Headphones

Looking for a good pair of headphones? At Wifimedia you've come to the right place. Besides a wide selection of headphones available through the Wifimedia webshop, we also offer the possibility to listen to your potential choice with your own ears in our Experience Center. We'll be happy to advise you and help you find the best headphones to fit your budget. If you haven't made a choice yet or if you doubt which headphones are best suited for you, please read on.

Which headphones?

Before you begin your search, it is important to determine which type of headphones are best suited for you. For this reason, it is important to first determine the right build; an in-ear, on-ear or over-ear variant. Each construction method has specific advantages and disadvantages and these are different for everyone. If you want to keep the headphones easily in your inside pocket, then it is smart to choose an in-ear variant. If you want to be able to put the headphones on and off quickly, then an on-ear or over-ear variant may be a better choice.

In it, on it or over it

In-ears, also called in-ear monitors or IEMs are the most compact headphones on the market. Because they plug into the ear canal, this type of headphone is great for athletes and for discreet use on the go. On-ear headphones drop onto the ear canal and are often lightweight and compact in construction. These types of headphones deliver excellent sound quality. Because the ears are not fully enclosed, wearers experience more contact with their surroundings. Over-ear headphones fall around the ear cup and with this they are the largest in terms of construction. Depending on the open or closed construction, these over-ears seal off the environment optimally.

Open or closed

Both in-ear and over-ear headphones, depending on the model, come in an open or closed design. Both variants have a different sound signature. A closed design usually delivers a more powerful low end and an open design often sounds a fraction more dynamic, transparent and lively. Here it is a matter of taste which type suits you best. A closed design has the advantage that it attenuates ambient noise better than an open model. Here you really create your own private listening space, wherever you are. With an open version, you maintain contact with your surroundings, but the music does leak slightly into the environment.

Wired or wireless

Headphones either come with a headphone cable or can be used wirelessly. Many wired headphones provide the highest possible sound quality and typically come with a so-called single-ended headphone cable equipped with a 3.5mm or 6.3mm jack plug. Some headphones also come with a balanced cable with a 2.5mm jack or a 4.4mm Pentaconn jack. If you want to be able to quickly change the headphone wiring yourself, check that the headphone wiring is attached to the earbuds or earcups with a connector.

Wireless headphones have a battery, amplifiers and a Bluetooth chip. With on-ear and over-ear models, this is tucked away in the ear cups and with in-ears, these are contained in a so-called "dongle. These in-ears connect wirelessly to a smartphone, but here there is still a cable between the dongle and the earbuds. You also see more and more True Wireless models these days where the technology is implemented in the earbuds themselves. With this, you experience even greater freedom of movement due to the complete lack of cabling.

With the advent of Bluetooth 5.0 and aptX HD, the difference in sound quality between wired and wireless has been significantly reduced. In time, with the introduction of succeeding Bluetooth standards, the differences will be negligible. Some headphones feature active noise cancellation, also called Active Noise Cancelling (ANC). When this is enabled, ambient noise is actively filtered out, allowing you to listen to music, as well as "pure silence," in peace. In some models, the intensity of noise cancellation is even user-adjustable.

With the above, we hope to have provided enough information on how to determine for yourself which headphones are best suited for you. If you would still like additional advice from our head-fi specialists, please contact us.