Note: This is not a sponsored episode. But do go check Headphone Zone if you are looking for premium quality audiophile equipment which are not available anywhere else in India.

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We have always been hardcore music enthusiasts since our childhood. We have had exposure to a variety of music styles, and it has influenced our daily lives a lot. But over the past few months, we realised we have not been listening to music the way it is supposed to. And in this episode, we talk about stuff related to audiophiles and our journey from being complete rookies to beginner audiophiles. We also talk about some of the equipment that we use.

"An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction." - Wikipedia

DAC

A digital-to-analogue converter (DAC, D/A, D2A, or D-to-A) is a system that converts a digital signal into an analogue signal. Most of the listening devices that we use, such as laptops and smartphones have inbuilt DAC in them. But being multipurpose devices, it is equipped with sub-par DACs. So, to get the best quality from the audio, a dedicated external DAC is required.

Headphone Amplifier

A headphone amplifier is a low-powered audio amplifier designed to drive headphones worn on or in the ears. It helps increase the threshold of the maximum volume achievable on a headphone.

DAC vs Headphone Amplifier

A DAC help in the seamless conversion of digital signals to analogue. On the other hand, a headphone amplifier only helps to increase the maximum volume of a headphone.

A DAC removes the white noise from the headphone. But a headphone amplifier does not help with that as it still uses the listening device's inbuilt DAC.

Closed-Back Headphones

Closed-back headphones have a solid outer shell with no perforations of any sort such that the shell effectively cups the entire ear. This results in noise cancellation, reduction in sound bleeding but a reduced sound staging. These are mostly used by studio professionals while recording.

Open-Back Headphones

Open-back headphones are designed so that the outer shell of the ear covering is perforated in some fashion, typically with horizontal cutouts. Thus, resulting in sound bleeding but providing a better sound stage. These are mostly used by studio professionals while mixing and mastering.

True Wireless Earbuds

True Wireless Earbuds are earphones that are completely wireless and does not even have wires connecting the two buds. It is a revolutionary piece of technology that came along with Apple removing the headphone jacks from their headphones. The technology is still at its infancy but has grown tremendously since its inception in late 2016.

Sound Signatures

Extra Bass - It is in the name. These headphones have their bass boosted while the mids and highs suppressed. Most of the JBL and V-Moda headphones follow this sound signature. Suits for DJs.

Warm and Smooth - Here, the bass is emphasised with the high trebles cut to remove the harshness of the audio. Sennheiser is known for creating some great warm and smooth sounding headphones.

V-Shaped - It emphasizes bass and treble while cutting down on the mid-ranges. Apple's Airpod Pro is the best example of such earphones.

Flat - As the name suggests, these headphones do not emphasis on any frequencies. These are well-suited for studio professionals as it provides what is there in the audio.

Balanced - Balanced is similar to the flat signature but has all the frequencies tweaked a bit to give you a fun sound. The Jabra Elite 75t is an example of balanced sounding earbuds.

Bright - They have boosted treble and mid-ranges. These depend on the quality of the audio you listen to because if the audio quality is low, it can get quite jarring and uncomfortable. But at the same time, it exposes the imperfections in well-recorded audio.

Find all the products mentioned in the podcast below:

Headphone Zone

DAC - ifi Audio Zen

Closed-back headphones - Audio Technica ATH

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.