JVC has some new ear buds set to launch sometime early in February that employ a little more natural materials than most with the housing made out of real wood. Birch wood, to be exact, was the material of choice for the designers of these $130+ ear buds. After all, real wood wood works well to encase larger speakers so why not use it for really tiny ones too?

The HP-FX500 ear buds don’t skimp on performance either, according to JVC. The buds use hybrid drivers, a damping gel inside to reduce jittering and help with noise cancellation, and they have a sound range from 8Hz up to 25kHz. Also, like most ear buds, they come packaged with a carrying case and multiple sized rubber tips to fit different sized ears.

We all know how uncomfortable earbuds can be and that it sometimes can be a pain in the ass to keep them in our ears. One company, Acousticlobe, thinks it has the solution with its new Lobie product, priced at around $12 and available in November.

The Lobie is designed to fit around your ear. You place the earbud inside the Lobie and it holds it “just along side the wearer’s ear without the need to insert the earbud into the wearer’s ear canal.” It supposedly works with a variety of earbuds, keeping them secure and providing a comfortable fit.

Sennheiser is known for putting out quality earphones. They’ve added four new models to the market recently which could well extend their reputation - the CX 500 ($130), CX 400 ($100), CX 55 Street ($80) and CX 95 Style ($140).

All of these in-ear earphones feature exchangeable adapter rings to provide a better fit inside one’s ear canal. The CX 400 has a short cord to make it more useful to those who wear MP3 players on their arm. The CX 500 is a higher end model with a a wider frequency response and special flange ear adapters. The CX 55 is targeted towards bass lovers and the stylish CX 95 offer what is described as enhanced comfort and a metallic look.

Shure is known for its quality, somewhat pricey sound isolating earphones. The trend continues today as the company announced the new SE110 Sound Isolating Earphones, available next month for around $100.

As the entry level model for Shure’s SE series, the SE110 offers many of the features Shure users are familiar with. This include a sound isolating design which Shure says blocks out some 90 percent of ambient noise, a fit kit to ensure a more solid sound isolating experience and a stylish, compact design.

iSkin, a maker of iPod accessories, unveiled today some slightly higher end, in ear noise isolating earphones for use with any portable electronic device. The earphones, the iSkin Cerulean X1, are available now in two colors for around $100.

The iSkin Cerulean X1 Earphones are ergonomically designed, according to iSkin, and come with three interchangeable silicone buds to provide a good, comfortable fit for the listener. These buds also reportedly “significantly reduce ambient noise.” A bass-enhancing chamber built into the earphones houses 9mm Neodymium drivers which are acoustically tuned. This all adds up to what is probably a really nice sound.

If you worry about your child blowing out his eardrums as he rocks out on his iPod, Mad Catz is preparing to debut earphones which could remedy this problem. The company will begin selling in September the AirDrives.

The AirDrive earphones are based upon the designs of a company Mad Catz acquired in 2006 called InAir Technology. These earphones “were created with speakers that lay on the outside of the ear, which helps to deliver rich, natural sound and makes them more comfortable than conventional ear buds and earphones.” The AirDrives have a magnesium design for lightweight, directional sound control and come in standard ($100) and small ($70) sizes.

Now that everyone you know has an iPod you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Enter V-Moda with its pricey but pretty Vibe Duo earbuds, the best way to stand out from the other members of the pod crowd.

The best feature about the Vibe Duo is the ability for the earbuds to act as a headset too. That’s right: no more need to tug out your bud from an ear to take that call, now all you need to do is toggle over on the headset. The 24k gold plated connector jack fits any standard opening including – of course – Apple’s iPhone.

You also get a top-made headphone that employs noise canceling technology and V-MASQUE drivers to deliver deep bass and clear sound into your audio canal. You can pick up a pair for $99 in …