Choosing high-quality sound: which headphones do you need?
Choosing high-quality sound: which headphones do you need?
Sound quality also depends on the source (player, smartphone, tablet) and the headphones. You cannot achieve a good result by focusing on one link in the chain and forgetting about another. The absence of external noise significantly improves perception, so choose headphones with the highest degree of passive noise isolation. The best option in this case are earplugs. Much also depends on the quality of the recordings. MP3 in this situation is not the best option. A truly natural sound is only possible with uncompressed (WAV) or lossless compressed (APE, FLAC) audio files. It is important that the device you choose supports these formats.
Which player do you prefer?
Typical models, the size of a cigarette lighter and generally costing little money, can provide very good sound, by music lover’s standards without audiophile requests, if you use high-quality headphones and encode music files in formats no loss like FLAC or APE. Of course, the player must be compatible with such recordings.
One step higher are pocket media players. Their sound path is usually of better quality. Firstly, by the use of a more powerful amplifier capable of offering a fairly dynamic sound with clearly articulated bass. True, the owner receives support for video files, a calendar, and a host of other, often useless, functions on upload.
The best sound is provided by a set of a portable “audiophile” player mounted on a discrete element base and headphones of a comparable class. In terms of sound quality and power, these instruments come close to stationary home equipment. Another thing is that the “pocket” of the tandem will be very conditional, and the price can become a serious obstacle.
Specialized audio player or smartphone?
Choosing high-quality sound: which headphones do you need? rice-2
It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, as there are quite musically sensitive smartphones for sale, as well as very mediocre players. An average modern smartphone, it is comparable in sound quality and power output with a budget discreet player on average, in rare cases, with a middle-class multi-format player. Smartphones cannot compete with specialized audio players.
An additional advantage of a separate music device is its energy independence (the player can be downloaded, but will not go offline), and the disadvantage is the risk of missing an important call.
What headphones to choose?
The most convenient option to carry and transport are in-ear headphones called “earplugs.” They also have the highest efficiency and the best passive noise isolation. The price is also nice: for an acceptable sum, you can easily get high-quality sound. It makes sense to choose a different type of headphones only when plug-in headphones don’t suit you for some reason.
The optimal electrical impedance for portable headphones is in the range of 16 to 32 ohms and the sensitivity is 105 to 110 dB / mW. Both are listed on the back of the box or on the manufacturer’s website. The higher the resistance and / or lower the sensitivity, the higher the requirements for the signal source (player, smartphone). In this case, the power of a standard device may not be enough.
Headphones with an active noise cancellation system are significantly more expensive than conventional ones (and at the same price they sound worse than analog ones without electronic filling), but they are effective only when the noise is monotonous. Such models are more suitable for air travel.
Much depends on the device you are using and under what conditions you intend to listen to music. The best and most versatile solution is in-ear headphones with silicone seals. Due to their low impedance (usually up to 24 ohms) and high sensitivity (over 110 dB), they are a fairly light load for any device, allowing you to get the required sound pressure without distortion. In addition, it is these headphones that provide the most effective passive sound isolation and are pocket-friendly.
