Headphones buying guide

Posted on 10 Dec 2009 at 15:54

 

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Find out all you need to know about choosing the right pair of headphones.

Recommended specs:

Plug Type: 3.5mm stereo jack plug

Cable length: 80cm

In-Line volume: No

Active noise cancelling: No

Follow the steps to find your ideal specs

• When choosing a pair of headphones or earphones, comfort is a key consideration. Headphones - the kind that rest over your ears - can be hot and sweaty to wear. Earplug-style earphones fit inside your ear canal, which can feel odd at first. The most common type is earbuds, which sit in your ear just outside the canal.
• If you want to block out ambient noise, you should get either active noise-cancelling or passive sound-isolating headphones. Sound-isolating headphones block out sound with expanding foam tips that you insert in your ear canal, while noise cancellation headphones create an inverse sound wave that cuts out low-frequency background noise such as engines or air conditioners.
• If you're serious about music, you'll probably want to pay a little more for a set of high-end headphones. Unfortunately, neither price nor specifications will tell you much about their quality, so check our reviews first. Some specialist retailers will let you try out a variety of different sets before you buy, and this is the only way to make sure earbuds and plugs are the right size for your ears, or that a particular set of headphones sits comfortably and securely on your head. Remember to take an MP3 player with some tracks that you know well
.
• USB headphones designed for gamers have a built-in sound card. They're a useful alternative to mediocre onboard sound but don't work without a PC. Wireless versions are useful if you don't want to get tangled in cables.
• If you want headphones to use with your home cinema system, several companies make surround sound sets with multiple speakers and hardware decoders. Other headphones advertised as surround sound actually use software to create virtual surround sound. This can be effective, but you can buy the same software separately for less and use it with any standard set of headphones.

Sponsored link

Check out the noise cancelling headphones at Lindy.co.uk. They're great if you're going on a long journey and aren't as expensive as some of the more well-known brands.

Author: Expert Reviews Staff