Headphones

Full-size headphones split cleanly into two jobs. Open-backs leak sound in both directions and give you the wider, more natural stage — they belong in a quiet room. Closed-backs isolate, which makes them the right call for offices, studios and anywhere someone else can hear you.

Driver technology is the other fork in the road. Dynamic drivers are efficient and forgiving of modest sources. Planar magnetics are flatter and faster but usually want real amplification — a dongle will get them loud, a proper desktop amp will get them right. If you're buying your first pair over $200, be honest about the room you'll use them in and the source you'll drive them from; that decides more than the frequency graph does.

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