Pocket PCs can provide superb-quality music playback, provided you use a sampling rate of at least 128Kbit/s, preferably higher. If you appreciate high-quality audio and don't mind splashing out, Etymotic's ER6 headphones can help you appreciate your music even more.
Unlike conventional iPod-style earpieces or over-the-ear headphones, Etymotic's range aims to isolate external noise by forming a snug fit inside your ear canal. This means you have to push them in a bit, which is disconcerting at first. Once you've got over this, though, the full-range sound is impressive, with deep bass and lots of fine detail.
Listening to music in this way is dangerous in any environment where you need to be able to hear ambient noises such as oncoming traffic. However, if you're sitting on a noisy plane or train seat, you'll experience a level of quality that's impossible with conventional headphone designs and far better than any of the noise-cancelling headphones we've tried. However, if you don't push the ER6 earpieces in properly they sound poor, with almost no bass response and inadequate detail.
The only downside to these headphones is that they have a long, thin cable that tangles easily. To get round this, you can either buy a cord winder for around £10 or bundle up some of the excess cable and wrap it with a rubber band.
Confusingly, Etymotic's range of headphones also includes an ER6i model. This is designed to give higher volume levels when listening to Apple iPods (which tend to have a low output level) and has a slightly enhanced bass response. Both models are superb, but we found the sound from the ER6 a little more natural. The volume level was fine for use with Pocket PCs, which provide a higher output level than iPods.
However, Creative's Aurvana headphones work in the same way as the ER6 earphones, cost about the same and have better sound quality when it comes to treble response
Etymotic Research INC ER6 Isolator Earphones