Go back a half century and you'd still find Westone in the business of making earmolds for your hearing needs. Kris and Karl Cartwright have been there for the last 30 years. That's a long time keeping people happy while telling them to "stick this in your ear."

Did you know there's a hopping little market for purchasing second-hand custom IEMs? How in the world can you use someone else's custom IEM, they won't fit your ears, right? Well, the answer lies with companies like 1964 Ears.

Yet another case of a headphone DIY enthusiast turned pro, Alex Cavalli first produced a number of DIY projects and then turned his attention to manufacturing. His initial two offerings (Liquide Fire and Liquid Lightning) were well received by the headphone community. His new amp is a tube-roller's delight.

While it's fairly easy to find iPhone/iPod docking stations that allow you to get at the digital signal and bypass the internal DAC, I know of only one portable solution. And that one just got quite a bit better!