>...two more pairs of cheap wired phones...
LOL, just got such a pair last week! This set comes with an HTC adaptor:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00168PDKM
That adaptor turns 90 degrees toward the left when looking at Touch screen side up, where as the adaptor I carry (in cargo pants) turns to right. (Don't like straight HTC plug for phones, too cramped for use in pocket.) But the female 3.5 mm stereo jack on the adaptor is way bulky compared to the one I usually carry, the one pictured in my earlier post to this thread. Oh well, it'll serve as stand-by in case needed.
Once bought a pair for $0.97 at Walmart. The sound was about the same as what comes with an iPod or MP3 player, mediocre. But the buds were too big to stand wearing for even one complete song! So I cut off the lead-in wire, soldered a 3.5 mm stereo mini-plug, creating a male to male patch cord that has turned out to be very handy for setting up the 2.1 multi-media sound system I use with Touch for travel, depending on hotel room configuration. I also have a male to female cord that came with a pair of Panasonic in-ear-canal type phones. Most Panasonic stuff I've had over the years has been great, and I expected good sound from their canal design, but these phones sounded worse than the 97-cent Walmarts!