Everything You need to Know before buying Wireless Headphones but didn't think Ask!

Looking for wireless headphones? Why not start by educating yourself on what is suitable for your needs, so you can make a more informed decision?

The key reasons people like yourself look for wireless headphones is to enjoy the most immersive sound experience possible for your specific   needs. You want this immersive experience to be private and uninterrupted; Uninterrupted from the distractions of nagging wires, uninterrupted by companions or neighbours (telling you to “turn down the sound”) and uninterrupted by ambient sounds of your environment. Hey and sometimes you just want to look cool ;)

If you agree and these are some of your primary reasons for wanting a wireless headphone and you want to know more about what’s available, then you have come to the right place. Modern Joys has the answer for you, read on my friend, read on...

One disclaimer I would like to make before we start is that typically most audiophiles would argue that wireless headphones are not as good in sound quality as their wired counterpart and not nearly as good as actual speakers, but in my opinion, in the absence of interference I would argue the sound quality is more than acceptable especially with higher end headphone models. And when you factor in the comfort and convenience of wireless headphones (especially the convenience of not hearing someone telling you to turn your music/TV down) I would argue that in some cases they are a better solution than their wired counterpart.

Currently there are 3 main types of wireless headphones for consumers, I’m sure the future will bring more options, but for now there are Bluetooth, Inferred and Radio Frequency (RF) type wireless headphones. Each of these technologies have their own strengths and weaknesses, knowing them will ultimately aid in any purchasing decisions you make so let’s go through each of them to find out more...

Bluetooth wireless headphones:
Bluetooth is a short range wireless technology. One key benefit of Bluetooth is its robustness.

Bluetooth technology has achieved such global acceptance that any Bluetooth enabled device, almost everywhere in the world, can connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices in proximity. The process of bonding usually requires either the transmitter or receiver search for the other, once found a ‘Pairing’ (password connection process) process is required which is typically simple to complete.

Advocates for Bluetooth will also tout, low power consumption, and low cost as key features of this technology too, but as for low power consumption and low cost, in my opinion this is a matter of opinion, and I typically find that Bluetooth devices when active drain quite a bit of power (example bonding your phone to a Bluetooth headphone vs. plugging in headphones using mini headphone jacks will drain a phone noticeably faster. However if you are planning on bonding your Bluetooth wireless headphone to a music player or device that is plugged in, then  power consumption likely would cease to be an issue.  As for cost Bluetooth wireless headphones are typically more expensive than their IR or RF equivalent counterparts, I believe because the technology is newer and can command a higher price in the marketplace. So this low cost statement must mean these things are cheap to make, but is expensive for you or I to buy...

Here is a bit of trivia about Bluetooth technology that you might not know. Bluetooth operates in the unlicensed band at 2.4 to 2.485 GHz, using a spread spectrum, frequency hopping, full-duplex signal at a rate of 1600 hops/sec. What you should know about this information is that Bluetooth technology’s adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) capability was designed to reduce interference between other wireless technologies sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum which is great considering there is so many devices such as Wireless Phones, Wireless Video transmitters and Wireless Routers (especially those pesky Wireless N Network Routers) in your neighbourhood sucking up this bandwidth, and believe me, you wouldn’t enjoy listening to your music, mixed in heavy network  static. So this spread spectrum hopping is a good thing. Also since it operates on radio frequency, line of site to the transmitter does not matter as long as you are within range.

What is the range of Bluetooth wireless headphones?
There are three classes of Bluetooth devices and the operating range depends on the device class:

• Class 3 radios - have a range of up to 1 meter or 3 feet 
• Class 2 radios - most commonly found in mobile devices - have a range of 10 meters or 30 feet. (Most Bluetooth wireless headphones and other Bluetooth devices used commercially will have this range).
• Class 1 radios - used primarily in industrial use cases - have a range of 100 meters or 300 feet

Since these wireless headphones will receive music from devices that are also portable (phones, IPODs, Bluetooth enabled Handheld GPS etc), these wireless headphones can be considered portable in the full sense of the word.

Are Bluetooth wireless headphones secured?
Bluetooth technology was designed to maintain high levels of security, so once a Bluetooth wireless headphone bonds with the transmitter whether built into your cell phone or Bluetooth base station there is little risk of anyone else listening in. 

How many Bluetooth wireless headphones can connect at one time?
Since Bluetooth devices are designed to do a1 to 1 transmitter to receiver connection (pairing), only 1 headphone will be able to bond with a Bluetooth enabled music player.

Why would I want a Bluetooth wireless headphone?
In my opinion privacy, portability and convenience are the key benefits of Bluetooth enabled wireless headphones. With the widespread adaptation of Bluetooth and MP3 functionality in cell phones, GPS’s and other portable devices along with the huge storage capacity, becoming wireless with a cool looking wireless headphone has never been more fun. And since you can make a secure connection with any of your Bluetooth enabled media players you can feel confident that you can enjoy hours of private listening on the go or in the comfort of your home.

Inferred wireless headphones:
Inferred wireless headphones are line of site devices which work by having an inferred transmitter connected to your media player transmits pulses of light to your wireless headphones.

It’s important to understand that since these are line of sight headphones any inhibitions like kids running in front of the transmitter or an awkward change in position can interrupt the signal. So it is important that there is not a lot of activity between you and the IR transmitter or you will get a lot of sounds cutting in and out.
I would not consider Inferred headphones portable and would say they are more of a device strictly made for in home use.

What is the range of Inferred wireless headphones?
Inferred Headphones have a range of approximately 30 feet or 10 meters. Pretty much the size of a large size room so this is more than acceptable if you are setup up to use in your entertainment room, but remember since it is line of site if you want to go to another room these headphones stop being so practical.

Are Inferred wireless headphones secured?
Since inferred Headphones are line of site keeping a secure audio connection is not a concern. However strictly speaking this is not a secure transmission of audio signal since if for example you were to have a spare inferred headphone that was compatible with the transmitter and was within line of sight, then  the audio signal would be picked up just fine, but at that range you probably could see just who was listening.

How many wireless headphones can connect to an IR transmitter at one time?
The only limit to how many Inferred headsets can connect to one transmitter is the limit of how many compatible IR wireless headphones can stay within the transmitter’s line of sight which I’m sure is a finite number, but it’s definitely more than one, so that one-up’s Bluetooth.

Why would I want an inferred wireless headphone?
Inferred wireless headphones are less susceptible to interference than its RF counterparts. This is because it is unlikely that other inferred devices will also be in a position to interfere, so if line of sight is not an issue and there will never be any physical obstructions, then these are a great solution for close range wireless headsets.

When comparing analogue wireless headsets, inferred transmits audio on separate left and right audio channels to provide true stereo signals so will generally sound better than its RF equivalent. Note however that some Inferred Head phones transmit the audio signals digitally providing even greater audio clarity in comparison to its RF wireless headphone equivalents.

Radio Frequency wireless headphones (RF):
As the name suggest, Radio Frequency wireless headphones use radio frequencies to receive audio signals. The radio frequencies are transmitted within the 800 to 900 MHZ band. Since these are radio signals they have the ability to transmit through most obstructions with little interference so it is totally unnecessary to be in line of sight to the RF transmitter base station. One thing to keep in mind is that the frequency used to transmit is used by many other devices in today’s world so interference or static as a result however infrequent, is quite common. Being too far away from the transmitter will also result in interference that comes across as heavy static.

Is Radio Frequency wireless headphones secured?
These headphones are “not” secured and it is quite possible that others can listen in on whatever you decide to transmit. If you ever get a pair of RF Headphones you can easily see what I mean by just using the built in tuner to scan for available audio signals and see just what you pickup (likely phone conversation, and maybe even walky-talky and other radio transmissions). The reason for this is that the band that these headphones use must comply with regional laws such as the FCC which dictate that these devices are unable to cause harmful interference and that these devices must accept any interference received including interference that may cause “undesired operation. The good news is that many Wireless RF wireless headphones have the ability to easily tune to find channels with the least amount of interference.

What is the range Radio Frequency wireless headphones?
RF wireless headphones typically have the farthest functional range from the base station than any of the other wireless headphone technologies. Typically RF wireless headphones are rated to function within a range of 100 to150 feet away from the base station. To put it in perspective that is typically a range greater than your wireless internet network if you have one, but keep in mind that if the signal must go through walls or water based obstructions (including people) the operational range may be greatly reduced from advertised specifications. One tip to improve performance (at least if there are a lot of people running around your house) is to keep the base station above head level in the main room of operation.

How many RF wireless headsets can connect at one time?
There is no limit to how many compatible wireless headphones within range could connect to an RF transmitter, at least I can’t think of a real world reason why there would be a limit. So if you ever want to get companion headphones to do something crazy like throw a wireless headphone party, it would actually work... so go right ahead J

Why would I want an RF wireless headphone?
Well RF wireless headphones are great for close and long range listening as long as you don’t have an issue with someone else listening in, and you don’t have unacceptable interference in your listening range. I personally will sometimes use RF wireless headphones while doing house chores throughout the house like mowing the lawn, washing the car, vacuuming etc. There is nothing better than being immersed in your favourite music to help break up the monotony of doing boring chores.  They are also great for just lying around pretty much anywhere around the house.
So when total freedom and maximum range from your multimedia room is important, especially if you don’t want to carry around any multimedia players, then you want an RF wireless headphone. But before you pick one up be sure to look around the house to make sure there are no other 900 MHZ devices around your home to interfere with reception.

What determines good Quality Headphones?
Well once you’ve decided what technology works best for your needs it’s time to pick out a good pair, but what determines good? To answer the “what is good” question I would argue that the key to evaluating good quality is sound quality, comfort and durability.

Evaluating the sound quality and comfort of your wireless headphones:
Since headphones output sound directly to your ear, (unlike speakers that acoustically shape as sound travels through a room to your head to finally your eardrum) and because the shape of your head and ears can affect how headphone sounds are perceived the only true way to judge sound quality is to actually listen to the headphones vs completely going by specifications which may sometimes be exaggerated. So my number one recommendation is to buy from someone that has a great return policy or buy where you can try your headphones before you buy them, since only you can judge best whether you like have your wireless headphones sound.

And the same applies to comfort. How about how long you will weir the headphones for at any given time. Then of where you will be using them to decide if hearing background sounds will be an issue, will you be running or will you be stationary, these are all considerations when thinking of the quality of your wireless headphones.

As a guide here are some specifications and terms you might hear while shopping for wireless headphones which may not be totally obvious but will aid in judging the expected quality of wireless headphones while you do your evaluation (these are guidelines not the rule).

Judging sound quality by evaluating frequency response:
Frequency Response represents the sound range frequency any speaker (including wireless headphones) can produce effectively. Most people can only hear between 20Hz – 20,000 Hz (1 KHz = 1000 Hz) unless your some sort of sound expert. Note the lower measurement is more felt than heard so just consider any low frequency quotes from manufactures a representation of the quality of the base. Keep in mind that Frequency Response quotes are often exaggerated by manufacturers but strictly speaking the more of the audible range a headphone can produce the better. And any claims of wireless headphones producing sounds from 20Hz to 20KHZ means there should be no sound distortions while listening to your music.

Total harmonic distortion (THD)
Or sometime referenced as THD indicates the acoustic deviation from originally recorded sound as a quality indicator, lower is better, and less than 1% is considered good as a quality indicator.

Speaker “Driver” size (diameter)
When the driver size is advertised it is used to try to imply the range of sound performance capabilities from base to harmonic highs. Typically 40 mm driver is good for closed ear wireless headphones but keep in mind that typically the bigger the driver better the sound and the bigger and bulkier the wireless headphone.

Impedance
This references the electrical resistance of a headphone. Given a fixed power output of a given music player. A lower rated impedance headphone will be generally able to playback audio louder.

Noise Cancelling:
This refers to headphones that can reduce background noise (ambient hums and hisses like airplane or bus hums or hisses). This means your headphones have the ability to emit sounds called ‘anti-noise’ into your ear that cancels out back ground sounds, making them less noticeable. This is typically a very good thing, but keep in mind that some people have been found to be sensitive (in a bad way) to noise cancelling headphones, so be sure your vendor has a good return policy before going to pick one up.

Noise Isolating
His means the headphones are cupped (totally enclosed) and cover your ear or seal your ear drums to prevent you from hearing back ground sounds. So external sounds are blocked from your ear drum and sounds from your headphones are pretty much isolated from your neighbours.

Sealed Design
Sealed Designed headphones have a sealed backing with the benefit of making the audio played more private. Sealed Designed headphones are noise cancelling headphones.

Open Designed
Open Designed headphones do not have a sealed backing and are less private since music played can be heard by others. Also external ambient sounds can also be heard by you so this is good if you are a jogger or are mobile, listening to music and still need to be aware of your environment.

Surround Sound
Headphones designed to give a bigger than stereo spacious experience through various methods in the headphone design. Typically surround sound is intended to give you an environmental effect of hear sounds all the way around you giving you the ability to distinguish the direction of audio being played back. The surround effects are performed in various ways but again it is good to evaluate yourself to determine what is best for you.

Time to start shopping:
Now that you know all about wireless headphones it’s time to begin shopping
Modern Joys has a great selection of wireless headphones for all your wireless headphone needs. We offer them at great prices and we ship them to you anywhere in North America.

Get started at: ModernJoys.com