Headphone choosing guide

I N T R O :

Sound is subjective. Something that one person may find to be a great headphone may in-fact sound terrible to the next person. With that said I'd like to keep the discussion of headphones civilized. I realize opinions can cause someone to get heated possibly, but we're all here for the same purpose! That being the most important thing to note, there are other important things to consider when buying a new set of headphones and this information will be highly helpful to provide when asking for advice:

1. Location: This is simply described as location where you're intending on using your headphones. This is important because some headphones are better for portable use than others, while others you wouldn't want to bring outside for a number of reasons. When purchasing your headphones this should be the first question you ask, a pair of Audio Technica Ad900 certainly wouldn't be a good choice for commuting on a subway, for instance.

2. Budget: Your budget encompasses your headphones and any accessories you intend to use with them such as DACs and Amps. Some headphones sound fantastic from anything starting with an iPod to a vintage stereo system, while some headphones need a dedicated headphone amp in order to sound their best. When considering your headphones be sure to note the notation for the headphones you would like, any that indicate needing a headphone amp. I strongly urge purchasing an amp with them, anything that improves with an amp. I highly suggest picking up one with it.

3. Music: Lastly you want to consider the type of music you listen to, not all headphones are created equal! Every headphone is designed to cater to a certain sound type and a headphone that may be excellent for classical music might lack in many areas for those who listen to drum and bass. If you have an eclectic music taste then it's best to find something that will suit what you listen to most.

F O R M :

Headphones come in many forms, and some may not suit your needs, so always be careful when making a purchase with your hard earned money. Headphones have different form factors, such as on-ear (supra-aural) and around ear (circum-aural):

 An on-ear headphone rests on the ear, and does not surround it. Examples include Beats Solos and Sennheiser HD25-1-II. Some on-ear headphones, such as the Koss KSC75, do not have headbands and secures itself with a clip, these are known as clip-ons.

 Around ear headphones are far more popular in the high end headphone market, examples include the Sennheiser HD800, Audio Technica M50. In-ears or IEMs (In ear monitor) are the type of earphones that is inserted into your ear canal. How far in an IEM goes varies, but they tend to provide decent isolation against outside noise. Examples include Etymotic ER4, Shure SE215 etc.

Open headphones will generally have a wider sound stage, giving the music more room to breathe and usually more realistic presentation. It can be thought of as seeing a concert outdoors where the music has an air to it. This isn't always true, but it's one way to look at it. The downfall to open headphones is that they leak sound and let sound in. This makes them poor solutions for traveling or if you're sharing a dorm room.

C L O S E D  -V S-  O P E N :

Closed headphones generally have a narrower and direct sound presentation, similar to going to a club or an intimate venue. This isn't always true either, but it's one way to think of it. Closed headphones usually isolate well, this means that tend to keep the sound between the headphones and the listener with not much sound leaking and not much sound in. There are exceptions though so it's not always so cut and dry.

Open headphones tend to be great choices when you have no worries of annoying others with sound leakage due to overall better sound quality per dollar than closed headphones. Closed headphones tend to be best when you are sharing close living quarters or are travelling.
Amps and DACs

A M Ps  -&- D A Cs

Amplifiers and DACs are a necessary part of your digital audio system. The DAC converts your music from 0s and 1s into analog signals, and then the signal is amplified by your amp. People often ask if they need an amp or DAC, and the answer will depend on the following:

 Are your current headphones underpowered?
 Do you plan on getting headphones that'll be difficult to drive with what you already have?
 Are your current amp/DACs/soundcards really terrible and you desire better performance?

There are a few types of amp and DACs, and they serve different purposes. An amp or a DAC can be portable, meaning you can simply put them in your pocket, and then enjoy the music on the go. Amps and DACs are either be two standalone units, or a single device. For example the FiiO E17 is a portable amp/DAC two in one, and the WooAudio WA6.

With amplifiers most people want a neutral and transparent sound signature, meaning the amp doesn't change the sound in anyway. However some people prefer amps that change the sound, because of this, many vacuum tube based amps are made with the intention of reproducing a coloured sound.

I M P E D A N C E   I N   D E T A I L :

Headphones range in impedance from 16 ohms to 600 ohms. And some models even come in multiple impedances. So which impedance is best? The answer mostly depends on what you plan to plug them into. Are lower impedance headphones better than higher impedance ones? What’s the best output impedance? This is over simplifying, but here are some general guidelines:

 If you’re looking for headphones to use with a portable player or laptop, stick to the range of 16 – 32 ohms with a sensitivity (efficiency) rating of at least 100 dB/mW. There are some higher impedance headphones, up to 80 ohms or so, that are efficient enough to work well with at least some portable gear—especially if you don’t like it very loud. But, in general, the lower the impedance the better the match with battery powered devices.

 If you don’t know the output impedance of your source device, it’s best to avoid balanced armature headphones as they can interact with a higher output impedance in some ugly ways that make them sound substantially worse.

 If your source complies with the European maximum volume regulations (many new phones do even when sold outside of Europe) it is even more important to choose headphones with, ideally, a 16 ohm impedance at at least 100 dB/mW sensitivity. The European compliant devices have even less maximum output than most other portable gear.

 If you’re using a dedicated headphone amp or DAC, check the manufacture’s specifications or guidelines for the recommended headphone impedance range.

All you really need to know is most headphones work best when the output impedance is less than 1/8th the headphone impedance. So, for example, with 32 ohm Grados the output impedance can be, at most, 32/8 = 4 ohms. The Etymotic HF5s are 16 ohms so the max output impedance is 16/8 = 2 ohms. If you want to be assured a source will work well with just about any headphone, simply make sure the output impedance is under 2 ohms.

Credit
Head-Fi:
http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide
/g/ Headphone Wiki:
http://gwiki.xach.org/index.php/Headphones
NwAvGuy:
http://nwavguy.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/headphone-amp-impedance.html
http://nwavguy.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/headphone-impedance-explained.html

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