Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an audio source privately, in contrast to a loudspeaker, which emits sound into the open air for anyone nearby to hear. Headphones are also known as earphones or, colloquially, cans. Circumaural and supra-aural headphones use a band over the top of the head to hold the drivers in place. Another type, known as earbuds or earpieces, consists of individual units that plug into the user's ear canal. A third type are bone conduction headphones, which typically wrap around the back of the head and rest in front of the ear canal, leaving the ear canal open. In the context of telecommunication, a headset is a combination of a headphone and microphone.
Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is a German audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Wedemark. Sennheiser specializes in equipment for both the consumer and professional audio markets, including microphones, headphones, and loudspeakers.
Logitech International S.A. is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland and San Jose, California, the company has offices throughout Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, and is one of the world's leading manufacturers of input and interface devices for personal computers (PCs) and other digital products. It is a component of the flagship Swiss Market Index, and listed on the Nasdaq.
Pioneer Corporation, commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto on January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair shop. Its current president is Shiro Yahara.
Denon is a Japanese electronics company dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo and others in 1939, but it originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur.
Monster Inc. is an American company that manufactures and markets about 6,000 products, but is best known for audio and video cables. It also produces speakers, headphones, power strips, mobile accessories and audio devices for automobiles. The company was founded by an audiophile and engineer, Noel Lee, in 1979 by experimenting with different ways to build audio cables. It grew by doing demonstrations to convince the industry that audio cables made a difference in audio quality and by establishing relationships with retailers that were attracted to the cable's profit margins.
The Turtle Beach Corporation is an American gaming accessory manufacturer based in San Diego, California. The company has roots dating back to the 1970s where it developed sound cards, MIDI synthesizers, and various audio software packages and network audio devices. The company began making gaming headsets in 2005.
Audio-Technica Corporation is a Japanese company that designs and manufactures professional microphones, headphones, turntables, phonographic magnetic cartridges, and other audio equipment.
Stax Ltd. is a Japanese company that makes high-end-audio equipment. Stax is best known for their electrostatic and electret headphones, which they call “earspeakers.” Electrostatic headphones work similarly to electrostatic loudspeakers, but on a smaller scale. In December 2011, Chinese audio equipment company Edifier announced that it had acquired 100% equity in Stax.
Jabra is a Danish brand specializing in audio equipment and videoconferencing systems. It is owned by GN Audio, a division of the Danish company GN Group. Jabra engineers, manufactures, and markets wireless, true wireless, and corded headphones for consumers and business customers.
Belkin International, Inc., is an American consumer electronics company headquartered in El Segundo, California. It produces mobile and computer connectivity devices and peripherals for consumer and commercial use. These include wireless chargers, power banks, charging cables, data cables, audio and video adapters, headphones, earbuds, screen protectors and cases, surge protectors, docking stations and data hubs, secure KVM switches and network cables.
Skullcandy Inc. is an American company based in Park City, Utah, that markets technology such as headphones, earphones, Bluetooth speakers and other products.
Beats Electronics LLC is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded in 2006 by music producer Dr. Dre and record company executive Jimmy Iovine. Since 2014, it has been an Apple subsidiary.
JLab Audio is an American consumer audio brand founded in 2005. The company began by making value priced in-ear headphones, but has since expanded to include premium in-ear and over-ear headphones, as well as wireless headphones and Bluetooth speakers.
Hearables or smart headphones or earbuds are electronic in-ear devices designed for multiple purposes. The category is split between hearables for hearing health, and hearables for other applications.
Master & Dynamic is an American audio company based in New York. Founded in 2013, Master & Dynamic designs and manufactures headphones, earphones, speakers, and audio accessories.
Nura was a consumer electronics company based in Melbourne, Australia. Nura designed and manufactured headphones with personalized sound technology. Nura's proprietary technology automatically measures the user's hearing sensitivities to different frequencies by monitoring sounds generated from the inner ear. This process takes 1–2 minutes. The headphones then adapt the frequency response to the user's sensitivities, allowing them to hear more detail when listening to music.
Earin is a Swedish company that produces a line of small, wireless earbuds designed to connect to devices via Bluetooth. It released its first version (M-1) of the earpieces in 2015 with the next generation (M-2) entering the market in 2018. Earin was founded in 2014 and is based in Malmö, Sweden.
Origin North Ltd., formerly RHA Technologies Ltd., is a British independently owned audio company specialising in the design and production of in-ear headphones.
Soul Electronics is an audio equipment company. Founded in 2010, it produces various lines of wireless, Bluetooth-enabled headphones, earbuds, and speakers.
