Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Headphones: How Do They Work

August 19, 2010 by  
Filed under wireless headphones

Headphones have been around for a long time and many improvements have been made throughout the years but, have you ever stopped to wonder how they work? How does the sound travel from the device into the headphones that allows you to enjoy your favorite music in privacy? Basically, a headset is a tiny loudspeaker designed to allow you to listen to your music everywhere you go without disturbing others around you. They are mainly used with stereos, MP3 players, cells phones and video games. They have many benefits and come in a variety of styles and designs but what actually makes them work?

First of all, headphones have a set of transducers that are designed to pick up the electric signals produced by the receiver which is then converted into the sound waves. These sound waves are referred to as audio signal and they are picked up by a receiver in the headset.

Wireless headphones work a little differently. They use a radio transmitter that sends a radio wave in place of the audio signal that is picked up by a receiver that’s built into the headset. The transmitter is connected to a headphone jack located on your device and this is what allows the signal to be sent to the headset. These headphones do require batteries in order to operate. Since radio waves can move in all directions and even penetrate certain types of materials the wireless headphones will work even when you go into another room unlike the infrared headset that require you to stay in the same room to prevent the signal from being disrupted.

Infrared headphones work when the sound travels through the audio cables into the infrared transmitter, which then takes the sound and transforms it into a series of pulses. The pulses catches this information and sends it to a light emitting diode or LED which is a device that produces light when it reaches a certain wavelength. The receiver in the headphones picks up the light and transforms it back into sound. However, if something is blocking the light (which cannot be seen by the naked eye) the process will be interrupted and the sound will be disrupted.

Some of the modern day headphones are also designed with technology called noise cancellation. They help to block out the environmental noises you come in contact with daily so you can enjoy your music without all the distractions. These are certainly growing in popularity as their many benefits are becoming well-known.

Now you have some idea of how headphones work. Therefore, the next time you’re listening to your music device enjoying your favorite songs or playing that video game, take a minute to think about all the effort that went into the making of those headphones so you can enjoy your electronics without disturbing anyone else.

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