Consumer Audio Listening Devices: Headphones, Ear Pads, Earbuds, Active, and Passive Noise Cancelling and Isolating Technology

The Evolution of Headphones and Earbuds – In the 1800s, Ernest Jules Pierre Mercadier receives a patent for earbuds used as telephone receivers.  In 1910, the U.S. Navy bought the first pair of headphones from its inventor, Nathaniel Baldwin’s,  for their supposed superior sound quality.  In 1957, the concept of active noise cancellation (the ability of analyzing unwanted outside-in signals, and sending inside-out counter-signals to cancel them) is introduced into consumer markets when Willard Meeker adopts aerospace technology to broader, practical consumer applications.  In 1958, stereo military-grade headphones are adapted by musician John Koss into commercial stereo headphones. The all to familiar 3.5 mm headphone-jack socket still found today on smart phones appears in 1964 with hand-held Sony radios, then later in 1979 with the arrival of the Walkman.  In 1997, a patent that would lead to what we know today as Bluetooth was filed by Jaap Haarsen in 1997, a technology that was then launched on a commercial scale with Ericsson two years later in 1999.  Headphones that could cancel 99% of high frequency noises (160HZ range) were released by Sony almost 10 years later, in 2008.

Earbuds and Earphones Today – In 2016, thanks to the long trail of evolution of this technology, consumers can choose from a wide variety of active and passive noise cancelling earbuds (in-ear headphones), ear pads (supra-aural headphones), or headphones (circumaural headphones), each combining its on set of qualities to fulfill its own purpose and characteristics.

While both active and passive noise cancelling features can be present in ear pads, headphones and earbuds, passive noise cancelling features are naturally accentuated in the design of ear pads and headphones, which largely tend to cover the full surface of the ear.  Active noise cancelling features will also tend to be  more effective when combined with strong passive noise cancellation features. Algorithms used in active-noise cancelling audio listening devices risk interfering with sound quality and accuracy. While greater sound quality and accuracy may be preserved in audio devices that only have passive noise cancelling features, the ambient outside noise may be too distracting to appreciate sound quality and accuracy.

Finally, there is the question of health and safety, as well as energy consumption.  Using highly efficient active noise cancelling audio listening devices may present dangerous hazards in certain environments. Conversely, tuning out ambient noise by turning up the volume on audio listening devices without active noise cancelling features can lead to unwanted noise induced hearing loss.  Active noise cancelling requires a constant supply of energy, i.e. a battery to feed the digital signal processing technology and audio processor that generate the noise cancelling counter-signal.

The Quick Botton Line When Choosing a Headphones or Earphones – consumers have a wide range of products, with varying of features to choose from.  The use and purpose of the audio listening device should be assessed next to the price. Audiophiles, or individuals who have a grounded purpose for high sound quality in environments, where blocking outside noise is not a hazard, may find a justification in paying the higher price for active noise cancelling headphones or ear pads. For those who tend to use their audio devices in outside environments, where blocking all ambient sound may be a hazard, and who are willing to trade-off dollars for sound clarity and quality, active or passive noise cancelling earbuds or earphones may turn out to be the more practical choice.