Almost all of us have them: our favorite headphones. They fit well, are pretty and make a sound that we fell in love with.
So that you can enjoy your headphones for a long time - whether in-ear, on-ear, over-ear, open-ear and wired or not - it's best to pay attention to the following seven pieces of advice.
1. Turn down the volume before listening to music
This tip is as simple as it is easy to implement: Before you turn on your favorite playlist, reduce the volume. Not only does this protect you from a jump scare, it puts less strain on the drivers in the headphones if they don't have to go from zero to one hundred immediately.
It's generally good advice, keep the volume a few steps below maximum. This is good for the eardrums and puts less wear on the drivers.
2. Clean regularly
This is a tip that is as obvious as it is complex. Dirt, moisture and sweat eat away at the lifespan of your headphones.
It's quick and easy with a microfiber cloth, which you lightly moistened with isopropyl alcohol. If you use your headphones frequently, simply wipe them once a week and you're done. This prevents dirt from accumulating, which will worsen the audio quality and, in the worst case, even attack the internal electronics.
Important NOTE!
Ensures that the casing is not affected by isopropyl alcohol. You can find information about this in the manual for your device or directly from the manufacturer. If the worst comes to the worst, alcohol can do more than just remove dirt.
If you are unsure, it is better to use a slightly damp cloth with a little soap on your housing parts.
You have to make sure that no water gets into the housing and potentially damages the electronics. Otherwise you will end up with clean but broken headphones.
This applies to on- and over-ears:It is recommended to clean the individual parts once a month - of course only if they can be removed.
- Removes the ear tips and cleans them.
- Use tweezers to carefully remove hair and dirt from the drivers. Be careful not to push the dirt further inside.
- Clean the driver facing down with a damp cloth and isopropyl alcohol.
- For stubborn dirt, use cotton swabs or a soft toothbrush.
- Allow everything to air dry before putting the headphones back together.
3. Know your device’s weaknesses
Either you read it in tests before buying or you know your pair by heart by now, but every headphone has its Achilles heel, be it the cables, the headband, the drivers or ear pads.
Knowing these weak points will help you pay close attention to them so that you don't have to buy new headphones every time.
4. Wind up the cable neatly
Anyone who uses Bluetooth headphones can scroll to the next point.
First of all, you should not wrap the cable of your headphones at all.Tangled cables cause the internal wiring to fray and that means:
- Possible loose contacts
- Worse connection
- Lousy sound quality
What to do if the cable is hopelessly twisted?
- Place a heavy object, such as a book, on one end of the cable.
- Stretch the cable over a flat surface and leave it for a day or two.
- Form a loop and wrap it around three of your fingers.
- Roll up the cable like this and thread the end through the loop under the book.
5. Avoid moisture
Moisture is the final boss for headphones, especially if they don't have an IP certification against water ingress. This causes the technology inside to corrode.
If your headphones do get wet, for example because you've been caught in a downpour, dry them off as soon as you can. Have moisture absorbers on hand (the little white packets that sometimes come with electronics), pack headphones and a handful of absorbers in a container.
Then let the headphones air dry.
- Avoid direct sunlight.
- Do not use heat sources such as a hairdryer as they can cause irreversible damage to the technology.
6. Adjust impedance
What is impedance?Headphones work by taking in an electronic current from a power source to activate the drivers, which then generate physical force to create sound. Impedance is measured in ohms.
Why is impedance important?If the current flowing from the output source to the drivers is too high, it could potentially damage the headphones.
Most headphones have an impedance between 16 and 32 ohms. This is enough for most portable devices such as cell phones, tablets or laptops.
However, if you plug your headphones into a stereo system or amplifier, the energy could exceed the impedance of your headphones. This results in poorer sound; At high volume it can even cause damage.
Therefore, check the impedance of your headphones if you plan to connect them to larger devices.
7. Reduces bass
Deep tones cause the most problems for drivers. In addition, modern headphones are often set to be bass-heavy.
Use the app on your phone to turn the bass down a few notches if you can and you like it. The drivers will thank you.
If headphones don't have dedicated bass drivers, any bass boost feature also damages the audio quality because the normal drivers take over the low tones.
If you follow our advice, you'll have fun with your headphones for a long time to come. Incidentally, software features such as active noise canceling or other sound modes have no negative effects on the device.
Which headphones do you like to use the most? Feel free to write it in the comments.
