Duque Long

My whole life I've been desperately searching for a pair of buds that could deliver both brilliant sound and a comfortable fit. Last year I discovered Ultimate Ears. Favorites of pros like Aerosmith and Jimmy Buffett, Ultimate Ears are custom-fitted to my ears. After I ordered a set, for $550, an audiologist was dispatched to my office to create impressions of each ear, a painless ten-minute process completed by filling them with a cool green silicone. A week later a small metal box arrived with what looked like really slick hearing aids, engraved with my initials on each bud, blue on the left and red on the right. I slipped them in and, because the fit was so seamless, immediately the office went silent. I plugged them into my computer and started The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." It was as if I were in the room with the band. Ultimate Ears are perfect for aspiring audiophiles bent on hearing every layer of a song, or just the average listener looking for peak performance consistently. --Matthew Miller

www.ultimateears.com