Earbuds are placed inside one's ear so the amount of air that is needed is very small. This means that earbuds can get away with a small, less powerful magnet and a small coil. And due to the tight space concentrate, earbuds as they are now, are forced to only have one cone. This also makes the earbuds as light as possible. |
Headphones operate near identical to loudspeakers. The big difference is simply the scale. Loudspeakers, like those seen at giant concerts need to vibrate a lot of air to carry the sound wave. Loud speakers can also use multiple sized cones to best fit the type of vibration. |