Love my ipod, Hate my ear buds....


As on old time audio guy, who just got my first ipod. I know, I know...so I'm a little slow...not thrilled with the phonics, but enjoy the portability and interface, but, HATE, HATE the ear buds, extremely uncomfortable and so sensitive to exact placement...
So I thought I ask my friends here who must have struggled with this already. If I want this for easy portability ie slip in my inside pocket (so no bulky head phones), what options have you found that are comfortable, small and sound reasonably good.

I thank you in advance for your suggestions.
seric56
One nice thing about the Shure IEMs is that the cord goes up and around the back of your ear (I'm sure some other brands do this too). Once you put them in they stay and you don't get a lot of noise when the cord is bumped. I had the Etys and they sounded really good but when you bumped the cord (which is a lot if you use them when you are moving around) it made a lot of noise you could hear and was distracting. The Shures don't do that. Also the seal would come loose on the Etys as well requiring pushing them back in often.
I've had Shure e4cs for the last year and I've been very, very happy with them. They could use a tad more bass but overall they sound very good (and I've got 3x12" in my HT, so touch more bass may just be me :)).
I have a pair of Shure Se420 which I then upgraded to the Shure SE520. I like them both, although if I had to do it over again I would have gone straight to the SE520, they are just that much better.
My favorites have been Westone UM2's (with the Shure "black foamie" tips). The Westone family sound seems to be head and shoulders more natural and refined than the earphones of other companies, IMHO.

Now the Westone 3 has just been released in the past couple of weeks. WOW.

I've got a pair of Westone 3's at home and they are just a bit more neutral top to bottom, more extended in the treble while still refined, and more detailed in the bass while still very deep in bass.

Overall it seems a very noticeable incremental improvement top to bottom, while retaining the very natural and musical family sound.

I've tried almost everything out there and I think that for the audiophile who is sensitive to natural and refined sound, the Westone 3 or UM2 are best.

Also Westone seems to make the most comfortable in-ear earphones, which is a MAJOR issue for many people with these types of phones.

Art