i bought the in-ears some months ago, due to problem with my ears and normal ear-buds. they just don't fit togheter. a little twitch and they fall out.. but i got BIG ISSUES with the in-ears aswell!
i liked how they fit in the ear, they did exactly what i expected fittingswise.. i got somewhat a "claustrophobic" feel after a while, since they are really IN-ears, but thats not really an issue.. just a matter of getting used to it i guess..
but what i couldn't get used to was the matter of how they sound. it seems like there are no bass at all, and the lighter tones are WAAAY to high. the EQ is no good, thats for sure. it actually got to that point where i stopped using them after, say.., maybe 4-5 weekend-trips.. i ended up with my ears hurting like hell, a headache if i had them in too long etc..
i know i like to play my music loud, wich surely contributed, but even on regular volume my ears couldn't take it.
i wouldn't recommend them for anything, there are some many better alternatives out there. me myself chose to go for a KOSS closed headset. yeah, i know they are not in-ears, not even earbuds, but the listening-pleasure is so much higher with a headset.
if you have to go with the small buds/in-ears, i would recommend getting one of those normal earbuds, with a in-ear prolongation(?) on them,
like theese, for example. get what i'm saying? hard to explain, since i have no clue about what they're called, but i have had several pairs, and always been satisfied. they fit much better in the ear aswell, since the actually have this one piece on them wich goes into the ear, and kinda keeps it "locked". that helped me at least, concerning my problem with normal earbuds.
thes sonys are even half the price of the apple in-ears.
hope it helps,
alex.