Headphones have long become an essential attribute of any modern person. Try to walk in the morning in public transport - absolutely all passengers aged 10 to 80 listen to music.
The shelves of the shops are simply overwhelmed with a variety of "ears". The price of some is comparable to a cup of coffee, while in others the price tag easily exceeds the $ 1,000 mark and cheerfully moves on. How can you make the right choice and not regret it later?
Mount
The way in which future headphones will be attached to your head plays an important role. Choose the wrong design and the result is discomfort, disappointment and a spoiled mood for the whole day.
The following mounting options are common on the market:
- Arc mount.
In general, not an obsolete classic. The earbuds wrap around the listener's head, close to the ears. These headphones are both portable and "home". The latter cannot be taken outside with you because of their size (they are large, and it is difficult to carry them all day on your head);
- Earbuds.
Models of this type are most often supplied with a purchased smartphone or MP3 player. The earpiece is inserted into the ear, lightly catching on the auricle. The most obvious drawback is that the headphones will fall out with any sudden movement you make. In addition, such models do not differ in special sound quality;
- Vacuum headphones.
By design, they are similar to the previous version, but they have a number of undoubted advantages. First, they are fully inserted into the ear opening, blocking out any external sounds. The tips are made of a special material to help isolate noise. Secondly, their sound quality is many times better than that of the same earbuds. Of the minuses - you run the risk of seriously planting your hearing, constantly using this model;
- Hooks.
These models are characterized by the attachment of headphones to the auricle. The principle is the same as for attaching glasses to a person's head. There is also a variant with the connection of the left and right hooks with a special occipital arch. Hooks, by the way, are not very common on the market, as they have a number of inconveniences when wearing.
Specifications
Having decided on the type of headphones, you should familiarize yourself with the technical characteristics of the selected instance. Everything is not so simple here: many manufacturers "draw" so many different inscriptions, graphs and numbers on boxes with devices that it is easy to get confused in them. The calculation is made for this: the buyer will see a lot of clever words, a bunch of incomprehensible and large numbers, and will buy. And what is it really?
Not much depends on the diameter of the speaker, since it is just size. We can make it as big as we like, but it won't sound better. So here you should be guided only by your own convenience. Sound sensitivity and power are of far greater importance. They are responsible for the juicy and loud sound.
Frequency response is a very important parameter. According to its schedule, music connoisseurs can quite accurately determine: the copy standing in front of them or not. Ideally, the frequency response picture should not contain sharp bends and have a length for almost the entire graph. In this case, you can expect the most accurate interpretation of the composition from the headphones.But you cannot rely solely on this characteristic when choosing good headphones.
Another important parameter is harmonic distortion. Ideally, if the selected device has this ratio less than 1%. If it is more, or the corresponding value is not indicated at all, you should not expect good sound.
Conclusion
So, the first thing we will pay attention to is the form. The headphones should fit perfectly without causing discomfort. If you are haunted by the desire to take them off and throw them away, then you probably made the wrong model.
Secondly, you should go over the main characteristics: harmonic distortion, frequency response graph, sensitivity and power of the device.
And, thirdly, one should not adhere to the opinion that the more expensive "ears" are, the better they are. It is still better to rely on objective indicators, and not on the degree of popularity of manufacturers.
Author: Gladkov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich