Well....it's a matter of priorities.
Do my $8 (whatever) skullcandy earbuds actually sound good? No, they don't. They're muddy and low-mid-y and severely lacking on highs and separation and detail and all of the other good things that good speakers or headphones do. But they were $8. I've definitely gotten worse earbuds for $60 before. I've also gotten only marginally better for $40 and felt bad about destroying them.
Those $70 etymotics were a great value, and etymotic marketed them with their own calculated accuracy score of like 89%. Their $300 IEMs at the time got like a 93%. The current $60 ones get an 85% iirc. And based on their descriptions of how it was measured, that number actually seems to mean something.
Unfortunately, they were replaced by ones "made for iDevices" that had over-pronounced low-mids, slightly lacking highs, and a huge bump at 2k....better than my cheap SC, but not 8 times as good...and they only lasted like 6 months of normal use and relatively careful care.
Like I said....if I cared, I'd be looking at $200-300 IEMs (se315, um pro 20, etc.). But, I just use my hd-25s or mdr-7506s when I actually want things to sound right as opposed to just being there. And I can DJ with the skullcandies in a pinch. It's not pleasant, but it works better than broken monitors.
There are a lot of places where I just don't think mid-range gear is worth what it costs: CDJs, earbuds, dj practice speakers, bags (I have a bag obsession, go ahead and make fun of me), clothes, jewelry, shoes....fortunately there actually are cheap earbuds that don't totally and completely suck.
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