Headphones Buying Guide

When buying headphones it is important to realise that there are many types of headphones in order to suit the many types of needs. Quite obviously headphones range from full size disc jockey headphones right through to small portable ones used for portable mp3 players. Cheap economy style headphones such as the ear- bud style are usually provided with portable music players, these often aren’t of the highest quality. People who wish to buy this kind of headphone should only do so if this is entirely what they want, although they are cheap, other headphones provide much better sound quality.

There are some band-less styles available, these just use the transducers and a wire that connects them to the player. The most popular are regular headbands and these have of late come back into fashion. Other kinds include wires which go around the back of the head and some which go directly to the ears from the music players.

For people wishing to buy headphones which are suitable for a hi-fi, the recommend headphone style is the closed-ear. Within this design category the most popular design is the dynamic transducer style, although others include planar magnetic and electrostatic headphones. These are usually more upmarket headphones which are targeted at professionals and often have a high price tag attached to them.

The wireless headphone category is becoming wider and is appealing to a wider range of people. These headphones are obviously very popular as they do not tie the user down to one location. Some of this type of headphone use radio frequency which allows the user to use the headphones within a stated radius. Although some wireless headphones use Infrared, this required the user to be in a straight clear line with the transmitter.

For people who are really interested in top quality headphones there is a wireless set available which produce a virtual surround sound from a Dolby Digital source, this ensures whether watching television or listening to music there is always a surround sound experience. Many headphones are no incorporating technology which are noise cancelling. These headphones prevent unwanted noise from entering the ears; this is done by using small microphones to pick up any external noise and then inverting the phase to cancel the unwanted noise. Some headphones have been specifically designed to be noise cancelling, these are often the best type of headphones although are also regarded as quite expensive.

Ultimately when buying headphones, it is down to the individual, something which will suit one person will not suit another. Headphones do actually sound different to different people, for this reason people are advised to test out headphones before buying any. High end retailers are likely to have a wide range of choice for all types of headphones, often with the opportunity to sample them. Whereas general retailers are likely to have a limited stock of earbud headphones, which are just suitable for the portable music player.