Most of us are tethered to our devices for at least some part of the day, listening to music, gaming, watching videos on tablet, phones or laptops. Our headphones are not merely an accessory anymore - they are practically an extension of ourselves. Want to stay tuned to your favorite beats or want to indulge in a movie marathon without disturbing the ones around you - the right pair of earphones will allow you to do all of this and a lot more!
But how to find the ‘right’ ones?
Is that a question which is bothering you as well? Well, the sheer amount of earphones online choices in type, shape, and size can really be confusing! On top of that, there are a lot of factors that matter while choosing your headphones that you might not be aware of.
There’s only one way to navigate through all this, that is to learn about the specifics and understand the jargon. You’re probably already aware of these and if you’re not, keep reading.
Finding the right design for your ears
A. In-ear Design
You might know them by various names like earbuds, in-ear headphones, these are the smallest and most portable type of earphones. They rest in the bowl of the ear, outside the ear canal, though a portion might extend into the canal. They have foam or rubber tips to give you comfort.
Some models, particularly sports centric ones, come equipped with wings or fins for a tailored and secure fit. These insert-style models when inserted into the canals often form a seal that can help keep out the extraneous noise. They are extremely popular these days due to their stylish looks and convenience.
Talking about the benefits of this design - the first thing that comes to the mind is their small size and hence the portability they offer. You can stuff them in your pockets or carry them in your palm. They don’t mess up your hair or interfere with your glasses or earrings! You can carry them effortlessly and always be at your stylish best!
B. Ear Clip Design
If you are looking for a middle ground between huge and bulky headphones and extremely compact and portable earbuds, then ear-clip design earphones are meant for you. In a lot of ways they carry the best of both.
These headphones are compact and have ear-loops to keep them in place. Mind you they are not like having ear tips, but a complete feature hook that fits over the ears and connects to your music device via Bluetooth or audio jack. This makes them easier to carry around than heavy headphones and more comfortable than earbuds.
On-ear clip-on headphones bestow protection to the user from different kinds of gory bacteria that might enter the ear canal and lead to infections.
C. Behind the Neck Design
We are sure you have already seen people wearing these high-tech collars with headphones sprouting out the sides. They go around with different names like - neckband headphones, collar headphones or even behind the neck headphones.
This distinctive style of design offers them multiple advantages. The first major advantage is quite an obvious one, but still worth pointing out - they are always around whenever you want them. Given that the earbuds are hanging around your neck, mere inches away from your ears, you won’t have to dig through your bag or pockets when you want to listen to your favorite tune or take a call.
Apart from this, they also come with many surprises like convenient controls, better mics that are nearer to the mouth, and bigger batteries. In the end, they say ‘I am on the go’ or ‘I am active’ and add that extra edge to your personality - Neckbands vs TWS: What Do You Need?
Connectivity - Go Wired or Wireless
Now that you have decided on the type and style, the next step is to determine how you want to connect them to your device. Do you want to stay connected (read wired) or want to go no strings attached (read wireless), it’s completely up to your preferences - No Strings With These Wireless Earphones Under 2000!
Wired Earphones
You are most probably familiar with and already used these types of earphones. They come with dependable wire which you have to insert into your source of music. They come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages:
Let’s start with the pros. First and foremost, they offer a stable and lag-free connectivity, which in return ensures top class audio clarity. Audiophiles typically swear by their audio output. On top of that you do not have to worry about charging them.
However, dealing with the wire can be slightly problematic for some. When left unattended, they turn into a knotty (pun intended) mess. But if that’s the concern, then you can always opt for the ones that come with a tangle-free wire. For example: Bassheads 242, Bassheads 100, Bassheads 152 will provide you with extraordinary sound quality and you do not even have to worry about untangling the wire frequently - Wired Or Wireless Headphones - Which One To Pick.
Wireless Earphones
Wireless earphones are already a rage! All thanks to the fact that they allow you the freedom to go ‘wireless’ meaning groove to the beats of your favorite tunes without any restrictions. You ask why? As most of the wireless earphones use bluetooth to connect to the source of music! Another advantage of these bluetooth earphones is that you can carry them anywhere - 5 Reasons To Switch To A Pair Of Wireless Earphones!
However, batteries might become a point of concern for some people but we request you to have a look at boAt’s exquisite range of
True wireless earbuds even come with a carry cum charge case which ensures extra hours of battery. So you don’t have to actually worry about your music stopping just because you ran out of charge! The minimalist wire in the wireless neckbands is only to support you and doesn't interfere in your movement, rather facilitates it.
Still deciding between wired or wireless? Read more here - Wired Or Wireless Headphones - Which One To Pick.
Features you should look out for
There’s a lot of jargon that goes around when talking about earphones. You might have already heard them in random conversations every now and then.
Read on to understand them better as you definitely need to have fair understanding of these in order to make the right choice:
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Sound Quality & Drivers
Audiophile or not - we are sure that the quality of sound is a concern for all when considering buying the perfect earphones. Be it music, podcasts or movies - you want a pair that does justice to every note and ensures that you get to listen to your music the way it’s meant to be!
Drivers are one such core component of any headphone that are instrumental in ensuring good sound quality. They boost the bass, mids and the treble to allow for an enjoyable listening experience. They basically convert the electrical signal feed to the headphones into an audible sound signal that can be perceived by the human ear. There are various types of drivers that are used in earphones, including the most commonly used moving coil (dynamic) drivers, balanced armature drivers, planar magnetic drivers and electrostatic drivers, among others. They use different technologies to power the sound, with some technologies offering better, more powerful sound than others. They also provide better isolation due to the absence of a vent within.
In most cases, the larger the driver, the better the overall sound quality. For example, boAt’s Airdopes 381 come with 7mmX 2 drivers and pump out phenomenal music!
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Bass Quality
Sound quality, of course, is important to everybody; but for some, big bass is a must. It supplies the music’s weight & power and gives one a feeling of movement or thump. If you are someone who enjoys bass-heavy genres like EDM, funk or metal, you would definitely understand the importance of having a powerful device as the non-bass heavy earphones can really be a bummer.
If you are also looking for some bass-tastic music then have a look at boAt’s Bassheads series as they are one of the best bass earphones today - Excellent Bass Quality Headphones For All Day Wear!
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Mic Quality
Apart from listening to your favorite tunes, you are going to use your earphones to take calls - it’s not even a surprise! Be it a long night gossip session with your bff or a very important call with your boss - you need to ensure that you are being heard loud and clear.
That’s why it’s always important to have a look at the mic quality of the earphones before buying it. Do the earphones take care of noise cancellation? Is the mic of the earphone even located near the mouth? Keep in mind all of these things before making the plunge. boAt has designed various products like Bassheads 225 which provides smooth calls and lets you be heard clearly - Be Loud & Proud With The Best Bluetooth Earphones In India.
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IPX rating
Let's just admit - we are a little careless when it comes to taking care of our earphones! They are vulnerable to everyday wear and tear - be it dust, splash of water - or even sweat - anything can cause them damage! For example - if you depend on music to keep you pumped up while you sweat it out at the gym or want to go out for a jog while it’s pleasantly drizzling outside then you would not want to enjoy it all without sweat or rain drops damaging them.
That’s where IP rating comes into the picture!
IP stands for Ingress Protection and also referred to as International Protection. IPX rating is the marking that denotes the level of protection against water, dust, etc. the IPX may also alternatively denote the object being ‘weather-resistant’, ‘waterproof’, or ‘dust resistant’
The higher the IPX rating, the better protection is:
- IPX4- Protects against splashing water
- IPX5- Protects against water jets
- IPX6- Protects against powerful water jets
- IPX7- Protects in water up to 3 feet.
- IPX8- Protects when immersed in water over 3 feet
Having said that, you can feel free to carry boAt’s Airdopes 441 for all your adventures as it comes with an IPX7 rating!
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Playback time & Battery Life
For those of you who have only used wired earphones, the fact that wireless earphones have a limited battery life might be an alien concept. As they are tethered to your device over bluetooth, they come with rechargeable batteries that need fuel (read charge) to make them work. That’s why it’s very much important to check how many uninterrupted hours of listening time you can get per charge with your wireless earphones.
The best thing about wireless earbuds is that they often come with a carry cum charging case that provide additional hours of charge. So always check for the number of hours when it comes to the playback time. However, it might vary a little as per your use, but it’s always advisable to go for the ones which have a decent battery life.
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Fast Charge
Let’s just agree - we often forget to put even our phones on charge, so what’s the guarantee when it comes to remembering to charge our headphones?
You can bid adieu all these worries with Fast Charge Technology. All you need to do is plug in your wireless earbuds for a few minutes and voila, your device will be up and running!
You can have a look at boAt’s Rockerz 255 Pro, it offers a playback time of up to 10 hours and gets charged to 100% in 1 hour - Our Fav Wireless Earphones With Fast Charge.
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Tangle-free Cables
People with wired headphones often find themselves in a knotty mess! The moment you leave your headphones unattended in your pocket or throw it around in the bag, you are guaranteed to be spending at least 10 min untangling the wire next day! And yes, nobody likes that!
That’s why boAt has a range of products which support tangle-free and durable cables. They don’t bend easily and the flat design or the braiding restricts them from getting all tangled up - 5 Best Hacks To Keep Your Earphones Untangled.
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Voice Assistant & Controls
Earphones are not merely a device to listen to music from, they also customize your overall listening experience. But with a good pair, you can even make your entire listening experience absolutely hands-free! That’s the power of intelligent controls! They allow you to adjust volume, skip, pause, stop songs and even manage calls!
Some earphones come with an intuitive touch panel likewhile others like come with a multifunction button design. The sole purpose of both is to ensure that you don’t have to reach out to your mobile device every time you have a call or want to stop the music! On top of that, you can even activate and access Voice Assistants like Ok Google or Alexa to do your bidding!
Earphones for every passion
Do you want your earphones to take you on your music high the moment you put them on? Or are you looking for headphones that don’t fall off when you jog? Or headphones that block out the world on a crowded plane?
The point: There's an earphone for everything you do. Read on as we break down some of the popular needs and suggest you the right pair for you:
Earphones for every budget
You want good earphones, but that should not mean that they should burn a hole in your pocket. That’s why we have a few options for every pocket and every ear:
Best Earphones under Rs. 1,200
Rockerz 235V2
10mm
Dynamic Drivers
IPX5
Sweat and Water Resistant
Bluetooth
Neckbands
Rockerz 245V2
12mm
Audio Drivers
IPX5
Sweat and Water Resistant
Bluetooth
Neckbands
Bassheads 242
10mm
Dynamic Drivers
IPX4
Sweat and Water Resistant
3.5mm Jack
Earphones
Best Earphones under Rs. 2,000
Airdopes 431
7mm
x2 Drivers
IPX5
Sweat and Water Resistant
Bluetooth
TWS Earbuds
Rockerz 335
12mm
Dynamic Drivers
IPX5
Sweat and Water Resistant
Bluetooth
Neckbands
Bassheads 152
10mm
Dynamic Drivers
3.5mm Jack
Earphones
Best Earphones under Rs. 3,000
Airdopes 441 Pro
10mm
Dynamic Drivers
IPX7
Sweat and Water Resistant
Bluetooth
TWS Earbuds
Airdopes 621
6mm
Dynamic Drivers
IPX7
Sweat and Water Resistant
Bluetooth
TWS Earbuds
Rockerz 275V2
10mm
Dynamic Drivers
IPX5
Sweat and Water Resistant
Bluetooth
Neckbands
