Have you been getting the wrong headphones?

"Finding the 'right' anything takes time, research, and some commitment, but especially so for headphones: in-ear, over-ear, on-ear, and even bone conduction - all of these options being popular in 2025. Over the years, I've owned pretty much every type of headphone out there and, until recently, I thought the main things to look for were comfort, noise cancellation, battery life, and whether the bass hits hard enough (note: it almost always does with all popular commercial cans)."

"The simplest way I've come to understand soundstage is to think of it as the shape of the music. With some (closed) headphones, everything seems pressed into the middle of your head. With others, the performance spreads out, giving a sense of width. A convincing soundstage can make a small acoustic recording feel as though it is happening right there in front of you, rather than piped straight into your ears."

Headphone selection requires time, research, and commitment, with many popular options including in-ear, over-ear, on-ear, and bone conduction models in 2025. Key listening qualities extend beyond comfort, noise cancellation, battery life, and bass to include soundstage and imaging. Open-back designs tend to produce wider, clearer soundstages that place instruments distinctly in the mix, while closed-back models can feel centered and confined. Soundstage describes the spatial shape and width of the music; imaging describes how precisely sounds are located within that space. Strong imaging prevents sounds from smearing and enhances natural, immersive audio for music, gaming, and video.

Read at Creative Bloq