Earth, Wind and Fire Gratitude

“Life’s too short to listen to bad headphones,” reads the label on the large suede-effect box. Open it and you’re presented with a heavily branded Earth Wind and Fire wallet to attach to a belt, a headphone purse and a great selection of different sized earbuds. The chunky, gold and brown coloured headphones deliver a sound perfect for pop and acoustic tracks, even at high volume and the sponge earbuds help keep the noise in and sounds out. The flat cable is tangle-free, rugged and despite the bling overtones, these headphones are supremely comfortable and offer great value build and sound for the money.

Lou Reed X10i Signature Edition

Lou Reed allegedly approached Klipsch as a fan of the original Klipsch X10i headphones. Nothing has changed in terms of sound but there’s now a nice carry case, Lou Reed's autograph, and purple and gold styling to complement the fragile but brilliantly able £100-cheaper originals. Comfortable in the ear thanks to the 10g weight, they let in noise during a loud work commute but for home listening, it’s harder to find something that comes close in terms of in-ear all-round performance - aside from the cheaper originals, of course.

Next page: Ludacris SL300