Every time I see someone listening to an iPod with its original white earphones, I can't help thinking, 'That's someone in serious need of an upgrade.' You're just not getting the full sound your iPod is capable of when using cheap headphones. And in a city where people judge you by your watch and your mobile phone, can you risk going out in public wearing anything but the best earphones available?
When you live in a place like Hong Kong and travel a lot, odds are you want to shut out peripheral noise. If that's the case then sound-isolating earphones, which fit into your ear canal, are the way to go.