After 5 years my etymotic hf5's finally but the dust (ok I lost them, but the cable was getting frayed). I ended up with the shure se215 IEMs. So far I think the sound ok... Good bass, almost over emphasized a little. Mids are pretty good but highs are too recessed for my liking. Overall they aren't bad, and will serve the purpose of excellent isolation and decent sound at gym and mowing lawn etc. I mostly stream soundcloud or Amazon music on demand for those situations anyway. I like that they don't stick out from the ears, as this seems to make them more isolating when jogging in the wind (ety's had a little wind noise). The shires have less cable noise too. I find myself missing the more neutral sound of ety's, but the hf5s had pretty lousy bass. Anyway, I won't be returning them but not sure if they are worth $100.

I also needed a pair of mobile over the ears. I ended up with. Pair of sennheiser momentum, refurbished from sennheiser for only $99. I've only spent an hour or so with them but really like them. I think they will work great for ipod use, during travel, and at work from laptop. Initial Impressionz are good, especially for the price!

I'll be on the search for some new excellent reference headphones for home or office use in the future for under $500, but for my need for mobile headphones both pairs seem to serve the intended purpose.

If you wind up not keeping the Shure IEM's for some reason I'd like to toss out the Soundmagic brand. I picked up some E10's in August last year for my European trip. My Senn over ear were going to be inappropriate especially when you need to pack on the light side. The E10's present themselves very well with excellent bass, pleasant extended highs and mids that are kinda rich and not too dominant. Sound and Vision for the past couple of years have given them the best at their price point.

Regarding the reference headphone, HIFIMAN HE400. Under $500 and a steal IMO. I love them with my Schiit Valhalla amp and NuForce UDac2.

I really like my Shures. I think I have the same ones. Waaaay better than my Etys (I think I had 6s of some variety).

The shures are really growing on me already... I think the problem is that I used the etymo tic hf5 for 5 years and the sound grew on me. I still wish the highs weren't quite so recessed on the shures, but they sound pretty good the more I listen.

I wouldn't mind getting another pair of IEMs for more $ in the future if I could get better performance

I just love the way the Shures fit. It took me a couple of tries to figure it out, but they provide a much better seal, and hence, a much better sound.

Do it! I have never understood $$$$ being spent on loud speakers but $ being spent on IEMs/headphones.

I started out with some UE TripleFi's that were OK (and which make your typical ear buds look horrible). Made the dive into some good stuff and have never regretted it. Got some JH Audio Pro 16's. They are awesome!