how to choose a good earphone/headphone

ICT Education: Takes 5 guys and let's learn ;-D

Hallo guy, i have some tips for choosing headphone/earphone so that you can experience music for maximum enjoyment. i love music and i believe you too. 

Earphone/headphone is an electrical device worn on the ear to receive radio or telephone communications or to listen to a radio, MP3 player, and etc. It is categorised as an output device. Output device is an electrical device that enable you to send processed data out of your computer or hand phone in the form of sounds(audio). 

Steps 1

Earphone (earbuds) or headphone

·                     For people who are short on space, earbuds is more convenience because it is easy to carry. in order to get a perfect earbuds, do not buy the cheaper one because it often run into problem like hurting your ear, not durable or like falling out of your ears. With higher price, you will get more comfortable "buds" and well-worth the money you spend. 

·                     Headphones are great if you enjoy putting them around your neck while you're walking from one place to another, or if you just carry your headphones that way. You also tend to get beefier cords and fun options like wireless/Bluetooth headphones. The drawback is that good headphones within your budget might be hard to find. They take up more space than earbuds, and the DJ-style headphones take up a ridiculous amount of space if you don't carry around a larger bag. They also are easy to get dirty because most don't come with cases for them.

·                     DJ-style headphones are just that. Huge, bulky, awesome-looking headphones that are reminiscent of what you'd see someone named Double D mix his jams with. The structure lends itself to good sound containment but bad size usage. And a lot of music buffs get them because of the better sound quality and less pressure exuded on the eardrum, resulting in longer listening time and less damage to the eardrum.

·                     Behind-the-neck headphones are exactly that as well, headphones with a connecting band that goes behind the neck instead of over the top of the head. This is recommended for joggers or people who wear hats a lot and also for sunglasses fanatics. Therefore, if you're a girl (or guy) with long hair, and you hate headphones that press your hair down or dislike headphones that irritate your ear piercings, this type would be a good choice. Besides that, there are very few things that separate them from DJ-style or "regular" headphones.

Steps 2

Higher price promotes better quality 

·                     Generally, more expensive headphones are made with higher quality materials and better engineering, improving the sound quality. $30 headphones will sound good, but not as good as $60 ones. Up in the $80-90 range, you may hear stuff in your music that you've never heard before. $9.99 bargain bin earbuds or headphones may last, at longest, a year, and will not sound great to begin with. So spending at least $20 on them insures you at least get basic music quality. One guideline is to spend $50 on portable headphones and $250 on a pair for a home stereo. Another thing you get with quality is durability. There are probably people out there with headphones from the 70's and 80's that still work because they're made well, and made to last. When you get a brand name you aren't just paying for the name sometimes; you're paying for the trusted quality. 

Steps 3

Evaluate the headphones' sound isolation

·                     This refers to how well they keep music in and block outside noise. Nothing's more annoying than having to turn up your volume to drown out the sound of the bus. There's also the fact that if you're rather deaf, enjoy turning your music up loud, and/or use it to drown out background noise and the headphones are very open, you'll end up giving everyone around you something to gossip about. Sound isolation will also keep you from having to waste precious battery life or turn up the volume to hear properly.

·                     Earbuds and in-ear headphones tend to be better at sound isolation, due to the seal they provide in your ear; and the same with (huge) DJ-style headphones that create a little sealed environment around the ear.

Steps 4

Investigate the frequency range

·                     A wider frequency range means you can hear more from the music; large ranges such 10 Hz to 25,000 Hz will often be recommended - anything within that range will be fine.

Steps 5

Don't look for noise-canceling features unless you're willing to shell out the big bucks

Anything less than around $200-250 isn't worth the price. Even if you're the frequent traveller type, noise-cancelling, 90% of the time, just isn't worth the money. Some of your music might get cancelled out as well, forcing you to turn up the volume. If you really do need noise reduction, however, look for brands like Etymotic, or Bose which have spongy earplugs that fill the ear canal.

·                     A cheap way to cancel background noise might also be to just put over-ear hearing protectors (from the hardware store) over earbuds to cancel out most ambient noise. On the other hand, if you're not overly fussy, you may find lower priced noise-cancelling earbuds or headphones have considerable benefit for reducing background noise in air planes, cars or public transportation. Panasonic (just one brand of many) makes an acceptable noise-cancelling earbud for just $50.

Steps 6

Test them out

·                     The best way, really, to know if headphones can go loud enough for you is to test them out. Try on a friend's pair (if they're cool like that) or go to a good electronics store that will let you try on the headphones. Having around $200 in cash handy and going to a store with a 30-day return policy will make the electronics store your unwilling friend while you learn what types of headphones you really want. Out of courtesy, however, always clean the wax out of your ears before trying on any headphones or earbuds!

Steps 7

Look for the impedance of the headphones

·                     To get the best out of your headphones, you should match the impedance of the headphones to the audio equipment you are using. This is measured in ohms. In reality if you don't this usually means that you will need to turn up the volume slightly compared to a matched pair of headphones.

Steps 8

Finally, use your ears!

·                     You are the person who is going to be using these headphones day in day out. If a $50 pair of headphones sounds the same as a $1000 pair of headphones, go for the cheaper pair. The sound quality is not going to change just because they are more expensive! The only thing to remember is the overall build quality of the headphones - are they going to last as long? Does it matter if they are that much cheaper?