Buying headphones

Last updated: March 29, 2009.

You can tell what a new pair of jeans will look like without even pulling them on. But how on Earth can you tell what a pair of headphones is going to sound like without listening to them first? Buying headphones involves a certain amount of guesswork and good luck, but follow these simple tips and there's a chance you won't go too far wrong.

Photo: An inexpensive pair of earbuds designed to look like the ones that come with an Apple iPod. Whether they sound as good is a matter of opinion.

Try before you buy, if you possibly can

Sounds obvious? It's harder than you think. If you're buying blind online, you have no easy way to try before you buy. Inexpensive earbud headphones usually come heat-sealed in tough plastic that you need a crowbar to open, so even if you can try your new phones, there's no way you can return them if you don't like them. That's why it's best to buy headphones from a hi-fi shop if you possibly can. Quite often they have a few different demonstration pairs you can test out. There's nothing to stop you testing headphones in a shop and buying online later if you can get a better deal that way. An alternative is to ask a few of your friends what they use and listen to their headphones. Aim to try at least three or four different pairs.

Listen to your own music and your own equipment

This is a vital point. The sounds you hear are generated by some sort of stereo equipment and then played through the headphones into your ear. Both the equipment itself and the headphones will change the quality of the sound, so if you're trying to compare headphones make sure you use the same stereo equipment in each case—and listen to some very familiar music. If you're trying expensive headphones in a hi-fi shop, take in your own equipment for the test—even a portable CD player or MP3 player is better than nothing. Note that the quality of MP3 tracks is always poorer than that of the same tracks played from a CD (because MP3 is a highly compressed digital format). In other words, a pair of headphones will sound worse with an iPod or MP3 player than with a CD player, even when they're playing the same track.

Photo: Test headphones with a CD player if you can—they'll sound better than they do with an MP3 player.

Which is better: big headphones or small earbuds?

With loudspeakers, the general rule is that bigger sounds better. One reason for this is that bigger speakers are usually more expensive and made to a higher quality than smaller ones. The same is true of headphones and earbuds: big headphones that sit over your ears usually sound better than small earbuds—that's why DJs wear "cans" (big phones) that cover their ears. Having said that, there are high-quality, very expensive earbuds just as there are high-quality headphones. If you want some phones for listening mainly on the move (or for listening to a portable stereo or MP3 player at home), earbuds are generally the best bet; bigger headphones are usually better for "audiophiles" who want to listen to music or TV without disturbing (or being disturbed by) other people.

Do you need open or closed headphones?

You'll often see headphones described as "open-backed" (sometimes called "open-air) or "closed-backed". Open-backed phones have vents in the back of the case (facing away from your ear) to let air move in and out; closed-backed phones are completely sealed. Generally, open-backed phones sound better than closed-back ones, because open-backs allow sound to move more freely and with less distortion inside. If you're buying phones for private home listening in a room where other people will be chattering away or listening to the TV, you may prefer a closed-backed pair. Similarly, if you intend to use your phones on a train, bus, or plane, closed-backed headphones will reduce the background noise you hear and the disturbance you cause to other people—although noise-cancelling headphones are generally better for travel use.

Photo: Open-backed Sennheiser HD-485s. Listen to a pair of these at high volume and everyone in the same room will share the experience, whether they want to or not. Although these are open headphones, the rigid plastic top piece and foam padding round the earphones clamp them fairly firmly to your head, so you don't hear too much sound from the room you're in; they feel a bit like a cross between open and closed headphones. I use mine with a CD player and an iPod.

Normal or noise-cancelling headphones?

If you're listening to headphones in a noisy place (on a plane or in a noisy home), background sounds can seriously reduce the quality of the experience. Noise-cancelling phones can be a big help and they come in two main kinds. Passive noise reduction phones (like Etymotic earbuds) have earpieces that make a seal with your ear canal, preventing unwanted sound from getting in. Active noise reduction phones (such as Bose QuietComfort) have a little microphone on the outer case. The microphone samples the background noise and an electronic circuit inside the phones automatically compensates for it (read more in our article on how noise-cancelling headphones work). Passive noise cancelling phones are very low-tech and very effective; active noise cancelling phones can be more comfortable to wear, but generally need their own battery power (so you have an added, ongoing cost if you're going to use them regularly). If you're listening in a quiet place at home, there's no real reason to buy noise-cancelling headphones: they tend to be much more expensive and, for the same price as a pair of noise-cancelling phones, you could probably get a much higher quality pair of normal phones.

Photo: Noise-cancelling Etymotic earbud headphones. The rubber caps at the end make a tight seal inside your ears and stop stray sound escaping. The sound quality is far superior to that from normal earbuds. These particular earbuds come with two different kinds of earplugs: the washable caps you see here and some disposable foam ends that are comfortable to wear but need replacing every so often.

What sized jack plugs do headphones have?

Earbuds designed for portable music players generally have small jack plugs (usually 3.5 mm or 1/8"), while bigger headphones made for professional or good-quality home stereo equipment have plugs about twice the size (typically 6.3mm or 1/4"). If you buy cheap earbuds, you won't be able to use them on a big stereo or TV unless you buy an adapter to go with them (those are relatively easy to find online or in hi-fi stores—just type "3.5 mm to 6.3mm headphone adapter" into Google). Conversely, however, most decent audio headphones with 6.3mm plugs come ready-supplied with 3.5mm adapters so you can use them on smaller equipment too. Wikipedia has a good article explaining all about the different audio jack plugs).

Photo: This audio adapter converts a pair of headphones with a 3.5mm jack plug so you can use them on audio equipment with a 6.3mm socket.

Why build quality matters

I must have owned more than a dozen pairs of earbuds and headphones and there's one thing I've noticed: when they fail, it's almost invariably at the point where the main cable meets the jack plug (and, occasionally, where the cable meets one headphone/earbud or the other). If I were cynical, I might even suggest that headphone makers deliberately engineer their products to fail by using poor-quality cables and connections. You can always tell a good pair of headphones: the makers will have devoted some time to making sure the connections are robust enough to cope with constant flexing of the cable. Though you can't easily detect headphones and earbuds with poor connectors, you can spot well-engineered connections. Look out for makers who draw attention to any efforts they've made to make their cables more durable. If your headphone cable does fail, and you know how to use a soldering iron, it's relatively easy to fit a new jack plug—you can double the life of your phones with about 10 minutes' work; repairing headphone cables at the other (earphone) end is much more tricky and often not worth the effort. Hi-fi shops can sometimes also do repairs for you. (See our article on how to repair headphones for more details.)

Photo: Headphones usually fail when the cables break after being jiggled back and forth too many times. You won't be able to see the broken cable: it'll be trapped inside the plastic insulation. Cables typically fail at the ends, where they feed into the jack plug or (more rarely) where they join the headphones. Good-quality phones have sturdy cables and some form of reinforcement at the ends. Left: This flexible protector on the bottom of a pair of Sennheiser phones is designed to wobble back and forth, reducing the likelihood that the cable will break. Right: A flexible protector on the jack plug of a cheaper pair of Sony earbuds does the same job at the opposite end.

In my view, coiled cables are a mixed bag. On the positive side, they save you having to keep wrapping up your headphone cable. On the negative side, coiled cables are virtually always stretched open and that constant tension puts added strain on the weakest points of the cable, where they meet the jack plug and the two headphones. Generally, I prefer to use an uncoiled cable and an extension lead.

Photo: Sick of broken headphone cables? Here's the ultimate solution: buy a pair of quality headphones with a detachable (and replaceable) cable. You can unplug the cable from the headphone end as well as from the other end. If your cable fails, you simply unplug it and buy a replacement! These are the Sennheiser HD-485s again.

You get what you pay for

As we all know, this most basic rule of buying things often doesn't hold true—but it's generally true of headphones and earbuds. If you study the wide range of phones offered by a decent manufacturer like Sennheiser, you'll notice a distinct correlation between quality and price: the low-end phones are good, basic, and relatively inexpensive; the high-end phones are recording-studio quality and cost many times more. At the time I'm writing this, a British store called Woolworths is selling cheap earbuds that look virtually identical to iPod earbuds and costing just 99p (less than $2). Genuine iPod earbuds cost about 15 times more. Which is better? It's a personal preference. While there may not be a 15-fold increase in sound quality, the genuine iPod earbuds sound far better to my ears. Having said that...

You can usually do better than "default"

Portable music players generally come with their own "default" headphones, but listening is an inherently personal experience and there's no reason why you have to stick with what you're given. Try some other phones and you might be surprised how much better your equipment suddenly sounds. Shortly after buying an iPod, I switched over to using some expensive Etymotic headphones (which cost almost as much as the iPod)—and they made a huge difference to the sound quality. But remember that MP3 players are inherently limited in audio quality by the compressed files they're playing. If you want to hear better quality sounds, go back to your CD player... or even vinyl LP records!

Confused? It's simple really!

In summary, then:

• Using only a portable player, often on the move? Go for earbuds.
• Using only high-quality home equipment? Go for bigger headphones.
• Listening mainly on the commute to work? Choose noise-cancelling phones. For safety reasons, don't under circumstances use them on a bicycle, skateboard, or while driving a car—you won't hear things around you.
• Listening at home with other noises you want to block out? Choose closed-backed or noise-cancelling headphones.
• Listening to high-quality audio in a quiet home? Choose open-backed headphones.
• Spend as much as you can on your phones because more expensive ones are almost always better than cheaper ones. If it's a choice between expensive ordinary phones and noise-cancelling phones at the same price, the ordinary phones are almost certainly going to give you better sound.
• Try headphones before you buy if you possibly can.
• If the cable gives out on your favorite phones, see if you can get a new jack plug fitted. If you can't do it yourself, ask your local hi-fi shop. It'll cost you a fraction as much as a new pair.
• Once you find a good brand, stick with it. I've bought Sennheiser and Etymotic for years, for example, and I'll keep doing so.