1. Set requirements for headphones

There are three factors to consider when choosing earphones: sound quality, lightness, and price, and the specific choice of earphones depends on which factors users pay most attention to.

Good sound quality earphones often cost thousands of yuan, in order to create a strong sound and must have a certain “shape”.

Wireless headphones that are as light as a feather often struggle to deliver rich sound quality. If you look at the most pocket-conscious models, you have to sacrifice sound effects.

2. Understand the main earphone styles

The earphone cover has open mode and closed, the former does not have an external cover to cover the speaker.

That is to say, the person around can hear you are playing music, the sound quality of this kind of earphone belongs to higher class commonly, but suit to be in the home only or the illicit close space of one person is used, lest disturbing others.

Most headsets these days fall into the latter category, with both earmuffs having an external ear cover to seal off the speakers.

The headset is divided into three categories according to its size and mode of wearing. Over-ear headphones cover the whole ear and are large enough to fit into a larger drive unit, providing thicker music.

The other, on-ear, is attached to the ear and is relatively small, but sacrifices sound insulation, sound quality, and comfort. The last one is the in-ear headphones, which are also small earbuds. The biggest feature of this type of headset is its portability.

Because of the small size of its drive unit, it is often unable to output rich sound quality similar to other types of headphones. The embedded headphones are not meant to be worn for long.

For a better music experience, some models need to go deep into the ear canal, with less comfort. 

The earphones are also wired and wireless. The general indicator is better sound quality and longer battery life.

Wireless headsets are simpler and more wearable by connecting to phones and other play devices via Bluetooth, but they tend to cost more.

Thanks to improvements in wireless transmission technology, the sound quality of wireless headphones are now smaller than that of premium wired headphones.

3. Determine the purpose of the headset

For the vast majority of people, the headset is not just used to listen to music appliances, in different situations, the specific requirements are different.

If it is used in the office, it must be comfortable enough to let users wear the headset for a long time while listening to music while working. It should also have excellent active noise canceling performance, eliminate the sound around and others talking, let people focus on work.

The headsets you should choose when commuting to work or traveling on a passenger plane are similar to those in your office, but good noise-canceling technology is even more critical in noisy airplane cabins.

Bose’s QC noise-canceling headphones are not cheap, but they are popular with white-collar workers. Sony’s WH-1000X, which it launched last year, also did well. 

Light and firmness are most important when used for exercise. To avoid the loss of the headphone during intense action, users generally choose the embedded headphone that is closer to the ear canal.

Due to outdoor use and weather considerations, the headset is best equipped with dustproof, sweat-proof, and rainproof functions. Many of today’s sporty headsets are available via a mobile app, with a virtual trainer that will give you instructions to help you improve your fitness.

Jabra’s Sports Coach Wireless connects to the phone wirelessly via Bluetooth to customize the sport plan according to the target set by the user.

Another type of completely wire-free earplug is the embedded earplug design used by Jaybird’s Run True Wireless Sport and Samsung’s Gear IconX.

They feature the lightest headphones on the market, free of cable entanglements, but are short on battery life and require frequent recharging.

Video game headsets depend on different factors. The most natural and crisp sound quality is not a prerequisite for this kind of headset.

The player pays most attention to sound imaging, which is to convey the exact location of the sound source and sound details.

Players can tell where an opponent or teammate is from by the source of the gunfire and footsteps and react.

Users also pay attention to the strong bass that enhances explosive and gun sound, and clear microphones with noise cancellation also help teammates communicate with each other.

Razer’s video headset Tiamat is fitted with five separate speakers on each side of the headset, and 10 speakers make an immersive 7.1 channel surround sound to help the user hear the positioning.

4. Audio-comparison

When the budget is made and the main purpose and function requirements of the headset are determined, the scope should be greatly reduced and several models locked.

What you can do now is to visit hi-fi websites and tech play media, and read reviews and comments about these headphones to learn about their strengths and weaknesses.

An even more important step is to go to the store and try out the headphones. As a matter of fact, music appreciation is largely a subjective experience.

Everyone’s favorite sound quality is different. Don’t be preconceived by the information you read before. Cheap headphones don’t necessarily output your favorite sound quality.

Remember, the best headphones will never come out in real life, and you can only find the ones that work best for you based on demand and price.