Surround Headphones

Let’s face it, most headphones have terrible bass response. You can buy super bass headphones as advertised on the packaging and get lukewarm bass at best. Those of us who love bass want headphones that can vibrate your face when playing. What kind of headphones do that? Many headsets that are designed for DJ use have great bass. As we all know, professional disk jockeys want serious bass just like their speaker systems produce. When it comes to headphones, there are two ways to serious bass, go large or go tiny. Surprisingly, tiny earbud headphones can have terrific bass. The weird thing about them is that nobody hears a thing and to you, the bass is rattling your brain.

Really tiny earbud bass headphones work by doing two things. The first thing they do is isolate external noises. The part of the device that fits in your ear canal is made up of a special cellular foam which is very sound absorbent and springy so it molds precisely to the inside of your ear. This airtight seal assures that the tiny vibrations produced by these earbuds is heard by your ears as very loud sound. Because of the geometry and proximity to your ear, not much movement is needed from the diaphragm of the drivers to produce this loud volume. As a result, the sound is not distorted as it might be with traditional speakers. Please keep in mind that since you also won’t be able to hear yourself speaking with these, you will most definitely be yelling if someone asks you a question.

On the other side of the spectrum are the very large bass headphones. These headphones take the opposite approach and go large. Typically, they fit over the ears and seal out noise by covering and isolating the whole ear. The diaphragms of these headsets are very large. They produce heavy bass without even breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, they are not subtle. Wearing them to work is a but problematic, especially if you are trying to fit in. They stick out like a sore thumb and are also heavy so your ears might get a little tired after a while because of the cups pressing on the side of your head all day long.

If you do any gaming on your PC, surround sound headphones are a worthy investment.    Most gamers make do with a two speaker rig. Let me tell you what you are missing. If you have a good set of headphones that have surround sound, your enemy is in real trouble. You will be able to hear them coming from a mile away and you’ll know exactly where they are coming from. These headphones are not for everybody as they can be a bit bulky and heavy, especially the ones with all the electronics in the headsets themselves. The effect is so uncanny, don’t be surprised if the other players accuse you of cheating. Is it cheating to be using every available technology advance to our advantage? I certainly don’t think so and neither should you.

I guess that some of you will want at least some technical details of typical surround sound headphones. There are some models out there that actually have discrete drivers for all the components of a full surround system. For those of you who are unfamiliar with surround technology, there is a middle front speaker called the center speaker for dialog. Moving side to side are the front speakers which output the normal stereo sound that we are accustomed to hearing. Then we have two rear speakers for the surround sound and finally a dedicated subwoofer for the lowest bass sounds.

In some newer model headphones, all those speakers are actually present inside those large ear cups. If you take the cover off the headphones, you will see a center driver, a front driver, a surround driver and a sub driver. All these drivers are spaced apart so you get enough of a separation of sound to mimic the sound coming from a home theater loudspeaker system. Do these surround sound headphones work? Yes, according to reviews they are very popular because they actually work very well. They are pretty heavy, though. To round out the package, most headphones come with a multi-channel usb audio adapter. This adapter plugs into your usb port and drives all the channels of the surround headset.

As anyone who has ever worn a set of headphones can tell you, the effect of listening to sound seemingly coming from the center of your head is not nearly as good as listening to music coming from two high quality loudspeakers. The fact that the left and right ears are so effectively separated from each other makes for a very artificial sound stage. The sense of depth you get from a good pair of speakers is completely absent. Enter surround headphones to the rescue.

Built into the headphones are amplifiers and sound processors. These sound processors recreate the missing cues that give the ears a sense of space. If they do their job properly, you are surrounded by sound. Also if you like watching movies but don’t want to disturb your neighbors at 3:00AM or your significant other, then surround headphones are for you. Movies sound pretty awesome as you can hear things coming at you from all directions. I have actually ducked when watching an action movie with these headphones on. With the right movie, you’ll be hopping all about the place, in a good way.

You might wonder how much these things cost? There are inexpensive units that work pretty well. You can also go crazy and spend hundreds of dollars. You really need to get out there with your favorite movie and go sample them live at your nearest retail store. The more expensive units come with outboard Dolby decoder boxes and coaxial/digital inputs. These decoders will do an admirable job of decoding the Dolby surround and mixing it into two channels for the headset that comes with the decoder. The cheaper units have everything built into the headphones. Unfortunately, these units tend to be quite heavy. Some of you may not like the extra weight that these headphones carry due to the electronics on board. Extended sessions can become quite uncomfortable if you are sensitive to that kind of thing. Again, as I stated before, try them out at a retail store before committing to a purchase. At any rate, whichever surround headphones you get, you will be astounded at the difference between them and ordinary headphones.

I have a portable mp3 player, so do I need amplified headphones? There are many applications where you need some help from an amplifier. The new mp3 players, especially ones that run on one AAA battery don’t have a whole lot of output power to drive headphones. Typically, they get out of this dilemma by including very high efficiency headsets. These often sound really bad, mostly because high frequencies which make the sound more tinny require less power to reproduce. These mp3 players are totally incapable of driving a good set of headphones with decent bass response to any acceptable volume levels. If you buy an external battery powered amplifier or a pair of headphones with the amplifier built into them, you have much more flexibility. See, when you put an amplifier in the loop, you do more than just raise the volume, you bring back the missing bass.

What other situations might call for amplified headphones? Well, many computer sound cards have lousy speaker drivers. They have a low current output. They have a lot of distortion at higher volumes, over 10%. This distortion becomes very noticeable unless you are just trying to drown out the noise of a passing train. Maybe a coworker is the passing train that you are trying to drown out. Whatever the case, having an amplifier in the loop can result in high sound levels at very low distortion. This also brings to mind another reason for having headsets with amplifiers in them. By having the heavy lifting done by another amplifier, the device you are listening to can play without distortion and you can play the music at very high levels cleanly.

You might be wondering about the extra batteries you’ll be needing. Yes, amplified headphones do need batteries for the amplifiers in them. Fortunately for you, most of these units consume very little power. As a result, a play time of over 100 hours is not unreasonable. If you use it for commuting, an hour a day or so, that’s three months on one set of batteries. That’s not bad at all. I personally am a fan of rechargeable batteries. I usually get two sets so when one set is on the charger, the other set is on the road with me.

Earbuds headphones are headphones the size of an acorn. They have many advantages and disadvantages so you need to think a bit before buying a pair. This type of headset became really popular with the emergence of the Ipod. Apple shipped these units with tiny headphones. Third party earbuds really have some great features. OK, let’s lay out the features and drawbacks so you can see if earbuds are for you. I think I should mention the fact that if you have a cat or small pet in the house, don’t leave the earbuds lying around because they might be eaten!

Let’s start with the advantages. The earbuds are small, light and compact. They go almost anywhere. Some even come with a case that looks like a compact but has a spool so you can turn it and the cord loops around the spool storing the cord without tangles or snags. Another advantage is that some sets have snug fitting foam pieces that are worn in the ear, dampening external noise. This is great as it really cuts down on noise so you don’t have to raise the volume to deafening levels. Earbuds headphones also have good bass response which is surprising considering their small size. All this fun does not come with some drawbacks, however.

What are the drawbacks of these type of headphones? Well for starters, they have to be put in the ear canal. Some people have small ear canals and some large ones. One size does not always fit all. For those who have larger canals, the ill fitting earbuds headphones will sound tinny. The escaping air volume will drain bass response away creating a shrill timbre. Also, some people find anything placed in the ear very uncomfortable. Indeed, there is also a chance of increased ear infections if you don’t clean and/or replace the foam pieces that go inside the ear. When putting the earbuds in your ear, it can take a bit of fiddling to get them in place properly. If you don’t get them in place, there goes the bass response, very annoying indeed.

I work all the time. My wife has the tv on all the time as background noise. I bought her a set of tv headphones and now we’re both happy. The ones I bought were wireless. Usually, your television is located across the room from your bed or couch. This necessitates some kind of wireless device or a really long cord. I chose the wireless option because it is more convenient for me. If you go wireless, you’ll need some rechargeable batteries as they get used up pretty fast. The benefits are the almost nonexistent weight and the lack of a cord for me to trip over in the middle of the night.

OK, so if you break it down, there are two basic types of tv headphones, wireless and wired with a long cord. So what other features do they have that normal headphones don’t have? One feature they have is independent volume and balance controls. This enables you to adjust the volume right on the headset and you can make one side louder than the other. If you have a problem in one ear, using the balance control can allow you to listen to the television normally. Some headphones also allow you to switch to monophonic playback. When you have a television with one audio output, you may need this feature. Virtually all new televisions made today have stereo outputs so expect this feature to disappear eventually.

Wireless tv headphones come in IR versions and RF versions. What do these terms stand for? IR is short for infrared, the same technology that is used in your remote control. The benefit here is no radio waves are emitted, just infrared light. The downside to using this technology is you need a line of sight between the transmitter and receiver. If your headphones are under your pillow, you won’t hear the television. Also, if you walk to another room, to the bathroom, etc., the sound will disappear. RF stands for radio frequency and this type of transmitter works through walls and you should be able to hear your television anywhere in the house.

When someone talks about looking for sound proof headphones, they are probably looking for a set of headphones that block out ambient noise. Ambient noise is just a term for the normal noise in your environment. This noise can include computer fans, noise from your air filter and/or heating and cooling  equipment. It can also include noise from your landscapers, kids, etc. Whatever the source of noise, you want it eliminated so that you can enjoy the sound coming from the headphones without anything added to it.

There are two major types of sound proof headphones. There are active noise cancellation units and passive units. The active noise cancellation headphones use noise canceling technology which requires its own power supply, usually one or two AA batteries. They have a microphone on the outside of the headphones which monitors the noise. This noise is fed to a small amplifier and it creates the exact opposite noise to what is going on outside. This “opposite” noise is fed into the headphones and the net effect is silence. The silence comes because the two sources of noise cancel each other out when they reach your ears. These type of headphones have two major disadvantages, the first being price and the second is the requirement for batteries to power the noise canceling circuitry. Some of them also don’t work all that well. You should try the headphones at the store before buying.

The passive type of sound proof headphones uses sound absorbing technology. This comes in the form of various sound dampening materials to isolate your ears from the outside. The ear cups typically fit all around the ear, surrounding it completely. This method can be very effective. The disadvantages of this approach vary. First, the headphones tend to be heavy. Second, the rubber surround on the ear cups has to fit well, so pressure needs to be applied. This can cause ear fatigue. Another potential problem is that you tend to sweat on the rubber surround. Last, but not least, these headphones are anything but inconspicuous, so if you are a commuter, prepare for some odd looks here and there.

Noise reducing headphones can be a boon to those of us who work in noisy environments. If you have a job that does not involve constant interaction with your fellow employees, a good set of headphones that reduce the outside noise level can really be a lifesaver. I used to listen to classical music at work. I was a software developer. Except for the occasional inane and interminable meeting, we were left to our own devices. As long as our code did what it was supposed to do, we could do pretty much anything we wanted. I chose to listen to the classics as they relaxed me and I noticed that they helped me keep the boredom at bay. My headphones reduced noise through passive noise reduction.

When I say my noise reducing headphones use passive noise reduction I mean that they use sound absorbing materials to dampen outside noise. There are no electronics involved. This means no extra batteries. It also means I look like a member of the space patrol. Yes, I mean that there are two giant black cups on my ears. Not an easy look to carry off, I assure you. Women don’t flock to guys wearing giant black headphones on their heads. That’s just me, your mileage may vary. Another great thing about them is I got what I like to call sweaty ear. Yep, those leather lined cups made my ears sweat after an hour or so. Yes, it is true. You also need to take a break because the fit is a little tight. When I say tight, I mean the cups pressed firmly against your head to maintain a good acoustic seal. This can give you a headache after a while. All these drawbacks aside, I loved those giant headphones because the sound was incredible, the bass astounding, and most of the outside noise was dampened. The noise dampening allowed me to keep the music volume fairly low which probably saved my hearing.

Noise reducing headphones also come in much smaller sizes. I found earbuds that have fairly large cushions. These earbuds are especially designed to mute external sound. They are small, sound great, and are very subtle. The drawback is that they are really picky about placement in the ear for best sound and noise reduction.

One of the most annoying problems when listening to music on headphones is background noise. If you commute to work, this takes many forms, the noise of traffic, the noise of the train, the noise of passengers near you yelling into their cell phones at 6:00AM, you get the idea. At home, this noise can be lawn mowers, crying babies, yelling children, air conditioners, fans, someone else watching television, etc. The sources of noise are pretty much endless. Welcome to the modern world. To address our ever increasingly noisy world, noise cancellation headphones were invented. Now all we have to do is flick a switch on the headphones and suddenly all goes quiet. Now we can listen to our favorite music unaffected by extraneous noises.

That is the theory, the real world does not always follow suit. There are good noise cancellation headphones and bad ones. The bad ones sound terrible and only mute the outside noise a little and eat up batteries. To be successful at canceling noise, everything must be in order. The lower the quality on any one component, the less effective the noise reduction will be. So how do they work? Basically the headset has a small circuit inside it that samples the outside noise. It then creates the exact opposite noise and plays it through the headphones along with the music. The noise from the outside plus the sound injected from the noise canceling circuit will cancel each other out at your ear resulting in music without the noise. How successful this is in practice varies wildly with different headsets. Another point worth mentioning is that high price doesn’t always mean better performance. Some very high priced headphones out there are simply terrible at noise reduction. You really have to put a set on and try them out before buying. This task is best done in a store, not trying out and sending back every headset in a catalog online.

Last, but certainly not least, when evaluating noise cancellation headphones, make note of the estimated battery life. If you aren’t getting at least 20 hours or so on a single set of batteries, you are going to need a lot of batteries. If the best set of headphones is a battery cruncher, though, I guess it’s time to get rechargeable batteries.