Tonight I had a chance to test the Bose OE2i at the Apple store, and I bought them, for $180 USD. Unlike the Bose QC3 which is similar except for the noise reduction, the OE2i actually sounds pretty good on an iPod Touch or iPhone4 with Treble Booster EQ. The Treble Booster EQ does not make the OE2i bright by any means, but it does help to raise the treble to an acceptable level for mid-fi sound quality listening. I will have to spend more time with them to determine how they hold up long-term, but I played quite a few critical tracks and my results were:
Clarity and resolution: Average for this price range.
Dynamics: Good.
Upper harmonics of Bells, triangles, xylophone etc.: Good.
Bass: Light, but good impact with tracks that have strong impact. Good detail.
Mids: Good.
Treble: Recessed, needs boost.
One small problem with the OE2i, also noted in other reviews, is a buzz or rattle in one or both earcups with very strong bass at 30 hz and below. Bass drum whacks don't seem to produce the problem, and tracks with very strong bass such as Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat or Afro-Celt Sound System's Inion Daughter also don't produce the problem. But a couple of tracks I have do and those are the intro to Also Sprach Zarathustra by the Pasadena Symphony and one Bach organ piece by Virgil Fox. So I would not expect this headphone to buzz on more than one track per one thousand, but still I haven't experienced buzzing with a headphone since the Koss High Velocity series of the late 1970's.