Go to any electronics store and they will show you many different kinds of earphones that come in all kinds of colors, shapes and design. You may also order a custom made pair designed using a press mold of your ear. But you must know what you want or you may end up buying something that you didn’t fancy.
As a wise shopper you must invest some time knowing the lingo and understanding the specifications printed on the packaging. This is crucial if you want to pick out what you really need. This article will help you buy earphones under 300 INR that really fit your budget and need.
Types of Earphones under 300
Before studying the features we must study the types. There are three types of earphones:
- In-ear earphones
- On-ear earphones
- Wireless earphones
1. In-ear earphones
In-ear earphones or earbuds are of two types: 1. The first type sits gently on the ear cavity and the 2. The second one you stuff into the ear canal.
The first type is usually cushioned but can cause discomfort if it is too big for your ears and may fall off. The second type is more comfortable but you may not like something inside your ear canals. But most people prefer the second type because it cancels out environmental noise and lets you enjoy music at its best. But they are not good if you are travelling or where you really need to be alert of your surroundings, like when you are crossing the road. The first type produces the necessary sound level for you to enjoy music and at the same time lets you remain aware of what is going on around you. Then again the high level of sound that these earphones produce to cover up the environmental noise is not good for your ears. Therefore , you must make sure that you buy the right size that sits on your ears perfectly.
2. On-ear earphones
These are earphones with headbands. Some are pressed against your ears and some enclose the ears.
The best earphones under 300 that are pressed against your ears are usually lightweight. People with small ears and heads prefer them. The other type of earphones can be both light- and heavy-weighted but the light-weighted versions may not be big enough for big ears.
The padding of a lightweight earphone won’t hurt you if the headband fits your head perfectly. When it comes to earphones, the lighter the better.
But men prefer the second kind. When buying one, make sure that the ear portion covers most of your ear so that you can wear them comfortably for a longer period of time. These earphones block the outside noise like earmuffs. Look for headphones with adjustable headbands .
3. Wireless earphones
Wireless earphones are something we all dream about especially those who do not like tangled wires and are ready to pay extra bucks for that.
If you connect your earphones with a portable device, such as a laptop or a phone then go for wireless versions. People who go to gym need them the most.
In simple words, wireless earphones give you better mobility. But, if you use earphones only at your workstation you may not invest in an expensive wireless pair..
Though more expensive, you must also remember that wireless earphones do not give superior quality sound like their wired counterpart. Wireless coverage, too, is limited.
Now, let’s look into earphone specifications.
1. Acoustic system
On the packaging, when you see the word, “acoustic”, you should know that it is all about the design. A closed acoustic system stops noise from passing through the earphones to/from outside. And an open acoustic system doesn’t; you can easily hear surrounding noise while listening to your favorite song.
You must remember that closed acoustics minimizes surrounding noise partially and doesn’t equal noise cancellation. Generally people around you can’t hear what you’re playing at all except when the volume is really high. While buying earphones go for only good-fit closed acoustic earphones that can reduce noise efficiently.
2. Frequency response
If you like music with bass, frequency response should be wider. It is the range of frequencies a headphone can produce. The lower limit is the bass sound and upper limit is treble.
Most headphones support 20 Hz – 20000 Hz frequency response and that is good enough for most users. But if you like more bass, then opt for something that can support wider than the usual frequency response range. When it comes to frequency response, the bigger the range, the better.
For instance, Some premium earphones cover a larger frequency range of 4-24,000 Hz than most that cover 15-24,000 Hz. A bigger difference between the minimum and maximum values indicates a larger range coverage.
3. Impedance
The power required for a headphone or earphone to work is called impedance. It is the earphone circuit’s resistance to the electrical signal. Larger impedance means lesser electric signal which results in lesser sound level.
Most mobile devices and PCs have enough capacity to deliver the required power to the headphones. But earphones or headphones with lower impedance deliver great sound with minimal power. Generally, 16 Ohms is a standard for headphones.
Go for earphones with less impedance, ideally less than 25 Ohms. Earphones with low impedance work well with portable devices like mobiles and mp3 players.
4. Magnet type
In the specs, you may find something called magnet type. Generally earphones come with Neodymium, or Ferrite magnets for its speakers.. You don’t have to pay special attention to this specification.
Even though Neodymium is the magnet mostly used in modern electronics and is physically tougher than Ferrite, earphone manufacturers will design the circuit in a way that makes the most of the magnet type used. Although insignificant, generally, earphones with neodymium magnets are a little more expensive.
5. Sensitivity
Sensitivity, or the amount of sound is usually measured in dB/mW. dB.mW means how much sound (in decibels/dB) can the earphone produce for one milliwatt of the electrical signal. Therefore, higher sensitivity means higher amount of sound with minimal power. Earphone sensitivity values typically range from 80 to 110 dB.
If you want loud music, look for higher sensitivity in your headphone’s specifications. Sensitivity determines how loud your headphone can get. Most headphones are at around 110 dB/mW, anything lower than 85 dB/mW are not worth buying.
6. Diaphragm
You don’t need to bother about this but it is something that you should know. Diaphragm is the thin membrane inside earphones that vibrate and produce sound. They come in many shapes and are designed in: dome, cone, and horn. Diaphragm materials also vary.
7. Voice coil
Another good to know factor. Voice coil is the coil wire inside the earphones. It’s made of copper, aluminium, or copper-clad aluminium. Aluminium produces high sensitivity but since it can’t withstand long usage like copper can, CCAW coil is used in most earphones these days.
8. Wireless technology
Bluetooth, NFC, RF and Infrared are the four technologies that help you to connect your earphone with your main device.
Bluetooth®
Bluetooth® earphones are very popular among youngsters these days. Any Bluetooth-enabled device can pair with any Bluetooth-enabled earphones. The technology works flawlessly within a 10 meter radius. It’s secured but the sound quality is not the best when compared to other wireless technologies. Buy Bluetooth earphones if you don’t want to connect them with your mobile phone.
NFC (Near-Field Communication)
Mobile devices with NFC are flooding the market. You can simply bring the earphones close to your mobile phone and tap to connect.
RF (Radio Frequency)
RF earphones work with a radio frequency that can cover a much larger area than Bluetooth®. The earphones come with a transmitter (charging station) into which you need to plug the audio device. This type of earphones are ideal for TV viewing and the sound quality is much better than with Bluetooth®.
Infrared
These earphones are not very popular because you need to be in line of sight for it to work, but they work beautifully with Home Theatres.
9. Noise cancellation
Noise cancelling earphones don’t work simply by blocking outside noise physically, they pick up outside noise and cancel it out while playing the sound. Noise cancelling earphones are great for sound editing.
10. Drivers
Drivers are the core components of any headphones. They are used to convert the electrical signal fed to the headphones into an audible sound signal that can be perceived by the human ear. The most commonly used drivers are moving coil (dynamic) drivers, balanced armature drivers, planar magnetic drivers and electrostatic drivers. Dynamic drivers are used in all kinds of headphones. Balanced armature drivers are mostly used in in-ear headphones due to the small size. Planar magnetic and electrostatic drivers are the largest and are usually used in built-for-home over-ear headphones. Some headphones, known as hybrids, use a combination of two drivers – dynamic and balanced armature drivers.
11. Closed- and open-back
Headphones can be either closed or open at the back of the driver casing. A driver fires both into and away from your ear. Therefore, an open-back headset will allow the sound to escape outside, while a closed-back headset will block the exit of the outward sound.
Closed-back headphones prevent others from listening and are therefore ideal for public places. Open-back headphones leak sound, but have a much more open sound, giving a more comfortable and realistic listening experience. A closed-back headphone sounds more ‘in-your-head’.
12. Soundstaging and imaging
The ability of headphones to create an accurate sonic stage and image within your mind is determined by how its ability to create the impression of a live performance, where individual elements of the sound are distinct and feel like they are originating from specific locations on the virtual stage. You can only judge how good the soundstaging and imaging ability of the earphone is by listening and keeping your ears open for separation and clarity. Read a lot of reviews to get other people’s experience and feedback.
Now let’s see which are the best 10 earphones under 300 INR.
- Hitage Super Bass Perfect sound soundtrack Wired Headset Gaming Headphone (Black, In the Ear)
- Family Occasion Inspired Design Green Earphone Wired Headset (Green, In the Ear)
- Benison India Headset/earphone with mic HB HFK11 (Black) Wired Headset (Black, In the Ear)
- Ubon UB 770 Wired Headset (White, In the Ear)
- MicroBirdss Full Bass 100% Original Wired Headset (Black, In the Ear)
- Clerby Wireless Sports Bluetooth Magnet Earphone
- BRD BLUETOOTHHEADSET-A4 Bluetooth Headset (Black, True Wireless)
- Miniso Colorful Music Earphone In-Ear Headphones With Microphone Red Wired Headset (Red, In the Ear)
- YORA Wireless 4.0 Bluetooth Bluetooth Headset (Multicolor, In the Ear)
- BUY SURETY Wired Foldable Over-Ear Headphones,Stereo Lightweight Adjustable Wired Headset without Mic (Multicolor, On the Ear)
Things to remember:
Generally speaking, pricey headphones are necessary for technical pro-audio work such as recording and mixing. But, here are many mid-priced headphones that offer performance to meet the needs of musicians with home studios and modest budgets.
The earphones, also often called earbuds or in-ear headphones, are typically included with portable mp3 players. You may be certain that they work best with the device they come with. But you can always replace them with better quality models that provide improved sound and comfort.
Consumer-grade earphones shouldn’t be confused with pro-quality in-ear headphones and earphones designed for applications like monitoring live performances and other critical listening uses.
Comfort is important. Don’t decide just by wearing the earphones or headphones at the store because any headphone will feel fine when worn briefly. You can only figure out how comfortable it is by wearing it for long periods. Wear the headphones for at least 20 minutes before deciding about comfort.
The larger the ear cups the better when selecting closed-back headphones. For headphones that rest on your ear, go for a smaller size with fabric padding or leather that can soften the pressure.er HD 280 PRO Headphones are closed-back, blocking loud external noises while keeping sound from leaking out.
Weight is a factor in long-term comfort—in most cases lighter headphones are more comfortable. For long listening periods, the super-light portable headphones with foam pads are ideal.
