While looking for headphones, you might have seen that many headphones manufacturers have written a specific term after the name of their headphones. The most common examples of headphones technology are Studio Headphones, Professional Headphones, Gaming Headphones & Regular Headphones, or just Headphones. As the names are different so that they must have different uses as well. For example, Gaming Headphones are made with some features that come really handy while playing your favorite game. Like hearing footsteps, clear voice, surround sound, etc. The most two common types of headphones are Studio Headphones & Regular Headphones. Today we are going to discuss the key differences between those two types of widely used headphones.
We wanted to keep it simple & easy so that you do not face any difficulty to understand this topic. We have been requested to make articles on different types of headphones & their key differences. As Studio Headphones vs Regular Headphones is the burning topic & many of you requested to understand it clearly. We suggest you stay with us till the end. Thus you will have a clear idea on this topic.
Before we dig into the differences first you need to understand what Regular Headphones & Studio Headphones are.
Table of Contents
Regular Headphones
Regular headphones or Headphones are among the regular gadgets that a regular person uses. This type of headphones has the main purpose & that is to provide pleasing audio to its user’s ears. The manufacturers always want that the users will get the best quality audio with their headphones. Many manufacturers have launched regular headphones with different types of features & drivers. That is why you will get different types of audio from different headphones even if you are playing the same music. This type of headphones always enhances the music quality, provides deep bass & makes the music as pleasing as possible to its user’s ears.
Studio Headphones
Just by the name, you might have understood that Studio Headphones are specially built to be used in studios. You can say that those are one type of Professional Headphones as well. Professional audio mixers, editors & people related to studio works have been using this type of headphones. The main feature of this type of headphones is that it delivers audio just the way it is. The audio quality is very close to the quality when it has been recorded. Unlike Regular Headphones, it does not enhance the audio quality to satisfy the user’s ears. That is why those are called Studio Headphones.
Studio Headphones vs. Regular Headphones
At this point, we hope that you already have a basic idea about the key differences between Studio Headphones & Regular Headphones. To provide you a clear idea & to make it as simple as possible we have pointed out the key differences as below. Have a look:
Audio Quality
This makes a huge difference between Studio Quality headphones & Regular Headphones. As we have mentioned earlier, the main purpose of regular headphones is to please their customer’s ears. The driver inside the headphone always tends to enhance the audio quality so that you can enjoy your favorite music. It is more or less like autotune. Even playing the dumbest music you will experience an ear-filling audio quality with good quality regular headphones. If there is any distortion or a tone that sounds off then a regular headphone will try to correct it before it reaches your ears. But the things are quite opposite when it comes to Studio Headphones.
The main purpose for using Studio Type Headphone is to listen to the most detailed quality audio. While regular headphones tend to hide the musical imbalance, studio headphones always working to let you hear those gaps & imbalances. That is why those headphones are used during audio editing, mixing, recording & mastering. A good quality studio headphone will always reproduce the accurate audio as it was recorded, with no enhancement, no auto-tune. Thus you can identify the mistakes quite easily.
Bass Reproduction
For regular users, deep bass might be a very important thing. Most people like deep bass while listening to music. Most regular headphones feature enhanced deep bass so that the listener can have a filling musical experience. But sometimes having deep bass might downgrade the voice quality. If you are listening to music or speech with heavy bass then sometimes you will miss the natural voice dominated by deep bass. That is why Studio Headphones do not feature deep bass. You will get flat & natural quality audio. Thus you will not miss a single speech or any kind of music.
Microphone
Having a built-in microphone or an external microphone might be up to your personal preferences. For home users & studio users having a microphone along with the headphone can be a great feature. Though it does not affect the overall audio quality of your headphone. But if you are looking for a headphone with a microphone than you can find this both in Studio Headphone & Regular Headphone. You might think that as this is a similarity between Studio Headphone & Regular Headphone then why we are putting this here! That is to make sure you do not get confused with the microphone thing that comes with headphones.
Frequency Range
A regular headphone does not come with variable frequency ranges. The most basic & common frequency range for regular headphones is 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz. This frequency response is ideal for those users who just want to enjoy their music. But this range can not detect every detail of audio. That is why Studio headphones come with a wide range of frequency range. The lower value will be less than 20 Hz & the higher value will be more than 20,000 Hz. That is why there is no chance of missing any vocal, tone, or distortion using a good quality studio headphone. You will have no problem listening to the lower tone nor the higher tone. You will have a natural audio quality so that you will not miss a single detail. And this is only possible with a wide range of frequency responses.
Design & Built
While looking for a regular headphone you will find different headphones made with a variety of components. Some are very good, some are average & some are not so good. But the problem here is most of the tie all the components of a regular headphone might not be the same quality. Most of the time the component that enhances the overall audio quality has a higher grade. But when it comes to studio headphones, they need higher quality components to provide the best result. Sometimes it may also need some extra component to deliver detailed audio. The component also needs to be high tolerance so that it can handle any type of audio distortion.
Also, studio headphones are much more comfortable to wear compared to most regular headphones. So that you do not face any issue even if you are wearing this for hours. That is all about the building, but when it comes to design the things are quite opposite. Most of the regular headphones have a more appealing design as people tend to take this while traveling around. Of course, you are not going to carry ugly-looking headphones with you, right? That is why even in a low-budget regular headphone you can find a better design.
But when it comes to studio headphones, design is not an issue. What is inside, the components & the audio quality are the main focus. Some manufacturers say that they do not make a pretty design for their studio headphones intentionally. So that any customer who does not know about the headphone will not buy that just based on their pretty look.
Noise Isolation
Noise isolation is an extra feature in regular headphones. You can have a regular headphone that comes with a noise isolation feature. This feature will block any unwanted surrounding noise so that you can enjoy your music. But this feature is not mandatory for every user. But when it comes to studio headphones, the noise isolation feature plays a vital role. A studio can be a noisy place. There may be other people working around & talking. If you need full concentration & want to hit every detail then the noise isolation feature will be very helpful. That is why most Studio Headphones come with this feature.
Price Tag
If you are looking for regular headphones then you can fit them into any budget you have. You will find regular headphones with a budget below $100. Also, you will find one that will cost around a thousand dollars. But If you are going to buy a studio headphone then you must have a bit more budget of hundreds of dollars. A cheap studio headphone will not come very useful if your main purpose is editing, mixing, or mastering audio. That is why we always recommend making a decent budget so that you can fulfill your needs.
