If you are looking for quality headphones, you will be surprised by the many brands and styles available on the market today. This can prevent you from choosing the right ones. Headphone specs are complex and highly technical and can make it difficult for you to find the right one just by looking at the specs. In this article, we've skimmed through the jargon to shed more light on one of the common headset components, the headset driver, and how it affects audio quality.
SummaryWhat is a headphone driver?The impact of driver size on audio qualityIs bigger always better?Does having multiple drivers equal better sound quality?Different types of units headphone drivers explained1. Dynamic drivers (moving coil)2. Planar magnetic drivers3. Balanced Armature Drivers4. Electrostatic Drivers5. Bone Conduction MotorsWhich Products Should You Buy?ConcludeThe driver is the most important unit in headphones. This is because it is the component that converts electrical signals into sound. In other words, it creates the sound you hear. Think of headphone drivers as tiny speakers inside your ear.
Also, we can learn a thing or two from Audio Technica. This company makes two high-end headset models:the M40X and the M50X. The M40 uses 40mm drivers while the M50 uses 45mm drivers. You'd assume the M50X sounds better thanks to its bigger drivers, right? Not necessarily.
The two headphones are tuned very differently. The M50X has settings, pads, and cabinets designed for a slightly aggressive response, while the M40X is designed around a flatter, more neutral signature. In both cases, the type of padding used and the enclosure of the cups have a greater impact on the sound than the speakers used.
In a nutshell, the driver size affects the output and frequency range of the headphones. However, you should not base your buying decision solely on the size of the drivers. There are other factors, such as the type of drivers used and the frequency range that affect sound quality more than the size of the drivers used.
The short answer is – not necessarily. Much like driver size, having multiple drivers (per side) on board a pair of headphones does not absolutely guarantee better sound.
Multi-driver headphones use each driver to drive a specific frequency range, including audio bass, midrange, treble, and more. In practice, a poorly produced multi-driver unit will always perform worse than a single high-end driver.
As driver technology has become more advanced lately and our understanding of headphone sound tuning has improved, the use of multiple drivers is no longer an absolute necessity. So it is indeed possible to get better sound with headphones that have only one type of driver.
As mentioned earlier, the type of driver used in headphones greatly affects sound quality. Here are the different types of drivers commonly used in earphones and headsets.
Dynamic drivers offer the easiest configuration of all the driver types we discuss here. They use a magnet, usually neodymium, whose magnetic field interacts with the voice coil. With the current passing through it, the voice coil begins to oscillate, prompting the diaphragm to do so as well, following the same rhythm. This oscillation of the diaphragm moves the air forward, producing sound waves.
If you are looking for headphones with strong bass power, go for those with dynamic drivers. These drivers are very common in headphones and feature a larger diaphragm. They do an outstanding job of delivering powerful bass and achieving good sound pressure without consuming a lot of power.
Although dynamic drivers are very effective, one of the biggest complaints against them is that they can produce harmonic distortion at louder volumes. Fortunately, the effect can be countered with good engineering.
Dynamic drivers are usually the norm when it comes to lower-end and less expensive headphones, but they are also often used in higher-end models such as the Sennheiser HD 660 S, as well.
These are the types of drivers you'll find in most high-end headphones on the market today. Although usually found in open-back in-ear headphones, in-ear models have started to emerge on the market lately, such as RHA's CL2 Planar Magnetic In-Ear Headphones.
With this technology, a diaphragm is sandwiched between magnets. Similar to dynamic drivers, planar magnetic drivers operate using a magnetic field. But rather than using a coil, the diaphragm (thin flat film) of these drivers is directly affected by the magnetic field and thus creates sound.
Additional magnets are used so that the entire diaphragm can vibrate evenly. This adds a bit more weight to the helmet. It also means that the headphones will need more power from the audio source or an external amplifier. Therefore, planar magnetic driver headphones are primarily designed for home use. However, companies like OPPO have broken new ground in this area with their PM series of headphones which are lighter and suitable for portable use.
These drivers produce a very precise and clean sound, giving you all the details without adding too many sound effects or other modifications. For this reason, they are the go-to choice for audiophiles. You'll find them in most high-end headphones such as the Audeze LCD-3.
They are very small drivers, and their typical use is with in-ear monitors. Due to their size, manufacturers will put multiple speakers in a single earbud. Typically, most in-ear monitors come with one to four drivers.
Using multiple drivers in a single earphone allows these headphones to reproduce different frequencies with minimal distortion. Bass notes are usually handled by an individual driver, while the rest is handled by the others.
This type of driver consists of a coil wrapped around a miniature arm (armature). Two magnets flank the armature and, by interacting with the magnetic field created by the current flowing through the coil, they set the armature in oscillating motion. Since the diaphragm is connected to the armature, it will move synchronously with the latter, thus producing sound waves. When the armature is centered in the magnetic field, there is no forced thread on the armature, giving it its name "balanced armature".
A major disadvantage of balanced armature speakers over dynamic drivers is that they struggle to reproduce bass response. That's why it's not uncommon for some in-ear monitors to include multiple balance armature drivers and a dynamic driver, as the latter compensates for the lack of bass response. One such product is the 1 Plus Triple Driver In-Ear Headphones.
On the plus side, in-ear monitors using balanced armature speakers generally tend to offer better isolation for an extremely detailed sound experience.
These are rare and extremely expensive. Electrostatic conductors work on the basis that, like charges, they repel each other while opposites attract. Vibrations are produced as the diaphragm pushes and pulls against two conductive plates (which can be positively or negatively charged) or two electrodes. The air is then pushed by the diaphragm through the perforated walls, and with the continuous variation of the electrical signal, it creates sound waves.
These are drivers that require special amplifiers to operate at their full potential. So, you'll find this type of speaker in high-end headphones that usually sport an open-back design.
They produce exceptional sound quality with breathtaking precision. For this reason, they have a high price and are only found in high-end helmets like the STAX SR-007 MK2 model.
These drivers are able to transfer vibrations directly to the user's inner ear (bypassing the eardrum) via bone conduction. Headphones using this type of driver are targeted at people who need to use headphones in settings where they still need to hear environmental noises or have hearing problems.
However, with bone conduction drivers, you will definitely trade usability for quality. Currently, this category does not match other types of drivers when it comes to delivering high quality audio.
It all depends on your personal preferences and how you will use it. If you're a party goer and want something that packs a lot of punch – something that'll put you straight into the action – go for those with dynamic drivers.
But if you're only going to use the headphones for gaming, you probably won't care much about bass or mid-bass. Go for those with balanced armature drivers. On the other hand, if you usually listen to music on the go, you might want to look at models with bone conductor drivers.
If you're an audiophile, you probably don't need my advice on which headphones to buy, do you? I'll say it anyway. Opt for planar magnetic drivers. And if the budget is not a constraint, headphones with electrostatic speakers will satisfy your curiosity more.
Headset drivers impact sound quality. However, you should not base your buying decision solely on the size of the drivers. Many factors affect sound quality more than the effect of speaker size.
For example, nowadays more and more headphones are equipped with active noise cancellation technology, which is also a major factor to consider when buying.
We hope this guide helps you make a more informed buying decision when shopping for headphones.
