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Headphones on a standWireless headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an audio source privately, in contrast to a loudspeaker, which emits sound into the open air for anyone nearby to hear. Headphones are also known as earphones[1] or, colloquially, cans.[2] Circumaural (around the ear) and supra-aural (over the ear) headphones use a band over the top of the head to hold the drivers in place. Another type, known as earbuds or earpieces,[1] consists of individual units that plug into the user's ear canal. A third type are bone conduction headphones, which typically wrap around the back of the head and rest in front of the ear canal, leaving the ear canal open. In the context of telecommunication, a headset is a combination of a headphone and microphone.
Headphones connect to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player, portable media player, mobile phone, video game console, or electronic musical instrument, either directly using a cord, or using wireless technology such as Bluetooth, DECT or FM radio. The first headphones were developed in the late 19th century for use by telephone operators, to keep their hands free. Initially the audio quality was mediocre and a step forward was the invention of high fidelity headphones.[3][4]
Headphones exhibit a range of different audio reproduction quality capabilities. Headsets designed for telephone use typically cannot reproduce sound with the high fidelity of expensive units designed for music listening by audiophiles. Headphones that use cables typically have either a 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) or 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) phone jack for plugging the headphones into the audio source. Some headphones are wireless, using Bluetooth connectivity to transmit the audio signal by radio waves from source devices like cellphones and digital players.[5] As a result of the Walkman effect, beginning in the 1980s, headphones started to be used in public places such as sidewalks, grocery stores, and public transit.[6] Headphones are also used by people in various professional contexts, such as audio engineers mixing sound for live concerts or sound recordings and DJs, who use headphones to cue up the next song without the audience hearing, aircraft pilots and call center employees. The latter two types of employees use headphones with an integrated microphone.
^ ab"earphone". Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
^Stanley R. Alten Audio Basics Cengage 2011 ISBN 0-495-91356-1 page 63
^"Headphones : The Ultimate buying guide - Hi-fidelity headphones". StereoCompare. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
^Sullivan, Mark (7 January 2016). "It's True: Apple Will Drop Headphone Jack To Make The iPhone 7 Slimmer, Says Source". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29.
^"Rewind: How the Walkman changed the world..." independent. 15 July 2009.
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the ear on the corresponding side, as would be the case with headphones), either headphones are required, or crosstalk cancellation of signals intended...
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December 2012. "Rock And Metal Dot Com Rock News: June 2006". Archived from the original on 10 July 2006. "Hifiman Headphones". ironhorsetrading.net. v t e...
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