In North America, people listen to music for a greater proportion of their waking hours than they realize: piped-in music in grocery stores and restaurants, background music at dinner parties, loud dance music at bars and weddings.

What about really listening, attentively listening, listening with a purpose? Quite a few audiophiles and music-lovers still sit down between a pair of high-fidelity speakers and get lost in the music. But for most listeners, on the occasions when they're actually choosing their music, they're using headphones, earphones or earbuds, probably connected to an iPod or some other portable device.

They may not be sitting down at all, and they may not be at home. They may be using their players and 'phones as workout aids, or to fill in the time during a long flight or commute. (In this article, I'll use 'phones as an umbrella term covering headphones, earphones and earbuds.) But wherever and however they're listening, 'phones have become central to most people's musical lives.

There are a huge variety of models available, spanning prices that range from under $10 to over $2,000. There are all kinds of configurations (buds, clip-on, in-ear, on-ear, over-the-ear) and features (noise cancellation, noise isolation, wireless), to name just some of the possibilities. And music isn't the only application. People are buying headsets for gaming (in which case they incorporate a microphone), and models that double as music 'phones and hands-free headsets.

Key Questions

Toronto's Bay Bloor Radio promotes 'phones regularly in its advertising, and carries close to 100 SKUs covering a wide range of product types and prices; from a few $30 blister-packed models to $2,000 audiophile headphones. "It's a huge category for us," says Kim Hollinger, Sales Coordinator and Buyer for the store's portables department. "We have been really successful with it."

As with most other products, the first step is qualification. At Bay Bloor, sales staff asks customers what music sources they will use with their headphones, how they download, and where they'll be listening. "We want to know if they plan to use the 'phones to listen to CDs, to an iPod, to a PC," Hollinger says. "We want to know what digital format they're using." Among other things, Hollinger wants to know if the customer's music library is encoded in a compressed format, because high-end ‘phones may reveal the sonic limitations of his digital music library. Customers who plan to use their ‘phones in noisy settings, like on the subway or in a plane, are ideal candidates for noise-cancelling or isolating 'phones.

Trevor Robertson, Business Development Manager for North Vancouver-based Atlantia, the Canadian distributor for Etymotic in-ear 'phones, adds a couple of more qualifying questions. One is what 'phones the customer is currently using. "If the customer likes over-the-ear 'phones, there's no point trying to convince him to buy in-ear," he notes.

The other is budget; though Robertson adds that discerning customers can often be persuaded to spend beyond their initial budget. Adds Jason Johnson, General Manager at Sounds Fantastic in Moncton, NB: "We often manage to upgrade. People will come in with a $150 budget, and we're often able to sell them a set of $300 'phones."

Trevor Robertson, Business Development Manager of Atlantia, Canadian distributor for Etymotic headphones, believes that, with a good demo, customers can often be persuaded to spend beyond their initial budget.

Listen Up

It takes an effective demo to move customers up from their intended budgets. And manufacturers and retailers vary widely in their ability to conduct good demonstrations with headphones, just as with other product categories.

Stan Klebanoff, Director of Product Marketing, Electronics, for Markham, ON-based Gentec International, laments the fact that 'phones have become "a throwaway business. Unfortunately, sound quality is the last thing many people think of when they're buying 'phones. Application is number one and price is number two. That's a shame, because when you listen to an $80 or $100 set of Klipsch earphones, it blows you away. It makes a huge difference. It's like high-end speakers versus low-end HTiB models."

In addition to Klipsch, Gentec is also the Canadian distributor for Koss. Klipsch, whose speaker brands include Energy and Mirage as well as the Klipsch brand, also sells headphones. The venerable manufacturer Koss, still in the hands of the Koss family, offers a huge array of 'phones, from inexpensive blister-pack units priced under $10 to an electrostatic model at $1,000.

Inexpensive headphones are typically grab-and-go items, but higher-end models, like Koss' electrostatic pair that sells for $1,000, make it necessary for the customer to ensure they're an ideal fit for his needs.

Consumers who are buying headphones generally would like a demo, Klebanoff says; people buying cheap earbuds don't. But getting a demo is a problem. "All the retail displays are static," Klebanoff says, "so there's no possibility of a demo, especially with in-ear models." Chains aren't willing to put in active headphone displays. "You're just allowed to hang a product on a peg if you're lucky," Klebanoff states.

Manufacturers are part of the problem, he acknowledges. Klebanoff recalls asking Koss about an active display, but all the company had was a five-year-old unit with a CD player as a source. What's needed is something with an iPod, Klebanoff says. He believes it's up to independents to raise consumer awareness and deliver demonstrations of good headphone audio.

In fact, quite a few retailers are doing just that; and some manufacturers are developing programs to support them.

Displays

Starting in August, Sennheiser Canada will deploy 150 active headphone displays at key dealers across the country. For source material, Sennheiser is creating a CD with uncompressed audiophile-quality music spanning multiple genres, including classical, jazz and rock.

Montreal-based S.F. Marketing Inc. offers its dealers a Listening Station containing one model of each Shure Sound Isolating earphones, plus POP material, specs and in-ear sleeves. Not surprisingly, given the very nature of in-ear isolating 'phones, this isn't an active display.

Atlantia's Robertson believes the best active display for high-quality 'phones like the Etymotic line is the customer's own iPod. "When customers bring in their own players and listen to music they're used to, they're blown away. It's the simplest sell in the world."

Dealers are also creating their own active displays. Bay Bloor Radio has a large wall of headphones on pegs, any of which the customer can listen to. At one end of the headphone counter is a Peachtree iDecco desktop audio system, which incorporates an iPod dock and Class A headphone amplifier. Customers can bring in their own iPods, and, with the assistance of sales staff, audition the 'phones they're interested in. Hollinger says about 70 per cent of Bay Bloor's headphone customers bring in their own iPod or iPhone so they can listen. "Portability is the most popular application," she notes.

At Sounds Fantastic, customers frequently bring in their iPods. But the store also has an active display, consisting of headphones on mannequin heads, with all models connected to a Sonos Zone Player wireless music distribution system. Customers put on whatever 'phones they want, and choose from a wide variety of music on a Sonos keypad. There's also a five-disc CD changer hooked up to the display for customers who bring in their own discs.

Johnson says headphone customers have often done research before coming into the store, but still want a demo. "Youth are most concerned with look and feel, and somewhat concerned about sound quality. But most of our customers care a lot about quality."

The Audition

A functioning display is just one of the challenges of demonstrating headphones. A more fundamental issue is the retail environment itself. Like offices, restaurants and other public places, stores are often noisy places, to a degree that day-to-day occupants don't fully appreciate. This makes it difficult to make meaningful judgments on sound quality.

"Headphones are one of our main lines of business," says Sheldon Cohen, Owner of William Layton Audio Inc. in Montreal, QC. "We're known for having a big selection of high-quality 'phones." The upscale independent's lineup ranges from $15 models to Sennheiser's ultra-high-end HD 800, at $1,599.

Customers buying inexpensive earbuds don't expect, or even want, a demonstration, Cohen says. "Our salespeople can just guide the customers to what they want in terms of sound texture."

For headphones, the store has a wall of 'phones connected to a music source. Consumers can pick up a pair and start listening. They can also play their own CDs, or hook an iPod to the display's auxiliary input. Consumers who want to audition 'phones in a quieter environment than the main retail floor are invited to go into one of the store's two sound rooms.

Johnson does the same at Sounds Fantastic, which is located in the second-oldest house in Moncton, on the main street. The store has quiet demo rooms where "noise is not an issue."

But for customers who plan to use their 'phones in noisy settings, a noisy retail floor is an effective demo location. And Sounds Fantastic sometimes goes a step further when demonstrating Bose and Sennheiser 'phones that have active noise cancellation. "We encourage customers to go out onto Main Street to listen," Johnson says.

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