Understanding your Audio Gear- Part1: Technical Specifications

Music has always been my way to calm myself, letting me forget about all issues that I might be facing. What is good music is highly subjective but we all want to own that good headphone or earbuds that lets us feel the music in that way we want.

As I began exploring on how to to improve my listening experience, I was astounded by the plethora of options available. It was quite a challenge for me to understand the intricacies and technicalities of audio gear, especially the part when you are bombarded with lot of numbers that makes no sense for most of us.

Understanding the specifications of the gear you plan to buy does help you get a sense of whats in store. However, be wary of the fact that too much focus on the specifications will make you focus too much on aspects that don’t really matter for a good experience

In this post, I hope to explain few key aspects of the technical specifications that you find in any audio gear, helping you in your quest to find the perfect gear for you

To Help Explain, I picked up specifications of the highest selling wired earphone boAt Bassheads 100 at Amazon India

Headphone Type: Explains the type of headphone design for the product. The various options include

• In-Ear: Earphones that go inside your ear. A good fit that feels comfortable and well placed is needed for a good audio experience
• On-Ear: Earphones or headphones that rest on your ear but don’t enclose it fully, also indicates compact design. Focus is on ease of use and mobility
• Over-Ear: Headphones that cover your entire ear and provide you a wholesome experience. Design focus mostly to provide best sound experience than mobility

We further have the following 2 options in headphones

• Open Headphones: These are designed to allow outside sound and provide you with an experience as what you get from speakers in a room. Generally comfortable to wear for long periods. Sounds leaks outside, letting others hear your music
• Closed Headphones: They are designed with a focus to isolate your ears from outside sound. Preferable to use during commute or when you don’t want to disturb others with your music

There is a whole school of thought and debate on which type of headphone is better, which I will further elaborate in a later post

Super Extra Bass: This gives you an idea on the type of sound signature that this earphone provides. In this, you will have a boost in the bass segment of sound that many prefer.

You have following options typically:

• Flat: Sound comes exactly the way it was recored, sounding as natural as possible. Great for those who are in the business of recording music
• Balanced: A flat sound with minor tweaks that makes sound more enjoyable. Personally this is my favourite sound signature
• Bright: Boost in mid range (vocals, most musical instruments, simply the key part of any music ) and treble (High shrill sounds such as flute). Highly subjective sound as what one likes can be hated by others
• V-Shaped: Boost bass and treble, giving you a live music feel. Rock songs are enjoyed in this signature
• Extra Bass: A boost in Bass, that give you a thump but you tend to lose clarity in song if not done well. Super extra bass thats highlighted is just another way to say the same
• Warm and Smooth: Bass boost with reduction in treble, that reduces shrillness in music and many enjoy clarity of such sound.

Driver Size: Sound is reproduced by the vibrations of the driver. Ideally bigger driver indicates clearer bass but also loss in higher frequencies. For most purposes, not a metric that can help anyone decide anything

Impedance: Higher the value, more is the power needed so important to see basis usage plan for the product. Ideally aim for below 32 for usage in Smartphones and if plan to use at home, you can opt for higher valued ones but then you need to plan for more setup to get best quality. If you want a simple setup, keep it 32 or below

Sensitivity: Sound is measured in dB, so this shows how much sound is produced with a given fixed power input. Higher values indicate that headphones can get pretty loud at max volume. As long as you have low impedance headphones, not much worry is needed as you will get enough loudness from your mobile

Frequency: Humans can hear between 20–20,000Hz. However for most above 20, the upper range reduces with age and most cant hear anything beyond 17,000. So as long it has a value above 17,000, you are good to go. Anything below 20Hz is also useless.

I have read many claiming that higher frequencies give you a feel but I feel its just mumbo jumbo for I never felt any difference

Noise Isolation: Generally we have 2 types in play

• Active: System in place where the outside noise is subdued as you see in noise cancellation headphones popularised by Bose. Good for usage in flights or office areas but you tend to feel a slight pressure on your ear at the same. For those keen to understand in more detail, head here
• Passive: It focuses on creating a seal to isolate outside sounds, so one hears less outside sounds. Great for most situations but not as good as active. I prefer this system as I personally find it delivers better sound quality over active.

Rated Power: The amount of power it consumes which for most headphones designed for mobile use is not key info. The value is important for gear designed for usage in headphones as the value is key when looking for a Amplifiers for your headphones.

For most speakers, you will see similar type specifications, however you will see SPL rather than sensitivity, which is proxy for how loud they get. Do keep in mind that 85 db is good level that feels loud enough to hear for long hours without any hearing loss for the long term

You may find more advanced specifications if you are looking at more higher priced gear which will be elaborated in further posts in this series

Hope this post provides you with basic info on how to read the specs of any headphones and understand them to help in making a more informed decision