How much types of headphones has been, their design shape

Headphones come in many shapes and designs, but there are almost five main types, distinguished by the size and shape of the earcups and how they fit and deliver sound into your ears. Other ways to distinguish headphones include the principle of acoustics (sealed, opened, noise reduction) or the types of acoustic drivers they use (dynamic, planar-magnetic, electrostatic, etc.). We do not need to mention driver classification or noise cancellation types; first, we must mention a simpler problem. Distinguish between Opened and Sealed headphones.

Opened headphones allow sound to escape from behind the driver or through the earpad, while Sealed/Closed headphones have a sealed earcup behind the driver or have a pulse shield around the ear. Open headphones are not affected by the acoustic resonance in the air behind the driver or the air between the driver and the head like closed headphones; they also do not block outside noises. Open headphones usually have a more open and spacious sound, but because they’re mixed with background noise, the ideal places to listen are mostly at home or in the office. Closed headphones tend to be more “discreet,” but because the sound is well isolated from the outside, it can still be used in noisy places. In most of the cases mentioned below, there is a comparison between open and closed headphones.

The following is a chart of the compatibility between different types of headphones. The upper left ear image will represent where the headphones will contact and transmit sound into the ear, and the diagram on the right will accurately depict this relationship.

It should also be noted that human ears come in many different sizes and shapes, so what may be comfortable for one person may be uncomfortable for another. In general, the smaller the headset, the easier it is to have problems with convenience and usability. Circum-aural headphones do not touch the ears, so they often provide the highest level of comfort. Supra-aural headphones are placed on the ear, so the level of comfort and soundproofing will vary depending on the shape of the user’s ear. In-ear headphones are very small, and there are many types of tips that are often included so that users can choose those elements in the most satisfactory way.

Circum-aural Headphones (aka Full-Size, Around-the-Ear, or Over-Ear)

The sound coming from the headphones is unnatural. When listening to music through speakers or listening to nature sounds, the sound waves bounce through our chest, head, and ears in such a way that when they come into contact with the eardrum, those sounds are changed dramatically. That is completely natural, and we are often used to those changes – we need them to perceive the sound as authentically as possible. Headphones ignore many of these factors, so sometimes, the sound becomes less realistic than when listening through speakers. Full-size headphones are placed around the ear and have the driver located close to but not touching the ear, so they achieve a sound closest to what we hear naturally. Also, because of that factor, the best and most prominent headphones are usually this Circum-aural headset.

On the other hand, due to their large size, Circum-aural headphones often have a larger volume of generated volume (the part of the air between the headset and the ear, and the part of the air inside the housing behind the driver) that is larger than the volume other headphones. That makes it possible to lower faulty acoustic resonances to lower frequencies than other types of headphones, so the ability to produce uneven frequency response in the range of 2kHz and above (treble short). To solve this case, the best way is to open the rear part of the driver to the outside environment so that the sound can easily escape from the headphone case. The best headphones in the world are usually open-ended. The only weakness of open headphones is that the people around you will also hear what you are listening to, and vice versa; you will also be affected by sounds from the outside environment. Therefore, open Circum-aural headphones are often best suited when enjoying music in a quiet environment like at home or your own office. Professional audio players appreciate the realism and clarity of sound when using these headphones to listen to and make music in closed and quiet rooms.

Circum-aural headphones, whether closed-back or opened, are also greatly influenced by the resonances in the headphone shell behind the driver; they have the advantage of soundproofing from the outside environment. However, it should also be noted that the sound insulation of Circum-aural headphones also has many different levels. The vents on the rear cover adjust the bass, and the leaky pads that make the bass clearer when changing will also help increase the sound insulation in closed headphones. In other words, those customizations will make it sound better. A closed-back headset that has a high level of sound isolation and sounds great is a very difficult thing to achieve.

The closed-loop Circum-aural headphones are best suited for: listening to music in noisy environments, making music in studios, and in situations where the escaping sound could annoy those around you. This type of headset is suitable for handheld or travel use, but due to their large size, they are often not convenient to carry around, and sound insulation can be achieved when using in-ear headphones or headphones anti-noise.

Supra-Aural (On-ear, Earpad)

This headset is located outside the ear, hugging to remove the ear canal and the opposite edge. That type of headset relies heavily on the earpad for sound absorption/dispersion and acoustic feedback. They have quite a few designs, from closed to opened or even without an earpad at all. Earpad materials are also quite a lot, from leather to fabric to nylon.

These headphones are usually compact, lightweight, and have a folding design to suit traveling a lot and users’ needs in sports activities. Due to too much dependence on the earpad, their sound quality is almost not the same.

Supra-Concha Headphones (Categorized generally as On-Ear)

When they started focusing on the mid-size (supra-aural) headphone segment, sound engineers realized that on-ear (supra-concha) headphones were a completely different class. Headphones with a snap-in design on the inside of the earpiece (ignoring the pinna) are not aimed at soundproofing; supra-concha headphones like Sennheiser PX 200, PX 100, Koss PortaPro are very good models successful in the market. iIs outstanding sound quality with small and compact size. Of course, the driver size is also small with its compact size, so it can’t show too low or too high sound ranges.

Intra-Concha Earphones (Ear-Buds)

That is the type of headset that people also call earbud. Compact size fits in the ear speaker and is difficult to fit all people’s earmolds. The design is always open, does not create a sound direction, so the sound is not focused. The bass is pretty much dissipated before reaching the tympanic membrane; the distortion in the ear canal is also very high because the sound has been lost to the outside, leading to many people feeling and tending to increase the volume high. One of the coolest earbuds we have is the Apple Earbud – it’s cheap, and the sound quality isn’t too bad. For high-end earbud headphones, to get good sound quality, investing in the damping part (such as foam stuffing, sound absorption/dispersion material inside the shell is very important), we can see in Yuin models such as PK1 Pk2 and Pk3.

In-Ear Monitors (IEM)

That is the smallest type of headset. That is fixed to the inside of the ear canal with either silicone ear tips or foam memory tips. The in-ear design is excellent because the distance from the driver to the eardrum is very small. The sound engineers will create a false ear canal right inside the headset to compensate for the distance that the silicone ear tips and nozzle (the protrusion for attaching ear tips). As we can see here, the Ocharaku Flat 4 Sui uses a Phase Correction Tube and Tornado Equalizer.

Thus, in-ear headphones ignore almost all but the normal hearing mechanism of the human ear, the phenomenon of acoustic feedback on the pinna, which is a very important factor to create sound image and soundstage. These factors do not exist for in-ear headphones, so, understandably, you will hear the image and soundstage not as good as full-size headphones. The best thing that in-ear headphones give you is a very good detail. The soundproofing mechanism is good, so the bass is not attenuated; this time becomes more powerful.

However, in-ear users often have problems with fit and comfort. The reason is due to the size of the silicone ear tips, which may be too large or too small, or even someone is allergic to silicone. In addition to silicone, you can rest assured that there are also foam ear tips (sponge tips similar to noise-reducing ear tips in the medical industry).