The difference separating 8mm from 10mm drivers is not that much. To understand how they differ let us first understand the mechanism of drivers.
What Drivers Are Made Up of?
The drivers constitute to be the most important part of your headphones. They are responsible for converting electrical signals into sound waves. The music which you hear from your headphones basically comes from the driver inside it.
There are basically three components in a driver: magnet, voice coils and diaphragm.
Magnet: It is used to magnetise the voice coils so that when electricity flows through them the coils become electromagnetic.
Voice Coils: As soon as the electric current passes through them, they make the diaphragm move.
Diaphragm: The vibration which takes places in it through the voice coils produces sound waves.
8mm vs 10mm Drivers: What Difference Does the Driver Size Signify?
The difference between the two drivers in terms of size is evident in the quality of the bass. The larger the driver the better bass effect it will produce.
Although, this does not have any bearing on the quality of sound. An 8mm driver can also produce better sound quality than a 10mm driver. But the bass effect would be slightly better in the bigger one.
8mm vs 10mm Drivers: Factors To Look For
While deciding between the two, you should look for the following factors:
- A 10mm driver will be slightly heavier than an 8mm driver.
- A smaller driver cannot compete in bass against the larger one.
- The build quality of the driver is more important than its size. A 10mm driver with poor built-in components is not going to sound better than an 8mm driver.
- If you have an interest in mids and trebles, then an 8mm driver is going to serve you better.
- Other factors like noise reduction, frequency response and input power should be considered along with the size of the drivers.