Headphones may seem like a relatively small piece of hardware. But this particular component may determine the success of your relationship with your customer, the quality of your conversation with the loved ones, the productivity at your work, and most importantly the enjoyment you derive from your favorite music or game. So before you opt for a headset, you should consider a few things.

Look for what you need in a headset and don’t settle for a headset that lacks anything you need. Also, you should avoid paying for expensive functionalities that you won’t need. Regarding the functionalities of a headset, there are few things you need to consider:

Wireless or Wired:

Do you need a wireless headphone or a wired one? It depends on your preference. Wireless headphones are the way to go if mobility is your prime concern. Although audiophiles still prefer the wired alternatives, as they say, the wire or the cord can transfer more data than available wireless technologies. However, Bluetooth technology has made significant progress in the last few years and brought down the gap between the two types to a great extent.

In short, if you prefer mobility and portability, going wireless is certainly the right option for you. And if you are too sensitive about sound quality, you should pick a wired one. Nonetheless, there are plenty of wireless models in the market that have successfully made a fine balance between sound quality and mobility.

Drivers

Drivers, the core components of any headphones, convert the electrical signal fed to the headphones into an audible sound signal. There are various types of drivers used in different types of headphones. It is widely known that the bigger the driver, the better the sound. But in general, bigger drivers don’t necessarily mean better as there are other factors as well, but they are the contributing factor, particularly for bass.

Closed and Open Back

Headphones can be either closed or open at the back of the driver enclosure. Since a driver fires both into and away from your ear, an open-back headset will allow the sound to escape outside, while a closed-back headset will block the exit of the outward sound. There are pros and cons to both.

Closed-back headphones prevent others from listening to what you're listening to and are therefore more suited for public places as opposed to open-back headphones that leak sound and are perceived as inconsiderate to use in public. However, open-back headphones have a much more open sound, giving a more comfortable and realistic listening experience, while closed-back headphones sound more 'in-your-head'. Suitability depends on the purpose for which you need the headphones, and auditioning or reading reviews is recommended.

Frequency Response

Frequency response is the range of frequency headphones can produce, where the lower limit is the bass sound and the upper limit is treble. The human ear can only hear frequencies ranging from 20-20,000Hz, so most headphones try to stick to this range. However, some headphones extend the range at both ends to provide deeper responses. If you like more bass, then opt for something that can support wider than the usual frequency response range.

Impedance

The impedance of a headphone represents the amount of power needed to drive a pair of headphones. Low-impedance headphones require less power to drive, and can therefore easily be used with source devices with weaker amplification, such as smartphones, media players, and other portable devices. On the contrary, high-impedance headphones require dedicated amplifiers or increased amplification to drive and deliver a more powerful, driven performance as a result. When choosing headphones, it's important to note the impedance and buy according to the source device you intend to use. Look out for the impedance figure on the box, and choose as per your source devices. The impedance of 15 Ω (Ohm) and under is low and easy to drive, while impedance 50 Ω and above may require some amplification for the best results. However, most smartphones and media players are designed to be able to drive headphones with impedance as high as 80 Ω, so higher-side impedance may not be a serious issue.

Soundstaging and Imaging

It represents the ability of headphones to create an accurate sonic stage and image within your mind. Good sound-staging and imaging will create the impression of a live performance, where individual elements of the sound are distinct and feel like they are originating from specific locations on the virtual stage. Separation of sonic elements is also a function of imaging, where better separation represents a more realistic, true-to-life sound. This is best judged by listening and keeping your ears open for separation and clarity, so you won't find it on the specifications of the headphones, but you'll often see it mentioned in reviews.

Noise Isolation vs. Active Noise Cancellation

This is one of those things that sound similar but mean very different things. Noise isolation just means that the product physically sits between your ear and outside sound, thus blocking outside noise from entering your ear.

Active noise cancellation (ANC) works differently, though the end goal is the same. Products with ANC have tiny microphones in them that pick up outside sounds. The headphones then produce the opposite sound wave to actively cancel out the unwanted noise. It’s all based on physics and waves properties so as you can imagine, it’s not an easy thing to accomplish. When headphones claim noise-canceling we usually give their effectiveness a mention in our full reviews because it varies from product to product.

Concluding Remarks

These are the main specifications that manufacturers tout and all of them have a different impact on the audio you're listening to, as we explain above. When you're buying a headset, apart from the design types, these specifications are some of the important things you should know about.

Like most things in life, when it comes to choosing the right headphones, earphones, or earbuds, you get what you pay for. We recommend you to try out several models before picking up the one that best fits your needs.