CNET editors' headphones buying guide: Six key headphone features

Earbuds, noise-canceling, circumaural, and wireless: there are more types of headphones than ever. Which ones are right for your ears? Read CNET's headphone buying guide for the answers.

Once you've narrowed down the size and form factor of your prospective headphones, you can focus on specific features and applications: noise cancellation and isolation, surround modes, gaming/microphone options, and wireless solutions.

Types: Noise-canceling headphones | Noise-isolating headphones | Surround headphones | Communication headsets | Wireless (home) | Wireless (portable) | Dolby Headphone

Noise-canceling headphones

These headphones hush ambient noise by creating antinoise that obviates the noise at your ear. They don't eliminate noise entirely, but the better models significantly reduce the whoosh of jet planes' air conditioning systems. They're somewhat less effective at quieting the background din on trains and buses. It's important to note that noise-canceling headphones come in all form factors, from full size to earbuds.

Upside: Since you no longer have to crank up the volume to overcome background noise, you can listen at lower levels, which leads to reduced ear fatigue. You'll also hear more low-level detail in your music.

Downside: Some users may be sensitive to the antinoise, which exerts pressure on your eardrums. Most folks won't notice it, but we recommend auditioning noise-canceling headphones before you buy; all NC phones use batteries to power the circuitry, which may be stored in the ear cup of larger 'phones or in a separate in-line module on smaller models.

See top-rated noise-canceling headphones

Noise-isolating headphones

Sealed full-size over-the-ear headphones effectively block out the environment and attenuate background noise at home. They're also popular as recording monitors. For portable use, tiny in-ear headphone models resemble earplugs and can seal out noise from trains and planes.

Upside: Noise-isolating 'phones offer excellent seclusion from ambient or external noise--equal or even superior to noise-canceling 'phones. Since you no longer have to crank up the volume to overcome background noise, you can listen at lower levels, reducing ear fatigue. Noise-isolating designs don't need batteries and don't exert pressure on your eardrum. They're ideal for frequent flyers and commuters.

Downside: Some listeners are uncomfortable inserting these in-ear phones into their ears. You must achieve a secure seal, or bass response will suffer. Isolating yourself from outside noise may prove unsafe for active users who are walking or running. Large, over-the-ear models can become uncomfortably hot and make your ears sweat.

See top-rated in-ear headphones

Surround headphones

Some models electronically synthesize surround effects to create a bigger than stereo sound field, while other headphones employ a more benign acoustic approach to deliver some semblance of a surround field between your ears. A handful of models even jam multiple speaker drivers into the earcups for "true" surround sound. [By contrast, Dolby Headphone is a surround-sound mode available in some AV receivers that simulates surround effects with any headphone plugged into them--jump to the bottom of this page for more information.] Surround headphones are targeted primarily to home-theater fans or to gamers, but they also sound great with music.

Upside: Surround headphones create a more spacious sound than conventional stereo headphones.

Downside: The surround effect may seem artificially hyped or overly reverberant. The quality of the surround effect varies from one design to the next. No models sound as spacious as a multichannel speaker array.

Communication headsets

Whether it's for voice-to-text transcription, online gaming, or PC-centric Voice over IP (VoIP) services such as Skype, a growing number of business and entertainment applications require two-way communications. Headphones with a built-in microphone provide an all-in-one solution.

Upside: Single headset can provide headphone and microphone functionality; no need for additional clutter of unreliable tabletop or speakerphone-style microphones.

Downside: Game consoles such as Xbox and PlayStation may require headsets with semiproprietary connections or need special adapters.

Wireless (home)

Cordless headphones have been around for years, but they have only recently started to approach the sound-quality standards of the better corded 'phones. Nonportable wireless headphones--full-size models with large base stations that aren't suitable for portable use--employ one of two transmission methods: infrared or radio frequency (RF). Infrared uses pulses of light to transmit signals from the base unit to the headphones, but you have to remain within the line of sight of the transmitter to receive signals. Radio frequency models use radio waves to accomplish the same job, and since the radio signals can pass through walls, they generally suffer fewer signal dropouts.

Upside: No encumbering wires; listen to TV, DVDs, and music without being tethered to your equipment; base stations often have extensive connectivity options; some models offer surround modes.

Downside: Few wireless models can approach the sound quality of wired models, and many add a certain amount of background hiss or noise. Moreover, some RF models can interfere with cordless telephones or home-networking systems.

See top-rated wireless models

Wireless (portable)

Portable wireless headphones represent the cutting edge in headphone technology. New models employ either Bluetooth or RF transmission between the headphones and a small base dongle that plugs into the audio source, such as an iPod.

Upside: No wires snaking from your backpack, purse, or pocket.

Downside: In addition to needing frequent recharging or battery swaps, the small base station creates extra bulk that cuts down on portability. Furthermore, wireless sound quality is rarely up to wired standards.

See top-rated portable wireless headphones

Dolby Headphone

No, Dolby hasn't jumped into the headphone-manufacturing business. Dolby Headphone is a surround processor that synthesizes multichannel effects and expands stereo separation over any pair of stereo headphones. The technology does not synthesize quasisurround from conventional stereo sources such as CDs or FM radio; instead, it enhances 5.1-channel DVDs and stereo recordings, respectively. The result is a sound that's less claustrophobic and "stuck in your head," and more akin to the effect of listening to speakers.

Dolby Headphone is a cool technology, but it's important to realize that it can be independent of the actual headphones. For instance, the Harman Kardon AVR 635 AV receiver has on-board Dolby Headphone processing, which will work with any headphones you plug into it. On the other hand, the Pioneer SE-DIR800C wireless headphones include Dolby Headphone technology built into the base station, so you can hook them directly to a DVD player. Because the processor is built into the audio source--the AV receiver, in most cases--the surround effect will work with any headphones that are plugged into it. If you're looking for Dolby Headphone, be sure to get an AV receiver that supports it; if you're looking for surround headphones--models that use internal circuitry to electronically synthesize surround effects--focus on the actual headphones instead.

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