Feasibility Study: Best Headphones for College Students

Transcription

1 Feasibility Study: Best Headphones for College Students Prepared by David Hodge Silvia Rodriguez Kenneth Lilly Cecilia Arredondo

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3 Table of Contents iii Table of Contents Table of Contents... iii Executive Summary...v Introduction...1 Methods of Evaluation...3 Results of the Evaluation...5 Conclusion...7 Recommendation...9

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5 Executive Summary v Executive Summary College students use headphones for entertainment and privacy and can provide the perfect seclusion while studying in the library. College students are also on a limited budget. When shopping for headphones, students examine criteria such as size, sound quality, price, style, comfort, and the ability to isolate unwanted sound. This study compares the results of fifty surveys taken by college students to determine the overall best bargain out of four over-the-head headphone options: Beats by Dr. Dre, Skull Candy, Sony and Bose. Based on rating scales from 1 to 5, Bose received the highest ratings for sound quality, noise isolation, and comfort. Bose headphones are the best option for college students seeking style, durability, and style.

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7 Introduction 1 Introduction Almost everyone in today s modern age uses a pair of headphones in their everyday life for listing to everything from cell phones and IPods to computers and even video games. Year after year there becomes more of a need for headphones and can be the difference between a good experience and a bad one. Now that most people own or use headphones they have to be a better quality for a better price. Head phones have to be portable enough to easily carry around but have to have good sound quality all while being quiet to everyone around the user. Other important qualities head phones must have is comfort and the aesthetics so the user will want to use the head phones day after day and they might even want to buy multiple sets to match to clothing. In this study we surveyed fifty people at University of North Texas in order to find out what headphones people prefer form some of the most popular types of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre, Sony, Skull Candy, and Bose so that we could determine which headphones is the best deal.

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9 Methods of Evaluation 3 Methods of Evaluation To support the choice we recommend at the end of the feasibility study, the team has used six criteria to evaluate each option. The size of the headphone brand The sound quality of the headphone brand The headphone brands ability for isolating noise The comfort of wearing the headphone brand The aesthetics of the headphone brand The price people are willing to pay for headphones The team has gathered information for the evaluation by conducting a survey that asks individuals to rate brands of full-sized headphones: Beats by Dr. Dre, Sony, Skull Candy, and Bose. The participants of the survey rated the brands on a scale from one to five as well as inform what price they are willing to pay in general for headphones of this quality. Since majority of the student body uses headphones on a daily basis, it is impossible to approach every one. Therefore, the team surveyed a sample group consisting of 50 students around campus. After we conducted all 50 surveys, we merged the results to assume the student body s overall opinion on the four different full-size headphones. The team selected the criteria used because we wanted to judge the headphone brands from the perspective of someone weighing the options of which pair to buy. Before buying a pair of headphones, people tend to primarily consider their size, how good the sound quality is, how well it keeps out external noise, how comfortable it is to wear, if it is visually appealing, and its price. Therefore, it is unnecessary to include in the criteria other things such as where the headphones are manufactured or sold since buyers are uninterested in these things. The sample group was able to inform our group which option is the best bargain for a consumer. The sample group judged the size of the headphones based the weight, the amount of space it uses, the headband width, and the ear pad size. A pair of headphones classifies as compact if they fail to cause a strain on your neck after ten minutes of use, the headband width is a decent size, and the ear pads are big enough to enclose the user s ears without being excessively overbearing. The participants judged the sound quality of the headphones based on their bass level and dynamic range. The sound quality classifies as high if the bass level produces rich sound and the dynamic range makes it possible to amplify the music dimension. The sample group judged the headphones ability to isolate noise based on if they could eliminate surrounding noise and the volume level needed to achieve this result. The headphones ability to isolate external noise classifies as high if it is able to focus the user s attention only on the music playing without having to maximize the volume. The participants judged the comfort of wearing the headphones based on weight, pressure applied to the user s head, the headband width, the tendency of overheating the user s ears, and

10 4 Feasibility Study: Best Headphones the cushiness of ear pads. The headphones comfort is classified as high if they fail to have the following problems: strains the user s neck after 10 minutes of use, overheats the ears after ten minutes of use, applies too much pressure to the user s head, causes ear fatigue, the headband width is insufficient enough to decentralize the weight from a certain area, and lacks the amount of ear pad needed to provide cushiness. The sample group also provided us with the price range they are willing to pay for headphones of this quality. This varies amongst the participants since they assess the criteria differently.

11 Results of the Evaluation 5 Results of the Evaluation Size Sound Quality Noise Isolation Comfort Aesthetics Overall Score 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Skull Candy Sony Beats by Dr. Dre Bose (206) (204) (152) (147) Bose Beats by Dr. Dre Skull Candy Sony (224) (221) (184) (184) Bose Beats by Dr. Dre Sony Skull Candy (230) (200) (160) (155) Bose Beats by Dr. Dre Skull Candy Sony (203) (197) (170) (167) Beats by Dr. Dre Bose Sony Skull Candy (199) (179) (165) (160) Bose Beats by Dr. Dre Sony Skull Candy (983) (969) (880) (875) Size Skull Candy led by only 2 points for most compact, just in front of Sony. These two led by a huge margin over Bose and Beats by Dr. Dre. A 2 point difference doesn t really qualify Skull Candy as necessarily being the most compact of the four, however, since both Skull Candy and Sony led over the other two by 50+ points, it s safe to say the Skull Candy and Sony are the most compact. Sound Quality The results for this one were close. Beats by Dr. Dre and Bose led in the category with only a 3 point difference between the two. The two top picks led over Skull Candy and Sony by about 40 points, with these two having the same score. This is the inverse of the results for size, showing that you pay for good sound quality in compactness. Noise Isolation Bose lead in the category with a 30 point lead over the next highest, making it the superior product for noise isolation. Behind Bose is Beats by Dr. Dre who leads the last two, Sony and Skull Candy, by 40 to 45 points, respectively. While Bose is the superior product, Beats by Dr. Dre don t seem to be a bad choice either. Skull Candy and Sony, it seems, were not built for noise isolation.

12 6 Feasibility Study: Best Headphones Comfort Bose takes first here, leading Beats by Dr. Dre by 6 points. Behind Beats is Skull Candy and Sony with 27 and 30 points less, respectively. It seems that the two most compact choices are also the least comfortable, showing that the smaller the headphones, the more uncomfortable and, as seen from the Sound Quality section, the worse the sound quality as well. Aesthetics The results for this category are all separated by about 20 points each, making it an accurate representation of people s personal preference in the pure asthetics of the headphones. Beats by Dr. Dre leads, followed by Bose, then Skull Candy, and last, Sony.

13 Conclusion 7 Conclusion Bose brand headphones had the highest overall criteria score. However, Bose headphones cost significantly more than the other headphone options. However, college students want to save money on high-quality products. Beats by Dr. Dre and Bose headphones are two of most popular headphone brands among college-aged people, but are expensive for most people. A college student is most likely to pick a pair of headphones that work well for everyday use and are easily portable, even if a student has to spend more of their savings.

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15 Recommendation 9 Recommendation A college student shopping for headphones wants a pair that sounds great and looks stylish. Bose scored the highest in sound quality, noise isolation, and comfort. Students believe Bose headphones are bulky according to the results, but gave Bose a high rating in aesthetics. Bose headphones are a great choice for students shopping for quality, durability, and style for everyday use.