I like how people were more easily able to distinguish between 128kbps and 256 kbps AAC files using Apple ear buds than the Shure ear buds. This forced the writers to come up with an excuse for this anomaly by claiming that the Apple ear buds' inability to produce high frequencies masked the sounds that would make it easy to hear the difference between the 128 kbps and 256 kbps tracks. They were so embarrassed by this result they had to add superfluous comments like how one listeners was amazed to hear a wood block sound in a song when listening to the Shures and how the Shures will allow you to lower the volume and thus save you from hearing loss. How about an alternate, perhaps more straightforward explanation: the sound quality of the Apple ear buds is better than the sound quality of the Shure ear buds? I know that may seem ridiculous, but maybe it's not. Maybe it's really hard to produce great sound out of ear buds, making ear bud quality a crap shoot.