Which headphones suit your attraction best?

In museums and tourist attractions, sound plays a leading role. Visitors want to hear clear stories, often while still taking in their surroundings. So which headphones should you choose? We compare the Orpheo Airset, the Sennheiser HP 02 and the Sennheiser HD 200 PRO on comfort, speech intelligibility, hygiene and versatility.

What should you look for in headphones for visitors?

Three things remain as important as ever in headphones for an audio guide or whisper set:

• Wearing comfort: headphones must still feel comfortable after an hour. A light, ergonomic design and a short cable on one side make all the difference. The biggest compliment is when visitors forget after a while that they are wearing any.
• Speech intelligibility: headphones for visitors do not need to be audiophile hi-fi. What matters more is that the midrange, where speech sits, comes through clearly.
• Hygiene: headphones worn by many people one after another must be easy to clean.

The Orpheo Airset: open and hygienic

The Orpheo Airset is ideal for museum tours. Its open design lets ambient sound through, so visitors can talk to each other or hear a warning. With an impedance of 8 ohms and a frequency range of 400 to 20,000 Hz, it delivers clear audio at a low volume. It weighs 95 grams, needs no battery and connects with a 90 cm cable and a 3.5 mm plug.

When it comes to hygiene, the Airset is in a class of its own: the speaker part barely touches the ears and the material is easy to wipe clean with a damp cloth. Because of its lower sound pressure (72 dB), however, it is less suitable for noisy environments.

The Sennheiser HP 02: reliable and compact

For clear speech reproduction, the Sennheiser HP 02 is a reliable choice. These on-ear headphones have an impedance of 32 ohms and a range of 20 to 20,000 Hz. The adjustable headband and swivelling ear cups provide comfort and make storage easy. With a 1-metre cable and a 3.5 mm plug, they are suitable for audio guides and fixed installations alike. The HP 02 is light and rugged, but isolates less than a closed model. In a noisy room, that can be a drawback.

The HP 02 is also available as a neckband model with a cable on one side: pleasant for anyone who wants to spare their hairstyle.

The Sennheiser HD 200 PRO: professional and immersive

Looking for a deeper experience? The Sennheiser HD 200 PRO is a pair of closed over-ear headphones that shut out ambient sound well. They deliver studio quality with a sound pressure of 108 dB and a solid bass. The ergonomic fit and soft ear cushions make long sessions comfortable, and the 2-metre cable gives freedom of movement at a fixed installation. Ideal for individual experiences, but because of the closed design less suitable when visitors need to be able to talk to each other.

Which headphones do you choose?

The choice depends on the context:

• Orpheo Airset: for interactive tours where visitors need to keep hearing their surroundings and where hygiene comes first.
• Sennheiser HP 02: for speech-focused guidance and tours with a tour guide system.
• Sennheiser HD 200 PRO: for immersive solo experiences and multimedia installations with a lot of sound.

Price, durability and compatibility with your system also play a role. Ideally, test the headphones at your own venue. Incidentally, Orpheo's museum guides also work without headphones, through the built-in speaker. They also have two headphone sockets: handy for couples or when it suddenly gets busy.

Think about distribution too

Think in advance about how the headphones will be handed out. Say your museum has 200 headphones available: do not keep them in a box behind the desk, because the cables are guaranteed to get tangled. A fixed distribution point with a rack for the headphones works much better, as shown below at the National Military Museum. You can read more tips in How to store your audio guides.

Conclusion: the right match

Whichever headphones you choose, each model enriches a multimedia attraction, as long as it suits the situation. Not sure? We are happy to think along with you and let you try out the models beforehand.