Earphones for the discerning listener

Ride the subway, sit in a coffee shop or just walk down the street and you’ll see people wearing earphones. They are everywhere. In some settings, you’re the odd man out if you don’t have wires dangling from your ears.

Putting aside what this means for sociability, let’s instead consider why so many of the earphones people are wearing are so junky. Why would you pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for a phone, tablet or laptop only to plug in a pair of cheap earbuds?

Your earphones may be even more important than your device in delivering the nuances and resolution of streaming or stored audio, so it’s worth investing in a decent pair. It’s possible to capture the opening and closing of a butterfly’s wings with recording technology, but you will miss out if your earphones are only slightly more sophisticated than cans on the end of a string.

Moreover, poor quality earphones can cause hearing loss. “People tend to turn up the volume too high when they are wearing low-grade earphones because the sound is less clear and distorted,” said Chris Connaker, founder of Computeraudiophile.com, a website dedicated to information about digital audio. “A better quality earphone can save your hearing.”

There are three kinds of earphones: over- or around-ear, which are the earmuff type, often called headphones; on-ear, which rest on the ear but don’t cup it; and in-ear, which go in the ear’s concha (the hollow part) as earbuds do, or actually go into the ear canal, as do so-called in-ear monitors.

Which one you choose depends on what’s comfortable, where you plan to listen, what you plan to listen to and, of course, your budget. Higher prices tend to indicate better quality sound and materials, or possibly customization, such as earpieces by JH Audio and Noble Audio, which can cost $400 (Rs 25,366) to more than $1,000 (Rs 63,417)  and are molded to precisely fit your ear - like those you see musicians wearing onstage.

But you don’t have to spend a fortune to step up your aural experience. Something like the Sennheiser CX 300-II ($60 or Rs 3,805) universal fit in-ear monitor delivers respectable clarity and enjoyable sound. And unlike the devices you plug them into, which will most likely be obsolete or wear out in three years or so, good earphones endure.

If you’re going to be listening in noisy environments like a subway or crowded office, you most likely want in-ear monitors or over-ear earphones. Popular manufacturers include Sennheiser, Shure, Master & Dynamic and OPPO. Look for “closed-back” models, which don’t have any vents or openings in them so they keep out competing environmental noise while sparing others from hearing the mosquito-like version of whatever you’re listening to.

Closed-back earphones with active noise cancelling by manufacturers like Bose and Phiaton produce a nullifying frequency to block intrusive sounds. But be aware that what you gain in cancelling environmental racket, you lose in the crispness of the audio you’re playing.

Earphones such as the Parrot Zik 2.0 ($400 or Rs 25,366) come with an app that allows you to adjust various aspects of what you’re hearing using a five-band equalizer, much like an audio engineer.

For listening in quiet, isolated environments like your home, “open-back” earphones, usually over- or on-ear, are your best bet. They allow sound to pass through them rather than be contained within them, and thus don’t have the slight distorting reverb that can occur in closed-back models. As a result, they are audiophiles’ top choice because they sound truer to life. Sennheiser, AKG, Fostex, Grado and Audio-Technica make versions that reviewers consistently praise.

Exercisers are likely to want fitness earphones such as the Jaybird BlueBuds ($170 or Rs 10,780) and Bose SoundSport ($150 or Rs 9,512). They are sturdier, sweat- and water-resistant and tend to stay put. Some models, like the Sennheiser PMX 686 SPORTS series ($110 or Rs 6,975 to $130 or Rs 8,244), allow just enough outside noise so that you can hear a car or person around you. Some fitness earphones have wireless versions, although they never sound quite as good as their wired counterparts because of the degradation in the signal from source to earpiece.

It also makes a difference what you are listening to. If you’re listening to lower-quality MP3s or a low-resolution free music streaming service, it’s going to sound pretty lousy no matter how good your earphones are. Conversely, if you’re paying for premium MP3s or higher-resolution streams from services like Spotify, Pandora, Tidal or Rdio, you’re not going to hear the improvement wearing $10 (Rs 634) earbuds you picked up at a mall kiosk.

Another thing to consider is whether you want your earphones to come with a microphone so that you can use them to talk on the phone, record your voice or use video-calling services like Skype. Many earphones on the market do, but be sure to check the specifications since some do not or may need an adapter or special cable to work with some devices.

Because everyone has a different idea of what sounds good, reading earphone reviews on websites like Headphone.com, Head-Fi.org, Computeraudiophile.com, Audiophilereview.com and Headphone.guru is a good way to figure out the sound profile of various models. Reviewers not only discuss clarity and balance but also talk about fit, comfort and compatibility.

“Audiophiles talk about sound as descriptively as wine enthusiasts talk about wine,” said Jude Mansilla, founder of Head-Fi.org, which has an extensive review database.

“Reading reviews will definitely help you find something that suits your taste,” he said, whether you’re into bold sounds with velvet delivery, or bright ones with effervescent top notes.