Binaural beats are an interesting tool: they directly affect your brainwaves and they can alter your mood, behavior and even your consciousness. This transformation is accomplished by inducing brainwave patterns through the use of stereo sound: to get the best results from binaural beats, headphones are required. (For more information on Binaural Beats, check out my article on Brainwave Entrainment.)
Headphones For Listening To Binaural Beats
I use three kinds of headphones: earbuds for use with my iPhone, AKG K-240 Studio headphones around the house, and the Sleep Sonic pillow for when I'm lying down and planning on sleeping.- Earbuds
- Headphones
- Sleepsonic® Pillow
- SleepPhones
- When I am traveling, I use earbuds with my iPhone. They are not the best quality and they are uncomfortable, but they are convenient — and, believe it or not — earbuds are good enough to listen to binaural beats and music enhanced with brainwave entrainment technologies.
- Most often, I use the AKG K-240 Studio headphones. They are enclosed so they partially block out external sounds, they sound incredible and they have only one cable so that I never feel trapped inside a bunch of wires. Also, they feature an adjustable fit that feels great.
Another popular pair of headphones is the Sony MDR-V900HD Studio Monitor Headphones. I used these for several years before switching to the more natural sounding (and more affordable) AKGs, but the Sony's have proven to be quite popular for listening to binaural beats. The Sony headphones also have a strong bass response, which many people like.
- For the most part, I meditate in an upright position but sometimes I change things up by lying down. In this case, I really like the Sleepsonic® Pillow. It is extremely comfortable, it allows me to lie down without clunky headphones getting in the way and these great little speakers don't block my hearing like my earbuds or enclosed headphones.
- Honestly, I have yet to try the SleepPhones headbands, but they come highly recommended from a good friend. Essentially, they are headbands that fit comfortably over your ears. They come in a variety of colors and sizes and based on the customer reviews at Amazon.com, they are highly regarded by the people that use them.