Bass ultimately depends on driver performance, which includes both the size and quality of the driver. Consumers tend to ignore the latter and focus on just driver size. This explains why headphone manufacturers are always eager to highlight huge drivers in their marketing material.

Since driver size is thought to be the only factor determining how good the bass will be, consumers believe headphones produce better bass than earphones. It only makes sense to think that the 30-50mm drivers on over-ear headphones will do a better job than the 8-15mm drivers on earbuds.

According to Reliance Digital, while it’s true that the large headphone drivers allow for more compression, the small earbud drivers allow for better compression due to the driver’s tight seal inside the ear cavity. A generalized statement cannot be made on which audio peripheral has the best bass.

If anything, you should not be attracted to too much bass as that comes in the way of a balanced sound profile and makes your music sound overly thick and muddy.