The most obvious difference is the design of the earpads, which are fully circumaural.

Both circumaural and supra-aural headphones can be further differentiated by the type of earcups:

This type of headphone generally tends to be smaller and lighter than circumaural headphones, resulting in less attenuation of outside noise.

Ideal for DJ monitoring, the EH2200 creates superb sound reproduction with powerful bass in a circumaural design.

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.

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.

Generally, headphone form factors can be divided into four separate categories: circumaural (over-ear), supra-aural (on-ear), earbud and in-ear.

The models range includes in-ear headphones, mobile headsets, supra-aural headphones, circumaural headphones and military/aviation headsets.

Goubran "Active Noise Reduction for Circumaural Hearing Protectors by Digital Feedforward Control".

The HD 280's form-fitting, ergonomically designed circumaural earpieces remain comfortable for long periods of listening and can be rotated for flat mobility and space-saving transport.

Features: Transducer principle Open-Aire(TM), circumaural, hi-fi stereo RF wireless headphones.

During this year, the acoustics and control strategies applicable to a circumaural hearing protector or communication headset for achieving active noise reduction (ANR) in different sound fields have been explored.

An increase in noise reduction of commonly up to 15 dB for circumaural HPDs and10 dB for supra-aural HPDs is obtained at frequencies below1 kHz.

This occlusion effect occurs with seashells, cups, or hands held over one's ears, and also with circumaural headphones, whose cups form a seal around the ear, raising the acoustic impedance to external sounds.

Abstract: A commercial analogue active noise reduction (ANR) communication headset, constructed using a circumaural hearing protector, has been modified to explore the performance of a digital ANR system for this application.

Goubran, "Performance of Feedforward Adaptive Active Noise Control in a Circumaural Hearing Protector", 1995 International Symposium on Active Control of Sound and Vibration, Newport Beach, CA, July 1995.