Headphones come in all shapes and sizes, spanning the gamut from small and sporty to large and professional. Junking the set supplied with your MP3 player is also the easiest way to improve its sound quality. We step you through the ins and outs, as well as the technical mumbo jumbo.

1. Big or small: choose a form factor

A long, long time ago, before the Age of the Walkman came along and revolutionised them in the 1980s, headphones were big and clunky. In those bygone days, headphones were stay-at-home things, relegated to late-night, LP music listening. That was then; the latest generation of slimmed-down headphones injects high-resolution music or home-theatre sound directly into your ears.

The distinctions between portable and home headphones are melting away, but the following rundown of headphone types will clarify your buying options. How you intend to use your headphones -- for music, home theatre or gaming -- and where you plan to do your listening -- at home or on the go -- will narrow the range of possible types you'll want to research. The four major form factors are listed below, from the smallest and most portable to the largest which are, naturally, the least portable.

There's no wrong headphone style; whether you prefer snug-fitting earbuds or full-size, padded ear-cup models is a matter of personal preference. Choose the one that best fits your needs and your idea of comfort.

Earbuds

Earbuds are commonly issued as freebies with MP3 players, but higher-performance buds can offer sonics that rivals full-size models. Their tiny earpieces rest on the outer ear or need to be inserted into the ear canal; some models include ear clips for a more secure fit.

Upside

Ultracompact and lightweight; can provide moderate to excellent isolation from external noise; little to no interference with earrings, glasses, hats or hairstyles.

Downside

Sound quality and bass response often not comparable to those of full-size models; can cause discomfort over periods of extended use; some models are difficult to insert and remove; the idea of putting foreign objects in the ear is counterintuitive and uncomfortable for many people; dual-cable design means more possibilities for tangled wires.

Also known as

In-ear headphones.

Portability

Highest.

Sports headphones

This loosely defined category usually refers to lightweight, non-earbud models with two general headband styles: standard vertical bands that arch over the head or horizontal designs that extend behind the head or neck. These headphones are almost always open-backed designs (such as the ear-pad models below), with good reason: if you're jogging, the last thing you want to do is completely block out the ambient noise of the street around you.

Upside

Behind-the-neck designs won't interfere with your hairstyle or your hat and will usually stay put during running or jogging.

Downside

A lot of stylish, slender headphone designs aren't all that durable. Some behind-the-neck designs exert higher-than-average amount of pressure on your ears.

Also known as

Fashion headphones; vertical headphones; behind-the-neck headphones; clip-on headphones; neckband headphones; Walkman-style headphones; portable headphones.

Portability

High.

Ear-pad headphones

These headphones rest on your outer ears and run the gamut from inexpensive portables to high-end home models. While ear-pad headphones can have closed designs that cover the ears, they are never fully sealed as full-size circumaural models are.

Upside

Comfortable and less prone to overheating ears than full-size headphones. Some models even fold up for easy transport.

Downside

Less effective noise isolation than in-ear or full-size models, and less powerful bass compared with full-size headphones.

Also known as

Supra-aural headphones; open-backed headphones; semi-open headphones; closed-back headphones; on-ear headphones.

Portability

Medium

Full-size headphones

The tech-speak description for this type of headphone is circumaural -- it includes any headphone with ear cups that fully enclose your ears. Because of their size and their acoustic isolation, full-size headphones are often considered to be better suited to home use rather than as a portable option.

Upside

Large headphones offer potential for maximum bass and loudness levels, and by fully enclosing your ears they effectively block outside noise.

Downside

Large size is cumbersome for portable use and some full-size models can be uncomfortably hot, making your ears sweat. Ear cups and headbands can also often interfere with earrings, glasses, and hairstyles.

Also known as

Circumaural headphones; closed-back headphones; ear-cup headphones; over-the-ear headphones.

Portability

Lowest.

2. Key technologies: cut the noise, add surround, or go wireless

Once you've narrowed down the size and form factor of your prospective headphones, you can focus on specific features and applications: noise cancellation and isolation, surround modes, gaming/microphone options, and wireless solutions.

Noise-cancelling headphones

These headphones hush ambient noise by creating anti-noise that obviates the noise at your ear. They don't eliminate noise entirely, but the better models significantly reduce the whoosh of a jet plane's air conditioning systems. They're somewhat less effective at quieting the background din on trains and buses. It's important to note that noise-cancelling headphones come in all form factors, from full size to earbuds.

Upside

Since you no longer have to crank up the volume to overcome background noise, you can listen at lower levels, which leads to reduced ear fatigue. You'll also hear more low-level detail in your music.

Downside

Some users may be sensitive to the anti-noise, which exerts pressure on your eardrums. Most folks won't notice it, but we recommend auditioning noise-cancelling headphones before you buy. All noise-cancelling headphones use batteries to power the circuitry, which may be stored in the ear cup of larger models or in a separate in-line module on smaller ones.

Noise-isolating headphones

Sealed full-size over-the-ear headphones effectively block out the environment and attenuate background noise at home. They're also popular as recording monitors. For portable use, tiny in-ear headphone models resemble earplugs and can seal out noise from trains and planes.

Upside

Noise-isolating headphones offer excellent seclusion from ambient or external noise -- equal or even superior to noise-cancelling headphones. Since you no longer have to crank up the volume to overcome background noise, you can listen at lower levels, reducing ear fatigue. Noise-isolating designs don't need batteries and don't exert pressure on your eardrum. They're ideal for frequent flyers and commuters.

Downside

Some listeners are uncomfortable inserting these in-ear headphones into their ears. You must achieve a secure seal, or bass response will suffer. Isolating yourself from outside noise may prove unsafe for active users who are walking or running. Large, over-the-ear models can become uncomfortably hot and make your ears sweat.

Surround headphones

Some models electronically synthesise surround effects to create a bigger than stereo sound field, while other headphones employ a more benign acoustic approach to deliver some semblance of a surround field between your ears. A handful of models even jam multiple speaker drivers into the earcups for "true" surround sound. By contrast, Dolby Headphone is a surround-sound mode available in some A/V receivers that simulates surround effects with any headphone plugged into them -- jump to the bottom of this page for more information. Surround headphones are targeted primarily to home-theatre fans or to gamers, but they also sound great with music.

Upside

Surround headphones create a more spacious sound than conventional stereo headphones.

Downside

The surround effect may seem artificially hyped or overly reverberant. The quality of the surround effect varies from one design to the next. No models sound as spacious as a multichannel speaker array.

Communication headsets


Whether it's for voice-to-text transcription, online gaming, or PC-centric Voice over IP (VoIP) services such as Skype, a growing number of business and entertainment applications require two-way communications. Headphones with a built-in microphone provide an all-in-one solution.

Upside

A single headset can provide headphone and microphone functionality, meaning there's no need for the additional clutter associated with unreliable table-top or speakerphone-style microphones.

Downside

Game consoles such as Xbox and PlayStation may require headsets with semi-proprietary connections or need special adapters.

Wireless (home)

Cordless headphones have been around for years, but they have only recently started to approach the sound-quality standards of the better corded headphones. Non-portable wireless headphones -- full-size models with large base stations that aren't suitable for portable use -- employ one of two transmission methods: infrared or radio frequency (RF). Infrared uses pulses of light to transmit signals from the base unit to the headphones, but you have to remain within the line of sight of the transmitter to receive signals. Radio frequency models use radio waves to accomplish the same job, and since the radio signals can pass through walls, they generally suffer fewer signal dropouts.

Upside

Freed from the tyranny of wires, you can listen to TV, DVDs, and music without being tethered to your equipment. Base stations often have extensive connectivity options and some models offer surround modes.

Downside

Few wireless models can approach the sound quality of wired models, and many add a certain amount of background hiss or noise. Moreover, some RF models can interfere with cordless telephones or home-networking systems.

Wireless (portable)

Portable wireless headphones represent the cutting edge in headphone technology. New models employ either Bluetooth or RF transmission between the headphones and a small base dongle that plugs into the audio source, such as an iPod.

Upside

No wires snaking from your backpack, purse, or pocket.

Downside

In addition to needing frequent recharging or battery swaps, the small base station creates extra bulk that cuts down on portability. Furthermore, wireless sound quality is rarely up to wired standards.

Dolby Headphone

No, Dolby hasn't jumped into the headphone-manufacturing business. Dolby Headphone is a surround processor that synthesises multi-channel effects and expands stereo separation over any pair of stereo headphones. The technology does not synthesise quasi-surround from conventional stereo sources such as CDs or FM radio; instead, it enhances 5.1-channel DVDs and stereo recordings, respectively. The result is a sound that's less claustrophobic and "stuck in your head", and more akin to the effect of listening to speakers.

Dolby Headphone is a cool technology, but it's important to realise that it can be independent of the actual headphones. For instance, the Harman Kardon AVR 635 A/V receiver has on-board Dolby Headphone processing, which will work with any headphones you plug into it. On the other hand, the Pioneer SE-DIR800C wireless headphones include Dolby Headphone technology built into the base station, so you can hook them directly to a DVD player. Because the processor is built into the audio source -- the A/V receiver, in most cases -- the surround effect will work with any headphones that are plugged into it. If you're looking for Dolby Headphone, be sure to get an A/V receiver that supports it; if you're looking for surround headphones -- models that use internal circuitry to electronically synthesise surround effects -- focus on the actual headphones instead.

In our next installment we'll uncover headphone features, terminology, connection types, and cover some basic accessories.