If you play music, produce it, or even just listen to it, nowadays you are dependent on technology. Technology has had an enormous effect on the way that people make music, from the earliest electric guitars to the advanced guitar modeling amps of today.
Today, we’re going to look at some of the biggest trends in audio technology around at the moment, and explore how they will change the way we hear music in the coming years.
Wireless
Wireless technology has had a long a checkered history. For many years, the typical modes of connection used bywireless headphones, in particular, were not regarded as good enough by high-end audio manufacturers.
Now, that is beginning to change. Over the past 5 years or so, many companies have realised that modern Bluetooth connections can offer really good sound quality – good enough to replace wired connections entirely.
The addition of noise-cancelling technology to wireless headphones has also been a huge step forward. Noise cancellation has long been a staple of high-end headphones, but is now beginning to be incorporated even on mid-range models.
com,这bined with wireless connections, is going to become standard over the next few years.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is always improving, of course, year on year. Listen to what was a great setup in 1974, compared to even a mid-range one now, and the difference is instantly apparent.
It now seems, however, that people are taking sound quality more seriously than ever before. There has been a significant rise in the number of people buying dedicated headphone amps. This is partly driven, no doubt, by increased knowledge – nowadays, any aspiring audiophile can go online, and work out that the sound card in their computer is simply not powerful enough to drive their high-end cans.
At the leading edge of this technology are devices like the SennheiserOrpheus HE1060. This amplifier and headphone combination, designed together to achieve the absolute best sound quality, represents the most advanced system available today. At $35,000, you would expect it to be. These are some of the most advancedtube amp technologyavailable.
Bone Conduction
Long regarded as something of a gimmick, bone conduction headphones are now tipped as one of the hottest new trends. Whilst we won’t go into all the details ofhow they work, the principle is easy to describe – these devices look like a set of headphones, but without the cans. A thin band sits on your head, and produces vibrations that carry through your skull.
These vibrations are picked up by your inner ear, so you can hear the music whilst still having your outer ear uncovered. Manufacturers claim that this allows you to hear twice as much, as well as promising better sound quality as the technology progresses. If you haven’t used one of these devices yet, we urge you to do so – the weird sensation of hearing music through your skull is worth experiencing.
Currently, there are only a limited number of companies producing bone conduction headphones, but we expect that the technology will become much more prevalent in the coming years.
