Yurtopia makes customized ear buds called yurbuds (also known as earbud enhancers) that, as advertised, fit comfortably, stay in the ear, and greatly improve the sound of standard headphones and headsets--particularly of the iPhone and iPod persuasion. I highly recommend them to anyone look for an easy and inexpensive way to improve the audio quality and performance of their earphones.

Yurbuds come in six sizes. To get fitted simply upload or send Yurtopia a picture of your ear with a standard reference object; preferably an Apple-style ear bud in your ear, but a quarter will do, for example. In the near future, the company plans to offer an application that will size people's ears and more in the App Store.

Turns out I'm a size five by the way.

I tested out a review pair of yurbuds with both Apple's standard headphones for iPod and iPhone and Yurtopia's yuphones, which were virtually indistinguishable from Apple's earphones. In both cases the yurbuds performed admirably. 

In fact, the yurbuds enhanced the sound of the headphones so much, I had to turn down the volume on my iPhone and iPod considerably. According to Yurtopia, yurbuds concentrate sound so well, users can reduce volume by as much as 50 percent, saving both their hearing and reducing power consumption.

Although the yurbuds fit snuggly in the ear, you barely notice they are there after a while. Best of all, they did not fall out constantly, as the headphones I tested them with usually do without yurbuds attached. And, unlike in-canal headphones, yurbuds don't put too much pressure on the inside of your ear and do not totally block off ambient sounds, which is essential for runners and other athletes--a key part of Yurtopia's target demographic--and others who need to stay in touch with the outside world when listening to music.

Unlike with Apple's standard iPhone and iPod earphones, some in-canal headphones may require adapters, called yurAdapters, that are available or will become available for several manufacturers. For example, an adapter for Apple's $79 (and great sounding) Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic--whose silicon tips occasioonaly get stuck in this writer's ear, pop out, and irritate the ear canal--is due to become available shortly. I can't wait to pair the yurbuds up with the those headphones, as they'll make them sound even better, but without the irritations. Here's a video that shows you how to use the a yurAdapter with one of Apple's in-year headset.

You can order yurbuds online for $19.99 each. Pick up a pair of them and the price is an even more reasonable $29.99. Yurtopia's Apple-like headphones, called yurphones, sell for $19.99. And you can buy a pair of yurphones with a set of yurbuds included for $29.99. 

Forbes.com ranked the Yurtopia number nine in its list of America's Most Promising Companies. The company's co-founders include a triathelete with a background in minimally invasive surgical devices who found the headphone options on the market--particularly the ones offered by Apple--lacking and prone to falling out, and a marathoner with a background in business management and development.

See here for a list of upcoming events, mostly marathons, where Yurtopia will be showing off Yurbuds. Here you'll find a video showing you how to put yurbud onto an earphone.