Ultimate Ears has launched the Super.fi 3 Studio earphones, what they claim are £84.99 earpieces that transform everything from an Apple iPod to a portable DVD player or even an at-home mixing board into a "full-bodied sound stage".

The new earphones use a proprietary, vented, single-speaker design that has been engineered to deliver full-spectrum sound apparently previously unavailable even at a much higher price point, plus a special form factor that securely seals the ear against external noise.

The shape and fit - based on Ultimate Ears' 10 years of experience in handcrafting earphones from silicone impressions of customers’ ears - are said to yield maximum wearing comfort as well as 26dB of noise isolation to ensure that you can hear the music instead of background noise.

Each pair comes with a leather case, an earphone cleaning tool, and a five-piece fit kit to adapt the earphones to different ear shapes.