Headphone Considerations

Headphone Buying Guide

So how do you find best headphones for your needs? In today’s marketplace there are so many different types of headphones to choose from. Headphones have become increasingly popular because music is everywhere we are; it’s on our phones, MP3 players, and laptop computers. The newest generations of slimmed down headphones bring high resolution music or home stereo sounds directly to our ears no matter where we are.

There may or may not be one style that will fit all your needs. Whether you prefer snug fitting earbuds, or full size “cans” (stereo headphones) is a matter of personal preference, and there is nothing wrong with owning more than one pair of course. How you plan on using your headphones will also be a big determining factor in what models will work for you.

So with that being said let’s cover the different types of headphones for starters, then we’ll move onto features.

Earbuds

You are most likely familiar with earbuds as the headphones that typically come free when you purchase an MP3 player, ipod, iphone, itouch, smart phone, etc. These tiny headphones seat inside the ear canal.

• Likes – Very small, easy to travel with, can provide moderate isolation from external noise, low cost.
• Dislikes – Do not provide the highest quality audio reproduction, can be uncomfortable over long periods of time, have a tendency to fall out during running or other similar activities.

Sport Headphones or Clip On Headphones

You may remember this category of headphones as the yellow headphones that used to come with the yellow colored Sony Walkman. Nowadays some of these models have a plastic like hoop that goes over the top of the head, around the back of the neck, or clip onto the ear. These are the type I personally like to use when running, or lifting weights at the gym.

• Likes – Stay on your ears a little better than earbuds during activity, don’t need to be put in your ear canal, don’t overheat ears, portable and easy to travel with, low cost.
• Dislikes – Not quite as portable as earbuds, and the clip on kind can really get tangled up when not in use.

Ear Pad Heaphones

The pads from these headphones sit on your ears as opposed to in your ears (like earbuds) or fully encase your ears like (full size circumaural headphones).

• Likes – Comfortable, can provide very quality audio, don’t overheat ears as much as fully sealed headphones, moderately priced.
• Dislikes – Can become uncomfortable over long periods of time pushing on ears, not as portable as the previous two headphone types.

Fully Sealed Headphones

These headphones are also known as “cans”, stereo headphones, ear cup headphones and even a few other names. Basically they seal around the ear, so that it is fully enclosed, which helps to eliminate outside noise while producing a very high quality audio listening experience.

• Likes – Highest quality audio listening experience delivering full broad range of sounds, eliminate outside noises.
• Dislikes – Can overheat ears & be uncomfortable over long periods of time, not that portable, can be really expensive.

Noise Cancelling Headphones

These headphones help eliminate noise by creating anti-noise. You may have seen people on the airplane using these type of headphones to help eliminate the whining noise of the jet engines, while also listening to music or perhaps not.

• Likes – Help to reduce ambient noise, allow you to listen to your music at lower volumes, can produce very high audio quality.
• Dislikes – Some users may be bothered by the pressure created to eliminate ambient noise (those with really sensitive ears), can be bulky & heavy, use traditionally batteries for power, can overheat ears.

Wireless Headphones

With advancements in technology these types of headphones are becoming increasingly popular in today’s marketplace.

• Likes – No cords to keep you tethered or to get tangled.
• Dislikes – Usually cannot provide the audio quality of a wired headphone, can be expensive, can be bulky & heavy.

Now that you’ve decided on the type of headphone or headphones that will fit your needs, it’s time to explore the different features that will help you round out your decision.

Size & Portability

Earbuds and Sport Headphones are by far the easiest to travel with because of their lightweight and size. However, there are some benefits to traveling with fully sealed or noise cancelling headphones. Some problems I’ve encountered with clip on headphones while traveling is they don’t seal out enough of the ambient noise (especially on airplanes). Many of today’s larger model headphones are collapsible and also come with carrying cases which make them much easier to travel with.

Weight & Comfort

Another big consideration when choosing headphones is the weight and comfort of them. I personally dislike heavy headphones as they become uncomfortable much faster than a lighter pair. Often quality is equated with weight and thickness of the materials used, be careful to not go overboard here and end up a pair of headphones that is too heavy. Also remember, it is very hard to judge the comfort of a set of headphones within 10 minutes of wearing them, it generally takes much more time to realize they are not going to be comfortable.

Impedance

Without going into too much detail, a pair of headphones with low impedance will sound louder when used with a device with low output voltages, such as ipods, iphones, smart phones, etc. Headphones being used with portable devices such as these should have a maximum impedance of 64 ohms.

The lower the impedance, the more efficiently the headphones are able to convert the incoming electrical energy into audio sound. Inversely, the higher the impedance the more electrical energy is required to drive the headphones little speakers.

Plugs & Jacks

I’ll keep this section very simple. Just make sure the headphones will be able to plug into the device or devices you are planning to use with them. Keep in mind there are adapters available if you have devices with varying audio jacks.

Open or Closed Back

Headphones generally have an open (mesh screen usually on the back of ear cup), or closed back (solid plastic, or metal ear-cup backing) design. Open back headphones are generally considered to have better audio fidelity. The reason, closed back headphones typically suffer from music back-waves being reflected back into the ear-cup, instead of being able to escape out the open back. Closed back headphones also tend to have just that, a more closed feel when it comes to your music. The problem with open back headphones is they leak sound, and provide little to no isolation from ambient sound. This can be a problem is you are trying to listen to music in a loud environment, or if you are listening to your music in a quite place. Generally for listening to music while you are on the “go”, closed backed headphones are going to be a better choice.

Audio Quality

This is probably more of a necessity than a feature; however there are many headphones that don’t exactly live up to the promises of the manufacturer in terms of audio quality. I find the best to way to determine if headphones and speakers have good audio quality is to compare many different models against each other at the same time, this way you have a point of reference. It is very difficult to determine good audio quality in a pair of headphones or speakers when comparing in isolation.

Now that you’ve read through the buying guide now it is time to get more familiar with specific models, and a good place to start is headphone reviews.