When smart phone and tablet PC become more and more popular, everybody needs at least one set headphones or earbuds, no matter Bluetooth wireless or wired, to enjoy music/podcast everywhere or take a hand-free calling. For most people, it’s still a big challenge to choose the proper headphones/earbuds for his applications? After reading this series of articles prepared by Audiovance, you can make smart choice better than before.
Before purchasing the headphones, you may consult friends or browse webpages for analysis and comparison. You may find some technique terms that let you confused, such as Bluetooth wireless or wired, over-ear or open-ear, air conduction or bone conduction, ANC or ENC noise cancelling, etc. Knowing more about these terms can help you make better decisions.
- Headphones/Earbuds/Earphones:
Let’s start with the basics. Headphones, earbuds and earphones are all devices that you wear on or in your ears to listen to audio.
Headphones are typically larger and cover your entire ear.
Earbuds and earphones are smaller and sit inside your ear canal or just outside your ear. Theoretically, earbuds and earphones are the same. However, mostly people like to say Wired Earphones or Wireless Earbuds.
Sometimes people also call earbuds/earphones as headphones, but they seldom call headphones as earbuds/earphones.
Classic headphones are generally the best choice if you’re looking for the highest-quality audio, but they are poor in portability. Earbuds and earphones are more portable and easier to use on the go.
- Over ear, on ear, in Ear, open Ear:
These terms refer to how the headphones or earbuds sit on or in your ear.
Over-ear headphones completely cover your ears and provide excellent noise isolation,
On-ear headphones look like over-ear headphones with smaller pads, pressing on your ears and are generally more compact and portable than the latter ones.
In-ear headphones namely in-ear earbuds sit inside your ear canal, offering a snug fit, compact size and good noise isolation.
Open-ear headphones have a more open design that allows some sound to leak in and out.
- Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth, True Wireless Stereo (TWS):
When it comes to connectivity, there are a few different terms to be aware of.
Wired headphones/earbuds require a physical connection (cable or wire) to your audio device.
Wireless headphones/earbuds establish connection with radio waves. Bluetooth is a popular wireless technology that allows devices to connect over short distances, which is ~33 feet at present.
True wireless stereo (TWS) refers to a type of wireless connection that doesn’t require any wires or cables between two earbuds.
How to understand the difference between Wireless and TWS? For example, neckband Bluetooth headphones are wireless rather than TWS.
- ANC (Active Noise Cancelling), ENC (Environment Noise Cancelling), CVC (Clear Voice Capture):
Noise-canceling technology is to reduce or eliminate unwanted background noise.
ANC (Active noise-canceling) headphones use extra microphones to detect outside noise and create an opposite sound wave to cancel it out, so that you will hear less noise while enjoying music.
ENC (Environment noise-canceling) headphones also use extra microphones to detect environmental noise and create an opposite sound wave. However, its purpose is to let people hear your calling with less noise surrounding yourself.
CVC (Clear Voice Capture) is a feature that enhances speech clarity in noisy environments. It is good for calling but has nothing to do with noise cancelling.
Based on above introduction, you can see that ANC/ENC/CVC are all handled by electronics circuit and related firmware.
Sometimes people call Noise Isolation as Noise Cancelling. From technical view, they are different but with same benefit as ANC. When over ear headphones cover ears closely, or eartips of in-ear earbuds block ear canal entirely, they isolate ambient noise and provide a quiet listening environment.
- Bone Conduction, Air Conduction:
Bone conduction is a unique technology that allows sound to be transmitted through your cheek & ear bones rather than through your ear canals. This can be useful for people with hearing impairments or for use in certain situations where you need to hear your surroundings while listening to audio.
Air conduction is the method of transmitting sound through the air, as with standard headphones or earbuds.
Bone conduction headphones are open-ear certainly. Open-Ear headphones may be either air conduction or bone conduction.
If you're interested in exploring Audiovance's diverse range of headphones, you can check out the following places for an exciting shopping experience:
Visit Audiovance Homepage: http://www.Audiovance.com
Visit Audiovance Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/audiovance
To learn more about headphones and earbuds, please read other articles as below.
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-1: Normal Terms
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-2: Wireless vs Wired
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-3: Over Ear, on Ear, in Ear and open Ear
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-4: Noise Cancelling
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-5: Sound Quality
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-6: Ear Pods vs Ear Buds
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-7: Bone Conduction vs Air Conduction @ Open Ear
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-8: Eight Popular Types Comparison
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-9: How to Make Your Right Choice
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-10: Choose for Sports Running Workout
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-11: Choose for Outdoor Walking/Hiking/Driving
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-12: Choose for Office Use
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-13: Choose for Audiophile’s Music Appreciation
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-14: Choose for Gaming or Watching TV
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-15: Choose for Travel or Commute
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-16: Choose an All-round Headphones
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-17: Helpful Tips
- How to Choose Headphones/Earbuds-18: Market and Technology Trend
