What Are Hi-res Headphones

What are Hi-Res Headphones? The Hi-Res music market has exploded in recent years. With the dizzying demand from users, headphone developers are launching more and more products with new technology, bringing in leaps and bounds in revenue. It is worth mentioning that although accompanied by the word “Hi-Res” sounds high-end and trendy, few people learn to appreciate what “Hi-Res” is. The Japan Audio Association (JAS) and the Consumer Technology Board (CTA) decided to choose a separate standard for evaluating hi-res audio (2014) to classify and certify qualified products ( Hi-Res Audio logo is allowed)

The concept of Hi-Res headphones

Hi-res headphones often have a necessary standard of having a frequency range above 40kHz. Although this number is much higher than the hearing limit of the human ear (about 20kHz), it still helps to transmit complete audio information. For example, if a note is delivered in its full spectrum, it will sound much more detailed than headphones that only convey the “just enough” part.

Headphones without the Hi-Res label usually only work well in the 20Hz-20kHz frequency range, so when the music goes beyond the limit of this frequency band, the sound will become pale or distorted, no longer retaining the detail. That’s because the headset can’t reproduce the full sound for these extreme frequencies.

In theory, Hi-Res headphones will transmit the full spectrum and most detail, thereby making the sound better. However, this only applies to music sources that also have Hi-Res quality, so if your music collection consists of only CDs or streaming, your “Hi-Res feel” will not be very clear.

How is the sound quality of Hi-Res headphones?

That also depends on certain factors. A headset with the Hi-Res label does not necessarily sound better than a headset without this label. As many people think (and to a certain extent logically), Hi-Res is more of a standard certification (often focused on commercial value) rather than an analysis of important detailed specifications of a headset. To know and compare the true sound quality of Hi-Res and “no Hi-Res” headphones, we have to listen to them directly.

Famous Hi-Res headphone brands

If you are interested or starting to step into the “Hi-Res path,” you can try some famous brands such as Audio-Technica, Onkyo, Philips, RHA, Sennheiser, or Sony. HTC is also a notable choice in recent times with Hi-Res headphones that come with HTC 10 smartphones.

However, it is also important to know that headphones without the Hi-Res label are not necessarily “bad” or substandard. As mentioned above, the Hi-Res logo is partly just a trademark; headphone developers have to pay a fee to use it.