Admittedly, I’ve always been a bit of an audiophile. I listen to a lot of music, and with so many years of playing myself, I’m fairly particular about accuracy of sound. Still, about a week ago, I worried I might have gone completely over the the deep end when I found myself dropping $300 for a pair of Etymotic Research earphones. Since they arrived this morning, however, I’m convinced this could be some of the best money I’ve spent.

Mainly, Etymotic makes very high end hearing aids, and their earphones are an extension of that technology. Tiny flanged earbuds, they fit more like earplugs than traditional in-the-ear headphones, sitting deep in the ear canal and sealing out background noise (25db isolation). But what sets them apart is their sound – without a doubt, the most richly detailed, deliberately accurate that I’ve ever heard reproduced. Better, in fact, than speaker systems I’ve used which sell for nearly 50 times the price. In the words of a colleague who gave the Etymotics a whirl: “holy shit!” Or, further: “it sounds like the music is happening inside my head. You’ve ruined me for life. Now I’ll have to buy a pair of these and I’ll never again be able to listen to my Sony’s.”

Come on, you know you want a pair. Sure they’re ridiculously priced. But, after all, it’s only money.