5 features that you must look for before buying your next headphone

Different sounds surround you as you make your way through streets bustling with frenzied movement – the buzzing murmurs of voices, vehicles honking at each other, and other random ambient noises. The only thing offering you solace in this discordant atmosphere is a pair of earphones plugged into your ears. Playing your favourite music, this handy accessory allows you to lose yourself in the melody and disconnect from the racket generated by the rest of the world.

This underlines why selecting the right accessory is paramount to any audio experience. Here, then, are five must-have features that you must look for in the next pair of headphones you buy:

• Sophisticated and premium design: Headphones accompany you everywhere you go and therefore must complement your personality. Whether you’re travelling in a metro, jogging in a park, sitting inside a library, or just sipping your favourite brew at a nearby coffee shop – all you need to stand out from the crowd is a premium pair of headphones! Opting for a pair which boasts of an ultramodern design can not only up your style quotient, but can also make you the source of envy for everyone around you.
• Rich, thumping sound: There’s a very basic difference between the speakers in your room and headphones – the latter does not give you the physical knock that a room speaker generally would. You, therefore, require a pair of headphones which compensate for this with a powerful bass. Linearly designed headphones eliminate distortions and extend to you the truest, purest richness of music. It is even better if the headphones also have a gold- plated connector, for it dampens the loss of critical audio signals during sound transmission.
• Durability: If there is one sound you’d never like to hear from your pair of headphones, it is the crackle that comes when you inadvertently end up crushing it while changing your posture. Headphones should not merely deliver in terms of performance, but must also be durable enough to allow you to perform most activities while wearing it. While choosing a new pair, it is also advisable to go for one that comes with a detachable cable. This allows cable to get plugged out when under stress at the junction, something which has been the end of many headphones. Moreover, it allows you to easily replace a damaged cable instead of discarding the complete headset.
• Apt, comfortable fit: Despite being relatively compact and lightweight, every music lover is well aware about how difficult and inconvenient it can get to wear headphones for long hours. The situation becomes even worse when a pair of headphones doesn’t fit you properly; you are left trying to constantly adjust it through the day, a far cry from the immersive music experience that you want. Avoid this problem by making sure that the headphones you purchase are a comfortable fit for your ears.
• Integrated in-line remote control: Where most headphones often lack is that their functionality remains restricted to the singular purpose of listening. It becomes very frustrating for users to remove their headsets, take their phones from within their pockets, remove the cable from the device, answer the call, and then vice-versa - that too on a regular basis! Make sure that your headphone comes equipped with a microphone as well as an in-line remote control for seamless switching between calls and music. This feature will also appeal to online gaming enthusiasts, who require good sound quality as well as voice communication to interact with their in-game counterparts.

Listening to music is an emotionally compelling and extremely immersive journey. Keeping the aforementioned tips in mind during your next headphone purchase will ensure that you own the perfect accessory appropriate for this exquisite experience.

- Nitin Butani, Vice President, MuveAcoustics