Comparison Soundcore Liberty 4 NC vs OnePlus Buds Pro 2

A special game mode in wireless headphones that minimizes the delay in transmitting an audio track from a connected source. Low Input Lag) provides the ability to quickly respond to what is happening in virtual battles and prevents the picture from being out of sync with the sound. At the same time, when you activate the game mode, wireless headphones will be discharged faster.

Sound delay in wireless headphones is a natural process caused by the specifics of audio data transmission over Bluetooth. It can be either almost imperceptible or clearly interfere with comfortable gameplay or watching video content. This paragraph provides the declared sound delay time in milliseconds, which is written in the technical specifications for a particular headphone model.

Impedance refers to the headphone's nominal resistance to AC current, such as an audio signal.

Other things being equal, a higher impedance reduces distortion, but requires a more powerful amplifier — otherwise the headphones simply will not be able to produce sufficient volume. Thus, the choice of resistance depends primarily on which signal source you plan to connect the "ears". So, for a portable gadget (smartphone, pocket player), an indicator of 16 ohms or less is considered optimal, 17 – 32 ohms is not bad. Higher values — 33 – 64 ohms and 65 – 96 ohms — will require quite powerful amplifiers, like those used in computers and televisions. And models with a resistance of 96 – 250 ohms and above are designed mainly for Hi-End audio equipment and professional use; for such cases, detailed recommendations for selection can be found in special sources.

The range of sound frequencies that headphones can reproduce.

The wider this range, the more fully the headphones reproduce the spectrum of sound frequencies, the lower the likelihood that too low or too high frequencies will be inaccessible. However, there are some nuances to consider here. First of all, let us remind you that the perceptual range of the human ear is on average from 16 Hz to 22 kHz, and for the complete picture it is enough for headphones to cover this range. However, modern models can significantly exceed these boundaries: in many devices the lower threshold does not exceed 15 Hz, or even 10 Hz, and the upper limit can reach 25 kHz, 30 kHz and even more. Such wide ranges in themselves do not provide practical advantages, but they usually indicate a high class of headphones, and are sometimes given only for advertising purposes.

The second important point is that a wide frequency range in itself is not a guarantee of good sound: sound quality also depends on a number of parameters, primarily the amplitude-frequency response of the headphones.

The diameter of the speaker installed in the headphones; models with multiple drivers (see "Number of drivers"), usually, the size of the largest speaker is taken into account, other dimensions can be specified in the notes.

In general, this parameter is relevant primarily for over-ear headphones (see "Design"). In them, emitters can have different sizes; the larger it is, the more saturated the sound is and the better the speaker reproduces the bass, however, large emitters have a corresponding effect on the dimensions, weight and price of the headphones. But in-ear "ears" and earbuds, by definition, have very small speakers, and rich bass in them is achieved due to other design features.

The number of emitters installed in each individual earphone. Specified only for models with more than one emitter.

The meaning of this feature depends on the type of emitters (see above). So, in hybrid models, by definition, there are several — the frequency range is distributed between them, which has a positive effect on the frequency response. For the same purpose, several reinforcing radiators can be used. And with the traditional dynamic principle of operation, due to several emitters, the effect of surround sound can also be provided (see "Sound").

Anyway, "ears" with numerous emitters, other things being equal, will be more advanced, but also more expensive.

The headphones have their own volume control. Such a regulator can be placed both on the wire and on one of the cups (the latter is typical for wireless models). Anyway, this function allows you to easily adjust the volume: for this you do not need to go into the computer settings, press the buttons on the player or smartphone, etc., just use the control at hand. On the other hand, additional equipment complicates and increases the cost of the design, and also increases the likelihood of distortion. In light of the latter, volume control is almost never found in professional headphones.

A function that allows you to automatically pause the playback track when you remove the headphones (or one headphone).

Autopause is found mainly in wireless models (see "Connection Type") true wireless format (see "Cable Type"); however, there are other types of headphones with this function — for example, with a combined connection and an overhead design. Anyway, the proximity sensor is usually responsible for the auto-pause operation, which is triggered when the earpiece moves away from the ear. This feature is especially useful in situations where, after removing the headphones, there is no time to manually pause playback — for example, you need to urgently respond to what is happening nearby. At the same time, some models are able to automatically resume playback when the earpiece is returned to its place, however, this function is not strictly required — it will not hurt to clarify its presence separately.

A system that reduces the influence of ambient noise on the audibility of sound through headphones. "Noise reduction" with the help of a separate microphone (or several micro) "listens" to external sounds and sends the same sounds to the headphones, but in antiphase. Due to this, the noise heard by the ears is attenuated almost to zero and the user can enjoy the sound of the headphones without interference even in a rather “loud” environment. For filtering in headphones, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Environment Noise Cancellation (ENC) systems are used. The first suppresses all the noise around the listener, the second - reduces the noise level of the environment. Active noise cancellation affects the purity of the sound, but the noise from the outside spoils the picture when listening to audio tracks even more.

Also in the headphones there is an adaptive active noise reduction system Adaptive ANC, aimed at automatically adjusting the sound of the headphones depending on the level of ambient noise. In a noisy environment (for example, when traveling on the subway), the Adaptive ANC system enhances the work of “noise reduction”, in the absence of loud sounds from outside, it weakens the noise reduction.