IPhone earbuds

01 Shure SE115M+

£112/$120 www.shure.com

Although the most expensive on offer, the Shure SE115M+earbuds proved disappointing, putting in the weakest audio performance. Despite a good mix, they provide dull and lifeless sound, taking much of the fun out of your music.

On the positive side, these earbuds offer volume and media player controls, and come supplied with a range of foam as well as rubber tips, giving you a choice of materials so you can ensure they're comfortable. Even so, there are much better, cheaper options available.

 02 Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi

£50/$80 www.ultimateears.comIf you've got very eclectic tastes in music. Ultimate Ears' SuperFi 5vi could well prove to be the earbud set for you. The audio quality impresses across the board, without excelling on one particular area at the expense of others.

Like the Shures, the SuperFi 5vi set comes supplied with foam as well as rubber tips. You also get a cleaning tool and a tough plastic carry capsule to help prevent the wire from becoming tangled when it's in your bag or pocket. These earbuds are comfortable in the ears, and offer a good degree of sound isolation.

 03 Radiopaq Custom Tuned Earphones

£33/$N/A www.radiopaq.com

Radiopaq's Custom Tuned Earphones are B designed to enable you to listen to a particular music genre at its best. The Rock earbuds offer solid bass, Pop give strong vocals and mid-range. Classical boost the audio separation and the Jazz buds, pictured here, emphasise detail, range and balance.

Although tailored to get the most out of one genre. Custom Tuned Earphones give a decent performance across the board. We found which set sounds best is more down to your personal taste than the style of music being played.

04 Sennheiser MM50iP

£24/$40 www.sennheiser.com

The recommended price of these Sennheisers is £70 or $130, so to be able to get earbuds of this calibre at such a knocked-down cost is a real bargain. The MM50iP audio quality is very good and will appeal to those who like a lot of bass in their music, though bass does tend to swamp the mix. Even so, the buds feel comfortable in your ears, and the in-wire controls and mic are within easy reach. Unlike the others on test here, they have an asymmetric design, with one earbud lead longer than the other, so they sit around the back of your neck, rather than under your chin.


05 Scosche IDR655m

£60/$99 www.scosche.com

Another set offering volume and media player controls in the wire, the IDR655m earbuds boast excellent audio quality. The bass is strong and detailed, with a crisp, throbbing bottom end complementing a refreshingly lively overall sound.

The earbuds come supplied with a useful carry pouch, and a no-tangle coating helps to prevent the cable from becoming knotted in your pocket. We felt they could be slightly more comfortable to wear than they are, because they felt like they should go deeper into the ear, but they're the best of the earbud sets on test.

06 Klipsch Image S4i

£82/$99 www.klipsch.com

Here you have a comfortable, stylish set of earbuds with an impressive but imperfect sound. The Image S4i earbuds offer excellent definition and clarity, but the bass is a little weak. This makes them ideal for pop or classical music, but not the best choice for the rock or hip-hop fans out there.

The Klipsch Image S4i earbuds offer inline volume and media player controls as well as a microphone. They come in an all-black or black-on-white finish, and are supplied with a velvet carry bag, a cleaning tool and a clip to attach the cable to your clothes. •