So it should be obvious that I really like headphones. If not, I'm saying it now, I really like headphones. When looking to get a new pair of headphones, it's important to know what different kinds of headphones exist, and what they're each best at and that's what this post is about, all the different kinds of headphones. I won't talk about the different ways sound are produced by headphones, ie balanced armature vs moving coil, also known as the different transducers used. This post is more about the general form factors.
Most generally, there are 4 main types of headphones, circumaural, supra-aural, earbuds, and in-ear. Now let's just hit them all in order. Circumaural headphones, also called full size headphones or over-ear headphones are just that, over the ear. They are designed to fit around the ears and while usually quite comfortable can get quite heavy just due to them being designed to go all around the ear. Examples of this type of headphone include Bose QuietComfort 15s, Audio-Technica ATH-M50s, and Beats Studios.
Next are supra-aural headphones, also called on-ear headphones. That is because this class of headphones lies on the ear instead of going all the way around. As a result, depending on the pads, they can be quite uncomfortable, especially if the headband is too small. Examples of this type of headphone include Grado SR60s, AKG K81 DJs, and Bose OE2s.
After that are earbuds. These are probably the most prolific type of headphones as every single phone these days seems to come with a pair. This type of headphone rests inside the ear but does not actually go in them. Examples include Apple earbuds and Yuin PK1s. Often times these are pointed at as the worst headphones soundwise, although there are exceptions.
Lastly are the in-ear type of headphones. These go into the ear canal and are very good for blocking out external sound sources if you can manage a good seal. Examples of these include, Skullcandy Ink'd 'earbuds', Klipsch S4s, and Etymotic HF2s.
Going further, circumaural and supra-aural headphones can also be either open or closed. This refers to the backs of the headphones being closed or open. Closed headphones seek to contain sound inside them and this has its merits, for example decreasing external sound. Open headphones do not keep sound in so they are prone to 'sound leakage' where others can hear what you are listening to. However, they also allow a better perception of space in music due to not being closed. The effect of closed headphones is that they bring sound very close to the listener, which often makes it sound like sound is inside of the head which is not really how sounds are normally heard.
Furthermore, all kinds of headphones can be noise-cancelling. Noise cancelling headphones make use of microphones that listen to ambient sound to produce an 'inverse signal' that is fed back into the sound which lowers the sounds of external sources. Bose is famous for this and is widely regarded as being the best at it, of which I agree. However, noise cancelling does best with low frequency sounds like planes or trains. It does not do particularly well with higher frequencies like what you would expect from voices. Compare this with noise isolating or attenuating or dampening headphones which seek to block out external sound from even reaching your ears. That type of headphone is what closed back headphones and in-ear headphones seek to do. You might also hear passive vs active noise cancelling, passive equates to closed headphones/in ear while active equates to what I just stated as noise cancelling. It's a bad misnomer, and it'd be best to use proper terms.
I hope this was educational and I hope that you have a better idea of the kinds of headphones that are out there. As a last note, if you want headphones to block things out go for in ear or closed circumaural as I personally think those are the most effective and comfortable. If you want to block out plane or train sounds and don't like in-ears, go for a good pair of noise cancelling. If you want to be able to hear your surroundings, go for an open pair of circumaural or supra-aural headphones, lean towards the supra-aural, or get a pair of earbuds. I'm still missing a pair of open headphones so I'll be looking to pick up a pair in the next couple of months. Next time on Gear Days will be a post on different sound profiles and how to listen to different pairs of headphones. Until next time.
--CsMiREK
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