Earphones Noise Isolating Technologies Explained

There was a time when Noise Isolating Earphones were simple devices and there was only one model to choose from. But not any more. Today, there are countless earphone manufacturers, each using their own technology and claiming benefits over the others. Many consumers throw up their arms in despair when faced with the many technical terms that manufacturers use when promoting their products. Hence, this article would explain the terms involved and make you a more informed consumer.

Firstly, you have to know that there are two basic technologies that Noise Isolating Earphones use. They are Passive technology and Active technology. Passive Noise Isolating Earphones work by using the high-tech material of the earphones to effectively seal off outside noise from entering your ear canals. This is like stuffing cotton wool into your ears to block out ambient noise. To do this, earphones either have an extension into your ear canals like in-ear monitors, or they wrap around your entire ears like headphones.

Next, we have Active Noise Isolating Earphones. These work by listening to the ambient noise that will soon be entering your ear canals. The earphones would than create its own interference noise that would "cancel" out the incoming ambient noise, ensuring that the ambient noise does not enter your ears.

Now, which is the better technology? Passive Noise Isolating Earphones would obviously cost much less, typically $100 USD cheaper than Active ones. However, Passive technology will not be able to adapt to the changing levels of ambient noise, and most are fairly weak at blocking out low frequency noise. Active Noise Isolating Earphones on the other hand, cost much more, but they are great at blocking out low frequency noise, such as the constant hum of aircraft engines. However, the Active Noise Isolating technology also requires batteries to run, and so the earphone set will be more bulky, heavy and power-consuming than those using Passive technology.

Apart from Passive VS Active Noise Isolating Earphones technology, there are also many questions about Balanced Armature VS Moving Coil technology. Thus, I will also dissect these terms in my article. Balanced Armatures work by balancing a metal rod between two magnets of opposite poles (see http://earphonesnoiseisolating.com/balanced-armature-vs-moving-coil-noise-isolating-earphones/ for the picture). A wire is coiled around the metal rod, and when current is passed through the wire, it causes magnetic forces to move the metal rod one way or another around the pivot point. Since the metal rod is connected to a diaphragm, it causes the diaphragm to produce sound.

Moving Coil Earphones on the other hand, work by having a stationary magnet to set up a magnetic field, and a moving diaphragm with a metal coil attached to it. Now when current is passed through the metal coil, it causes the metal coil to move either away or towards the magnet depending on the direction of the current. This moves the diaphragm and thus produces sound.

Now that we know the workings of the Balanced Armature and Moving Coil earphones, we have will compare them to see which one best fits you. Balanced Armature Earphones give better clarity, and are smaller in size than Moving Coil earphones. However, Moving Coil earphones give more realistic sound, are less fragile (can survive knocks), and are less expensive.

Now that I have given a comprehensive review of the different Noise Isolating Earphones technologies that are available in the market, only YOU can make the final decision on what to buy. So what are you waiting for? Grab your Noise Isolating Earphones now, to enjoy peaceful moments wherever you are, and at the same time save your ears from torment.