InsideTech

Shure's high-end consumer in-ear phones are probably the best off-the-shelf sound-isolating headphones you can get. Sound is crisp and clear over the full range, and bass is particularly impressive for headphones this small. A few key points about this model, and Shure in-ears in general:

- In-ear, or canal phones fit inside your ears like earplugs to block out around 20db of sound. Some people can't get used to the feeling, but I've come to love it... See if you can try a pair before you buy.

- Shure does a couple things to differentiate its 'phones from Etymotic and Ultimate Ears - its main competition in this market. First, their headphones use a modular cable design. They end in a plug just below the two cables goingto your ears and let you plug an extension cable into that. This was a nice little advantage when Apple released the iPhone with its non-standard headset jack. Second, their fit kit contains some really nice molded black foam sleeves that nobody's been able to replicate yet.

- The SE530s sound great, but I'm not sure they're $200 - $300 better than the Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 Pros, another in-ear model that I really like.