I recently purchased some earbuds, and think this is a good warmup to discuss the how-to’s of purchasing sound for your ears. I LOVE MUSIC. I really do. I’m on Spotify premium 6-8 hours a day, and what better way to enjoy my songs than to get buds that are suited perfectly for me? In no particular order, I’m going to go through several focus points in what you should go through, if you are looking to get a quality set of your own.
Now, the most important distinction- Wires or no wires?
Wires
Image Source
-Cheaper price to quality ratio (costs less for better sound quality)
-More robust (less likely to break)
-Wire tangle and general annoyance
Wireless
Image Source
-FREEDOM FROM THE WIRE (if you only listen to music when sitting down and stationary, this is not really an issue for you. If you are like me and workout with it, run with it, dance and sing in the shower with it, you will find that pesky wire constantly getting in your face)
-Potential interferrences from everything can get in the way of your signal, from microwaves to your wi-fi. Personally though, the only thing that interferes with my signal is pretty much just walls. You have roughly 30 feet of distance from your signal source before your buds get weird on you.
-Pricy for what you get. You essentially pay double vs a comparable quality wired bud
So it all comes down to.. how much do you hate that wire, and how much are you willing to spend? You can get cheap wired buds for $5, compared to the cheapest wireless ones for $25.
Styles & Form
Earbuds
Pros: Extremely portable
Cons: Sucks if you wear glasses, or have big ears. Less comfy for some people because you have to insert a foreign object in your ear.
Earpads
Pros: Very comfy because it sits on the outside of your ears, decent sound, and portable.
Cons: Sound leaks both in and out, because these things are not sealed to your face. You will be very much aware of all outside sources of noise around you.
Full Size Headphones
Pros: Best sound quality and noise isolation, extra padding to make it comfortable to wear.
Cons: Big, and not portable. Can make ears sweaty.
Next distinction- WATER?
For me, being able to wear these in the shower made it a big enough point that I had to shop for this quality specifically, so lets break down what to look for- your IPX rating. The water resistance standard is called the IPX rating (the X is actually a dust resistance rating, which we don’t care about at all in the case of earbuds). Here is the breakdown of each rating and their water resistance:
IPX0: This means zero water resistance. your neighbor is watering his lawn? stay away. Someone sneezing just a little too hard? nope. This rating is so bad, you wouldn’t even find it written anywhere on the specs, because there is nothing to boast about.
IPX1-3: very very light accidental water drops are okay. When I say light, I mean a few drops.
IPX4-6: Splashing water is safe. This is the most common rating you will find when shopping. It is the same one “sweat resistance” is found in. So general use with some disregard of water is okay.
IPX7-8: This is the category of real waterproof gear, and it is what I needed. You can drop your earbuds inside water and it will be safe!. IPX7 can handle about 3 feet of water, and IPX8 can handle maybe 50% deeper. If you are trying to swim to music, this is what you want. If you want to have a shower singalong, THIS IS IT. THIS IS WHAT I BOUGHT. Strong enough to throw into a jacuzzi, and strong enough to give zero regards to the safety of this thing as I carry through my daily life. One important thing to know- Bluetooth doesn’t transmit well in water, because the water absorbs the signal. So if you plan on going deep into water, you would want earbuds with hard drive space to directly save music to.
Noise-Cancelling Capabilities
Pros: clearer sound from the microphone, enhanced sound quality
Cons: can’t have a conversation at all
This is a personal preference, much like earbud styles. Everybody’s ears are different, and what feels good is really dependent on how your ears are shaped. It does feel pretty cool to be in a busy area, with your volume set on the low low, and experience nothing but quality sound, with a muted world around you. Noise cancelling headphones sample the noise around you and play back an inverted version of it, which cancels it out. This feature tends to cost more money.
Noise Isolation Capabilities
Not to be mixed with noise cancelling, this effect is caused by creating a seal around your ear to block outside noise from coming in.
Bluetooth Transmitting Quality
Applicable to wireless options, if you are looking for the best quality sound possible you want newer versions of bluetooth, as technology has been steadily advancing and improving this area. Original bluetooth required audio to be heavily compressed in order to transmit our music, so overall, sounded pretty bad. Avoid Bluetooth 1.0 and 2.0, when 3.0 and 4.0 is out and readily available.
Look for labels that refer to the aptX codec, which was made to transfer CD-quality sound over bluetooth. A2DP also improves transmitting to speakers, car audio, and headphones as well.
The Informed Consumeryst- The Guide to Adulting 