What are Headphones?

Headphones are a type of hardware output device that can be connected to a computer’s line-out or speakers port, as well as wirelessly using Bluetooth. They are also referred to as earbuds. You can watch a movie or listen to audio without bothering anyone nearby by using headphones.

What are Headphones?

Everyone knows about headphones a lot of people use them for listening to sounds. So we can say that headphones are devices that allow us to hear sound without disturbing others in our surroundings. It is an output device. It mainly contains two parts- a pair of speakers and a wire through which sound passes we put the speaker near our ear and the sound travels from the wire to our ears and second plugs which are connected to a source of audio. So how does this whole process work, and what are the uses, advantages, and disadvantages of headphones we will understand further in this article.

Headphone

Working of Headphones

Lets try to understand the science behind the working of headphones in some simple points

• As we know headphone contains speaker connected with wires and plug connected with the sound source, so at first the sound source send the sound in form of an electric signal basically the signals have all the data about waveform’s amplitude, pitch voice, pitch speech or music then this electric signal will travel through wires.
• Then these signals splits into parts usually two, we know we have two speakers in headphones and we need sound in both so we made it the way that it equally divides electric signals.
• Finally these signal reaches headphone cups, they contain speaker drivers which will be used to convert over electric signals in sound form. So how does it convert? Speaker drivers mainly have three parts which are diaphragm, voice coil, and magnet.
  • Diaphragm: Its a thin flexible membrane, its main task is to vibrate when any electric signal passes through voice coil and these vibrations will cause change in air pressure which will create sound waves.
  • Voice Coil: The voice coil is a wire coil attached to the back of the diaphragm. It is positioned within the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. When the electrical signal passes through the voice coil, it generates a magnetic field that interacts with the permanent magnet, causing the voice coil and diaphragm to move back and forth.
• So due to this movement, the air gets pushed and pulled the air pressure changes due to this movement sound is produced which enters our ear and we hear sound.

Types of Headphones

There are many different types of headphones which have there own advantages and disadvantages lets see what are most commonly used headphone types :

• In-ear headphones: We can fit these inside our ear canals that’s why they are known as in ear headphones. They are smaller and compact in size and provides a good sound quality they don’t leak any sound because they are very close to ear and also very small.
• On-ear headphones: They are worn on the outer ear. They are also known by name supra aural headphones.. They are larger than in-ear headphones, but smaller than over-ear headphones. They can offer decent sound quality and comfort, but they may also leak sound to the outside or let in ambient noise.
• Over-ear headphones: These are headphones that cover your entire ear. We also call them as circumoral headphones or full-size headphones. They are largest as compared to any other types of headphones and because of largeness they are heavier also. They are best in almost all aspects such as sound quality, and other additional features but problem with them are that they are bulky and get heat soon. They are easily visible to other person looking at us.
• Wireless headphones: As we are getting from name wireless means they don’t need any wire that is connecting speakers with our audio source. They use Bluetooth technology or radio frequency (RF) to transmit the audio signals wirelessly. They look more easier and convenient for today times because people don’t like extra wires in there neck but they can have signal issues in some areas.
• Noise-cancelling headphones: These are headphones that use active noise control (ANC) technology to reduce unwanted background noise. They use microphones to capture the ambient noise and generate an opposite sound wave that cancels it out. These are amazing because you don’t need to worry about background noise and other disturbing noises on using them but because of this functionality they might take more power than other headphones.

Applications of Headphones

• Headphones are used for entertainment in various ways such as I hear sound with headphones, its quality and sound directly reaches to ear and feels very good in comparison to without headphones a lot of other people use it to hear audios for entertainment purposes such as audiobooks, songs, music, games etc.
• Communication is done using headphones for example we use headphones for attending calls, meetings, conferences. headphones are useful in field because it provides privacy and with small headphones people nearby cannot hear what’s you are talking about.
• Headphones is used in various ways in education field with headphones you have sound of your book, aticle, study material nearby your ear. So because of headphone you can ignore the background noise and hear only to what you want to study. They can facilitate interactive and self-paced learning and improve comprehension and retention.
• Headphones can be used for good mental heath as there are some music which can help you reduce stress, provide calmness, also boost your motivation.

Advantages of Headphones

• Its the main advantage with use of headphones you can hear what you want to hear and no one will now what you are hearing to. It provides you a personal space to hear anything which disturbing anyone or letting anyone know what you are hearing. So privacy is an advantage headphones provide.
• Headphones provide better quality of sound as compared to other devices such as speakers. And they are closer to ear so you will get better sound with more details and sound dynamics. So if you want quality of sound so you can try headphones.
• They are easy to use and small in size. You can carry them where ever you want and can connect them to various devices. Headphones can be used to hear sounds from laptops, mobiles and also many machines. So headphones provides portability.
• As we have read about a lot of headphones there are a lot of varieties in headphones so they provide a lots of choices and people can decide which is suitable for them.

Disadvantages of Headphones

• Headphone provides many advantages but it also have some harmful effects too. If you will use it in very louder volume and for longer duration it could cause damage to your ears and also lead to hear loss. If its used more than enough it could cause serious issues also.
• While using headphones you cannot know what’s happening in yours surrounding. It may isolate you from the outer world and you may become addict to it. In short it may cause social isolation of person.

FAQs on What are Headphones?

Q.1: How do noise-cancelling headphones works?

Answer:

Noise-cancelling headphones utilize advanced technology to work their magic in eradicating bothersome noises.

Q.2: What Is connection between headphone size and audio quality?

Answer:

Contrary to perception, audio quality isn’t necessarily linked to headphone size, although larger headphones might lend you the look of a DJ.

Q.3: What is main difference between “on-ear” and “over-ear” headphones differ?

Answer:

The distinction centers around whether they sit snugly on your ears (on-ear) or provide a comfortably enveloping experience (over-ear).

Q.4: What’s the purpose behind headphones indicating a left and right side?

Answer:

Headphones specify left and right sides to enhance the immersive and precise audio experience they provide.