Interesting little exchange above about the "must not be an audiophile" and "peasantry" and "holy ears." I was wondering when a thread on here would bring that up--especially when we ride Triumphs when I'm sure much more common bike would be good enough.
For headphones, there are solutions that work and solutions some people are going to like more than others. I spent some time and money in college (that I'll never get back) looking for the most accurate sound I could find, and ended up realizing that Bose, Beats by Dre, Monster, Skullcandy, and others got some things right and some things wrong, but none provided a flat frequency response and accurate sound...
I finally stumbled upon a set of headphones with a very neutral excursion curve, a notably clean pre-amp and amp, a collection of lossless-compressed audio files, and sat down to bathe my ears in audiophile glory. I expected the heavens to open and choirs of angels.
Instead, I heard my music sound exceptionally clean, and that's about all I could say about it. The songs that really got my foot tapping to the music were the same songs that I noticed also got my foot tapping when heard over FM radio from a fuzzy radio station. Some songs were great, but some songs sounded better to me on much less expensive gear. I sold my gear and used it for more important things like cases of ramen noodle, or Dr Pepper, or gasoline... And when I finally got out of college and got a job and my first paycheck that could cover more than my bills and a bit of caffeine, I didn't spend very much on a headphone setup after that.
Don't get me wrong, there are some cases where there are bad products out there commanding a following due to brand prestige alone. The first few generations of Beats by Dre were like that--a wave of people buying $50 Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones ended up converting nearly all the Beats-owning members when they realized they were paying a premium for lower quality sound...
On the other hand, a lot of Beats guys
Essentially, it boils down to what works for you and what you like. Which is what most of this thread has been about (and has resulted in me checking out some Sena products...). Some people will swear that a Bose set is the best sound you can ever get, and while it may sound best to them, it's not going to reproduce the original recording perfectly. I personally think my wife's Bose IE2 Sport earbuds stays in my ear much better than anything else I've ever tried, but I wouldn't pay that much for them or the sound...and that's just me.
It's a forum...people are going to argue. But this is one situation where there's no right or wrong answer for everyone but plenty of useful ideas to share.
But **** peasantry--I could have bought that $2800 F4i off Craigslist, but instead I chose to keep eating like a broke college student because I felt that my holy buttocks deserve can keep a Triumph under them, dammit.