Headphones are one of the most widely used technological accessories today since they allow you to enjoy content in a private environment and without disturbing the people around you.
Choosing headphones can be a never-ending task, there are a wide variety of models and types that sites such as www.crunchreviews.com do a very good job at making complex things simple and helping you choose the right product.
Whether we are looking for headphones to mix, to listen live or in the studio, or for singers, drums, or music lovers. In the end, we all look for the same thing; amazing sound experience.
It will be much easier for you to choose the most suitable headphones for you if you have some notions about the types, as well as their characteristics and specifications. In the following, we show you everything you need to know to choose the right headphones.
Impedance
Expressed in Ohms (Ω), it measures the resistance to the passage of an electrical signal. As sound is conveyed by an electrical signal, the nominal impedance of the headphones will necessarily influence its audio rendering. This is how we find impedances of between 16 and 64 Ω in general on headphones dedicated to mobile readers, and up to several hundred Ohms on professional headphones. Connecting headphones intended for sedentary use to an MP3 player can quickly drain the battery. Conversely, a nomadic headset connected to the headphone input of a hi-fi amplifier will give a sound suffering from distortion. For more details, see our article on headphone impedance. Just keep in mind that a 600 Ohm headphone will not be suitable for mobile use, and a 16 Ω impedance headphone will be inaudible on the headphone jack of a hi-fi system.
Frequency Response
Expressed in Hz for bass and KHz for treble frequencies, it measures the extent of the bandwidth of a headphone. Put simply, this measurement is supposed to tell you how much the headphones go down in the bass (the lower the Hz number, the lower it goes) and up in the treble (the higher the kHz number the better). In reality, this figure is more of a business case, as a great headset may display little response while a mediocre headset will go up high and go down very low. Musicality is not just a matter of numbers! Not to mention that the MP3 files so often used for mobile listening are largely limited at both ends of the bandwidth. Let it be said, what is lost when compressing files can never be recreated by a headset, even if it is the best in the world. It is therefore a technical indicator to take into account but it does not bode well for the audio quality of the headphones.
Sensitivity
Expressed in decibels (dB), it is also called efficiency, a term more meaningful to me. Indeed, the sensor measures the sound level that can be obtained for a given power. To put it simply, at a given power, a higher sensitivity headset will give a higher sound volume. This same principle is found on high-fidelity speakers. The advantage of this measurement is that a headset with high sensitivity will be easier to power than a headset with medium or low sensitivity.
Connector
There are adapters, sometimes provided in the packaging elsewhere, which allow you to switch from one use to another. Another accessory sometimes supplied in the box, the airplane adapter which allows you to connect your headphones to the double jacks present on the airplane seats. Needless to say, the sound reproduction of commercial headsets is almost always superior to that of mediocre headsets provided by airlines. The last point, on nomadic helmets, preferably opt for an angled jack, like the one in the visual below. In a pocket, they are less exposed to friction and traction than a straight jack.
Cable
Ideally, choose helmets with removable cables. In case of deterioration, it will suffice to change it to continue using your helmet. Regarding their length, we often turn around 1m10-1m20. Sedentary headsets are logically supplied with longer cables, sometimes up to 3 m. On most nomadic headsets, there is also remote control and a microphone for navigation between the tracks and for the telephone communication socket or the activation of a voice assistant.