Do you have headphones on right now? If so, chances are that you’re either listening to music or a podcast. Podcasts have really taken off in the past few years and many people use them as their primary source of information.
Increasing trends in podcasting and headphones have led to some interesting questions. Which are the best headphones for listening to podcasts and audiobooks, do you even need a headphone for a podcast and many more.
Let’s find out the answers. But first thing first Why do podcasters wear headphones? Podcasters wear headphones to maintain the sound integrity of their podcast. They are needed to observe the flaws of audio that would not be noticeable without wearing headphones.
Using headphones is an effective way of doing this and there are several reasons why they may be useful for podcasters. If done correctly, wearing headphones will help eliminate external noise as well as reduce the chance of feedback occurring when recording online.
It is important not to wear them too loudly though because this could affect sound quality and damage hearing over time. In order to get the most out of your podcasting experience, it’s best if you know some facts about using headphones while podcasting so keep reading!
6 Reasons Podcaster Wear Headphones – Benefits of Wearing A headphone For Podcasting
Audio Monitoring
When podcasters record their podcasts, they should strive to achieve the best audio quality possible. Podcasts become more engaging for the viewers when the sound is of high quality. This also saves time during post-production.
The only way to determine if podcasters have achieved the best audio experience is to monitor it throughout the recording process. This is only possible with a pair of high-quality, noise-isolating, professional headphones.
While listening to a podcast, headphones offer the benefit of letting you hear what your listeners expect to hear. So, headphones let the podcasters monitor their digital sound by placing the ears in front of the microphones.
When batteries run low, cables break, wireless connections drop out, or something in the device is making excessive noise, all of these things can cause problems. Don’t wait until you are editing your podcast to discover these issues. Investing more attention in the recording stage results in have fewer editing headaches.
Efficient Editing
In addition to maximizing their performance, headphones can assist podcasters in editing more efficiently. The more work that can be done during the recording and editing stages, the easier the editing process will be.
Listening to the audio as you record is one of the best ways to control it. Podcasting microphones can also be sensitive at times. While editing a podcaster has to maintain the quality because even a slight air breeze can sometimes create an unpleasant sound in the background.
To remedy this, podcasters must adjust the sound accordingly.
Using a pair of studio headphones can help to figure out all the subtle noises during the process. Listening through the headphones while recording a podcast is not uncommon, but when they realize, things are impossible to fix later on.
3. Bleeding Prevention
Podcasting without headphones can result in bleeding. Recorders who frequently bleed are often unfamiliar with the term, even though most have experienced bleeds.
Bleed occurs when sound from one participant’s track gets recorded in another participant’s track through his/her speakers.
One or more participants will pick up voices from other microphones in the area if they don’t wear headphones. This results in an unpleasant sound coming from the same individual. Consequently, the production value will be lowered. Hence, bleeding is something that can be avoided with some precautions and good pair of headphones.
4. Echo when recording a remote interview
Wearing headphones is essential for podcasters especially when recording interviews by using software such as Viber or Skype. Meetings can suffer serious echo problems without headphones.
They can get an echo when listening to their guest through the PC speakers since the microphone picks up what is coming from the speakers and sends it back to the guest through Skype.
This will not only negatively affect your recording but also negatively impact the guests as they will have difficulty hearing the host, and audio delays might occur.
5. Eliminate mic placement concerns
When one or two people are involved, managing mic placement is easy. But when there are multiple guests it becomes difficult to manage the microphone.
Headphones are a great solution to these problems. They have a built-in microphone feature that results in ease for multiple individuals. Headphones designed for broadcast are quite popular and effective for a wide range of programs. Even in sports matches, all the commentators wear them.
6. Post-production editing
Investing in a good pair of headphones for editing purposes can be a real eye-opener for podcasters – they finally realize the difference they can make in their recording setup!
The good news is that most podcast listeners won’t be using headphones designed for audio production, so if you’re happy with the final audio in your set, chances are your listeners will enjoy the enhanced sound quality best played through their car speakers or consumer headphones. The point of this device is to listen to music through it, so your podcast will sound great too.
When are you not required to wear podcasting headphones?
There are a number of situations where podcasting headphones may not be an absolute necessity.
- A candidate is being interviewed in the open
- Make sure the mix is good via your usual speakers
- There is a bleed from the headphones
- In headphones, you feel self-conscious
- It is preferable for you if the conversation is natural.
Headphones vs microphones for podcasting
Headphones and microphones both are essentials for podcasters. In order to have a professional podcast, they need a high-quality microphone. It is always a podcaster’s responsibility to use a microphone to ensure good audio quality.
In comparison with microphones, headphones are a low priority. In terms of good production, however, both of these pieces of equipment play an important part.
Although, podcasting headphones with mics can significantly improve your quality of production.
The best headphones for podcasting
1. Audio Technica ATH-m20x: It is one of the best headphones for podcasting. A budget-friendly headset that assists in podcasting and audio editing problems. Audio-Technica’s ATH-M20x is a great choice for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money. Excellent sound isolation, comfortable, affordable.
2. Sennheiser HD 280 Pro: it is a midrange headphone set that is not too cheap nor too expensive. The Sennheiser HD 280 Pro offers a lot for the price. Many people who work on audio productions prefer them because they are comfortable, accurate, and robust.
3. Shure SRH1540: It is a premium choice headphone set for those who want to invest in something precious. Money is no object when it comes to the Shure SRH1540. The sound is excellent as well as the build quality. It is comfortable enough to wear for many hours at a time.
FAQ’s
1. Why do Youtubers wear headphones?
All YouTubers wear headphones for better audio experiences. They have to maintain a high level of audio and video experience that their viewers can experience. Without using headphones their voice will not be audible to the audience and the production quality will be lowered.
2. Do I need headphones to record vocals?
Yes, headphones are necessary to record the vocals. It ensures your voice quality and the best thing about using headphones is that it makes you feel even slight disturbances in the audio.
Final verdict
I hope now you have all the answers as above I discussed things in detail related to podcasting and headphones and why podcasters wear them.
They use headphones to hear themselves better and they need to be able to record their voice. Podcasters also wear headphones when they are editing a show because if you don’t have them on, it’s hard to know what is going on with the sound. So for all of these reasons and more podcasters wear headphones that suit their needs best.
You can certainly improve the quality of your podcasts and production by investing in the best headphones. Although you don’t need the best audio headphones to get the job done, you will certainly benefit from them. Just a good pair should do.
When you’re recording a podcast in a home studio, however, you’re going to want a decent podcasting microphone and headphones.