Incredibly, each headphone has three -- yes, three -- mini speakers, just like a great pair of stereo speakers. The frequency response goes all the way down to 19 Hz, so when listening to the cannons in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture or the TR-808 drumming machine in Outkast's I Like the Way You Move, there is no muffling or muting of the bass, just pure ecstatic rumble.

Shure has included a control called Push to Hear, which activates a switchable microphone that lets you hear what someone is saying without having to take out the earphones. That's very handy if, for example, you listen to music while riding the subway and need to occasionally converse with someone.

If you know someone who loves music, the Ec series is excellent, but the E500s (around $500) are the ultimate headphones -- the perfect gift to complement a portable audio or video player.

-- Yuval Kossovsky

Yak, yak, yak: Smart phones and cell phones