Tech Talk: You don’t have to move to the Beats for good sound

ONE of the many out-of-control crazes this past holiday season has been the willingness of young people and their parents to spend up to £200 on a simple pair of headphones, on the basis that they are endorsed by an American rap artist.

It’s not the sound quality of Dr Dre’s Beats range that’s the attraction but the street credibility attached to them. If headphones were clothes shops, these would be Burberry.

However, those of us more at home in Greenwoods can take comfort from the fact that it’s perfectly possible to buy headphones that sound as good if not better than Dr Dre’s, for a quarter of the price. Here’s what to look for.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Headphones come in three main types – ear-buds, in-ear and on-the-ear – and the only way to tell which is best for you is to try them all on and listen. But that’s not usually possible because they’re wrapped in blister packs which you can’t open until you get home. So you have to apply a few rules of thumb.

The first of these is that ear-buds – the sort that come free with MP3 players – are generally the least comfortable and worst sounding. Nearly all are produced to be sold as cheaply as possible, and if you upgrade to a different type you’ll notice an improvement immediately.

In-ear headphones, also called in-ear monitors or IEMs, hug the insides of your ears and are capable of extremely good sound reproduction – but it’s essential that their silicone tips form a perfect seal, otherwise the bass response is lost. IEMs are as portable as ear-buds and a decent pair, such as those by Sennheiser or Shure, can be had for around £40. But they’re an acquired taste for some people, myself included, for whom they’re just plain uncomfortable.

On-ear headphones pose no such problem, and some even get around the portability issue by folding up inside your pocket. If blocking outside noise is important to you, a pair with closed backs will give you superior isolation – but at home, headphones with open backs give you a clarity of sound like no other. (They’re no use on the train, though.)

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

All of these can be found with or without wires, but purists think wireless is still an expensive gimmick.

On the face of it, the internet is a good place to buy any of these, but the headphone market is awash with convincing fakes.

So look – or better still, listen – before you decide.

Related topics: