Years ago I purchased a set of Bose in-ear headphones for $80. I was young and a little naive; I knew the brand was renowned for high quality audio products, but I did not do any actual research before buying them.
I was generally satisfied with the sound, though, the only thing I had to compare them with was the really old junk pair that I had been using.
Transition to a week ago. Over the course of the 4 years I owned the headphones I gradually learned that Bose products are generally overpriced, i.e. not worth the money. However, the Bose set was good enough for me to not do anything about. Until that is, I decided that I could probably sell my Bose set on ebay and put the money toward some high quality phones (Sennheiser/Klipsch/etc)
So I ended up selling my Bose set for 40 bucks and buying a pair of Sennheiser IE 7's
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/dj-ear-headphones-earbuds-noise-cancelling-IE-7-502173
I bought them used for $80 bucks on Amazon (the same price I had paid originally for the Bose) and was surprised when I received them as they were new in package (not used as I thought they would be)
I can't tell you how happy I am with the sound. Lots of bass when the song needs it, but not overpowering (unless I boost the low freqs via equalizer) and really clear mids highs (no sibilance)
So overall, really happy with my transition to phones worth the money.