Once I first got my hands on Sony's PlayStation Portable back in 2004, I tossed the flash music player that I'd been using in favor of the new gadget on the block. But I quickly discovered that the PSP wasn't exactly a booming system when it came to audio output. For music and videogames, turning the sound all the way up mostly did the trick when armed with regular or noise-canceling headphones. But for video, typical New York subway noises would overwhelm its dinky maximum volume, to say nothing of the engine sounds on a cross-country flight. What to do?

When the folks from Shure came by last year to show me their then-latest earphones, I had been getting by with a portable amplifier for several months. I don't like having anything in my ear canal, so I was skeptical, to say the least. But once I worked the earphones inside my ear, I was sold. The byproduct of the way they physically block out most external noise meant that I no longer had to crank the sound up to rock concert levels. Instead, it was more like being in a suburban living room that followed me wherever I went--I only had to turn the sound up if I actually wanted my music loud; otherwise, I could set the volume at an easy listening level and hear all of the music's subtle details, with little to no intrusion from subways and airplanes. Needless to say, I've been using Shure headphones ever since, including the most recent SE series.

Being this aurally isolated during my commute has made me much more aware of the way NYC women use their iPods--and sunglasses--as urban armor against the come-ons and street harassment that typifies many major cities. It's also led to some risky pedestrian behavior on my part: walking the streets with my earphones in forces me to be much more visually aware given that my ears are out of commission. I've had a few near misses--generally when also texting on the go--so I try to force myself to take the earphones out while I'm still in the subway station. Better safe than sorry.