When it comes to headphones the range and choice available can be quite daunting. Firstly there is the earpiece design: On Ear headphones, Over Ear headphones or In Ear headphones. Then there are the various types of technology features to choose from such as wireless headphones using either RF (Radio Frequency) or Bluetooth so send the sound from source to headphones. Another major technology is noise reducing or noise cancelling headphones which can be achieved in various ways. Just the act of using in ear headphones where the earpiece sits directly in the ear canal or over ear headphones which totally encase the ear will have the effect of reducing the external noise that the wearer can hear. This is often referred to as passive noise cancellation.
The alternative is so called active noise cancelling headphones. These use electronic circuitry to read the external noise and then produce an opposite noise wave thus cancelling the background noise. This type of noise cancelling headphones can, according to some manufacturers, reduce background noise by up to 99% and therefore are really ideal in noisy environments like air, bus or train travel.
Active noise cancelling headphones are also kinder to the ears because you do not have to crank up the volume to hear the music over and above the background noise and thus reduce the possibility of ear damage from too much volume
So once one has decided on the type of earpiece, the technology features that one wishes to have included the next major choices are around design, colour and brand. The combinations of these three criteria are infinite.
There are a number of brands which are closely associated with headphones such as the traditional consumer electronics manufacturers like Sony, JVC and Panasonic. Then there are the new hip brands associated with the youth music markets such as Dr Dre, SMS Street headphones and SOUL by Ludacris headphones. Lastly there are a number of brands who are renowned within the wider music and recording market for their technological brilliance and are often the choice of professional musicians. Amongst these Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser and and Shure earphones and headphones are the most famous.
Shure earphones and Shure headphones are produced by an American company founded in 1925 which is renowned in the music industry for its award-winning Sound Isolating Earphones, mobile phone stereo headsets to Professional Studio and DJ headphones. All built on professional audio roots, Shure’s consumer audio products are designed to take listening experiences of MP3 players, mobiles phones and sound systems to a higher level.