Headphone Drivers Explained: Which Type is the Best for Your Music?
Exploring the Depths of Headphones: Navigating the world of headphones can be daunting, as it delves into a complex and intricate realm of audio. To assist users in making informed purchasing decisions, we focus on the components of the vital headphone: drivers. By outlining different driver types and their advantages and disadvantages, we aim to untangle the proverbial wires and guide you toward your next audio investment.
What Are Headphones Drivers?
Headphone drivers serve as the fundamental element responsible for generating sound. It transforms electrical signals into audible sound waves for the listener. Different drivers employ various technologies and materials to produce these sound waves, resulting in distinct characteristics.
How Do They Work?
Let me simplify it for you: Sound is the energy created when things vibrate, causing the air to move. So, when something shakes or vibrates, the air around it shakes too. Cool, right? Those air movements travel through the air in these cool things called soundwaves. Eventually, those soundwaves reach our ears, and we’re like, “Hey, I can hear something!” We recognize those soundwaves as different
sounds, like music, talking, or a car engine’s noise. Now, the pitch of a sound, whether high or low, depends on how fast those soundwaves keep repeating themselves. We call that frequency. The faster they repeat, the higher the sound; if they repeat slower, the sound is lower. We measure frequency in something called Hertz (Hz). And guess what? We, humans, can usually hear between 20Hz and 20,000Hz sounds. So, that’s the basic idea, a simplified explanation to understand how drivers work.
The headphone driver is responsible for producing the sound waves that reach your ear. It typically consists of three main components:
Magnet
A magnet generates a magnetic field, which plays a vital role in sound production. Generally, a more powerful magnet enhances the sound quality by effectively moving larger volumes of air. These magnets have a constant magnetic field and interact with the voice coils to create vibrations.
Voice Coil
Typically composed of copper wire, the voice coil directly links to the diaphragm. As an electric current flows through it, the voice coil becomes electromagnetized and interacts with the magnets in the driver. This reciprocal interaction causes the coils to vibrate, thereby moving the diaphragm.
Diaphragm
The diaphragm, made of thin materials like mylar, acts as a miniature drum. It responds to the voice coil’s movements, vibrating and generating sound waves that travel through the air. Our ears and brain then detect and interpret these sound waves as music, speech, or other auditory experiences. In speakers without a front grille, it is quite noticeable that the diaphragm, usually cone-shaped, vibrates prominently, especially at higher sound levels.
Which headphone driver is considered the best?
Certain drivers prioritize sound quality over others. For example, bone conduction drivers don’t focus primarily on sound quality. While some drivers outperform others in sound performance, the sound quality from headphones or speakers depends on driver implementation and material choices.
“Sound quality” is subjective. It’s easy to differentiate between $5 earbuds and $500 headphones designed for clear sound quality. However, comparing two $500 headphones often leads to different opinions on superiority.
Individual preferences cause these variations. Person A may value strong bass as a mark of quality, while Person B prefers a more neutral sound. Although factors like distortion and clarity have some objective measurements, there’s no single “perfect” pair of headphones or drivers for everyone.
One objective requirement is a rigid yet lightweight diaphragm. If the diaphragm is too flexible, it distorts sound during rapid vibrations. Conversely, a heavy diaphragm responds slowly and compromises clarity. Manufacturers face the challenge of balancing rigidity and lightness, constantly seeking innovative ways to create drivers with clear and undistorted sound.
Do More Headphone Drivers Matter?
More drivers in headphones can enhance sound quality if they are well-tuned. Quality takes precedence over quantity in this scenario. However, using multiple drivers involves complex engineering and can be costly. Creating good headphones involves careful optimization and engineering, not just using expensive drivers.
Types of Headphone Drivers
We will discuss different headphone drivers, their uses, and their advantages and disadvantages.
1. Dynamic Driver or Moving Coil Driver
Dynamic drivers are commonly used in headphones because they are affordable and require low power, eliminating the need for a separate amplifier. These drivers include a voice coil connected to a diaphragm within a permanent magnet. When an electrical signal flows through the coil, it becomes electromagnetized, leading to rapid vibrations. These vibrations move the diaphragm, generating sound waves by disturbing the surrounding air molecules. Dynamic drivers are widely employed in various audio devices due to their cost-effectiveness. Due to their construction, they can produce impactful bass sounds but are susceptible to distortion at higher volumes.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Good bass response
- Decent frequency range
Cons:
- Prone to distortion
2. Balanced Armature Driver
Balanced armature (BA) drivers are widely used in earbuds and in-ear monitors due to their compact size and low power requirements.
In a BA driver, an electronic signal drives a small armature wrapped with a coil of wire positioned between two magnets inside a small enclosure. The armature vibrates between the magnets when the electronic signal turns it into an electromagnet. The movement of the armature’s drive pin causes the diaphragm to move, generating sound waves that exit through the nozzle of the BA driver housing.
BA drivers excel in sound isolation and can produce high-quality sound. However, their small size often results in weaker bass performance, and they have specific frequency ranges. Achieving excellent sound quality usually requires multiple drivers, making products with BA drivers more expensive than those with typical dynamic drivers.
Pros:
- Compact
- Lightweight
- Good sound isolation
Cons:
- Limited bass response
- Narrow frequency range
3. Planar Magnetic Driver
The term “planar” refers to something lying in a plane, which provides insight into how planar magnetic drivers operate.
Planar magnetic drivers function similarly to dynamic drivers, but instead of using coils, they utilize a flat assembly of electrical conductors positioned between two flat magnets. The delicate diaphragm film holds the components in place. When an electronic signal charges the flat conductor array, the diaphragm vibrates as the conductor array interacts with the magnets on each side.
Due to their flat, thin diaphragm and fewer moving parts compared to traditional dynamic drivers, planar magnetic drivers produce highly accurate and clean sound while being less prone to distortion. The diaphragm’s responsiveness enables quick adaptation to changes in the audio signal, making them ideal for high-end headphones that prioritize sound quality and fidelity.
Planar magnetic drivers employ larger, and therefore heavier, magnets, resulting in higher costs than dynamic drivers. Headphones utilizing planar magnetic drivers tend to have a bulkier design and often require an external amplifier for optimal performance.
Pros:
- Excellent responsiveness
- Outstanding sound quality
- Minimal distortion
Cons:
- Expensive
- Heavy and bulky
- Requires significant power consumption
4. Electrostatic driver
Electrostatic drivers, known for their top-tier audio quality, are among the most expensive. These specialized drivers require special amplification, making them uncommon in consumer-grade headphones.
Instead of using electromagnetism, electrostatic drivers utilize static electricity to generate sound. They feature a razor-thin diaphragm covered in a conductive coating. This diaphragm, moved by static electricity, is positioned between two electrified perforated metal plates. By alternating charges, the metal plates cause the diaphragm to vibrate and produce sound waves when an audio signal is received.
The absence of physical contact between components allows electrostatic drivers to produce highly accurate sound with minimal distortion. The diaphragm’s small size and low weight also contribute to its exceptional responsiveness.
Pros:
- Exceptional audio quality
- Highly responsive
Cons:
- Requires specialized amplifiers
- High cost
5. Piezeoelectric driver
Piezoelectricity is the electric charge accumulation in specific solid materials such as crystals and ceramics. Piezoelectric drivers employ this principle to generate sound.
Piezoelectric materials undergo slight changes in shape when an electric current passes through them. They employ a thin diaphragm composed of such materials, which alters its shape and vibrates upon the introduction of electricity.
Despite being highly sensitive, Piezoelectric drivers are challenging to work with and have limited bass response due to their small size. Hence, they are rarely found in high-end audio products preferred by audiophiles.
In contemporary headphone designs, piezoelectric drivers are relatively uncommon and are typically combined with other driver technologies. However, there is a renewed interest in them, particularly with the emergence of bone conduction drivers for runners and outdoor sports enthusiasts.
Pros:
- High sensitivity
Cons:
- Limited bass response
- Lower overall audio quality
6. Bone conduction driver
Bone conduction drivers have a unique method of transmitting sound by utilizing vibrations on the skull and jawbones. These drivers consist of a piezoelectric crystal positioned between two metal plates. When an audio signal is applied, the crystal expands and contracts, causing vibrations transmitted to solid materials like human bones. These vibrations then reach the inner ear, sending signals to the brain.
Bone conduction drivers are a recent development and are particularly suitable for runners and athletes who need to remain aware of their environment since they don’t block the ear canal. However, they are not ideal for gaming due to their lack of sound isolation and lower-quality positional audio.
Pros:
- Doesn’t block the ear canal, making it suitable for maintaining awareness of surroundings.
Cons:
- The sound quality is subpar
Choosing The Right Headphone Driver
Dynamic drivers are the optimal choice if you desire a natural and warm sound that embraces imperfections (which some individuals prefer for casual listening). They excel in delivering bass-focused music genres such as electronic, pop, reggae, classical, and rock.
On the other hand, electrostatic, planar magnetic, and balanced armature drivers outshine others in terms of precision and detail, offering superior sound quality. These drivers are ideal for analytical listening and cater well to a wide range of genres, excluding those that heavily emphasize bass.
Piezoelectric drivers perform satisfactorily across most genres, except for aggressive ones like metal, where intense cymbal crashes can result in a sizzling sound.
Magnetostriction is suitable for music compositions with minimal instrumentation, as it struggles to keep pace with complex tracks.
Exclusive Summary
Headphone drivers are crucial in all types of headphones and earbuds. Manufacturers can achieve their desired level of performance by employing various types or quantities of drivers.
However, it is important to note that tuning plays a more significant role than simply relying on the driver’s type when listening to music. Therefore, it is advised not to dismiss or favor a particular type solely based on its potential to offer superior sound quality.
