Since the invention of Alexander Graham Bell in the second half of the nineteenth century, headphones have undergone a large number of changes and have firmly entered into the life of not only music lovers who cannot imagine their life without music, but also all fans who listen to the radio on the way to work or “read” a new audio book, without interfering with homework. With the advent of a personal computer in almost every home, headphones have become an indispensable attribute in every family. But does everyone know how to choose headphones and what aspects should you pay attention to when buying this accessory?
The first thing you need to pay attention to when choosing headphones is the frequency range. It should be borne in mind that the principle “the more the better” in this case does not always work. So how to choose headphones with the “right” frequency range? To begin with, it is important to know that the human ear is capable of perceiving frequencies in the range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The beginning of this segment is responsible for the “bass”, and at the top are high-frequency sounds. For good headphones, it’s important not the width of the frequency range, but the correct reproduction of frequencies in this range, without blockages, “chatter” or wheezing at low frequencies and without rattle or hissing at the top and middle frequencies. As a rule, all manufacturers indicate the main technical characteristics of their goods, including amplitude-frequency indicators, on the packaging or in the attached instructions.
The second important characteristic when choosing headphones is resistance. In fact, the more this accessory has this characteristic, the more powerful the device is necessary for such headphones for optimal operation, and this source has much less impact on sound. Simply put, you can connect headphones with a resistance of 8-16 Ohms to a low-quality player, but you won’t be able to fully enjoy the music - this will distract the crack of internal processes, the noise of the amplifier and other extraneous sounds. If you connect large “monitor” headphones with a resistance of 250 Ohms to such a player, the sound in them turns out to be very quiet and flat - the headphones will not play, but will “whisper”. The optimal resistance range for portable devices is 32-64 ohms. Knowing this will tell you how to choose the right headphones for the player.
Another significant factor that significantly affects the sound is sensitivity. The greater this characteristic, the louder the sound. Accordingly, the lower the sensitivity and resistance, the quieter such headphones will reproduce sound.
Many buyers before buying this accessory think about which ones to choose - vacuum headphones or “ordinary” ones. In this matter, it is best to focus on your own feelings during a trial listening and convenience factor. It should also be remembered that even with the sound turned off, the surrounding world in vacuum headphones is “muffled” quite strongly, therefore, with such a device, it is advisable to cross the road very carefully and generally be more collected on the street.
And the last part of the question of how to choose headphones is the acoustic design of the upcoming purchase. In this regard, the headphones are “open”, “closed” and “half-open”. In addition to the appearance, the acoustic design affects sound insulation - in the “closed” headphones, the outside world will be “drowned out” by the music as much as possible, and those around you will not hear what is playing in your headphones even when playing at very high volume. But in the “closed” headphones there is one drawback - the sound does not go out due to the dull rear wall of the speakers and may be slightly distorted.
Companies such as Koss, Sennheiser, Sony, AKG and Philips are some of the most popular headphone manufacturers at the moment, but there are a number of other manufacturers that provide the headphone market with a quality and worthy product.