A good pair of in-ear monitors (IEMs) can be a revelation. They can take your music to truly incredible places, far beyond what regular earbuds can do.
Beats by Dre are arguably the easiest brand to pick out of a crowd. The infamous “b” located on any earcup, bud, or case can be spotted from a mile away.
This German manufacturer might not be a household name stateside, but RME have been quietly making nerdy audio equipment since 1996. And they've gotten rather good at it. We were able to spend a month with their ADI-2 digital-to-analog converter.