Headphones

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Headphones (also known as earphones, stereophones, headsets, or the slang term cans) are a pair of transducers that receive an electrical signal from a media player or receiver and use speakers placed in close proximity to the ears (hence the name earphone) to convert the signal into audible sound waves.

Related Topics:
Transducer - Speaker - Ear - Sound wave

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They are normally detachable, using a jack plug. Typical products to which they are attached include the walkman, mobile phone, CD player, Minidisc player, digital audio player (MP3 player), and personal computer. Some headphone units are self-contained, incorporating a radio receiver. Other headphones are cordless, using radio (for example analogue FM, digital bluetooth, Wi-Fi) or infrared signals to communicate with a "base" unit.

Related Topics:
Jack plug - Walkman - Mobile phone - CD player - Minidisc - Digital audio player - Personal computer - Radio receiver - Cordless - Radio - Analogue - FM - Digital - Bluetooth - Wi-Fi - Infrared

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Headphones may be used to prevent other people from hearing the sound either for privacy or to prevent disturbance, as in listening in a public library. They are also used to exclude external sounds, particularly in sound recording studios and in noisy environments. Another advantage of headphones over conventional speakers is that the listener experiences total stereo-separation with no mixing of the left and right channels, helping them pinpoint the 'location' of sounds with much greater accuracy. This is of special relevance to videogames that use 3D positional audio, allowing players to better judge the position of an offscreen sound (such as the footsteps of an opponent).

Related Topics:
Privacy - Library - Recording studio - Stereo - Videogames

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Headphones generally use a 3.5 mm "mini pin" jack.

Related Topics:
Mm - Jack

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