Thanks to all of the folks who suggested different sorts of headphones and earphones, especially Rana, who even manages to out-geek me, when it comes to cool electronic toys.

Ultimately, I went with an updated version of one of her suggestions – these: Sony Fontopia MDR-EX71SL/WK, which are even white, and therefore match my Zen Micro.

They’re super comfortable, and really light, and even when I’m boogying around the house, they stay in my ears.

Also, the meter-long extension cable is great for when we plug the Zen into the cassette converter to play it through the car speakers – it gives me enough length to hold the player and control it, without having taut cords everywhere.