If you are a middle-aged guy, looking at the headphones today might take you back to the days when you had a Walkman. And the millennials today remember an mp3 player with which they would use their headphones.
With the advent of technology, we have seen a major upgrade in the quality of headphones as well deployment of newer software like surround sound hearing, Dolby hearing, noise cancellation, wireless headphones and what not.
Today, almost every person who has a mobile phone or a computer owns a kind of headphones or hand frees. Because people want to keep what they are listening to just themselves and not everyone else.
Headphones are used widely and there are so many companies and so many models that one cannot list them here. Whether they are gaming headphones, wireless ones or those of simple use, headphones provide a vibe that these small wireless earbuds just cannot.
Clamping Force on a Headphone
People choose different kind of headphones. The reason is that almost every other model provides a different kind of experience for your ears.
Some people like headphones that are just resting on your ears. Others like headphones that keep it tight.
The comfortability of different kind of headphones, their features, and personal preference are one of the reasons that a single company has so many models of headphones instead of just one really good one.
Clamping force can be as easily described as the force that holds the headphones over your ears and does not let them move from where they are set.
Why would you want to alter the clamping force on a headphone?
Why would anyone want to change how much the headphones are pressing on their ears? Because sometimes, the headphones you just bought might be too tight for you or might be too loose.
Obviously, while there is an average range of the size of heads of people, some people have bigger and some have smaller heads and thus the headphones they bough might be too tight or loose for them.
And thus, one would want to alter the clamping force so they are comfortable and can be used easily. Apart from this reason, some users feel that when the headphones were pressed a little but, the quality of sound drastically increased and background noise was also being cancelled.
One could argue that this is due to the drivers of the headphones coming closer to your ear and thus a subsequent increase in loudness. But it indeed makes the listening experience a bit better for some people.
How to increase this Clamping Force?
While we have not yet heard of headphones with adjustable clamping force, there are certain DIY methods that may help you in increasing the clamping force of your headphones if they keep sliding off.
Note that these are not advised to be done because they can de-shape or malform your headphones or even break it.
Before buying a headphone, always research the internet about how much clamping force they provide before deciding on your favorite model.
1. Bend the Metal in the Frame
Most Headphones have a metal in their headband frame which gives an appropriate shape to them. Due to this the headphones look beautiful and have a lesser propensity to break if some unwanted force was accidentally applied to them. Mostly this metal is wrapped by a foam coating.
We know that the metal is malleable, that means we can adjust it shape. You can find many YouTube experiments which show through digital scales that bending the metal in this way proved to be an effective method of increasing the clamping force.
However, there is a certain element of caution to this method too. You should not try to bend the metal every other day rather do it one time and then use them carefully.
The reason is that the metal can get fatigued and then it would change shape with the slightest amount of force.
All you need to do is bend it from both sides equally. Try little by little force on both sides until the clamping force is increased to as much as you want.
Make sure that you do not disturb the symmetry of the headphone and make it lose its shape.
2. Using Wire hangers / Head band
If your headphones do not have a metal band and are made entirely of plastic, or it is just that you do not want to affect the original frame of your headphones, then you can try using another DIY method, i.e., using wire hangers or head band.
This might seem absurd to some, but some users have used this and since it is a DIY method, you can modify or use similar things to make it work for you.
Using Wire Hangers
Bend the wire hanger a bit wider than the width of your head and secure it in place using very thin wires. If you feel its loose you can tighten it and if its so tight that it hurts, then you can loosen it.
Using Headband
This is another if it works for you method. What you have to do in this one is that wear your headphones and wear your headband over them.
The force of the headband might increase the clamping force a bit and make your experience better.
Bonus: What if the headphone has a very strong clamping force?
Some headphones, when you buy them new, are very tight that they press over your ears a lot and when you use them for long periods of time, it hurts.
What you can do is take any box, or round object that has a width greater than the width of your head. Put your headphones on them for a couple of days. This is bound to loosen them up so that when you wear them again, they fit just fine.
Conclusion
In this age, if you cannot find accessories that deliver quality as well as comfort, then it means that you are not looking hard enough.
Apart from this, there are ways to modify your existing accessories like your headphone in a manner that please you. You can try to increase or decrease the clamping force in the ways explained above. One of these is supposed to help you successfully.
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