Most of us are obsessed with good quality headphones, and we look to purchase the ones that we hear from others and from the advertisements that certain headphone brands or models are the best in quality, but we rarely think to test them and judge by ourselves. On the other hand, people love their own headphones and many are obsessed with how to improve their headphone’s sound quality.
To improve the sound quality of any headset in general, you should first measure the sound quality of your headset (as described below) and accordingly follow any of the 15 tricks below to increase the quality, I’ve done a lot of research on the internet just to come up with the following 15 ultimate tricks that make a significant difference in the quality of your headphones.
Reading: How to increase headphone quality
But before we go to that stage, I want you to first understand what sound quality means in order to be more educated and make some of the tricks below easier to understand.
index
- what does sound quality mean?
- how can we measure the sound quality of headphones?
- is there any way to improve the sound quality of headphones?</li
- 15 tricks to improve the sound quality of your headphones (earphones or headphones)
- trick 1: use the right sides of the headphones for your ears
- trick 2: repositioning the ear cushions (headphones) )
- trick 3: changing the ear tips
- trick 4: how the headphones fit in the ear canal
- hack 5: use tethers to correctly position your headphones
- hack 6: improve the audio bass of your headphones
- hack 7: use a sound card dedicated & amp
- Trick 8: Use a good media source player
- Trick 9: Change your headphone pads to leather or velvet
- Trick 10: Fit your mobile equalizer settings
- trick 11: use an external portable headphone amplifier
- trick 12: clean earwax
- trick 13: use earplugs, do it yourself to test the sound of your headphones </li
- hack 14: listen to songs from an audio cd for better quality
- hack 15: upgrade your headphones
what does sound quality mean?
There are many people who assume that good sound quality is related to the volume of the music played on the headphones, but to simplify the answer, I can say that sound quality is defined by clarity and good sound quality. mixture. , well mastered and produced is a piece of music.
how can we measure the sound quality of the headphones?
Sound quality can be measured from two different perspectives:
- subjectively: this relies on listeners experience to gauge and measure the sound of a media source and how they react to it, either positively or negatively.
- objectively: but for this perspective, sound quality is measured with special tools used to measure accuracy and clarity based on electronic solutions.
To get a bit technical, in objective measurements, sound quality depends on different factors that can be measured electronically, such as transient response, frequency response, thd and imd distortion, etc. such factors are related to sound quality, but taking measurement results in this way is very similar to measuring the driving experience of a car by objectively measuring power, speed, oil levels, gasoline levels , etc. t provides accurate results for us as humans, since the results come from the perspective of an electronic device.
In conclusion, measuring the sound quality of headphones is relative and should be taken subjectively through the user experience, of course, if you take into account the production quality of headphones, such as branded ones, in most can be said to have better sound quality, but for normal value or cheap earphones, you can assess it by comparing its sound with other brand earphones by listening to excellent quality music, played by very high quality media player source with wired headphones.
therefore, the sound quality differs from one person to another according to their own experience and how they feel when using the headphones.
Is there a way to improve the sound quality of a headset?
yes, whether you have a headset or headphones, I assure you that after trying the below 15 tricks that I researched for you, you will definitely find some improvement in the sound quality of your headset, you can use some of the points, if not all, but in the end, you will achieve some improvement.
15 tricks to improve the sound quality of your headphones (earphones or headphones)
here are 15 steps (tricks) that should make your headphones sound better even if they are disposable or bulky:
trick 1: use the sides of the headphones corresponding to your ears
Always put the right channel in the right ear and the left channel in the left, it’s obvious and most of the time you wear your headphones this way, but confirming that you wear them in the correct orientation will ensure that is listening. to the (stereo) audio mix as the audio engineers intended when they produced this piece of audio.
trick 2: change the position of the ear pads (headphones)
In case you are using over-ear and not in-ear headphones, try moving the earphones slightly up and down and see if the sound has improved. many times we do not realize that a slight change could make a difference in quality.
trick 3: change the tips of the ears
Consider changing the tips of your earphones, this sometimes affects the way sound is delivered to your ear canal. when you change ear tips, try to choose different designs and try them out, you can also look for different earphones, for example, try using super bass earphones which could greatly improve sound quality.
Earbuds users should spend some time trying those different sizes of replaceable ear tips that should perfectly fit in their ears comfortably because our ears are different in size and shape, so maybe some earbuds products are not suitable for some people because production companies intend to produce one size earbuds that fit all, which is not practical.
but still for some people the standard earbuds with their tips will be fine but the rest who are suffering should try other tips, you can also check out my other article 15 tricks to prevent earbuds from falling out while running , which describes in some places how to deal with eartips.
trick 4: how your headphones fit in your ear canal
this is another point related to the tips of the earphones, to have an optimal sound quality, the tips must seal your ear well so that you get a clearer sound with better bass, all this is because our ear canals they are different sizes even between our own left and right ears, so you can try out the different ear tips that come in the package and see which one fits perfectly inside your canal.
trick 5: use ties to place the headphones correctly
If you are a runner or a walker, it is more common that you often have problems while jogging or walking, as the earphones do not stay perfectly inside your ears, which reduces the sound quality or even sometimes fall, to solve this. problem and help fix your headphones firmly, you can try an easy mod by adding a swivel loop to each one, like in the image below that I made.
HACK 6 – Enhance Audio Bass Of Your Headphone
In case you are trying to improve the sound quality of your headphone while using your computer, then you can do another trick which can improve the audio bass of your headphone using microsoft windows headphone settings, do the following:
- Open “Control Panel” then click on “Hardware and Sound” to open the sound dialogue box.
- Click on the tab “Sound” – a list of available speakers and headphones will appear under “Playback”.
- Right-click on your headphone in the list and select “Properties”.
- Click the “Enhancement” tab then on the next page check the box next to “Bass Boost”.
- Click on “Apply” and “Ok”.
In case you are using a mac system, here is how to boost the bass:
- Go to iTunes>Window>Equalizer (or Option<COMMAND 2).
- Then adjust the bass settings or use a ready preset for your favors.
trick 7: use a dedicated sound card & amplifier
As a supplemental tip to trick 6 above, this trick could be effective in case you are playing music directly from your pc or laptop using the aux input, in addition to boosting the bass as described above, you can also set the volume mixer settings for better bass response if you have a dedicated sound card installed, you can try this good and cheap sound amplifier, I assure you that you will feel the difference in sound quality.
trick 8: use a good media source player
See also: Onn Wireless Earbuds: AirPods Dupe Under 20 – Swift Moves
If you are one of the people who listen to their music using a smartphone, then you should consider reading this trick point carefully.
Smartphones are not considered the best media source for high-quality audio sounds, not because they aren’t built as well as advertised, but because they were designed to serve users primarily as a smartphone that includes an operating system. speed, screen resolution, capacity, quality of materials and other factors such as weight, body size, as well as music and multimedia functions, which are not the only purpose of smartphone manufacturing.
So using dedicated portable music players are much more powerful in terms of sound quality, you might be surprised by how far better music sounds with players like Cowon, FiiO, Sony, Astell & Kern …etc even if you try the least expensive one out of those I mentioned, you could see a sound big step up comparing to the smartphone you have.
trick 9: change the cushions of your headphones for leather or velvet
In case you have a cheap headset, it’s probably not the most comfortable you can get, many cheap headphones use synthetic leather on their ear cushions which muffles the sound and reduces its quality.
In this case, it’s better to replace your current ear pads with ones made of real leather or velvet, the kind you can find in many places online, and nothing is easier than ordering a pair of them and replacing them with the current ones. .
replacing the ear cushions is very easy, especially when they are replaced with the new pair ordered, simply:
- Remove current sanitary pads. (if it doesn’t pull out easily, this means there may be screws involved, just use a screwdriver to remove them)
- attach the new pads using the same method in reverse.
now in case you’re using headphones instead of earphones it’s pretty much the same concept because when I talk about replacing your ear cushions with new better ones made of leather or velvet to provide a tighter seal on your ears, thus enhancing the bass resonance of the acoustic drivers and preventing it from leaking and providing a better bass sound.
As a conclusion to this point, reducing any sound leakage from the headphones will provide good bass boost and better quality sound. That’s why, according to my research, placing the earphones loosely on the ear will provide weak sound quality due to sound leakage caused by the increased distance between the acoustic drivers and the ears.
Trick 10: Adjusting Mobile EQ Settings
We talked earlier about how dedicated media players have much better sound quality than a smartphone offers, but still, if you’re using your smartphone to listen to music, you can make some adjustments in the sound settings of your smartphone. your smartphone to further increase the bass. your music.
- For example, for iPhones go to Settings then open the Music tab [Settings > Music].
- Scroll down to the EQ (Equalizer) to view its settings from [Music > EQ].
- Select the Bass Booster then exit the settings and enjoy :).
Selecting the bass booster is a good way to enhance the bass you hear through your headphones or earphones.
for android smartphones:
- Tap on Settings, then go to Sound Settings [Settings > Sound & Notification].
- Tap on Audio Effects.
- Adjust your bass low-frequency settings to boost the bass on your headphones [As detailed in Hack 6 above regarding low frequencies adjustment].
applying the above equalizer settings to your smartphone will enhance low frequencies and make the sound quality warmer.
Trick 11: Use an External Portable Headphone Amplifier
Using an external portable amp is much better than using headphones directly on your media player device and works best with good quality headphones, those amps provide ample current to the headphones and improve the overall sound.
why does an external headphone amp make a difference? because it has benefits to improve sound quality such as:
- A portable amp has a dedicated control screen where you can adjust the treble, bass output, and balance.
- Provides plenty of power to drive your headphones and make their impedance higher in sound performance.
By the way, based on my research, you will be amazed what a big difference this external amplifier can transfer your headphone to a whole new level by boosting its bass to a perfect level, so as a conclusion, using a dedicated external amplifier is always a good choice for better sound quality otherwise, you’ll be undermining what your headphone can get out of it.
Finally, if you have high impedance headphones, you need an amp with more voltage swing, but with low impedance headphones, an amp with more current capacity and lower output impedance. If you want to learn more about low and high impedance headphones, you’ll find all those details below in hack 15.
trick 12: clean the wax from your ears
I know it sounds stupid to include it in this article, but I meant to add it because there are so many people who use their earphones every day, and since earphones are placed inside the human ear canal, earwax gets commonly created due to using headphones for a long time.
Therefore, having earwax inside your ear canal (if applicable to you) may not allow you to enjoy the true quality of your headphones or on-ear headphones, as it blocks the canal and allows the earbuds from slipping off your ears, causing the earbuds to not seal well in your ears.
Ear wax can also accumulate inside the ear if you clean the ear with cotton swabs, this is totally wrong according to what doctors advise because the wax could be pushed inside the ear canal towards the eardrum. and block it.
In conclusion, anyone who may experience problems with headphones, such as unclear sound, should consider having their ears checked for earwax and cleaned with medical help.
hack 13: wear earplugs, test the sound of your headphones
Not all headphones are made with good soundproofing, soundproof headphones are much better as they provide the isolation and better sound quality you are looking for.
so for this hack there is a very simple and easy way to create your soundproof headphones at home using a pair of foam earplugs. To make these diy headphones follow the following:
- Crush this foam earplug into a pancake shape.
- Use a mechanical pen to poke a hole through it. (we make the hole to let the sound pass through)
- place and push the plug over your headphones.
Now you can enjoy listening to better quality music using your new handmade soundproof earbuds.
hack 14 – listen to songs from audio cd for better quality
if you ever wanted to improve your bass response and overall listening experience, then you need to buy an audio cd. listening to music from audio cd is much better than listening using mp3 or aac files in terms of quality, mp3 and other audio file formats created by software by compressing the original audio files, either from an audio cd or a source wav file, and save as mp3 or aac files.
The idea behind compression is to reduce the size of the audio file and try to put the highest possible quality into the smallest possible size, and the quality depends on the codec being used as well as the number of bits of audio. Audio. . for example, aac files stand for advanced audio coding, which represents the name of the codec, which is a lossy compression codec, and the file extension for that file encoded is m4a, which stands for mpeg4. audio, while mp3 is the file format of your codec, while the codec is mpeg-2 audio layer iii or mpeg-1 audio layer iii .
so if you try to boost the bass on low quality mp3 audio files, this can make the bass feel muddy and bloated in your headphone experience.
all of the audio file types mentioned above have quality loss because they are intended to compress the original audio file, but for wav files, that means waveform audio file , these types of audio files are normally known as raw and generally uncompressed, and their audio quality is close to other audio file format flac which stands for lossless and lossless audio codec, so those two types of audio files are of very high quality in terms of sound but larger file size.
Going back to our trick, audio cds store audio files in a format called cda, which is an uncompressed file format developed from a source wav file, so the quality of the audio files original audio that was originally produced will not be compromised. and that’s why listening to music from a cd will definitely make a big difference in our listening experience with headphones.
trick 15: improve your headphones
if you still intend to buy a new headphones or earphones, then you should carefully consider the information on low impedance and high impedance headphones before buying them.
impedance is a very technical term involving mathematical equations and engineering information that cannot be easily explained to average users, but in general, you should know that impedance is related to the type of devices you will be connecting and using your headphones . con, you must match both impedance specifications to get the most out of your headphones and, in most cases, to function properly.
There are two types of headphone impedance:
- low impedance headphones: impedance between 8 and 25 Ω ohm, you can see my best headphones that are suitable for all occasions, situations and uses. read more about it here koss port pro.
- high impedance headphones: impedance 32 Ω ohm and above.
Most low-impedance headphones require little power from media devices to deliver high audio levels, while high-impedance headphones require more power to deliver high audio levels, for example, low-impedance ones work well with multimedia devices such as smartphones, portable players…etc. while high-impedance headphones are well protected from damage when working with overloaded power supplies and can be used with a wider range of audio and sound equipment, and that’s what professionals are using in their studios.
How do I know what impedance my earphone has?
just check your headphone box for details, as shown in the photo below I took for one of the new headphones I recently bought, or if you don’t have your headphone box anymore, you can simply google the brand and model of your headphones for more details. .
In conclusion, If you are using portable devices like mobile phones, mp3 players or even your pc or tablet then go for low impedance headphones. If you are intending to have a more powerful bass and audio levels with high quality, better to go with high impedance headphones but remember, you should have an external amplifier to gain that.
Is the sound quality of the headphones related to its price?
no, but in general it could be, not all low priced headphones have poor quality, especially when the price is acceptable and not as low as 10$ as an example, although you need to try them to find out and measure their quality accordingly.
but for expensive headphones, they definitely produce high quality sound, and it’s worth buying if you’re addicted to sound quality for long-term use.
how to buy the right headphones to get the best quality logically?
if you intend to buy a good new headphones, you should consider not only the price range, or the sound of sharp bass and treble, but also how you feel wearing them, the comfort and how you feel about how good the sound is, this is more important than what the market recommends. so try the following:
- put a potential buyable headset on your head.
- listen to your favorite piece of high quality music.
- measure your emotional response to the whole experience overall , remember your subjective evaluation.
- do the same for other potential headphones you’re looking at.
- now when you have a pair of headphones that give you close emotional responses, go for the cheap one instead.
If you’re the kind of person who brags about the brand and price of headphones, you can skip the logical steps above and buy an expensive headphone.🙂
As for me, I am a computer and telecommunications engineer who graduated from university in 2001 and since then have had a long career in telecommunications engineering in different fields, so my understanding of how computer hardware works headphones or sound solutions is pretty good. , but when it comes to choosing the right headphones, what subjectively matters most to me is the reasonable quality I feel while enjoying listening to my favorite music, regardless of its price, high or low. one of my favorite headphones that i enjoy using is from koss. I bought it several years ago for about $70.
conclusion
improving the sound quality of your headphones or earphones varies between people, some focus on how loud it could go, others on how clear the sound is, while others focus mainly on how much they can be boosted the bass in in all cases there are ways and methods to achieve all said relatively as we all have our own perspective on how to measure the sound quality of a headphone and to achieve those improvements you can follow the 15 tricks above that I did the research for you.
share this article below if you think others need to know… 🙂
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