Having spent more money on audio equipment—specifically headphones—than I’m willing to admit, I can confidently say that the quality between a $100 pair and a $500 pair of CAN be dramatic. I’ve owned 3 pairs of full sized headphones each over $300, including sennheiser, sony, and bose, as well as properly tested every in ear headphone–ultimate ears, shure, etymotic, etc., available to purchase, besides the custom made ultimate ears.

I’ve owned every (current) shure model, from the $100, $200, $300, $400, to the current headphones that I use—around $500 retail. Every model—except the ones that I currently use—are somewhat similar. I bought each of the models sequentially, selling off the previous model to a friend or returning them. Every time I bought the next expensive model, I could find almost no change in quality between it and the pair I had previously used—though I tried to convince myself that I could. Perhaps this is because the difference in quality between similar models is miniscule; perhaps this is because of the way I was using the headphones.

I’m fairly sure most people don’t listen to music simply to listen to music. You’re probably walking around while hooked up to your ipod, bobbing your head on the morning commute, blasting some tunes during your workout, or playing some chill out vol. 3 while working at your computer. Regardless of how much you’re willing to spend, people who listen to music like this are wasting their time and money. Obviously, this is because there is a tremendous amount of background noise and mental activity that occurs. You are not listening to music—you’re hearing music. Even the best isolation headphones, be it the in ear or the over ear models, cannot block out all sound. The headphones I currently use are essentially speakers built into an ear plug, and it still is day and night between when I listen to them at work, and when I listen to them at home. Even the sound of a cool breeze is very noticeable during a walk.

Now, if you are listening to music simply to listen to music, then I can guarantee you will notice a difference in quality. Listen to music in a completely quiet, dark room. Do this, and do nothing else. Do not work on your homework or read a book. Lie on your back in a silent, pitch black room, and put on your headphones. Now, turn on your music. I cannot promise that you will notice a significant difference between $300 and $400 dollar headphones in this environment, but the difference between a bass heavy $100 pair of Sony’s and an amplified, balanced pair of $500 Shures’ is literally breathtaking. And, it is completely different from comparing the headphones in the hi-fi audio section of best buy, incidentally right next to the blaring car stereo section. Here, there is no noticable difference in audio quality and your brain is reset with other sounds as soon as you remove and replace the headphones. Furthermore, if the audio source isn’t up to par, any money spent will essentially become any money wasted.

Basically everyone likes music. But, 99% of people who listen to music would be better off with a pair of $100 headphones—primarily because the environments in which they listen to music can’t facilitate or optimize the performance of a high quality headphone. However, for the people who are willing to take time solely to soak up music, a high quality pair of headphones in the proper environment can be truly liberating. I am certainly not rich, but I have a job and listening to music is my favorite pastime, and definitely something I’m willing to spend time and money on. The 30 minutes I spend every day with three speakers in each ear, wired through a balanced amplifier, pulsating to the beat of near lossless audio files—that is a world apart from walking down the street with pink Skull Candy and an iPod shuffle. It’s not about hearing the little sounds you didn’t notice before, it’s about experiencing the uninterrupted beauty of properly balanced harmony.

I review and enjoy music with Shure SE 530 in-ear earphones and a Headroom Total BitHead amplifier. To say the combination is glorious would be an understatement.