The Basics: Headphones

There are as many types of headphones as there are reasons to buy them. Obviously, you can't carry around full-size speakers wherever you go (although some portable boom boxes are as big as a home stereo system), so how can you listen to your portable devices when you are on the move? Headphones! How can you listen to your favorite music as loud as you like without bothering the rest of the family? Headphones! How can you sit in the same room as the kids watching TeleTubbies while you're chilling to Philip Glass? Headphones!

How to Shop

There are many different styles and types of headphones available. The cheap ear-bud styles that come with many portable players are probably the worst sounding option, although even in this style, you can find some sonic winners. Within this category, options abound. There are many band-less styles using just the transducers and a wire that connects them to the player that fit, somewhat insecurely, into the ear. Regular headbands are popular, but there are even styles that wrap around the back of your head, so you can still wear a hat, or protect your hairstyle.

For hi-fi uses, you will want one of the closed-ear styles. The most common speaker design is the dynamic transducer style, but planar-magnetic and electrostatic headphones are available for a higher price and are intended for the real audiophiles.

Wireless headphones are also quite popular, because they don't tie you to one location. Some headphones use radio frequency (RF), allowing you to use thme in another room. Infrared (IR) requires you to be in a straight, clear line with the transmitter. There is even a style of wireless headphones that produce a virtual surround sound from a Dolby Digital source, so your home theater can be wherever you want it to be.

Noise-canceling headphones are a wonderful invention. These headphones prevent unwanted noise from getting to your ears by using small microphones to pick up external noise, then inverting the phase to cancel the unwanted noise. These work well for air travel.

Please be careful with the volumes of any of these--a sound source close to your ear canal has the potential to induce a lot of damage.

Headphones are a very personal purchase. What fits very comfortably on one person can be completely annoying to another. Because the sound is directly related to how the speaker transducer is positioned near your ear, headphones sound different to different people, depending on how they are wearing them. For this reason, if you are purchasing a serious headphone, you'll want to try before you buy. A high-end retailer will have more of a selection of closed-ear models, since these are thought to produce a better sound. However, you might find a good sounding pair of earbuds as well. If you are just looking to replace your workout portable's headphones, then you can probably find something suitable at a discount retailer who won't charge you too much for something that spends most of the week at the bottom of your gym bag.