So you've just dropped some big money on the latest iPhone, iPod, or Android smartphone. You stick the buds that came with it into your ear and crank up some of your favorite music. Well? You think it should sound better? We agree. But where do you start? What makes sense and what's crazy? What's real and what's myth? What makes an audible difference and what's digital snake oil? Why would someone spend $1000 (or $2000) on a pair of headphones?

We've wrestled with these very questions over a period of many years....before there were iPhones, before there were iPods, before there were mp3s, before there were CDs...before there were eight-tracks and cassette tapes. The tech has changed; the quest for better sound has not.