Types of Headphone

Types
Headphone size can affect the balance between fidelity and portability. Generally, headphone form factors can be divided into four separate categories:circumaural, supra-aural, earbud, and in-ear.
Circumaural
Circumaural headphones have large pads that surround the outer ear.
Circumaural headphones (sometimes called full size headphones) have circular or ellipsoid earpads that encompass the ears. Because these headphones completely surround the ear, circumaural headphones can be designed to fully seal against the head to attenuate external noise. Because of their size, circumaural headphones can be heavy and there are some sets that weigh over 500 grams. Ergonomic headband and earpad design is required to reduce discomfort resulting from weight.
Supra-aural
A pair of supra-aural headphones.
Supra-aural headphones have pads that press against the ears, rather than around them. They were commonly bundled with personal stereos during the 1980s. This type of headphone generally tends to be smaller and lighter than circumaural headphones, resulting in less attenuation of outside noise. Supra-aural headphones can also lead to discomfort due to the pressure on the ear as compared to circumaural headphones that sit around the ear. Comfort may vary due to the earcup material.
Open or closed back
Both circumaural and supra-aural headphones can be further differentiated by the type of earcups:
Open-back headphones have the back of the earcups open. This leaks more sound out of the headphone and also lets more ambient sounds into the headphone, but gives a more natural or speaker-like sound and more spacious "soundstage" - the perception of distance from the source.
Closed-back (or sealed) styles have the back of the earcups closed. They usually block some of the ambient noise, but have a smaller soundstage, giving the wearer a perception that the sound is coming from within their head. Closed-back headphones tend to be able to produce stronger low frequencies than open-back headphones.
Semi-open headphones, have a design that can be considered as a compromise between Open-back headphones and Closed-back headphones. This may imply that the result combines all the positive properties of both designs. Some believe the term "Semi-open" is purely there for marketing purposes. While there is no exact definition for the term semi-open headphone, there are designs that can be considered as such. Where the open-back approach has hardly any measure to block sound at the outer side of the diaphragm, and the closed-back approach, really has a closed chamber at the outer side of the diaphragm, a semi-open headphone can have a chamber to block sound partially while leaving some sound through, via openings or vents.