Good Headphones Make All the Difference

Headphones are an often overlooked and underrated way of improving your music listening experience. There are several types of headphones that work best for different situations. Most people will just use whatever headphones come with their portable music player, or will “upgrade” to very inexpensive headphones from manufacturers like Philips or Sony. If you want to really get thumpy bass, keep earbuds from falling out of your ears, or get any sort of noise dampening or noise cancellation, the headphones that were included with your portable music player just won’t cut it. How good are Bose headphones? What types of products does Sennheiser make? Which headphone style is right for my intended usage? Read on for details.

The Sennheiser HD 497 headphones are excellent headphones (the best?) for their price. Since they are not “sealed” headphones that fit completely around your ear, they do not do block ambient noise and they can become uncomfortable after extended use.

Various Headphone styles

• Traditional: sealed, open
• Portable: earbuds, wraparound (behind the head, a.k.a. “Street Style”), canal phones (in the ear)

Note: There are other niche headphone styles, but the ones listed above should cover the styles most people would purchase.

Traditional (over the head) headphones for stationary listening

For mostly stationary use, traditional over the head headphones are the de facto standard. There are two types of traditional headphones, “open” and “sealed.” If you haven’t figured it out already, the ear cups of sealed headphones fit around your ear, completely covering your ear and making a “seal” between the ear cup and the side of your head. Sealed headphones, like canal phones, are the easiest and usually the most effective way to block out ambient noise. While many manufacturers sell active “noise canceling” traditionally-styled headphones at various price points, these will often underperform when compared with even “budget” sealed (passive noise cancellation) headphones. You might look like an air traffic controller, but passive noise canceling from bulky headphones that seal your ear will outperform even expensive noise canceling headphones (like the Bose QuietComfort products).

Very portable headphones for stationary listening

The Sony MDR-EX71SL in-ear “canalphones” produce very good sound and punchy bass. They are best for stationary listening however, since little pulls can jerk them out of your ear.

When you are traveling, you don’t want to drag around your enormous cans (a.k.a. headphones), but you don’t want to compromise on sound quality either. If you have decent headphones at home but wouldn’t take them on the road with you, it’s hard to listen to your favorite songs with crappy little earbuds when you know your music can sound so much better. Don’t fret, there are some great canal phones that give you good bass and range, while still being very small and stylish. Although slightly more expensive than most people would be willing to pay, the Shure E3C or E4C are excellent canal phones that are worth looking into. The canal phones I purchased a couple years ago are the Sony MDR-EX71SLs which can now be found for as little as $30. These headphones were a godsend on long bus and airplane trips I took while traveling in Europe. They are very effective at noise cancellation and can even be used without a music source as ear plugs (when your battery dies or when you just want to get some sleep on a noisy bus). I am not a fan of the design however, for a couple of reasons. First they chose to design the headphones with a very short cord assuming that some people would use them with a wired transmitter clipped to your shirt pocket. I am not one of those people so I have to use the included extension cable which adds more cord bulk. Also the cable is very thin and prone to damage if you catch it on something sharp. Despite some physical design flaws, the bass these small canal phones put out (when properly inserted into your ear canals) is impressive and on par with much larger traditionally-styled headphones. While I don’t recommend these canal phones for all types of usage, they can’t be beat for stationary use (like at work when you want to block out your cubemates).

Portable (small, lightweight) headphones for physical activity

The Sennheiser PX 100 are portable headphones with a unique folding design. While their sound is very good, I found that the cord tangled easily and their design was too flimsy to withstand daily use.

When you’re out for a run or pumping iron at the gym, the headphones you received with your portable music player can really reduce your musical enjoyment. I’ve had earbuds that frequently fall out or loosen on my ear and thus produce very weak sound. When earbuds repeatedly fall out from activity like turning your head from side to side, this can be very annoying. Also, small headphones of this size just don’t have very large drivers, meaning they are underpowered and don’t produce enough volume or range to be used in a noisy gym. Although they are a little bigger, the best headphone style for this type of usage is a wraparound headphone like the Sony Street style headphone. The increased physical size means the driver is much larger and therefore these headphones are able to produce sufficient volume and range to be used in a noisy environment. Because the wraparound band fits tightly (maybe too tightly) over your ears, you can shake your head as much as you want and these headphones won’t move. I’ve also owned the Sennheiser PX 100 (not the active noise canceling version) and was somewhat happy with them. Although they won design awards for the unique foldable design, I found that for active use, moving from class to class, they were too slow to unfold and adjust to start listening. The Sony “Street Style” headphones have a real advantage with just one cord coming from one side of the headphones because they are far less likely to tangle and knot. If you are on the go, you want something that you can pull our of your bag and be using in seconds, a task for which the wraparound-style headphones are well-suited.

Wireless headphones

I have yet to find a pair of wireless headphones under $100 that don’t sound like FM radio or worse. Despite having very high quality headphones, the transmission (RF or infrared) medium makes the overall quality perception much lower. If you are only concerned with mediocre sound, such as listening to television or listening to the radio, then the quality a wireless solution offers is sufficient. If you are listening to a higher quality MP3/CD/DVD, you really will want a wired connection. The gist? Stay away from wireless headphones.

Brand Recommendations

I had these Bose Triport headphones for around a year when they broke the first time. While they do have very good sound, they suffer from poor build quality and I would not recommend them.

While usually one brand cannot excel at all headphone styles, Sennheiser seems to accomplish this feat by making great products in all styles at most price points. I’ve owned the Sennheiser HD-497 and found that their performance exceeded that of another pair of headphones I own, the Bose Triports, and are half the cost or less. While the Bose headphones are more attractively styled and offer a lighter frame, they don’t produce as much bass as the Sennheisers and they suffer from poor build quality. Under normal usage, the headband broke in several places after just one year of use. The Sennheiser HD-497s are not sealed however, so they don’t offer any ambient noise reduction. For sealed headphones, you’ll want to look into the Sennheiser HD 201s ($20) on the low end, and the Sennheiser HD 280 Pros ($100) on the high end. You may be able to check out either of these cans at a electronics store like Ultimate Electronics. For a pair of headphones that will be used at home in tandem with a high output audio source (e.g. not an MP3 player), a sealed pair of Sennheiser headphones are hard to beat.

Resources

• HeadRoom sells and reviews headphones, electronics and accessories. They let you browse the products they sell by style, budget, manufacturer, and more.
• HeadWize “A resource site for Headphones and Headphone Listening”