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Sales Primer
The Headphone Guide - I
Ravi Lakkundi
Product Manager, India
Harman International India (Pvt) Ltd
Published on: 18 Oct 2012

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Introduction
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers designed to be held close to a users ears. Originated from
ear piece, for many years these were the only devices existing to listen to audio before amplifiers were
developed. A century ago when the first usable headphones were developed, it probably was never
imagined that headphones would take over the music world as the only audio accessory categorized for
personal audio, obvious isn’t it!
Pre-Modern headphones made their way with Walkman era, when customers used to buy walkmans
with a pair of large, awkward looking headphones or small ear piece in/on their ears. Reason of this pre-
modernization was that listeners got a medium to carry their music with them, a portable medium. Back
then it was magnetic tapes, cassettes etc and now in this modern era its digital medium – iPod, iPhones,
Other Smartphones, portable players, tablets etc. The need for headphones is growing ever, with the
content residing in more on-the-move devices and being more accessible, the headphone becomes an
inevitable accessory to carry for personal entertainment.
Headphones being personal music accessory/devices, are also a style statement for the young
generation. A decade ago it was seen that headphones in general audio devices, came in only Black and
White universal acceptable colors – but now things have changed to the world of all new funky colors –
One can now see all sorts of color variants in these headphones – Red, Blue, Green name it and surely it
will be there.
This paper takes a deep dive into headphones as category. It provides classification of various types of
headphones, usecase of such headphones and also serves as a buying guide for customers.
Options and Opinions
Good music should be heard on good quality headphones. Current market offers plenty of options to
customers in terms of designs, color and types of headphones. Options do not distract a focused, well
conversant customer but then if a casual listener of music wants to buy a “good” pair of headphones he
gets overwhelmed by the number of options he/she sees in a retail store. They get so much
overwhelmed that at times they walk out of the store with a confused mindset or buy something that is
either wrong for their intended use or is too much for what they will use the headphone for.
When investing in a good pair of headphones or any electronics or any gadget or anything literally!! –
The customer invariably looks it on internet. The process of buying starts from there, Per say for
headphones, he searches on internet as “I want to buy a good pair of headphones”, “headphones for
jogging”, “good dj headphones” etc. The reviews do serve good information for customer’s thought but

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are not necessarily always right, the reviews at times fail to deduce the customer needs and guide them
to right product.
At times it also is the responsibility of knowledgeable on-ground sales staff to bring in customer delight
and help him find a suitable product.
The Classification
Classifying a category so diverse is a tough task, but it’s always beneficial to do some sort of grouping.
We shall try to classify headphones based on usage, technology etc. Each of these grouping could be
actually a subtype of other: Over Ear wireless Gaming Headphone.
Form Factor Classification:
• InEar
Also known as Ear canal headphones, these headphones are
placed in ear canals, which actually seal the user from outside
world. They are small, light weight and portable headphones.
These headphones generally come with different size sleeves for
a better fitting in terms of isolation.
Being ultra compact and light weight, these are intended for
casual listeners, ex: who want to listen to music while travelling in a public transport (Often bundled
with Smartphones/Portable Music players), these types of headphone (entry level) are not known for

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their bass response. User preferences vary, some feel it quite comfortable and others may have
discomfort wearing such headphones.
Customers if are looking for a portable headphone which could easily fit in their pockets and who are
casual listeners of music and want to keep their music to themselves and want to isolate themselves
from the surroundings can go for these headphones. Biggest advantage of such small headphones is
they do not interfere with your other accessories such as hair band, goggles, caps etc. One word of
advice is while choosing this type of headphone - one should look for tangle free flat cables, which
prevent any kind of mess of cables in ones pocket or purse.
These headphones come in a wide Varity of colors and also have some stylish zipper wire cable designs
available.
• Ear Bud
Unlike Inear/ear canal headphone, ear buds are placed just
outside the ear canal, without actually sealing the ear from
outside world. They also are extremely portable, small and light
weight. These are comparatively cheap than their InEar counter
parts. Since these do not fit in the canal, they have a tendency to
fall while being used. At times these are not so personal too, the
audio being played might be heard by surrounding world, in
better words audio leaks to outside world. At a same volume level InEars may sound more loud and
clear at times as compared to Ear buds – for a particular model. These generally do not offer high
dynamic range compared to InEar headphones and suffer from poor base.
Customers if are looking for portable, lightweight headphones and are casual listeners of music, might
chose this as an option. These are not meant jogging or sporting use, primary reason being they often
slip or come loose. Customers who feel discomfort wearing InEar headphones, yet have a desire to have
portable headphones, lightweight option can go for Ear Bud headphones.
Biggest advantage here too is they do not interfere with your other accessories such as hair band,
goggles, caps etc, but then they fall off often for some users. One word of advice is while choosing this
type of headphone one should look for tangle free flat cables, which prevent any kind of mess of cables
in ones pocket or purse.
These headphones too come in a wide Varity of colors and also have some stylish zipper wire cable
designs available.

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• OnEar
These headphones rest on outer ear. These headphones are very
comfortable and often have some kind of foldable mechanism
for flat bag storage useful for travel. They are not categorized as
portable but can certainly be used as travel headphones.
These headphones come in two types – Open-back headphones
and Closed-back headphones.
Open-back headphones: These have the back of ear cups open.
This essentially leaks sound, but sounds more natural and
spacious.
Closed-back headphones: These have the back ear cups closed or sealed. They block the ambient sound
but may not have a natural sound. These headphones give user a perception that the sound is coming
from within their heads. Reason being the closed back headphones reflect the sound back to the ear.
These headphones are also called Supra-aural headphones and are a very popular type. Lot of user
communities uses these headphones, meaning from audiophiles to casual listeners.
Customers looking for a ‘little’ audiophile quality sound and who want their music to be clear with good
bass can chose this type of headphone. These headphones range anywhere from $50 to $500, an advice
here is that chose the right one based on wearing comfort and audio preference. While choosing play
your favorite track which you have listened to many times – so that you know what the headphone
misses in terms of sound (Bass, Mid range or highs)
These headphones certainly mess up with your newly done hairstyle! At times these can be tight, so be
careful with the headbands flexibility, if tight it may pain your ears and will be very uncomfortable.
Foldable earcups, memory foams/cushions would be a nice feature as well as a detachable cable would
be preferred feature to look for. Ah, not to forget flat tangle-free cables!
• Over Ear
Also known as full sized headphones or Circumaural headphones,
these headphones cover the ear entirely. These headphones are
big and also heavy at times. They are not categorized as portable
headphones, but certainly are urban style wears. To reduce any
discomfort of wearing there has been lot of research on
headbands that gets used in OnEar headphones. Current
generation headbands are extremely comfortable.

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Word of caution: At times these headphones can make your ears sweat! Since they lack aeration
These styles of headphones are often used in reference quality/audiophile headphones. These are
better suited for homes/studios etc and not as travel or portable use – reason being their size and
weight. These have excellent isolation from outside world.
Customers looking for audiophile quality headphones or who are audiophiles themselves can go with
these headphones, chances are there that customers demanding these types of headphones are
knowledgeable and may not need any guidance from the sales staff!
Connectivity Classification
In terms of connectivity the headphones can be broadly classified as Wired and Wireless headphones
• Wired Headphones – These will generally have a male 3.5mm input pin for connection to portable
devices/laptops/computers etc. Some manufactures do give their proprietary connections but this
fashion is slowly getting phased out. Few of the desirable features of wired headphones are gold
plated 3.5mm input pin (especially audiophile quality headphones), flat cables (for tangle free) and
detachable cables from other side (saves lots of money if the cables wears off – user just has to
replace the wire).
• Wireless Headphones – These are generally Bluetooth based solutions, needless to say battery
operable. They support mostly all A2DP and AVRCP profile. These headphones are generally in On-
Ear form factor. One of the key desirable features apart from longer battery life is a cable. In case of
battery being drained out user should still be able to use the headphone as a wired headphone.
Customers need to make sure while buying a wireless headphone that it supports the latest
available Bluetooth profile and the best streaming technology in terms of audio quality.
Headphones vs Headset – A headphone is referred to as a headset when it has a
microphone attached with it, either the microphone protrudes out or is built-in
Usage Classification
Classification based on the usecase is important to know. A short list of this classification is given here
• Gaming
These headsets provide an immersive sound experience while in gaming mode. They give the
gamer an ability to speak to teammates allowing them to coordinates their actions and next move.
• DJ
These headphones/headsets reproduce precise sound coming from the mixing board and isolate
the DJ from the dance floor noise. These generally are audiophile headphones and are Over the
Ear headphones. A desirable feature in this category is twistable earcups.

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• Sports
Headphones which are meant for ones workouts at gym, for athletes, runners, joggers, cyclers
etc, these are soft and comfortable and do not fall out from the activity.
These headphones are shaped as InEar neckband headphones many times having
wireless functinality
• Travel
Travel headphones have some special technological features – Noise cancellation
These are also In Ear sealed headphones. Noise cancellation headphones cancel the
unwanted ambient noise outside. Noise cancellation makes it possible to enjoy music
without raising the volume excessively. These headphones are often used by travelers –
On Air, public transport etc. These headphones use a built-in microphone to generate
some kind of anti-noise to cancel ambient noise and keep ones ears noise free and rich
of music ! A short note on noise cancellation is probably injustice to this type of
headphones but customers wanting this type of headphones are often travelers and
want the best in class headphones.
• Reference/Studio
High quality HiFi headphones used by sound engineers in studios for mixing and other
recording/sound processing/measurement applications are tagged as reference
headphones. These audiophile quality and the customers know what they are buying!
These are Over Ear form headphones
Surround Headphones – A surround headphone has some kind of digital signal
processor embedded in it which processes the sound for surround effect, meaning user
experiences the sound as though he was seated in a movie theater surrounded by
speakers. These headphones come generally in On Ear or Over Ear form type and are
generally costlier. At times smartphones/portable devices host a software solution of
the surround technology and user may use a normal headphone to experience surround
effet.

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Conclusion
A brief introduction of different types of headphones is given in this paper. The classification of
headphones is a very difficult proposition since this particular product category is very spread out.
Customer intending to buy headphones need to be careful on their needs and frequent usecase, a buy
must be made keeping most important use cases in mind. Music is personal and so is the headphone
one will be using, so be careful when investing your dollars – and refer to this guide when in doubt! (A
word for salesmen too !)
References
Some of the definitions and materials have been inspired from the reference links provided. For the
ones who wish to read more here are some reference World Wide Web links
[1] www.harman.com
[2] www.jbl.com
[3] http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/headphone-buying-guide-by-type.html
[4] http://www.overstock.com/guides/Types-of-Headphones-Explained
[5] http://reviews.cnet.com/
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones
[7] http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/peripherals/2010/01/03/the-best-gaming-headset/1