Wireless headphones are gaining more and more followers. If you are considering their purchase, read what parameters you should pay attention to.
All headphones, including wireless ones, can be divided into indoor and outdoor types. The former include miniature devices inserted into the ears. Among them we can distinguish between in-ear headphones, which are inserted into the ear canal, and on-ear headphones, which are placed on the ear. In-ear headphones provide good sound and allow good environmental sound reduction, while the so-called “flea” headphones do not completely drown out environmental sounds and fall out of the ear more easily.
External headphones cover the entire auricle. They are less handy and therefore not suitable for certain activities, e.g. jogging, but they work longer without charging and give better sound. We can distinguish between around-the-ear and on-ear headphones. The difference between them consists in the fact that the former have a larger diameter of earcups, which allows for better isolation from the environment. Over-ear headphones cover only the auricle and therefore they do not completely drown out the surrounding sounds.
So the type of headphones you choose will depend on the situations in which you will be using them. Heavy around-ear models are great for listening to your favorite recordings at home, but will not be a good solution for sport activities in the open air. Of course, the choice of headphones by design should also be dictated by the comfort of use.
An important element of headphone design that should be taken into account is the transducer. The most common are dynamic transducers, which work using a diaphragm, coil with a magnet and suspension. Their advantage is a wide frequency range, as well as high power output.
In the case of in-ear headphones you will most often encounter an anchor-type transducer, in which the signal flows through a coil wound around a so-called armature. Its movements are transferred to membrane vibrations, which generate sound characterized by extraordinary detail. Also popular in the 70s, orthodynamic drivers, characterized by wide frequency amplitude, realistic sound and low distortion, are coming back to favor.
When buying wireless headphones, it is worth paying attention to the type of connection. Wireless headphones basically use two technologies to receive sound: radio and Bluetooth. Headphones that use radio connectivity require a transmitter, while Bluetooth products don’t need any boosters. This is a convenient solution that only requires pairing the device with the sound source. The only downside to Bluetooth headphones is that these products have a limited range, so you have to stay fairly close to the sound source.
If you want great sound, pay attention to the dynamic range. Choose a model with a sensitivity level above 95 dB. Active noise cancellation is also a useful option, especially if you are in noisy, crowded places. If you like the feeling of being surrounded by sound on all sides, make sure your headphones provide a wide frequency range, which is one between 20 and 20,000 Hz.
main photo: unsplash.com/Dan Farrell
