What five things...

...do you need to get into headphones?

Closed Headphones

These over-the-ear headphones are “closed” which means they isolate your ears from the sound around you — they block ambient noise and keep your music from leaking out into the room. They’re great for when you need to be quiet or need to concentrate. These Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones are some of the best for the price.

Open Headphones

Open headphones generally produce a better, fuller sound than their closed counterparts. These Beyerdynamic DT-990 are a great example of how great open headphones can sound. The main drawbacks are that they don’t isolate you from the noise around you, and anyone near you can hear what you’re listening to. However, they’re great for a home office or study, or if you live alone and don’t care what kind of noise you’re making.

In-Ear Headphones

Headphones don’t need to be expensive to sound great. These $20 earbuds outclass headphones that cost twice that much. Every one of the 6000+ reviews of these headphones is a 5-star review.

Headphone Amplifier

What does this do? A few things. It lets you convert audio signals from different sources into a standard 3.5mm headphone output, and it lets you finely adjust the gain of your audio signal through the amplifier circuit. Because of the way they work, tube amps like this one slightly distort the sound and produce slightly different harmonics, resulting in a warmer, more pleasing tone. It also looks really cool, and you can tell people you built it yourself if you’re okay with lying.

2.1 Computer Speakers

If you’re just looking for some high quality speakers for your computer or small home theater, these are the ones to get. It’s a 200-watt system with plenty of bass and accurate highs and mid frequencies. It also has multiple inputs, so you won’t have to fiddle with wires if you need to switch from your computer to an auxiliary device.