A First step in choosing your ideal Headphone and becoming Audiophile
If you think that grabbing just the same set of headphones like your friends can do justice to your love of music, then you must pause right away and rethink your idea. Unless you have been living under a rock for a while, why would you ever settle for just anything that the others are choosing, right?
With so many options of amazing wireless headphones available in the market today, why settle for something that is inferior? Whether you are listening to music on the bus or at the gym or even while working, only the best quality wireless headphones can offer you an experience worth cherishing.
But with the multitudes of brands and specifications available today, are you confused about which one to buy?
Well, truth be told, headphones are just like your relationships, you need to choose them with a thorough understanding to build a deep bond! So here is how you can go about choosing your very first pair of wireless headphones.
Factors to consider while choosing a headphone
First, you will have to ask yourself ‘what are the qualities I want from my headphones?’ Obviously, it will offer you the tune of all genres, but how do you want the tune to hit your ears? And how do you want it to sit on your ears? Are the looks a top preference or you can live without it?
Sound quality
Needless to say, the sound quality of the headphones is always factor NUMBER ONE when you are about to buy headphones. Also if you are going to listen to it to in public places amidst a lot of outside noises, then buying a headphone with the sound clarity feature becomes a priority. Some headphones are designed to offer better bass while some a richer on the treble part, so it is for you to decide what type of sound quality you are looking for.
For example, if you are a fan of EDM then you would always like a bass-heavy pair of wireless headphones.
Design and style
Headphones, apart from imparting you music at your lowest and highest times also owe you a status symbol, right? If you step out of your house with a stylish piece draped along your ears, you would see onlookers getting awe-stricken. Most good quality wireless earphones are designed keeping in consideration the fashion preferences of today’s youth, so, fortunately, you wouldn’t have to look helter-skelter for it!
If you love brighter colors then don’t wait and buy a pair of headphones in pop shades like cool blue, hot pink and even neon green!
Comfort
The days are gone when you had to settle for an uncomfortable pair of ear-buds because nothing better was available at that point! Now the options are so diverse in terms of comfort that you might find your mind getting boggled! If you are going to listen to it for a long time, then look for the ones which would just settle on the outside of your ears and not hot or pin your ears. Most earphones come with soft padding which makes the experience more enjoyable and comfortable. These are also great for your gym as they don’t make you sweaty on top of everything!
Price
The first and foremost step is to set your budget, so steal a quick glance at your bank balance! If you are just going to run low-resolution files through your phone, then there is no need to splurge chunks of money at a headphone which wouldn’t be utilized fully. When the low-res songs are the culprit, a high-def headphone cannot help you in any way! The same way, a cheap pair of headphones also cannot do justice to the talents of your extensive home system.
If this is going to be your first wireless headphone, then it is better to not exhaust your bank account on a heavy-priced one and thus buy the moderately-priced one offering the features of your preference.
Sensitivity
It scientifically implies how effectively an earphone converts an electrical signal into the acoustic In simpler words, it indicates how loud your earphones would be. When you will start looking for headphones, keep your eyes on the decibel figure enlisted in the specifications. Most of us want loudest earphones, but do you want to harm your ear? No right?
So judge sensibly and look for the ones offering moderate sensitivity so that you do not impact your hearing in the process of enjoying music.
Impedance
A purely scientific aspect, this is generally explained by chalking out equations. Headphones with lower impedance, less than 25 ohm works fairly with phones, portable music players, that is, devices with weak amplification. And for the ones having impedance ranging from 25 ohms to 70 ohms are secured against the damage caused by overloading, hence they can be used across a wide range of devices.
But the headphones with lower impedance will totally blow out when used with stronger amplifiers. As you might have guessed, a lower impedance headphone comes cheap whereas for a higher impedance wireless headphone you have to invest some chunks!
Bass
Bass of headphones detects the sound frequency the headphones can recognize and convert into sound waves so that it becomes audible. If you opt for the piece with lower bass level and then play a low humming tune in it, you would hear practically nothing! As for headphones featuring high bass levels, the music erupting would seem very noise and devoid of clarity.
So to be on the safest side and to enjoy the most of your brand new wireless headphones buy a pair which would not distort the sound but will be a comfort to your eyes.
Frequency
Or as we call, the frequency response is the range of bass, mids, and If you don’t want to think much and buy the one which offers an impressive frequency range, then see if the frequency range is around 20-20,000 HZ. It means that your headphones recognize frequency response lying within the limit. The most surprising fact is, below 20 Hz and above 20,000 Hz frequencies are not audible most of the time.
Although a few headphones in the market sport wider ranges, 5 Hz to 33,000 HZ, but better frequency levels don’t usually imply better sound quality, so look out!
What Kind of Headphones you need and why?
Headphones are mostly categorized into 3 types design-wise: in-ear, on-ear, and over-ear.
Do you know every headphone model is designed for a specific audience? So before buying, you must consider your purpose of investing in a new wireless headphone and the places where you are going to use it, like:
For Gym:
Gym headphones should be water and sweat proof because you would be working out with those still attached to your body. You wouldn’t really want a mess of cables to get into the way of your workout routine, and will obviously opt for wireless ones. While buying headphones for your gym, always stick to earbuds because they will fit snugly in your ears and wouldn’t get detached.
For Travel:
If you are looking forward to enjoying music while you are on the go, get the noise-cancelling headphones that are designed to shut off the outside noise, thereby offering you sheer bliss! We recommend buying the active noise cancellation equipped pairs as they can cancel outside noise significantly. It can also help a passenger sleep in a noisy vehicle such as an airliner.
For Office:
To enjoy your favorite music playlists while at work, choose noise isolation headphones that allow you to focus on work even while you are listening to music. We have seen people feel happy and increase in productivity who use headphones in noisy offices. We recommend using closed back headphones in office environment as they can muffle the surrounding sound. We dont recommend active noise cancelling headphones, as u still might want to hear your boss’s voice. If thats not the case go for ANC headphones.
For Running/Jogging:
For those who love to go on that daily run in the morning, an affordable pair of high-quality earbuds will be your ideal companion on the jog. We dont want to wear you heavy pairs thats why we recommend opting light weight earbuds. Earbuds also offers noise isolation and they can sit around your neck without being fallen.
For Swimming:
The same goes for swimmers as well, so pick a pair of waterproof earbuds to resume your music experience underwater. IPX Rating is the most important that u should look for while buying earbuds for swimming. More the IPX rating (Scale of 1-9) more is the water resistant power. We recommend buying earbuds with at least IPX 6 rating.
For DJ or Music Professionals:
For disc jockeys, premium open-ended earphones are always the best bet! Although the earphones are somewhat heavier, the sound quality is great and it exerts less pressure on the eardrum, eventually causing less damage to the eardrum than other headphones. Close-ended headphones are equally brilliant for that accurate precision of sound quality.
For Large Head Size:
We recommend using earbuds but nowadays there are On-ear headphones that are very light and portable and sit outside the ears and are perfect for people with small ears. Over-ear headphones that are lightweight sit around the ear and are perfect for larger head sizes. Try open back headphones as they are more likely to fit since they did not require a tight seal like most closed back headphones.
For Gaming:
Whether it is in the form of ‘winner winner chicken dinner’ or ‘FIFA’ online games takes us closer to fantasy. Nonetheless, to say, gaming headphones should offer the best sound quality, that is the sound should be powerful and clear at the same time. We recommend using over ear headphones with best frequency range and microphone.
To Wear over Hearing Aids:
For the ones who use hearing aids and don’t want to miss the experience, you can wear over-ear earphones on top of your hearing aids but pick the light weighted ones only.
For Kids:
To keep your kids busy offer them a pair of light-weighted earphones which limit volume levels to protect young ears. There are many brands who make headphones specially for kids. Kitty ear headphones are very popular among young girls and now headphones are also available in beautiful colors like gold, rose gold to match their fashion requirements.
For Gifts:
If you are considering the kind of headphones to gift your friend on his birthday, then the safest choice would be to pick an on-ear headphone which sits comfortably and offers excellent sound quality.
How to use wireless headphones?
You will be able to use your newly-acquired wireless headphones across several devices, mobile phones, laptop, TV and even a home theatre.
Here is the process of connecting your wireless headphone to any Bluetooth device is explained for your convenience:
- Check whether your headphones are fully charged and then turn them on( see the manual provided to understand how to switch it on)
- Then look for the settings app in your android device and click on it.
- Click on the first option that is, connections and from there, choose the Bluetooth option.
- Now you will have to put your headphones in the pairing mode so that the android device’s Bluetooth recognizes and pairs with it. the controls to put your headphones in the pairing mode differs from model to model thus look for the specific set of controls in the user manual.
- After the Bluetooth recognizes the headphones, tap on it to enable the connection between the two.
- And your headphones are connected with your Android Just play any song on your phone and wear your headphones, you will be able to enjoy the music.
Summary
Choosing your first wireless headphone might seem like a daunting task when you have to consider a ton of factors and features before buying one. If you consider yourself a genuine audiophile, then hunting out the perfect pair of wireless headphones which will coordinate with your taste for music, is going to need some deep research and understanding of your requirements.
You might start feeling that choosing a headphone is nothing less than choosing a life partner because with the right wireless headphones for your company, you can look forward to making your days better by beating the monotony.