...I need some. I'm just not sure what to do. I want to upgrade my portable audio setup, but I'm not really sure where to start.

Current MP3 Player: Samsung i8910HD/Omnia HD http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-I8910-Omnia-HD-Smartphone/dp/B002IJR07C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258498827&sr=8-6

Current Headphones: Shure E102s (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shure-SE102-Sound-Isolating-Earphone/dp/B001GOVTPE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258498932&sr=1-2).

Now, this isnt a bad setup already by any means. Certainly, this combo blows away my laptop's sound quality with ease. But I just can't help feeling there's something missing. For example, I tried a song without any compression, a 68MB, straight-from-the-cd rip, which should have sounded epic, but I couldn't tell it apart from the regular one. Which is obviously bad.

So this leads to my question: Which one do I replace? My phone or my 'phones? My girlfriend will get me either a £100-150 pair of headphones or a £100-150 mp3 player for christmas, but not both (obviously!).

So, what does anyone suggest? Just need some better headphones, or is my phone miles away from the best sound quality anyway?

Well, you're not going to be able to tell the difference between a lossless file and a 256 kbps AAC file no matter what headphones you use. I certainly can't.

Headphones dude.

Get some Skullcandy headphones. I got mine for about 30 USD and the sound quality is excellent. The difference in quality was like going from an SDTV to an HDTV.

It's your phone. Very few phones actually give you a full rich sound from their MP3 player function. As for headphones, get these
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+Ear+Bud+Headphones+-+Black/9495263.p?id=1218114248887&skuId=9495263&st=head%20phones&cp=2&lp=6

They sound excellent for the price, and are extremely comfortable. (I don't like earbuds because I always found them too uncomfortable, but you barely even know these are there.)

^

You can get Skullcandy headphones for cheaper and they have the best sound quality, like ever.

So it's my phone then? Hmm. Well I was thinking this might be the case, but I was sort of hoping that it's price (I got it free on contract though, I'm not stinkin' rich), would mean it would be the headphones that were the problem.

And I don't like Skullcandy much, my girlfriend has a pair and they sound weird, kind of muddy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MDR-EX700-Hi-Quality-In-ear-headphones/dp/B00165R9XE/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258566892&sr=8-9

Heard good things bout them

Yeah...no they don't. They sound like crap compared to the headphones I listed. trust me, I'm a bit of an audiophile myself. Anyway, spend the bucks on the Sony headphones It will drastically improve your listening experience...and not just with your phone. They were the best purchase I ever made.

The headphones you listed, do they come in anything other than buds? I have a vendetta against buds lol

As do I. But these are so comfortable you don't even notice them.