Best Travel Headphones

Portability is one major factor to consider when buying traveling headphones. Nowadays most headphones come with a traveling case, which makes them safe and easy to store. Also, weight should be something you look at too, because some headphones can way up to a pound and therefore be a liability when traveling.

Moreover, some headphones are completely foldable, which means they will take up even less room than ordinary headphones. However, make sure to use the carrying case included, otherwise you can scratch and over-bend the headphones if packed without a layer of protection.

The comfort of your headphones must be excellent if you are to enjoy your audio experience. Wearing earpads that apply too much pressure can lead to strain and pain when wearing for long durations.

On-ear headphones have a higher chance of giving you uncomfortable strain after wearing for hours, which is why the over-ear design is more ideal. However, not all on-ear headphones are uncomfortable – it all depends on the earmuff padding and materials used.

An over the ear design is best for traveling as they are usually more comfortable to wear and even help with noise isolation. Also, you can go for an open back design that allows air to breeze through, but this means there will be no noise isolation and ambient sounds can ruin the listening experience.

Audio should be the main concern when purchasing a pair of travel headphones, because traveling with distorted terrible audio can be a nightmare. Here are some of the main factors you should be looking at:

• Design: in this list you will find two options – on-ear and over-ear designs. Each has their benefits and minuses, for example on-ear designs can strain ears after prolonged use. Over-ear designs can be more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time and are often noise isolating reducing unwanted ambient sounds.
• Frequency response: the frequency range determines the breadth of notes your headphones will be able to pick up. The average is around 20 Hz to 20k Hz, which is ideal and anything wider than that is just a bonus.
• Noise cancelation: when traveling it can be extremely annoying to hear your surroundings, especially noisy airplane engines. As a result, going for a headphone with active noise cancelation is a must. These headphones eliminate ambient noise and leaves you with crystal clear audio. In addition, most headphones nowadays come with the option to completely turn of ANC when needed making them safe to use near bus stops, train stations, and other busy areas.

Bluetooth technology is great because you don’t have the hassle of a cable cord tangling onto objects. Make sure to purchase a pair of headphones that use Bluetooth 4.0 plus, anything less can cause slow and distorted connections.

However, going for a wired version isn’t that bad either, since you don’t need to worry about charging your headphones before leaving for a trip. The only drawback is that you can over-extended the cable many times and wear out the cables inside.

Going for a well-known brand is almost always the better option, because this guarantees a quality product as you know their reputation. However, this isn’t always the case as there are some smaller brands that create equally good headphones with a lower price point. It’s up to you to take the time to research them and make the decision to buy their products.