Listening to music is the
easiest way to influence your mood, rhythm, energy, and emotions. There are
several types of headphones/ earphone/ earbuds available in the
market to buy online. The brand, the built-in quality, the appearance, the
sound quality, the bass, and the comfortable fit in the ear are some of the
important characteristics that people consider when buying headphones.
In addition to these
features, if you are looking for Bluetooth headphones, you should also consider
battery life on a single charge and water resistance, as well as sound quality.
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| how to buy headphones |
What to see when buying headphones? –Earphones shopping guide
Before buying a
headphone, it is crucial to decide on the type (wired or wireless), the
budget, and an understanding of the technical specifications.
Let's try to understand the technical
aspect of headphones.
How to consider Driver Diameter while buying headphones?
The diameter of the driver
indicates the size of the speaker unit inside your earphone. The larger the
size of the driver, the wider the frequency range will be, and thus you will
get loud high-quality sound.
Obviously a larger size
driver is better for EDM. Driver sizes typically range from 9-16mm on
headphones. The 14/15/16 mm size is preferred by people who like Electronic
Dance Music (EDM) and therefore some people don't like it because it sounds
loud. But if you don't like loud electronic music, and if you are more of an
acoustics lover, then don't buy a earphone / headphone that is more than 14mm
in driver size.
How to consider impedance while buying headphones?
Headphones are an electronic
device and each electronic component has some kind of resistance. Therefore,
every earphone/ earbud driver unit has an impedance i.e. resistance
value. The general rule of thumb is to lower the impedance, the better the
result, but using 12 ohm headphones for a 16 ohm compatible device can damage
the device over time, while using 32 ohm headphones for 16 ohm devices is not a
Problem, the only thing is that it will reduce the volume a bit.
Presently almost all headphones
have an impedance range of 12 ohms to 35 ohms. So, the best way to determine
your impedance is to check the impedance of your cellphone or devices those you
want use with headphone. However, if you are using your headphones with devices
that have built-in amplifiers, such as a sound system or DJ equipment, use
headphones with high impedance, preferably above 35 ohms. High impedance
headphones work best with devices that have rocky amplifiers.
How to evaluate frequency response while buying headphones?
Generally, the rule of thumb
is that the wider the frequency response, the better the result. Humans can
statistically hear in the 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range, but in the actual test
it is revealed that this level can be at further lower side, around 12Hz.
Music / songs have extremely
low frequencies around 40-100Hz but harmonics still drop to 15-20Hz. Therefore,
expand the frequency range of the headphones.
Most headphones offer a
frequency response of 20 to 20 kHz, but if you get a wider range, i.e. 15 Hz to
20 kHz, it will be better to enjoy a very natural sound.
How to consider Noise Cancellation while buying headphones?
This feature is less important because it is not directly
related to the quality of the headphone, it is just an additional feature. It's
also called active noise cancellation, which uses electronic processing to
analyze the ambient sound and tries to generate the opposite sound, and you
will ultimately feel less noise overall.
It helps create a barrier between surrounding noise and
not disturb you while listening to your music. This feature only increases the
price and makes the headphones more expensive.
You can just ignore it while you decide to buy a headphone/earphone
for yourself.
How to choose the connector material while buying earphone?
Almost all headphones have 3.5mm connectors made from
different metals including copper, silver, gold, rhodium, and steel plated with
brass, chrome or copper. The quality of the transmission depends on the
conductivity and therefore gold-plated connectors offer better quality than
copper or brass plated steel.
How to consider the sensitivity of headphones?
The volume produced by headphones at a certain frequency
with a certain power is called sensitivity and is usually around 100 dB / mW.
Sensitivity is a measure of the amount of sound in dB that the earphone can
produce for one mW of electrical signal. It varies from 90 dB / mW to 115 dB /
mW but it is better to stay around 105 dB / mW. The higher the sensitivity, the
more sound you will get.
What type of cable is good while buying headphone?
The cable can be thin, thick, flat or coiled. Do not
prefer the thin cable because it is less durable. When it comes to transmitting
sound quality, thicker or flat cables reproduce better sound compared to thin
cables.
What is the acoustic system in the headphones?
The term acoustics represents the in-built quality and
design of the headphones. A closed acoustic system prevents noise from passing
through the headphones to the outside. In an open system, other people around
you can easily hear what you listen in your headphone.
Which type of connector is the best while buying earphone?
There are two types of connectors that come with the
headphones, namely straight and L-shaped connectors. L-shaped connector is
better than straight connectors because it prevents the cable from bending
sharply near connector and so there is less risk of damage.
How to know the real performance of the headphone?
You can read customer reviews. The higher the rating, the
better the performance and service.
Abstract
People who like electronic dance music (EDM) prefer the 14/15/16mm
headphone driver sizes, but for acoustics enthusiasts the 14mm driver size is
better. Lower the impedance the better the result however if you use your
headphones with devices that have built-in amplifiers, high impedance headphones
will work better.
The wider the frequency response, the better the result, and therefore
prefer it in a range of 15Hz to 20kHz to enjoy very natural sound. The noise
cancellation function is less important because it is not directly related to
the quality of the earphones. The higher the sensitivity, the
louder the sound. Regarding performance and customer service, read the customer
review.
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