The truth is, the earbuds bundled with iPhones and many new Android phones sound a lot better than they used to. Still, if you're serious about your music, those plastic pods can only take you so far. The single best accessory upgrade you can buy for a new media player, smartphone, or tablet is a solid pair of headphones. With so many choices, ranging from inexpensive cans you can pick up at the local Best Buy, to budget-busting, finely tuned masterpieces, finding the right pair of headphones can be tough. But if you spend the time to pick the right pair, and you take good care of them, your headphones can easily outlive the device that's delivering your music.
The Headphone Advantage
There's an endless selection when it comes to headphone design, but you're basically choosing between padded over-the-ear headphones or snug in-canal earphones. Both have their merits, but for this roundup we're focusing on the over-the-ear and around-the-ear design of traditional headphones.
See How We Test Headphones
Generally, headphones are able to reproduce richer low-end, since they have larger drivers than earphones and they don't rely on an in-ear seal to deliver sound. Some listeners also find headphones more comfortable to wear, and easier to put on and take off, than they do earphones. This naturally means that headphones are bulkier, and less suited to the gym. If you prefer the in-ear design, we have separate lists for The Best Earphones and The Best Headphones for Running.
No comments:
Post a Comment