spongy foam and pliant silicone in varying diameters. Also included are a carrying case and a cord extender. Oh, and an earwax pick for cleaning out the sound tubes. No, really.

What we like
Outside noise is completely eliminated, revealing delicate detail across the board even at low volume. A listen to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in C is eye-opening for its incredible separation and dynamic range; Dolly Parton’s sibilant s's in “Jolene” never sounded so enticing.

What we don’t like
In order to get any bass punch, these really need to be pushed and shoved and squeezed into the ear canal, which some will simply find unbearable. Even then, bass pump is tamer than that of any of the other head- or earphones we reviewed.

Grade: B+

Grado SR125
$150; gradolabs.com
Recommended for Burgeoning sound snobs and true believers
Brooklyn-based John Grado is to the audiophile community what Steve Jobs is to Mac fanatics — the deliverer of dreams. As such, Grado’s entire line of headphones is universally regarded with fawning adoration — despite looking like they belong on the leather-capped head of a WWII fighter pilot. Did we mention that these things are huge?

What we like
Sound reproduction is straight-up astonishing. We listened to our entire playlist over and over, marveling at all the subtle sonic details we’ve been missing out on for, well, our entire life. Just for kicks we tried out a DVD of The Matrix as well — the pop of bullets and wooshing kung-fu kicks never sounded so right. Even our Luddite spouse perked up when given a spin.

What we don’t like
Considering they cost $150, these “cans” — as audio geeks call big headphones — sure look (and feel) kind of cheap. And because these aren’t designed for use with portable devices, you’ll need to shell out a couple bucks at Radio Shack for a one-eighth-inch adapter in order to plug it into your MP3 player. And good luck carrying these around in a pocket, unless you’re wearing cargo pants.

Grade: A