What to Look For in a Headphone

A headphone is a pair of loudspeaker drivers worn over the ears. They convert an electrical signal into sound. The sound produced by a headphone is called acoustic. If you use headphones while driving, you’ll want to be aware of its size, sound pressure level, and damping factor. Read on for more information. And, while shopping for a headphone, don’t forget to pay attention to the size!

Dimensions

The Dolby Dimension headphones offer passable noise isolation, but are not as good as the Sony WH-1000XM3. The Dolby Dimension headphones have active noise cancellation and achieve a 10dB isolation in bass, 16dB in midrange, and 38dB in treble. Their isolation performance is acceptable for speech, but not so good for fan noise. The Dolby Dimension headphones are rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by consumers who tested them.

For video, the Dolby Dimension headphones feature an advanced digital signal processing feature called Virtualization. These headphones use up-mixing and machine learning to improve sound quality of all audio sources. The only drawbacks are the headphones’ poor sweat resistance and average Bluetooth latency. Users may want to consider an aptX-LL dongle to improve the sound quality. If you’re looking for a headphone with Dolby Atmos sound quality, look for a pair with these features.

Frequency range

While most headphones offer a good frequency response, some go beyond the minimum and maximum. For example, headphones that are designed for music reproduction should produce sound across the entire audible frequency range of 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz, or the range of the human ear. A good pair of headphones will reproduce all frequencies within this range, so you’ll want to look for the following characteristics in a headphone:

A frequency response graph shows the frequency response of a headphone. This graph shows the accuracy with which the headphones reproduce audio signals. Most manufacturers will provide a frequency response graph along with their specifications, but it’s also possible to find simple numbers if you want to compare headphones side by side. Many manufacturers use third-party platforms to produce frequency response graphs that give others a good understanding of how efficient their headphone is. However, the frequency range of a headphone has nothing to do with its retail price.

Sound pressure level

When compared to the noise produced by a personal music player, the A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level of headphones is lower. Depending on the type of headphones used, the A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level can range from 75.2 dB for playback of children’s stories to 85.4 dB for music. These differences are not significant, but it is important to remember that headphones may have different sound pressure levels compared to personal music players.

To accurately measure the sound pressure level of headphone, you can use a sound pressure level (SPL) meter. It measures the sound pressure level of headphones and displays the decibel value. For an accurate reading, you can record several readings and average them. There are plenty of decibel measuring apps available for both iOS and Android that use the microphone in your phone and calibrate to a known source of sound. Having one of these handy can help you choose the best headphone for your needs.

Damping factor

The damping factor of a headphone is a measurement of the ability of the audio source to control the motion of the driver after the audio signal stops. The damping factor varies, ranging from 2.5 to 8 in most cases. The ‘rule of eights’ suggests that a damping factor of 8 is ideal. Low damping factors can cause bass to sound boomy and loose. High damping factors, on the other hand, make bass sound more defined, clean, and subjectively less warm.

A headphone’s Damping Factor depends on the impedance of its diaphragm. This factor varies according to the model. Diaphragms are constructed using different materials, shapes, and construction designs. Small electrical currents activate these diaphragms. The Damping Factor is proportional to the impedance of the headphone, and selecting the right value is essential to getting maximum performance. The HA-501 has five selectable Damping Factors for you to choose the one that suits your needs.