Intra-aural – In-ear headphones
Let’s cut straight to the chase and stay “in-ear”. With this design, we’re actually dealing far more with earphones than with traditional headphones, since part of the unit sits inside the outer ear. Typically, the ear tips have a hemispherical or conical shape and are made from a soft material. Many manufacturers now include a selection of different ear tips, so that at least a basic custom fit is possible. If this doesn’t result in a comfortable wearing experience, you can also have a so-called custom ear mold made by a hearing care professional. This involves taking an impression of your ear canal and a small part of the outer ear, then shaping a custom ear tip. The process is usually quick and completely painless. You can then fit a wide range of standard in-ear headphones into the custom mold. You can ask your hearing care professional whether your preferred model is compatible. This custom solution costs just over €100, excluding the headphones themselves. How long the perfect fit lasts depends on two factors, and only one of them is in your control. For one thing, you should handle the ear molds carefully and clean them regularly; for another, your ears change over time, so adjustments may be needed after a few years. How well the combination works with a high-end model like the Sennheiser IE 800 works, you can here read more about it.
In-ear and High-End: The Sennheiser IE 800
Above all, if you expect reliable performance from your in-ear system even during sports, stability shouldn’t be underrated as a criterion. Manufacturers have come up with clever ideas to improve this. These include over-ear hooks that loop behind the ear, or designs that nestle comfortably in the outer ear after proper fine adjustment—like the B&W C5. When implemented well, these measures not only improve comfort. The cable noise that many in-ear users complain about—an unwelcome accompaniment to your favorite music even during normal movement—is significantly reduced when it reaches your ear, since the direct connection is broken. An additional shirt clip works on the same principle and can help eliminate unwanted noise.
Whether you opt for the standard version or the premium model: Stay alert. The better the earpiece fits in your ear, the more likely you are to be cut off acoustically from your surroundings. To avoid nasty surprises while crossing the road, you shouldn’t lose yourself in your music—even if it’s hard to do ;) The same goes for volume. Sound waves are directed straight at the nearby eardrum in a sealed space. On the plus side, this means you can enjoy rich, full bass reproduction. But at extreme volumes, which can easily exceed 100 dB, you run the risk of permanently damaging your hearing. A properly fitting earpiece not only feels comfortable, it also makes such extreme volume levels unnecessary thanks to its excellent sound isolation.
Supra-aural and circum-aural – Headphones
The alternative to these small sound producers is often large and bulky, and at first glance you’d bet against them lasting a long time being tossed into backpacks or handbags. On-ear and over-ear headphones contradict exactly the assumptions people make about mobile headphones in many ways, so until recently they were rightly the exception on the streets. As headphones have been rediscovered as a fashion accessory in recent years, there’s been a complete 180-degree shift, to the point where people wearing standard in-ear models can sometimes even feel a little “out of style”. Alongside lots of cheap junk that’s closer to a hair tie than a headphone, there are also products that mean business and have their own unique advantages thanks to their design.
First, let’s clarify a few terms. The so-called on-ear headphones rest on the outer ear, as the name suggests, and cover it at least partially. Then there are over-ear models, which completely enclose the ears. This lets the entire ear be covered, allowing the ear’s natural filtering function to work better. Both variants can be designed as either “open-back” or “closed-back” systems. In the first case, the material and design are chosen so that sound can escape not just into the ear, but also outwards. Open-back systems have advantages in terms of transparency, impulse accuracy, and spatial sound quality, and offer better heat dissipation. Anyone who’s used closed-back headphones will appreciate this feature especially during long listening sessions. Unfortunately, the flip side is obvious: where sound and air can escape outwards, they can also seep inwards, so you’ll always hear a hint of ambient noise in the subway tunnel.
This is where closed-back headphones, which provide far better sound isolation, have their big advantage. Additionally, the bass response is often more prominent with this design, although the openness and naturalness of the sound quality suffer in direct comparison. Whether this is even a downside depends not least on your personal (music) taste. A classical music lover will certainly have different preferences than someone who loves electronic dance music. Of course, some people want the best of both worlds, which is where “semi-open” headphones come in. They aim to combine the strengths of both designs, and this works well without lazy compromises, as proven by the classic DT 880 von Beyerdynamic proves.
Semi-open Classic: The DT 880 by Beyerdynamic
Poor sound is no longer an argument against the “big brothers” of headphones, and when it comes to portability and durability, you’re not at a disadvantage either. Of course, you can do the most to enjoy your portable audio companion for a long time with a little care, regardless of the model. On the other hand, models like the M500from heritage manufacturer KEF, with modern materials, cleverly placed hinges, and a matching carrying case, make over-ear headphones a viable option for on-the-go use.
What’s inside? – Transducers
First, a quick detour into the world of technology, since there are important differences here. Headphones, along with speakers and microphones (which work in reverse), belong to the group of transducers. In practice, there are several different ways to implement the sound conversion process. We’ll focus primarily on the types used in mobile headphones. The most common method is certainly the dynamic transducer principle. A ring or voice coil is attached to the diaphragm, and this moves back and forth in the narrow gap of a permanent magnet mounted on the headphone frame. The music information in the form of electrical voltage changes the magnetic field, the voice coil moves, and the resulting diaphragm vibration finally excites the air. This principle offers high sound quality, mechanical reliability, and cost-effective production.
So-called balanced armature transducers, or BA transducers for short, work similarly, and are a popular alternative to dynamic transducers in in-ear headphones. The diaphragm is attached to a magnetic armature, which is movably mounted and balanced centrally in the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. During music playback, changes to the magnetic field also cause the diaphragm to deflect. The mid and high frequencies can be reproduced very accurately with this type of transducer, and thanks to their small size, it’s possible to fit separate drivers for different frequency ranges in a single in-ear headphone. This “division of labor” is a proven principle from the world of speakers. For satisfying reproduction across all frequency ranges, combining multiple balanced armature transducers and possibly adding a dynamic driver tuned specifically for low frequencies is a good option, since the BA concept shows its weaknesses most clearly in the lower end of the frequency spectrum.
We should also mention electrostatic transducers. They reproduce a frequency range far beyond what the human ear can hear, and are known for high impulse accuracy, excellent resolution, and spatial sound quality. Unfortunately, electrostatic drivers are also more mechanically fragile, require a high constant operating voltage, and drive up the cost. This isn’t practical for mobile use, so we’re only mentioning it for the sake of completeness.
Conclusion
Let’s recap. You could just use the headphones that came with your smartphone headset. You could buy a cheap on-ear headphone if color is the deciding factor. For anyone who chooses a headphone primarily for sound quality and comfort, there’s a compelling range of products across all design types and price points. That these standards can also align with desires for great design and color accents is shown not just by the models we’ve already covered, but also by the Sennheiser Momentum or the Radio Silenzfrom Tivoli Audio.
We’d be happy to give you comprehensive advice!
0 comments