There's a fine line between love and madness and at this price you might be thinking we're leaning towards the latter. But no. The Etymotic ER-4P earphones are the next best thing to being there, with noise isolation far surpassing that of active noise-cancelling earphones.

The ER-4P earphones require no batteries and can be plugged into any audio source. Their external noise exclusion - 35 dB with 3-flange eartips, 42 dB with foam eartips - allows you to hear the full dynamic range of recordings without having to play them at unnaturally high and unsafe levels.

Sound reproduction in these headphones is nothing short of astonishing, producing an amazing clean, clear sound while the bass, never a strong suit in in-ear headphones, is superb. There's no question these are the in-ear headphones for all your portable needs. Hearing is believing. We love and you should buy.