SoundGirls.org: Choosing our ideal headphones is usually a topic that binds us, and we tend to resort to the first direct recommendation that comes our way, whether it is from our friends, experts in the field, or the first thing that comes to us online, which is not that bad, but; how could they know exactly what we are looking for or, rather, what we are listening to?
3 comments:
This was an article I was super interested to read. I usually join calls, do work, listen to music, watch entertainment, etc. with just the external speakers on the device I am watching on, if not with a bluetooth speaker. ( think I’m a little deaf at times, so the louder the better, usually!) If I am not playing music at loud, or if I’m in a private meeting, I will use my Airpods. I haven’t had too much of a problem with them.
I guess this article doesn’t give a resolute answer rather than open the conversation up to the discretion of the person using the headphones. I’m not too picky, I’m no sound designer, so sleek and understated is usually the better choice for me.
This is also a personal choice for me, but I like being halfway aware of the world around me when I’m using my headphones. If I’m walking, skating, at the library, or just in the comfort of my home, wearing over the headphones block nearly everything else out-- which some people probably definitely prefer.
This article brought up a huge conversation with my friends: over the ear headphones or earbuds. I have always been an over ear headphones person. They sit comfortably on my head and do not hurt my ears. I feel that earbuds often end up hurting my ears for extended periods of time, and have a lower quality of the sound I am listening to. However, my friends said that for them they think that over ear headphones are unfashionable, and I was surprised when they informed me that their ears never hurt when they have on earbuds! On the other hand, I haven't heard of on ears, or seen them for many years, and the thought of them disgusts me. I can just imagine the sound leaking through, the headphones compressing your ear, and I would not be able to bear that. I have heard of the issues of hearing loss that I was surprised the article did not mention. With any type of headphones, it is very easy to listen to a volume that is too loud for your ears, which can result in hearing loss over time.
This was interesting, I hadn’t read much discussion about this in a long time. As others have commented, for personal use there are a lot of variables on what works for you (I personally use Airpods for ease of use & compact nature). But I will say, over the ear headphones are my preference for any sort of comm system during a live show. I think the worst headset I’ve ever used was the one I was given as the stage manager of an arts festival at my school– an in the ear headphone in one ear with a ton of noise all around me (pre-show audience mostly, then performances) meant I couldn’t hear a word anyone was trying to say to me. This meant resorting to texting for any important information (NOT a good system!!). I’ve found over the ear sets to work much better for this purpose, but until we’re back in theaters I’ll stick to my Airpods.
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