{"id":527,"date":"2016-08-24T12:41:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T12:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/taketime.trisendi.com\/?p=527"},"modified":"2016-08-24T12:46:18","modified_gmt":"2016-08-24T12:46:18","slug":"how-to-choose-the-right-pair-of-headphones-for-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/taketime.trisendi.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/24\/how-to-choose-the-right-pair-of-headphones-for-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose the right pair of headphones for meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"
Meditation is about keeping the world out while you keep your focus. This, however, can prove difficult in public areas. The solution could be a good pair of headphones, but it is a challenge to find the right pair. We will guide you.<\/h6>\n

\"meditation<\/a><\/p>\n

Meditation in public areas often require a very good focus, strong discipline and the ability to tune out the noise from everyone around you. Before meditation apps such as TakeTime were developed you were often better off meditating in the comfort of your own home \u2013 or at least somewhere secluded.<\/p>\n

Today, you can meditate anywhere with the right meditation app. When the team and I sat down to develop TakeTime, it was our hope that you could use it at the office during your break, on your way home from work in the train or sitting in public just relaxing. However, there was still one prerequisite for a good meditation \u2013 shutting the rest of the world out. How can you do that?<\/p>\n

With TakeTime, our photos help you keeping your eyes fixed on the screen, while the music and sound effects help you tune out your surroundings. Sound and music alone can\u2019t do the trick. If you only use the speaker in your iPhone or iPad, you will have a difficult time utilizing the sound and music to shut the world out \u2013 you need a good pair of headphones.<\/p>\n

Your needs and budget
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

There are many different kinds of sound devices. You have your earplugs, your earbuds, around-ear headphones and on-ear headphones \u2013 what to choose? If you feel lost, don\u2019t worry about it! Unless you take a great interest in sound and music, knowledge about headphones probably isn\u2019t a priority for you. It took me years to figure out my preferences. Here\u2019s what I usually tell people when they ask me for advice:<\/p>\n

\"Around-ear<\/a><\/p>\n

First of all, you have to figure out what you want to use your needs are: Do you listen to music often? Do you like to listen to podcasts? Or do you just want something to shut out the world during your meditation?<\/p>\n

You also need to understand comfort: Do you like it when you have a pair of earplugs in your ears or do they annoy you? Do you like having ear cups around your ears or do you prefer to have them on your ears? Comfort is everything. If you buy headphones that you find uncomfortable, you will never use them.<\/p>\n

\"On-ear<\/a><\/p>\n

Consider your surroundings. Do you spend a lot of time in public or surrounded by a lot of people? If so, you might prefer headphones with noise-cancelling technology, which means that the headphones have one or more tiny microphones that help filter noise from your surroundings. The sound from your headphones will be clearer while the background noise will be reduced. If you don\u2019t mind using earplugs, you can automatically expect a certain level of \u201cnatural\u201d noise-cancelling. Also, on-ear and around-ear headphones have a small ability to shield you from background noise.<\/p>\n

\"earbuds\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest. TakeTime is developed by a small, Danish start-up. We don\u2019t have a huge music budget like Hollywood film studios. In turn, the soundtracks to our themes are relative simple; they set the mood and gives you something to listen to while meditating, but please don\u2019t expect subtle nuances like the complex samples or a distant background choir. In short, if you\u2019re only going to use your earphones with TakeTime, don\u2019t spend a million.<\/p>\n

You can get a decent pair of earplugs for around \u20ac 25 and a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones for about \u20ac 100.<\/p>\n

The good brands
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

Okay, you have established your needs and your budget, which brand should you choose? In the 10 years I have written about sound and headphones as a contributing writer for Danish media, I have come across a few brands that I trust and feel comfortable recommending to you.<\/p>\n