From the Playlist book:

In-ear-canal headphones--also known as canalphones--are all the rage among iPod owners, and for good reason: When you stick these earplug-like headphones down into your ear canals, the noise of the outside world is blissfully blocked--you get better noise isola- tion than even the best noise-canceling headphones can provide. At the same time, the sound quality produced by these miniature mar- vels is nothing short of amazing. You'll hear things in your music that you never even knew were there. This combination of isolation and sound quality has made canalphones the accessory of choice for many a frequent flyer and urban commuter. (Although, for obvious reasons, we don't recommend wearing them while walking down a dark alley, alone, at night.)

Shure's new E4c fills the gap between the company's $180 E3c and $500 E5c, and does so admirably -- they're among our favorite iPod headphones. (They also match white-and-chrome iPods perfectly.) We'll be publishing a full review soon.--Dan Frakes

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