Ken Levy got me a set of super.fi Ultimate Ears earphones a while back to try out.  At first, I was scared of them, because it sounded like the music was literally inside my head.  And this is at volume level 1 on a Zune.  But then i slowly started warming up to them, getting used to hearing the music in my head, versus hearing the music just like any other sound.  Finally, after several months of use, I'm enjoying them.

I wear them when I'm

• on an airplane.  at volume level 4 or 5 (on a zune), I can hear the music just fine over the roar of the engine (or the screaming of the kids).
• in a coffee shop.  right now, I can tune everything else out except for what i'm thinking about typing here on this blog post and Rihanna's Umbrella.
• needing sleep in a noisy place, like an airport.  I was out cold.
• needing something to act like ear plugs, even if there's no music.  When you're at a coffee shop or at the airport (says a lot about my lifestyle right now) and someone's got a serious case of "cell yell" (where they yell into the cell phone, and you really don't want to know about them getting a lawyer because the electric company overcharged them 36 dollars), you can put them in and it makes them disappear.

I *don't* wear them when

• I'm walking down the street.  I needed to be able to hear other sounds, like cars.
• I'm working out.  I really don't need to hear my blood vessels pumping blood.  really really scared me the first time i tried this.

So, that's my little review.