Upgrade Your Music: Upgrade Your Headphones
People have very fancy Bose, Sony headphones, but they are not using the right headphones for the music they listen to. How to improve this?
Headphones are the key part of listening to music the right way, and with the right way, I mean the way the singer/song producer wanted you to. Yet, most people listen to music by using inadequate headphones, or well some cheap ~$20 headphones.
Now, price in the mainstream spectrum does not mean all, for example, some Bose headphones range around $350 but many $250 Sennheiser headphones supersede the sound signature that the Bose produce, yet Bose market themselves everywhere while Sennheiser is in some markets a hidden gem.
In this example, you’ll be paying more for the brand than the actual quality of the headphones; some other companies that go in the same direction are Beats, Apple ProMax, and Marley.
Subjectivity
Sound signatures likes and dislikes are subjective to the listener, however, the best way to determine if the sound signature of Headphones is overall okay is by checking out product reviews, hopefully from audiophiles.
YouTube channels
Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac
Joe N Tell
My Favorite
JimsReviewRoom
Disclaimer: JimsReviewRoom stopped making YouTube videos, so you won’t find products launched after April 4, 2020. Audio development does not follow the same technological velocity advancement as Smartphones does; so, you’ll find all the headphones which are considered “Elite” for mainstream people in his channel.
Websites
My Favorite picks
Can’t stick with only one headphone so I have a few favorites, if you would like to start in the audiophile world this list is helpful:
Sony WH-1000XM3
Pros: Okay-ish sound quality, active noise canceling, high bass, come with a protector so you can store them and keep them safe while traveling or not being in use.
Cons: Terrible for making calls, proprietary Codecs.
Sennheiser HD 599
Pros: Beautiful sound signature, open back (good sound stage), wired headphones (more reliable sound).
Cons: Wired (for those that prefer wireless), open back.
Note: Open-back headphones mean no Noise Cancelling at all, which depending on the circumstances will be less than ideal as they leak whatever you’re listening to and pass in any outside sound.
Audio-Technica M40x (aka. ATH-M40x)
Pros: Good bass, can go up remarkably high in terms of volume, wired, industrial, durable, comes with a protector, passive noise canceling.
Cons: I honestly like these very much, so the only con I could figure out is that these are wired headphones, which most people dislike.
Conclusions
Headphones are a very personal taste and even though some “accepted” sound signatures are better than others this does not mean you have to accept them. For each their own.
Wired headphones will be best for a more reliable sound quality however there are so many other factors that I’ll discuss in a future blog post, such as Music Applications and Music quality.
What about you, do you have any favorites or recommendations? Let me know in the comment section. This post contains referral Amazon links in which a commission may be earned if you decide to purchase any of the above mentions.
