Type 1 - Over the ear: This type the cushioning rests directly against the head completely encompassing the ear. Although these generally give the best noise canceling and usually the best audio they can be troublesome if you roll around allot during sleep. If getting this type you must be careful to get a very soft fit while still maintaining a complete seal. With the advent of memory foam this is easily achievable at a more modest cost than was available just a few short years ago. If audio listening capability is not required a good set of this type "sound muff" with active noise cancellation can be had for less than $100.00. If good audio is desired you are looking at $75.00 to $500.00. How much you spend depends on what level of audio quality you want. Make sure you buy from a store (whether online or "brick and mortar") that will let you return them if they wind up hurting your head, ears or ear canals. At the very least they should let you trade them in for something else. Even when you can try them out in the store before buying it is not feasible to test for all the things that might make them unsuitable, for example during testing they might be very comfortable only to get them home and find out that they make your head or ears ache after 45 minutes. This type of issue is common in these types of products, sometimes a few days break in solves this issue. A common problem is that whether you test them first or buy them off the web you get them home and plug in only to find they sound like crap. Many people will pronounce them faulty or a rip off when most of the time there is actually nothing wrong with them. What is happening is that they simply need to be broken in. This step is normally covered in the instructions and warranty paperwork included in the packaging, but how many people think directions are unnecessary for such a simple product as headphones and consequently miss this important information.
For over ear and on ear types that don't specify a "break in" procedure, the following should work nicely: First make sure the active noise cancellation is disabled by removing the batteries if there is no on/off switch. Find an item that closely approximates the size and shape of your head at the point where you would wear your headphones and place the headphones on this pseudo head with a wash cloth or small hand towel folded twice giving you four layers of cloth between the ear pads and your pseudo head. Note: If your wash cloth or towel is abnormally thin or threadbare fold it one more time giving you 8 layers, this would make a wash cloth too small for the task so either use the hand towel or use 2 wash cloths (each folded twice) under each ear pod. Next, connect your headphones to an audio source playing your favourite music. For this first part of the "break in" set the volume to 1/4 (25%) [to ensure no damage to the headphones occur make sure you can't detect any distortion of the sound] and choose a playlist that has at least 8 hours of music, 12 hours would be better but 8 hours will do. FM radio would work as well provided it plays the type of music you will normally be listening to, in a pinch you could use your CD player set to replay the entire CD over and over making sure to swap in a new CD 3 or 4 times during the sequence. At the end of this first "break in" sequence turn off the audio or unplug the cord from the audio source and remove headphones from pseudo head. After a one hour "rest" you can begin "break in" sequence 2 which is the same as the previous sequence with the exception of the volume level which is now increased to 1/2 (50%), once again make sure you can't hear any distortion coming from the headphones, if you do detect distortion check to see if you can hear distortion at that level with the speakers or earphones normally used with this audio source. If you're still getting distortion you may have to repair or replace your audio source before completing the break in procedure. If your equipment sounds fine at that volume level with its own speakers then it is just too powerful to use for this purpose and you will need to use another audio source. If everything checks out, carry on with sequence 2. After another one hour "rest" done exactly the same as the previous break, you can begin the 3rd and final "break in" sequence. This one is done exactly the same as the previous ones, but this time you will need to set the audio level to 3/4 (75%) making sure once again there is no distortion before continuing the final "break in" sequence. As before you need to let run for 8 hours minimum although 12 hours would be best. When you are finished the break in, Don't forget to reactivate the active noise canceling if they have it.
Here are the other headphone types;
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Type 2 - On ear headphones. As the name implies these fit on the ear and do not touch the head directly. With this type some of the weight should carried by the top of your head on a nice softly padded cross bar. The ear pads should conform easily to the shape of the ear and have a soft grip. This type is typically less expensive than that of the over ear type and usually don't have very good noise cancelation. The sound quality is usually quite good, but some of that quality is lost in the extra background noise inherent with this design. Getting a tighter fit to get a better seal on the ear will likely cause more discomfort or fairly significant levels of pain that usually takes 45 minutes or so to rear it's ugly head. If you would normally have little to none ambient noise where you listen to music then these "Type 2" headphones can provide great sound at a more conservative price. These like the others should be "broken in".
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Type 3 - In ear headphones. This type actually come in 2 flavors. One flavor is the "Ear Bud" and sit in the outermost ear opening, these are the most common now and are usually what is included with most mobile devices from cell phones to MP3 devices. Their biggest failing regardless of audio quality is they are very unstable and are constantly needing adjustment or falling out of one or both ears. For this reason they have no noise canceling whatsoever and therefore are not included as a viable option in this article. The other flavor in this grouping is the type that fit right into the ear canal, historically these tiny speakers could not even approach the playback quality of full size Type 1 headphones and were prone to causing pain in the ear canal. With the advent of many new types of materials, components and inspired design. These tiny dynamos can now compete head to head with any other type of headphones for mobile devices. The only aspect they are exceeded in is raw thumping bass, this is actually a good thing however as high levels of bass pumped into such a small and well sealed portion of the ear canal can cause permanent hearing loss. The best thing to become available recently is a new silicone gel material. This incredible substance is ultra soft with an extremely high friction coefficient (translation: very grippy). This allows earphone tips that can stick to almost anything including ear wax so well only superglue could grip tighter, and they can do this while exerting very little pressure against the ear canal wall. Because of the 'softness' of these silicone gel tips they can almost completely absorb and block virtually any type of ambient noise. They are especially noted for providing a MAJOR reduction of engine noise from almost any passenger airplane you can think of. Most manufacturers of this product line include several sets of these ear tips in various sizes to fit virtually anyone's ear canal with the exception of children who should not be using "in ear" headphones of any kind due to their susceptibility of permanent damage to their eardrums, ear canals and inner ear components that can substantially reduce their ability to balance properly. There can also be issues with on ear headphones where children are concerned, so parents please DON'T ALLOW children 14 years and under to use anything other than "Type 1" headphones. Active noise canceling is especially appropriate for that same age group as they tend to keep the volume lower if they have less ambient background noise interfering with their music clarity. Yes this will make it easier for them to 'tune' you out, but they are gonna do that anyway ;-)
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Type 4 - Custom fit. Although a bit expensive, this is the ultimate in both comfort and low profile exterior sound reduction. This type can be used by itself like basic ear plugs or can be made into custom fit "Type 3" earphone silicone gel tips. This process begins with an Audiologist (advanced ear doctor) who can make a mold of your ear canals using a substance called alginate or quick setting silicone rubber. Here you have 2 choices: 1st option is to have the audiologist use these molds called "Masters" to make negative molds which can then be used to make positives virtually identical to the "Master" set made directly from your own ears. This new set of "Positives" can be made with a variety of substances. In this case silicone gel would be ideal but foam rubber is cheaper although not as comfortable. Once these new positives are trimmed and buffed smooth you're done. You now have a set of very good sound dampening ear plugs that should block about 65% effective. The other option is find a company that will make you custom earphone tips to go with a set of earphones you buy from them. In that case you would send them the Master Negative set of ear molds provided by your audiologist. To find a earphone manufacturer that does this try the www.apple.com website or the www.amazon.com website, or you can always try Google.
There is now available tips that you simply put in hot water for a few seconds, then put in you ears (this only needs to be done once before using for the first time). The hot water softens them, so handle gently while inserting them into your ear. Once cooled they will stay permanently shaped to your ear canal.
With that painful task behind you, it is time to get comfy and enjoy the fruits of your labor ;-) now if at this point you are not satisfied with the headphones performance you are fully justified in returning them. Regardless of the type of headset you decided to purchase they should all be broken in like the over ear headphones. As you no doubt realize there is no pseudo head required for the in ear type device, although even the in ear type device needs the break in sequence following the exact same steps as described for the other devices. One thing to be careful of is to take the time necessary to choose the right tips that properly fit your ear canal and to ensure you get them positioned properly in the ear canal. Not getting the fit just right can not only effect the noise canceling effect, but can severely compromise the sound quality. Make sure you read and follow the instructions for choosing the right tip and properly placing the earphones. Happy listening
Just my 2 ¢, Night Rider GP
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