With all due respect to Terry, I think that all the dogging of the stock earbuds that come with iPods is greatly exaggerated. I find their sound quality to be perfectly acceptable.
You are the first person I've encountered who liked the earbuds which came with the player.
I'm not sure how a person exaggerates whether they like something or not. The fact that a new purchase of new earbuds is involved would tend to convince me how serious these "doggers" are about their opinion.
I had two problems with the Apple earplugs.
1.My ear canal is small. Those plugs are like volleyballs to me.
2.The music sounded rotten when I used them. I do a lot of critical listening because I'm a composer. I have to A/B sound constantly to get exactly the timbre and presence I'm looking for. The Apple earplugs vitiated the sound spectrum. I bought some Philips plugs instead and the low bass and the high treble popped in easily.
Warning: Always be very cautious about listening too long with earbuds or headphones. Hearing is easily damaged. Especially is this true in noisy enviornments where one is tempted to crank up the volume to conceal the ambient sound.
If your ears have a ringing to them when you take the buds out---you are in big trouble!!