My point was that the IPOD and Zen are more closely related than skoda and BMW, to continue the car analogy I would say more like Audi and BMW. (being an M3 owner I would consider an RS4 if they were available here).

As far as the sound goes headphones are not really a test of anything but headphones. Hook them both up to a decent stereo and the difference will be apparent, especially in vocals and wide dynamic range stuff