Learn About Headphones

Become an Expert

Whether you have a background in audio or are brand new to headphones, there's always more to learn. Headphones.com is a dedicated resource for everything to do with headphones - everything from information that can help you make the right choice for the type of sound you want, to the vast body of knowledge on headphones in general that our community members have developed over the years.

If you're new to high performance headphones and you want to learn, this is the place to get started. This section will also get updated with links to more in-depth information as more gets published.

The Basics

There are a number of different types of headphones, with fit types that can vary widely. In terms of performance, it's a little more straightforward:

Over-ear Headphones

These completely fit around the ear. The ear pads usually come into contact with the side of the listener's head, rather than the ear itself. There are two types of over-ear headphones, namely open-back and closed-back.

  • Open-back - Open-back headphones are the ideal choice for enthusiasts because they're typically able to provide a more spacious and 'open' sounding presentation to them. They also only have to deal with tuning one air volume—the one shared by your ear and the front of the headphone's—which makes them easier to tune. An open-back also means that the outside of the ear cup is either completely or partially open, and that means sound leaks in and out.
    Examples of open-back headphones:
  • Closed-back - Closed-back headphones generally don't leak sound in and out as much, but by closing off the back of the cup, additional sonic challenges are introduced. The sound waves produced by the headphone transducer (driver), don't just travel towards the ear, but also towards the back of the ear cup. Without proper damping or ways to break up sound waves, there's a risk that they will bounce of the cup and travel back towards the listener's ear, causing destructive interferences. Therefore, closed-back headphones require some form of damping, and this can also lead to compromises in sound quality. But with that said, many flagship closed-back headphones solve this problem in unique ways, constantly improving what's possible with closed-back headphones.
    Examples of closed-back headphones:

Over-ear headphones generally use one of three driver (transducer) types:

  1. Dynamic Driver - Dynamic drivers are the most common, and these often allow for high excursive force, while generally having rises in the bass or low midrange thanks to their inherent resonances between 50-200 Hz.
    Examples of dynamic driver headphones:
  1. Planar Magnetic - Planar transducers can often sound tighter than dynamic drivers due to their typically flat bass response, while also having better bass extension capabilities due to their drivers being larger. They also often have less bass distortion than dynamic drivers. In general, planar magnetic headphones can also impart a certain type of sound or 'timbre' that often makes them recognizable.
    Examples of planar magnetic headphones:
  1. Electrostatic - Less common than the other two driver types, electrostatic headphones require a unique energizing system to power them. Sonic characteristics may include improved detail retrieval, especially for treble frequencies, a weightless 'ethereal' sound, but also commonly provide less impact and energy for bass frequencies.
    Examples of electrostatic driver headphones:

    There are some other transducer types that have found their way into headphones, such as AMT (air motion transformer), or ribbon drivers, but they have yet to be commonly adopted. HEDD Audio is the largest manufacturer of AMT headphones in the space, and their newest HEDDphone TWO GT is a headphone that many have praised for its natural presentation.

    In-Ear Monitors

    IEMs are devices that fit inside the ear. You can think of this as the natural progression from the well-known 'earbud'. In-ear monitors can vary in size, shape, and degree of insertion into the ear canal, however they generally create a seal with the ear canal. IEMs can also be fitted with different tips that vary in material type from silicone to foam, along with different sizes to best fit different ear canal shapes. For the transducers, there are three common types.

    Balanced Armature - Many IEMs will use multiple BA drivers to handle different frequency ranges. The advantage of BA drivers is that they're small, and thus manufacturers can fit more into a smaller space than typical designs of other drivers. The downside is that they have a very high acoustic output impedance, and as such are less efficient at producing bass vs. dynamic drivers, which makes them less tolerant of errant leaks. Many people have attributed an unpleasant tonal effect of certain IEMs using BAs to what they call "BA timbre," but this has never been proven as a causal effect. It is almost certain that their gripes are not to do with the driver used, but the sum total frequency response of the IEM itself at their eardrum.

    Dynamic Driver - Once again, dynamic drivers are able to provide solid bass extension due to having better excursive (the ability/efficiency to move air) capability, as well as a lower acoustic output impedance—which means they also lose less bass in leaky environments. Because of this, they're often correlated to a sense of bass euphony and weight, though this isn't necessarily always true of any dynamic driver implementation. The main downside of dynamic drivers is that they're generally larger than Balanced Armatures, and thus its hard to have more than 2 or 3 of them in a single IEM at a time. However, hybrid (Dynamic Driver + Balanced Armature) setups are rather common, usually having one or two Dynamic Drivers used for bass and the rest of the Balanced Armatures producing midrange and treble.

    Electrostatic Driver - Occasionally electrostatic drivers are used in IEMs, but they're generally reserved only for high frequencies, leaving the rest of the frequency range up to BA or dynamic drivers. Many claim these drivers provide an enhanced sense of detail, but this hasn't been tested to allow for any real conclusions to be drawn about their quality, comparatively. The major downside to Electrostatic drivers is that they can be quite a bit less sensitive than the other driver types, thus requiring more output power from amplifiers to drive sufficiently.

    Planar Magnetic Driver - Recently, Planar Magnetic drivers have become more commonly used in IEMs thanks to the popularity of IEMs like the 7Hz Timeless. Planar Magnetic drivers share a trait with dynamic drivers, in that they are much more leak tolerant than Balanced Armatures. However, planar magnetic drivers used for bass tend to be quite large, such that they almost always prohibit the ability of using other drivers to shape the sound. Another downside they have is that they usually require front damping—placing a non-acoustically transparent material between driver and ear—to avoid significant treble resonances/colorations.

    Piezoelectric/Bone Conduction Driver - The least common driver type, Bone Conduction drivers purport to physically transmit sound energy through skin/bone contact, instead of transmitting sound through air. They differ significantly in their design, and are often met with skepticism regarding how efficient or noticeable their contributions to the sound profile of IEMs they inhabit are. Some designs can result in a "rattle" or a "sproing" sound when the IEM is handled, but this shouldn't be seen as an operational error. Some say they offer a unique sense of tactility and "feel" to the sound that has to be heard to be believed, ultimately it's up to the listener to decide how real/important this effect will be for them.

    All of the above driver types have their own benefits and detriments, but whether or not any of these drivers is right for you is more likely down to your preferred tonal response and what kind of presentation you prefer.

    Amps, DACs & Sources

    Headphone Amplifiers

    A headphone amplifier is simply a miniature power amplifier specifically designed to drive the tiny speakers inside headphones. Headphone amps are most useful with certain power-hungry high-impedance audiophile headphones that can benefit from the improved clean power of a dedicated amp. A headphone amp can improve detail resolution and dynamic range extension and maximize overall musical clarity.

    Because headphones are often used with portable devices, some headphone amps are battery-powered for use on the go. 

    Some headphone amps also include built-in digital to analog converters (DACs) with a USB or optical port to connect directly with a laptop, PC or tablet, as well as optical and coaxial connections for compatibility with other digital audio sources.

    Read more about headphone amplifiers here.

    Digital to Analogue Converters (DAC)

    Every common device that you connect a headphone to (laptop, tablet, phone), will have a DAC in it. This is what's used to convert the digital signal your device is sending, to the analog signal the amplifier receives (and eventually your headphones or speakers).

    There are many different types of DAC chips that get implemented in various devices, but the problem with conventional devices is that the DAC unit is integrated with the rest of the system, and not isolated on its own.

    Read more about DACs here.

    Measurements & Frequency Response

    When doing research on which headphones to buy, you'll inevitably come across frequency response measurements of some kind. When approaching these measurements, it's important to have some understanding of what they mean.

    Learn about measurements and frequency response here.

    Learn about source equipment measurements here.

      How Does Frequency Response Impact Sound Signature?

      In order to get an idea of the headphones you're most likely to enjoy, it's important to also understand how different frequency response ranges impact sound signature. That way when you see a frequency response graph, you'll know how deviations from a given target are going to impact the music that you listen to.

      Learn how frequency response impacts sound signature here.

      Now that we've covered the basics, some of you may want to go more in-depth and learn more about headphones. More information and topics will be added here over time, so continue to check back for links to additional information as it gets published. In the meantime, you'll find additional information in The HEADPHONE Community Forum. This is a great place to ask questions if you're looking for anything specific.

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