In preparation for some upcoming headphone reviews, I’ve decided to put together this little guide on what is what in headphone land for our readers who might not be versed in the lingo.

Lets start by discussing the different form factors that headphones come in:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ear-Bud 

I’m starting with this one because the headphones that come with iPods are of the Ear-Bud variety. These little guys nestle in the outer part of your ear and do not seal or go into the ear canal. There are a couple notable mentions, but for the most part if you are going for high sound quality, it’s best to leave these behind.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ear Canal Headphone(ECH)/ In-Ear-Monitor(IEM) 

These are similar in appearance to Ear-Buds, but work in a completely different manner. These headphones work by going into your ear, and sealing against the walls of your ear canal. I know, it sounds gross and uncomfortable. They aren’t as uncomfortable as it might sound (albeit it takes a bit of getting used to) and these headphones can be capable of some serious audiophile sound. Because these headphones seal within your ear, they block out a tremendous amount of sound. This allows you to better hear the music even when you are in noisy environments. For a long time, the primary use of these types of headphones were to allow musicians on stage to hear themselves. Consequently, they were long known as IEMs or In-Ear-Monitors. Now days the consumer market has caught on, and so has a new name, the Ear Canal Headphone (aka canal-phone).
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Earpad/On Ear headphones

These are what most people consider “normal” headphones. They have a band that goes over or behind your head, and the headphone pads rest directly on the ears. In this catagory there are two sub-catagories. Open or Closed (aka ’sealed’). Scroll down to read about the difference between the two.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Full Sized/Over-ear headphones

These are what most people thing of when they think “big” headphones. Like On-Ear headphones, they have a band that goes over your head, but in this case the headphone pads rest on your head surrounding your ear. Like On-ear headphones they come in both Open and Closed varieties.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Clip-on headphones

These headphones employ a little clip to hold the headphones to your ears. They come in both ear-bud-ish, and earpad types. These headphones are great for sporting activities.

So, I said I’d talk about Open versus Sealed so here it goes:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Open headphones

Open headphones are sort of what they sound like. The speaker is sort of just sitting on your ear in the open. Note the picture above, the headphone has a grill on the outside, so essentially the speaker in the headphone is just sitting in the open. This allows the speaker to move freely without resistance. Also note the earpads, they are not designed to seal against your head. The benefit of open headphones is that they sound great. Dollar for dollar, if you compare a Closed headphone to an Open one, the Open one will almost always sound better. Also, since they don’t need to seal against your head, the headband tends to be looser, and they are more comfortable to wear. The downside is that they let sound in and out. To really enjoy them, you should be in a quite environment, because the headphones won’t block out any sound. In addition, they let a lot of sound out so they aren’t always the best for public places since they make a lot of noise (imagine if you took your headphones and flipped the speakers so they pointed out instead of in, that’s pretty much what’s happening). But if sound quality is your goal, Open designs are generally the way to go.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Closed headphones

Closed headphones are the opposite of Open headphones. The pad on the headphone is usually made of some sort of leather-ish material to aid in sealing against your head. In addition, the speaker in the headphone is placed in a sealed enclosure. The benefit of closed headphones is that they block out sound, and they don’t leak much sound. This makes them ideal for noisy environments, or places where you don’t want to disturb others. The downside is that in order to get good sounding closed headphones, you need to put down some money. They can also sometimes be uncomfortable for extended listening since they tend to “clamp” onto your skull, and the lack of air flow can make your ears hot and sweaty. Many high end models were intended for use in recording studios where it is important that the headphones don’t leak sound.

And there you have it. Stay tuned for some upcoming headphone reviews.

Filed under: Gadgets | Technology, Home Audio, Portable Audio, Reviews | Guides — Santi @ 9:20 am