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Writer's pictureKaranjot Kohli

"Headphones vs Earphones: Which is the Better Choice for Your Audio Experience?"



Ah.... Earphones and headphones. What is better? The portability and design of the earphones, or the power and battery life of the headphones? In this article, there will be a grading system, with each side getting one point for each part of the battle. I will try to avoid bias, so keep that in mind.


Audio Quality

Despite, in my opinion, audio quality is overrated, however, there is still a big difference whether you listen to music with the bass hitting hard and every word having comprehensible clarity or soft clipped music.

Bass:

Headphones have larger drivers and ear cups, which can deliver deeper bass due to their larger size. Earphones, on the other hand, only the top models, in my opinion, give good quality bass, and still, you have the earphones in a good position and have a higher level amount of volume to really feel it. In my personal experience, the only earphones that I had consistent levels of bass with are the Airpods Pro 2nd gen, which I will leave the link to at the end of this article. So Headphones wins this one, with the majority of headphones in the market having sufficient bass.

Clarity:

Headphones generally have larger drivers, which can allow for more accurate sound reproduction across a wider range of frequencies. Additionally, their over-ear or on-ear designs often provide better noise isolation, reducing external interference and allowing for clearer audio playback.

Earphones, while smaller, can still provide excellent clarity, especially in the mid and high frequencies. Their snug fit inside the ear canal can help block out external noise, further enhancing clarity. Some high-end earphones also utilize multiple drivers or advanced technologies like balanced armature drivers to achieve exceptional audio fidelity. I'd say it's fair to consider it a tie in terms of audio clarity.

Quality conclusion:

When it comes to audio quality, it simply comes down to the price and quality. Also with the fact even the cheapest audio gadgets being more clear than ever, we have reached an upper limit.



Score:

Headphones: 0.5 Earphones: 0.5


Battery life:

With wireless earphones and headphones becoming immensely popular, there is an extra device to charge for many people, so the question is how often do you have to charge your devices?

Charging headphones is straightforward. Most wireless headphones have a battery life of 15-80 hours of Music, compare that to your average phone, which only lasts a day or two, even with almost no use!

Earphones, meanwhile, don't have much battery life, even with the charging case, and have a record of around 30 hours and 6 hours without the charging case. People might point out that with the charging case, you still get great battery life, however, what if you are on a flight? Or you don't have time to charge your wireless earbuds? And wireless earbuds are actually 3 devices, so you have to make sure to charge all 3 of them.


Score:

Headphones: 1.5

Earphones: 0.5


Fitness:

Music is a great way to encourage yourself to push to your limit. However, how can you do it in a comfortable way? Earphones seem to be the way to go, but the case (case, hehe, get it?) with wireless earpods is that I have had multiple experiences of them falling on the ground, grass, and even under the treadmill once. But, it is still clear earphones (both wired and wireless) are superior to headphones with comes to working out since you wont have to worry about those headphones weighing down on you.


Score:

Headphones: 1.5

Earphones: 1.5


Gaming

I am not going to even say who won this competition, as someone who won a pair of headphones from Linus Tech Tips' giveaway put it - "I was using AirPods to game." Anyone using any form of earphones for video games is committing a crime. With headphones, microphones are closer and better, they are louder, and you can hear the tiny steps of your enemy in Fortnite.


Final Score:

Headphones: 2.5

Earphones: 1.5


Conclusion

I believe that each side has its own strengths, but my suggestion is you get expensive and good quality headphones for a long time for general use, preferably gaming headphones even if you are not planning to play video games or are a casual gamer (like me), this is because the material and the leather don't wear off like normal headphones, and a pair of cheap earphones, or if you have the budget, Airpods.



Karanjot's Recommended Audio Devices:

Arcuis Nova 3 Wired (My personal headset) - https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-nova-3

Agaro USB 3.0/A to USB C adapter (Not an audio device, but comes in handy!) -

Classic Apple Earpods - https://apple.co/4aFcEfn


See (a lot) more stories from Karanjot here - #karanjot


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