I have never really gotten used to wireless buds, and still find myself reaching for wires half the time:
- Wireless buds don’t connect 100% reliably; sometimes I get one and not the other, or neither. Sometimes they will randomly disconnect during use.
- Sometimes the sound glitches out randomly, which is so irritating that I don’t care how good the sound supposedly is the rest of the time.
- Gestures and voice are simply not as convenient as buttons on the wire. If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear and may still not register.
- They fall out of my ears, no matter how “snug” they seem. This makes me only want to use them in places where I won’t lose them, e.g. at home but not out for a walk.
Crucially, there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires. The only inconvenience is that the default headphone wires are stupidly short (provided by a company that sells wireless buds, hmmm) but that is fixable.
> Sometimes they will randomly disconnect during use.
FYI, that's interference. Wi-fi "randomly" disconnects for a few seconds due to interference just as often, but you don't notice, because 1. the OS hides short disconnects, and 2. most protocols you use are TCP-based, and so use retries. (If you were doing something involving UDP streaming, you'd notice.)
Bluetooth audio, on the other hand, is a realtime protocol, which just drops stale packets rather than trying to retransmit them. Drop enough packets in a row, and the carrier thinks the device has gone out of range and disconnects it (as the alternative would be boiling your battery by turning the antenna gain up to infinity, as sometimes happens when cellular baseband misbehaves while ranging.)
> Gestures and voice are simply not as convenient as buttons on the wire. If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear and may still not register
Have you tried the AirPods Pro where you squeeze the stems? They're essentially buttons.
> Crucially, there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires.
Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones.
Or: try to change your shirt while keeping your headphones on + playing. (I know, unusual thing to do, but I've changed my shirt with wireless earbuds in without a thought.)
Or: get up and go to the bathroom, while continuing to listen to the livestream you're watching on the desktop PC sitting on your desk, without missing anything. (Provided I'm at home, I can usually get about 40 feet away from the Bluetooth source before my wireless headphones disconnect.)
> Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones.
This used to bug me a lot but I've found an easy solution. Just route the wire under your t-shirt or shirt or jacket. When I'm not using my headphones, the headphones hang around my neck. If I feel like taking off my headphones and placing them on the table, it takes 5 extra seconds to pull the wires from under my shirt after disconnecting them from the phone.
i've destroyed so many wired headphones by forgetting i'm wearing them and trying to take off my bag and tearing them out of my ears forcefully. it got to the point where i ended up using wired headphones like a consumable. switching over to wireless has been bliss just for this simple reason.
my biggest gripe with wireless so far, and this might be specific to galaxy buds+ is that their batteries suck after a years use. otherwise, all the things you describe are why they're great.
>Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones.
This is really easy with a backpack, I assume it's only a problem with a messenger bag (which is probably a bigger problem for one's back, unless the load is kept very light.)
i too, used to shun bluetooth headphones. But since i've started using it, i've come around - the interference drops and the battery, both aren't enough to overcome the increase in convenience and portability. It's really, really good to have that portability with headphones.
1. Stopping the music because its disconnected is literally non functional, its cool you can change your shirt without having to take out your head phones for 5 seconds but I just want mine to work while im going for a walk.
2. I have big hands buttons on the ear pod just knock it out of my ear.
3. I can take my bag off my sholder without taking out my wired headphones.
When I try to take my shirt off with wireless headphones they just get knocked out of my ear and im on the locker room floor looking for them.
Bluetooth doesn't have the range to do this without dropping in and out, at least in my house.
The big takeaway is that even the best wireless headphones on the market are less reliable than the cheapest wired.
> Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones.
Well what I used to do when I had wired headphones was run the headphone cable under the bag so to speak. As in put on my headphones and then put on my bag. You just need to make sure you have enough slack in the headphones above the bag strap, which... I dunno I never found difficult. I just habitually put on my bag second, or would place my ear buds in my shirt/cups around my neck at least before putting on the bag.
Don't get me wrong it's nice for that to not matter with wireless, it's just the way you've phrased this implies to me putting the headphones on first and bag on second so the bag strap sits on top of the headphone cable never occurred to you and honestly that is confusing me
As someone who worked as a freelance audio engineer I have certain pairs of (chorded) headphones that I just want to use to hear my mixes (or other music) on.
I know how they sound and what they do to sounds. Every in-ear solution I had in my ears up to now doesn't even get close in terms of "resolution" (this is not a technical term but it is true, that some monitoring solutions will let you hear more of the recording than others).
Additionally my on-the-road headphones (Sennheiser HD25) last for a decade now. If the cable ever should fail I can get a replacement. If the earpad is through I can get a replacement. The only problem recently is, that phone manufacturers decided they need to be stingy about adding a 3.5mm TRRS-jack.
I can't recommend Sennheiser headphones enough. They are, by a wide margin, the most comfortable headphones I've been able to find; I can wear them for 5+ hours without any problem (whereas most headphones get uncomfortable within an hour, and earbuds just start out being uncomfortable for me).
I’ve got a 18 year old pair of HD25’s. They are indeed excellent. On their third cable and ear pads now. But quite frankly I don’t use them any more. Switched to AirPods (2nd gen). They are absolutely no good for pro audio due to the latency but general audio perspective they are perfect.
Can't get enough praise for HD25 as a heavy user. It's portable, modular structure, replacement part is dirt cheap, comfy as hell, sounds awesome, cable is your choice, isolation is top notch and even quite cheap for what it is. As a DJ, I've been abusing it for a decade and it's still going strong. For me it's a peak mass product.
Yeah. I’ve been using my HD25s for almost 20 years at this point. I’m going to need to replace the drivers at some point but that’s fine, and they’ll probably do another 20 years.
I "upgraded" mine with a fiio BTR5. Now I just wrap the cable around the BT receiver and put it in my shirt pocket. Wireless freedom with wired 'phones!
As replaceable batteries turned into science fiction audio jack is literally the last thing I look for on a mobile phone.
I got a poco because I won't replace my HD-25 II anytime soon.
Before that I even took a MP3 player with me most of the time. Fiio Xsomwthing. However it broke, and for some reason you don't find good MP3 players with actual buttons anymore either.
Been using 2nd gen AirPods since they came out. Never had any connection reliability issues at all. They switch between my phone and iPad all the time as well. No glitches at all here other than one time I was walking past a large diesel generator. As for gestures, I don’t use them. I usually use Siri, my watch or phone as a control surface. As for snug that depends on the person at the end of the day. I don’t have problems with mine even doing a 5k run.
I’m not going back to having to untangle a pocket full of wires and car keys. Also I’m not having the cable tugging when I’m walking or running and having to shove the things back in every two minutes. This product was a life changer for me.
The only issue I have is that sometimes either my AirPods pro or AirPods max will get confused and try to connect to the wrong device. But it’s not such a huge inconvenience that Id go back to wired.
AirPods auto-switching is absolutely awful. Try downloading IntervalTimer on your iPhone. Start a timer. Listen to music from your Mac. The Interval app on your phone will make beeps when intervals end; when that happens, your iPhone will pause your Mac's audio and switch to the iPhone. It's borderline unusable.
Do you only have 1 pocket? Could you really not use another pocket so your keys and headphones are not in the same pocket to avoid this situation? I'm unfamiliar with any designer that makes jeans/pants with only one pocket, but I'm no fashionista
Being a software developer, I keep seeing bluetooth audio as a Rube Goldberg machine. It's using a battery that you have to keep charged, a lot of software, multiple CPUs, lossy codecs, forward error correction, and an entire stack of mind-bogglingly complex protocols (that no one has ever implemented 100% correctly) that run over an inherently unreliable medium so what? So you don't have to untangle the wire? It never made sense to me. I've never really taken bluetooth seriously. To me, it's a tradeoff that I just don't see ever making. I don't trust software this much. I also prefer something that's easy to troubleshoot when things go wrong.
Apple’s BT has actually been pretty solid for me. My AirPods Pros work rally well with my iPhone, Macbook Pro and Windows laptop. I can switch easily and it already is connected to my last device when I put the AirPods in my ear.
I have headphones with Bluetooth and a cable (Sony). I never use the Bluetooth. My use case is listening at work though. Bluetooth seemed to work ok when I tested it, but didn’t confer any significant advantage for me.
I have a pair of really good wired Sennheisers. I never owned or used Bluetooth devices for more than giving it a try.
I may be audiophile. But when I put a music on I want to get fully absorbed and hear every little detail while I don't worry about battery life. Sounds weird I know
Theoretically I don't think there's a reason why it wouldn't be possible to make the sound produced in the audible range the same (preferrably roughly matching Harman target out of the box) for wired and wireless.
But yes, I'd never trade the slight inconvenience a cable is with the amount of inconveniences of wireless. Especially the battery: I grew up having to deal with battery life in portable players (cassette, minidics, you name it) and this finally got a lot better so I almost don't have to care anymore (talking actual music players, not smartphones), I'm really not going to go back to something inferior again.
It's fascinating how well this has been marketed though, but that's really almost all there is to it for me: just marketing, not a whole lot of actual value.
When you do try bluetooth again, try full cans from a good brand. No earbuds at all. Check which codecs the cans will use. Just cans vs earbuds makes a hug sound and comfort difference. Literally, you get larger drivers and a larger battery, so physics is already on your side vs earbuds.
My problem is I lose them. I bought the Bose QuietComforts earlier this year and have lost one or the other a couple of times already. Right now one is sitting in the console of my truck and i can’t find the other one. No clue where it could be and of course the batteries are dead.
It would be nice if they all had Tile or similar tech, but if their batteries go dead just sitting there (super annoying thing about the bose) then it’s useless too.
(FWIW also tried the Sony wf1000-xm4s and hated them.)
I've got the Bose SoundSports and love 'em. They have a wire connecting the two earbuds, which clips to your collar. So no worries about falling out or misplacing half the pair... And they charge really fast, as well.
The case is to help keep them together and keep them charged. Although the QC Earbuds case is giant so it's somewhat annoying to do that. But yeah get into the habit of putting them back in the case when done and they'll be charged and in same place.
A number of these complaints seem like they are issues of implementation and not of wirelessness in and of itself.
I definitely found 3rd party Bluetooth headphones to be not worth the trouble early on, but since Apple introduced the AirPods I got tempted back to them. Either Bluetooth got a lot better or Apple's doing something clever (or both), because with the occasional "one pod didn't wake up; put it back in the case and take it out again" issue, they work perfectly for me.
I do still use corded headphones -- I'm an audio guy; I have a bunch -- but it's increasingly rare.
Audio dropping out because the wireless signal is not strong enough or interference is not something that can be fixed in implementation it is a fundamental limitation of the technology. When it happens it makes wireless headphones useless at their one function playing audio.
I was a fan of the originals, but bought the Pros shortly after they came out. I'm on my second pair now - the first pair came down with the dreaded "crackling" and Apple replaced them.
I find that they stay in my ears well enough that I regularly use them when driving my Jeep without doors, even when I'm not listening to music. They provide some level of reduction of the wind noise that I'm certain has been damaging my hearing in my left ear in particular.
I had a kid a few years ago when I switched. Wearing headphones and holding a child sucks because they will probably get pulled out of your ears. I always hated cords tangling in my pocket and I'd often have the wires snag on a doorknob or drawer when walking around--often breaking them. I also used a messenger bag.
Ear fit sucks, is it worse with cordless headphones? Ear fit always comes up with earbuds, wireless or wired. I've heard individuals say wireless is better for them because there's no wire tugging on their ear. I'm surprised to see a lot of people walking around with over-the-ear headphones (I tend to use them at home or on a plane).
FWIW, the standard Apple earbuds, both wired and regular AirPods, will not stay in my ears, but the silicon tipped Pros fit like a champ. I have the same experience with non-Apple earbuds as well. Something about the shape of my ears makes the silicon ends a necessity.
Without coming across too much as an ad placement, I have to say I have virtually none of these problems with my Jaybird X2 headphones, and I think its entirely a design thing.
My headphones are wired from one to the other. They're wireless to the music device, but wired to each other if that helps paint you a picture. Plus, they have these little rubber fins that help hold the headphones in your ears So for me: I can't lose one without the other, and them being tethered together makes it harder to lose them in general. The controls are on the wire, so none of that "pressing your head" issue you describe. The only time I seem to have issues is when I have my phone in my front pocket opposite to the bluetooth receiver... I think my body just blocks the signal too well. Otherwise I can be 30ft away and still get a strong bluetooth connection.
Enough of the ad talk (Please email me for my info Jaybirds so I can collect my shill cheque) I think its just a design issue. Everyone wants those tiny things that hide away in your ear, but I've always felt the inconvenience of having 2 easily misplaced little buds outweighs any design advantages they have. Its like the trend of making phones smaller and smaller, then suddenly bigger and bigger, but not addressing the convenience of having a smart phone. I don't need a massive screen, I need a stronger battery... so make it 3mm or 5mm thicker if that's what it takes to get 48hr life on a charge.
I had the Jaybird X2 headphones and they always fell out with the silicon tips and the foam tips made it so I couldn't hear anything in my vicinity and they still fell out (especially while running). Also they felt kind of bad in my ears.
I now have AirPod Pros and I have none of the above problems. I waited a long time before buying them and was really surprised how well they fit (because of my experience with normal iPhone headphones and the Jaybird headphones).
I guess experiences differ depending on your on your ears and it's probably best if you try them first if you can.
I’ve been looking for a small, wired and preferably powered external speaker for travel to provide louder and better quality sound masking than the tiny speaker in the phone. There are a million little Bluetooth speakers out there but the random inverted hiccups (sudden silence then resume) wake me up every time. I’m sure it’s the Bluetooth because it doesn’t happen when I use the phone speaker.
I carry a 1st gen iPhone SE for wired audio, so I guess now it’s basically an iPod.
Edit: Well, looks like there’s some stuff on eBay I didn’t see in previous searches. Retro 2000s stuff. I can roll the dice for £5 plus shipping. Use case is still relevant.
That’s not been my experience. In fact I can leave my phone inside and still get Bluetooth out close to the street.
I was originally very upset about Apple removing the headphone port, but after getting my first AirPods I basically stopped caring. They just worked so well, I never wanted wires again.
By the by, I had more headphones yanked out by door handles than I’ve had wireless buds fall out, but I’ll grant that the latter is strongly affected by individual ear geometry.
I had all of these problems with several cheap models of bluetooth earbuds until I got some Sennheiser CX 150BTs a few years ago. They connect to both my computer and phone at the same time if they're both on, switch between the two automatically thereafter (whoever plays audio first gets exclusive use), sound decent, and get 8-10 hours on a charge.
Cons: mic volume is low, and when a device disconnects they will play disconnect sound until they reboot.
And contrariwise, while for day-to-day wear I love my bluetooth over-ear headphones, my 'plane earphones' are wired Bose QC25s. Partly because in-ear provides superior noise canceling, partly because when I'm on that 5:30am flight I can lean my head against the side of the plane without upsetting my headphones, but mostly because if I drop my phone I can fish it back up with the headphone cable. :D
You don't have to accept wires to not have buds. There are 4 options:
1. Wireless buds
2. Wireless non-buds (some sort of wrap-around design to keep
them on)
3. Wired buds
4. Wired non-buds
I go with (2) personally, but mainly because Apple stopped me using wires. My main problem with bluetooth is that the headphones aren't loud enough (yeah you have to watch the line between loud and damaging but headphones are my opportunity to play music loud). Recommendations for loud wireless headphones appreciated!
Whenever I've done it I've always gone with #2, wireless non buds. I've gotten multiple pairs. While they don't get lost, I have always ended up with two fundamental problems with them
#1 Bluebooth connectivity to computers. If I was just using my phone they were mostly fine, but at a computer it was a constant fight to get them to connect, to work with whatever app I'm using, and especially when I'm switching back and forth between using them for listening to music or using them to video conference. This might also be partly because Linux is my main driver, but having to switch back and forth between high quality audio output for music and two way cell phone quality audio sucks.
#2 Having owned multiple pairs over the years, none of them would connect over Bluetooth while charging. Let me make my wireless headphones temporarily wired.
At this point I use an over the ear headphone with a mic and a USB DAC. I specifically only get phones with a minijack so I could use them with that too.
Now this is very likely not what you are really looking for, but the airpods pro in noise cancellation mode can allow you to play music at much higher aparent loudness thanks to the noise cancellation. You may want to try that out.
Is it really a volume issue or a) an equalization issue; b) a background noise issue; c) both?
Some BT buds will let you futz with an equalizer (jabra). It really influences the experience of what you’re listening to, for instance different genres of music and pure voice.
I was a white happy owner of the Nokia BH-503 on-ear BT headphones. Sadly they just recently broke, I had them for like 10 years and.
My point is, that they just didn't have any of the problems you mention above (with the exception of random sampling frequency changes that changed pitch minimally, but noticable).
Sound quality was ok, I think it was one of the first A2DP headsets. Ok, for what it was mind you, my good over-ears are definitely better.
Aftershokz are really good (not buds). They never fall off, they work really well when exercising, kids don't yank them off, they have nice physical controls. I love mine.
That said, when I'm sitting at my desk to do work, I use wired headphones (and wired mouse and keyboard). When I'm really in the flow, the last thing I want is to be interrupted by a "low battery" prompt.
> They fall out of my ears, no matter how “snug” they seem. This makes me only want to use them in places where I won’t lose them, e.g. at home but not out for a walk.
In this case wired is just another mode of failure as they will get loose if the cable is tensioned. If you are afraid of losing them you can use one with a wire between the buds (non-TWS).
I used ear buds for the first time in years today (nothing special, soundcore) and they'd be decent if not every single step I take while walking got transferred into my ears. It's quite loud and distracts from the music. This alone makes me buy over ear headphones...
I've had all the glitches you described with at least three last wireless headphones I used before switching to airpods pro. I haven't had a single problem like this with them, which I've been using for 2 months now.
Honestly, I'd be surprised to find out that most people used wireless 100% of the time. I have a few good wired headphones that I didn't throw out just because I got myself BT earbuds. What do people use with their PCs?
if you have more than one device you want to use your high quality headphones on it is a hassle because the headphones are always connecting to the wrong one.
That's exactly the problem I had. Eventually have to connect to one device only. And I just realized now I mainly use wired ones and sometimes even use the wireless ones wired...
Today I learned that for most people, even on HN, headphones means earbuds.
All wireless earbuds I have ever used, including Apple Airpods Pro, sucked. Fit, charging stability, not randomly breaking, sound, you name it.
By contrast, I have wireless Sennheiser (over-ear) headphones which sound great (compared to my old wired HD25, say), last for 20 hours or so, and plug into USB, Headphone jack and, well, Bluetooth. Run out of battery? Just plug it in.
I really only use earbuds for sport. In my opinion, that's what they are for.
> Today I learned that for most people, even on HN, headphones means earbuds.
Yeah, I found that odd. I thought "headphones" very specifically referred to the type you wear on your head (hence the name?). I thought this was going to be about audio quality of headphones versus earbuds (wired or wireless). Instead it's just fashion works in cycles, what's old is new again, we're back to 2005 again etc.
Yeah i never get the love for air pods, maybe i just have weird ears but no earbud has ever fit my ear in anyway that I would be acceptable.
I have a pair of jabra active elite's that i use for working out/biking/doing crap outdoors and they are fantastic. Can't really think of a single complaint with them.
I can give pretty much the same anecdotes as you. The bulkier over-ear headphones seem to have no trouble with connectivity, brilliant battery life, and great sound. While every pair of in-ear headphones has had troubles. A lot of people I know have the fancy sony over-ear headphones and the issues they have had are very rare.
Yes, in addition to the ridiculously long life (30h seems to be the standard), they also have somewhat-easily replaceable standard cell batteries. (judging by iFixit guides)
My friend has an older model that he uses every day for like 4 years, the battery is still reasonably good. And after that, you can still replace the battery and they'll be good as new.
So I opted for over-ear Sony and never looked back. The considerable investment (about 130% of top AirPod model in my country) is totally worth it in my opinion. My wife's AirPods became unusable for a single 1-hour call after about a year.
> I really only use earbuds for sport. In my opinion, that's what they are for.
People have different ears. People have different needs. Maybe if you talked to more people about why they used earbuds instead of headphones - you’d know that earbuds can be for anything.
Simple reasons like not wanting headphone hair are reason enough to not use headphones. Same for other aesthetic reasons. Personally, I am not a bigger user of earbuds either because I have small ear canals that don’t play nicely with most in-ears but I 100% understand why people would use them for more situations than headphones. I frequently wish I could use in-ears because I also wear glasses and overear headphones do not play nicely with my glasses. Again, so simple to think about as to why use earbuds over headphones…
I wondered the same. I grew up in the heights of the Discman era and everyone used In-Ear buds. After i got my first pair of over ear AKG, I just couldn't go back. And I am very happy with my Sony WH-1000XM4 for work/commute/just leave me be usage
I probably have that same Sennheiser Urbanite XL and I love it. It has micro-USB for charging and listenening, using the built-in DAC. It has 2.5mm audio jack with included headphone cable to 3.5mm. It has Bluetooth. And two big batteries inside.
I'm certainly an edge case, but I use only earbuds because I really hate the sensation of having things on my head. I can't even comfortably wear hats.
I am surprised the vast majority of the 280 comments seems to be about bluetooth connection, fitting, sound quality and not a mention about TCO ( Total Cost of Ownership ).
May be I am cheap, but I cant get myself to buy another Wireless Earphone again with non -replaceable battery. They are basically consumables. And Apple expect you to buy a new pair every 1-2 years. And even if you dont use it much the battery will still deteriorate after 2 years.
I dont know about current M1 MacBook, EarPod and HomePod, but Apple has a history of speaker being relatively easier blown out. But even then they last 4 - 5 years.
Again may be I am cheap. I expect these things to last a decade. I have often dream of a Wireless earphone where the long end part is a screwable battery.
Eh. Wired headphones in theory should have a longer lifespan and a lower TCO than wired headphones, but that's not the experience I've had. The weakest link in headphones is the cord, back when I was in High School I would buy Skullcandy headphones (those $10 ones from TJMaxx or Marshalls) in bulk, because the average lifespan of a pair was less than a month before the cord broke.
Had I just bought wired headphone every month for $10. At the end of 2 years I would have spent $240, which is right around the price of Airpods Pro's.
I will say though the one killer feature for me in Airpods is the handoff functionality. I'm an iOS developer so I work on a Mac all day long. It's so nice to be able to switch off from one Macbook for a meeting to my iPhone with little to no effort.
Uh...you get what you pay for. I have Sennheisers that are still good 7 years later. I have Audio Technicas that have also lasted just as long. They just didn't cost $10, more like 100-500. But even my "low-end" headphones (which I use far often) are fine years later.
It's a bit disingenuous to compare $10 cans with $240 Airpods. What is this? Reddit?
I bought a pair of AKG k171's a while ago. They've taken everything without issue. The insulation on the cable got damaged a bit too much for my tastes after a few years, so I bought a new one. Nothing wrong with that investment, It's been through approximately 4 replacement cables and one or two sets of ear pads/foam.
I never had a wired in-ear earphone that lasted more than 2 years. My guess is 90% didn’t pass the one year mark. I use it while commuting, going to the supermarket, cleaning the house, etc.
Any recommendation of a wired in-ear earphone that could last a decade?
I got Sennheiser 300 S earphones at least a year and a half ago and they don't show any signs of deteriorating. They cost 50 euro, double what standard throwaway earphones cost here from any old shop.
Yes they're not an audiophile's wet dream or anything, but they sound way better than the throwaways. Great amount of bass and top end, with a little more top end than bass but not at all tinny or noticeable in any way.
To buy anything good to last nowadays you have to go a bit higher than the standard. That's just the world we live in, and wired are the same.
Not new ones, but I have a pair of original Sony Fontopias that came with a high end walkman around 20 years ago. They're built to last and incredibly comfortable with good audio quality. Unfortunately I dont think they made them that well for long. The equivalent headphones from only 5 years later were terrible in comparison.
Edit: I just looked them up. MDR-E484. They seem to be classics that sell for hundreds of dollars used! I never realised they were so sought after!
I find it's always the cables that go. Thus buying a set with a removable cable sent me from 6 months to 5 years with a pair of Shure se215's. There's many more options today, as (removable)wired IEM's seem to be abit of a growing niche.
For me "being cheap" is a derogatory term used by those that have some interest in making you buy more expensive variants when you don't need them. Many "cheap" people are reasonable folks that make purchases for a defined value for money, not just what the marketing departments dictate.
As you said, headphones are basically a commodity. But when the press reports cases of people having anxiety about losing airpods, for me it's a clear sign something went wrong.
I use my airpods 4+ hours a day, I've had two or three pairs of the original airpods, and I'm on my second pair of the pros. Every time I've broken them, I immediately buy a new pair because they're so useful and convenient.
I do all of my work calls using them, I use them if I have to make a phone call, I use them for listening to music while working, I use them (the right side only for safety) while riding my bike, I listen to podcasts while doing chores, I connect them to my PC for playing video games, and I use them to listen to a sleep podcast when I go to sleep.
If you consider AirPods to be environmentally safe to recycle, which is not unreasonable given that Apple will take them back and promises to recycle the parts, the only downside to a disposable device like this is cost. Two years of using AirPods means you pay about $0,25 a day of use.
Most users use them every day and are very happy with them. I think it is pretty reasonable to pay that kind of money for being happy.
> And even if you dont use it much the battery will still deteriorate after 2 years.
I bought some Sony over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones 3-4 years ago. I only tend to use them when flying (only a few times a year). I have an old pair of original AirPods (2016) I use as backups. I haven't noticed any deterioration. I'm sure there is some, but a majority of the aging is due to use.
There are wireless headphones with a good TCO. I have a Logitech headset that cost me $80 or so. Changed the battery two times over the last 7 years. Each battery was like $12. Battery replacement was trivial.
If you want a modular and replaceable system, I use KZ headphones with their Bluetooth adapters. If the battery of the adapter dies you can buy a new pair for 20$, and you can meanwhile use cables.
Author's opinion is subjective and falls under selection bias.
There's a lot of famous people that don't use wired headphones
For the wireless argument, here is mine.
I use an airpods pro. I also have multiple high end headphones. I only apple os with wireless. If I was using linux, android, windows then I have to use my other headphones, since my bluetooth always have issues with wireless using other os.
The airpods pro is probbably my favourite headphones that I have. I use it 95% of the time
The only time I use wired headphones is if I need to use my amp when I really need/want to listen to the quality of something or if im using non apple os.
Wires are a pain in the a$% for me personally and ironically more fragile than my airpods pro. It's hard to move around with wires and they tangle a lot wether if im wearing them or not.
The airpods pro are small and you can have noice cancelling, transparency, and normal mode. The only downside is I have to charge them every 5~ hours.
They connect to my phone, and my 3 computers easily without unhooking the wires.
The only annoying thing about the airpods pro is that people don't know that i have something in my ear because my hair is long and I am listening to something. When they are trying to start a conversation I usually can't hear them.
The only time they fall out of my ears is if im cleaning the house cause im moving my head around too much. They don't even fall when I'm working out or running
People like what they like. Forcing it just does not go well, unless the reasons are really good.
I was, and am seriously put off by the omission of analog audio jacks. Most of the reasons given just do not resonate and sometimes it is stated or strongly implied I am somehow the problem.
You're right in theory. In practice that either means a battery in the headphones and/or a new audio cable. I'm sure this has been tried before. It seems like something Sony would try--maybe Lighting headphones would count?
> Author's opinion is subjective and falls under selection bias. There's a lot of famous people that don't use wired headphones
That's pretty obvious. The article gave that for granted (actually, it even explicitly acknowledged it) and put the spot on famous or not so famous people going the other way round. They will be always be a minority and guided by fashion/aesthetics rather than comfort, but it was worth (or not) to point it out.
This has actually changed over the last 10 years: today all but the cheapest on/over ear headphones will come with replaceable cables (2.5mm jack in headphone end).
Background: I have a collection of even older "goodish" headphones which I have kept alive with solder over the years. My teenage son recently started buying similar headphones, and they all have replaceable cables.
This was me as well until my Yes, this wasIf you have bought a rea
And they do not require a bluetooth controller, a battery, wireless headset are much worse for the environment.
2 bonus points:
-the chord makes it much harder to lose the headset
- when on a call, people around don't think you're someone losing it, having a discussion with yourself out loud
EDIT: Some people in the comments seem to think this shortens the life of the cable, but I've never had problems with Apple earbuds or Bose headphones (that have a replaceable wire anyway).
EDIT2: Another advantage of wired headphones if you want the wire out of the way and to make them less visible: Just thread them through your shirt!
The 1/8th inch RCA stereo jack is the best interface ever created. The fact that it's essentially unchanged from when this 44 year old used it in middle school is pretty good proof.
It has some very significant design flaws. The ground pin is connected last, and while a plug is being inserted or removed the connections get all jumbled up and even shorted together. This causes all sorts of hums, crackles, and pops while inserting or removing a plug, which may be only a minor annoyance for headphone users but can be extremely loud and/or damaging when using large amps & speakers. (It's also very easy to only insert a plug partially by mistake, which can take frustratingly long to troubleshoot.) They also typically carry unbalanced signals and are therefore susceptible to interference at high impedances and/or long distances.
Pro audio equipment usually prefers connectors such as XLR [0] (or even heavier-duty cables like Speakon [1] if you need to carry large amounts of power). They're a lot bulkier but immune to all these problems: the ground pin connects first, the connector physically latches into place, and they're typically used to carry a balanced signal over a twisted pair so they're mostly immune to interference. The only place you'll find a TS/TRS connector on a stage is on a "patch cable" for making short-distance connections, like from a guitar to an amp -- and you have to be very careful not to touch them unless the sound guy tells you it's OK, because those pops will be loud over a PA.
Newer (and more expensive) equipment is moving in the direction of avoiding analog altogether and transmitting audio over Ethernet using protocols like Dante [2].
One weird use is that despite its flaws, the DIY ergonomic keyboard community has pretty much standardised on the four-pole 3.5mm variant for connecting split keyboards together. The wires carry DC power and serial!
It got chosen because it was compact, it can be repeatedly plugged and unplugged, sockets can be through-hole soldered, and double-ended cables are widely available.
There is no obvious alternative with those characteristics, and they outweigh the bad.
I've got a guitar cable (1/4", but some basic design) that has some sort of trick setup in the plug where it shorts everything until the ground is firmly connected... no pops or crackles.
It's even been adopted as a MIDI jack in smaller devices like Korg Volcas. Only problem is, each manufacturer has chosen their own tip-ring-sleeve pinout...
I have a good pair (WF-1000XM3) because my phone doesn't have an audio jack and they are always a pain. They connect to the wrong device frequently, the battery life is barely a few hours and the sound quality is ok. Always have trouble with voice quality on calls too. Often only one headphone will turn on but not the other. They are supposedly easier to carry because no cords, but they are harder because I need to carry two things (case + headphones) most of the time instead of one. Given how low the battery life is, carrying the case is essential
In contrast, my wired headphones are 100x easier - i plug them in and they work. It takes less time than fiddling with bluetooth and they are 100% reliable.
I had the same Sony's. Pairing and reliability was a nightmare.
I switched to AirPods (Pros and Max) and a lot of my issues dissapeared.
Honestly it's a shame because the audio quality on the XM3 was better than the Airpod Pro but the software is just not there.
The AirPods aren't perfect either of course, but it's a night and day difference between the reliability of them vs the Sony.
I found the Sony was extra bad when there was either a busy area or if I took out just one ear. Often I'd start dropping connectivity to one ear and then they'd just crap out altogether till I reset them.
Same here, I had the XM3 and the pairing issue was very frustrating. Particularly because I want to use the headphones on multiple devices (two Macs, iPad, iPhone) and pairing between devices took forever.
I bought the Airpods Max and couldn't be happier. Pairing with devices almost always just works, most of the time I don't have to do anything. I walk with my phone and listen to a podcast, then I awake my Mac from sleep, hit play in Spotify, and it works. This alone is worth the steep price of the Airpods Max for me.
The only issue I had with them was that I recently tried to connect them to a Mac that wasn't in my iCloud. It is possible to do a non-iCloud paired direct bluetooth connection with them and this worked. But ~1 week later they suddenly disappeared from my main iCloud account. I'll not try that again.
I had the WF-1000XM2s and my experience was pretty similar. In particular when I used to travel into London for work, they would basically stop working when I entered a busy railway station at rush hour. But for me at least, upgrading to the XM3 solved everything. Had them for almost 18 months now and battery life is still great.
The one thing that really does piss me off about the XM3 is that the buttons are too sensitive - if I'm wearing a hood, the slightest brush against the headphones acts like a push of the button. I have to remember on rainy/windy days to turn the buttons off completely.
the XM4 adds the ability to be paired to multiple devices at a time, which seems to be the real magic of the airpods. when the headphones can be connected to both, you don't have to worry about disconnecting from one device before connecting to another lest you have your phone and your laptop fighting over your headphones.
I have the opposite of these experiences. My XM3s connect reliably and never drop, and have great battery life. My AirPod Pros have constant issues. This is with either my Mac/iPhone or Linux laptop.
That said I’ve gone back to plugging in the XM3s in an attempt to take advantage of Apple’s lossless music.
i still use my Sony 1000XM (the first gen) and have to say they're by far the most reliable headphones i've used on any android device. hardly useable on anything else though. Pairing is always a disaster on windows/linux and iOS (ipad).
I should note I have no issues with the WH-1000X (headphones, not earbuds) from Sony. Audio quality is great [0], battery needs to be charged maybe once a week, pairing works perfectly and they are pretty comfortable to wear all afternoon in the office.
[0] Unless you try to make a call using the microphone, when it switches to a low quality codec, but are there any Bluetooth headsets that don't have this issue?
I have to quicky switch to my earpiece from my wireless earphones whenever I receive a call just to avoid the low quality headset mode. It's so so bad. Not all wireless headsets are the same, however.
> the battery life is barely a few hours and the sound quality is ok... Often only one headphone will turn on but not the other.
Sounds like they are broken. I have XM3s. The batteries last for a very long time, something like 12h with noise cancellation on. I've never had an issue with the speakers turning on or off individually.
> Always have trouble with voice quality on calls too.
Their mic is their biggest weakness. It's pretty bad.
I’ve never owned a pair of the mx3 so I can’t compare but I have the mx4 and they don’t match your description: the battery life _without using the case_ is fantastic (8 hours, plus 24 hours using the case) and the connection is very consistent and reliable.
I don’t know how good they’d be for your use-case, but definitely worth considering the mx4 as distinct from the mx3.
edit: xm4 not mx4. Shows how little I care about headphones :-D
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- Wireless buds don’t connect 100% reliably; sometimes I get one and not the other, or neither. Sometimes they will randomly disconnect during use.
- Sometimes the sound glitches out randomly, which is so irritating that I don’t care how good the sound supposedly is the rest of the time.
- Gestures and voice are simply not as convenient as buttons on the wire. If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear and may still not register.
- They fall out of my ears, no matter how “snug” they seem. This makes me only want to use them in places where I won’t lose them, e.g. at home but not out for a walk.
Crucially, there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires. The only inconvenience is that the default headphone wires are stupidly short (provided by a company that sells wireless buds, hmmm) but that is fixable.
FYI, that's interference. Wi-fi "randomly" disconnects for a few seconds due to interference just as often, but you don't notice, because 1. the OS hides short disconnects, and 2. most protocols you use are TCP-based, and so use retries. (If you were doing something involving UDP streaming, you'd notice.)
Bluetooth audio, on the other hand, is a realtime protocol, which just drops stale packets rather than trying to retransmit them. Drop enough packets in a row, and the carrier thinks the device has gone out of range and disconnects it (as the alternative would be boiling your battery by turning the antenna gain up to infinity, as sometimes happens when cellular baseband misbehaves while ranging.)
> Gestures and voice are simply not as convenient as buttons on the wire. If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear and may still not register
Have you tried the AirPods Pro where you squeeze the stems? They're essentially buttons.
> Crucially, there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires.
Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones.
Or: try to change your shirt while keeping your headphones on + playing. (I know, unusual thing to do, but I've changed my shirt with wireless earbuds in without a thought.)
Or: get up and go to the bathroom, while continuing to listen to the livestream you're watching on the desktop PC sitting on your desk, without missing anything. (Provided I'm at home, I can usually get about 40 feet away from the Bluetooth source before my wireless headphones disconnect.)
This used to bug me a lot but I've found an easy solution. Just route the wire under your t-shirt or shirt or jacket. When I'm not using my headphones, the headphones hang around my neck. If I feel like taking off my headphones and placing them on the table, it takes 5 extra seconds to pull the wires from under my shirt after disconnecting them from the phone.
my biggest gripe with wireless so far, and this might be specific to galaxy buds+ is that their batteries suck after a years use. otherwise, all the things you describe are why they're great.
This is really easy with a backpack, I assume it's only a problem with a messenger bag (which is probably a bigger problem for one's back, unless the load is kept very light.)
2. I have big hands buttons on the ear pod just knock it out of my ear.
3. I can take my bag off my sholder without taking out my wired headphones.
When I try to take my shirt off with wireless headphones they just get knocked out of my ear and im on the locker room floor looking for them.
Bluetooth doesn't have the range to do this without dropping in and out, at least in my house.
The big takeaway is that even the best wireless headphones on the market are less reliable than the cheapest wired.
Well what I used to do when I had wired headphones was run the headphone cable under the bag so to speak. As in put on my headphones and then put on my bag. You just need to make sure you have enough slack in the headphones above the bag strap, which... I dunno I never found difficult. I just habitually put on my bag second, or would place my ear buds in my shirt/cups around my neck at least before putting on the bag.
Don't get me wrong it's nice for that to not matter with wireless, it's just the way you've phrased this implies to me putting the headphones on first and bag on second so the bag strap sits on top of the headphone cable never occurred to you and honestly that is confusing me
Wireless headphones with a short wire hanging down to use as an antenna. Now send audio using 900MHz analog FM radio.
The signal quality can be made quite high by using enough power and/or bandwidth spreading.
Delay is near zero and it reconnects faster than you can blink at it.
That’s false. If it happens to you, get better wireless equipment.
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I know how they sound and what they do to sounds. Every in-ear solution I had in my ears up to now doesn't even get close in terms of "resolution" (this is not a technical term but it is true, that some monitoring solutions will let you hear more of the recording than others).
Additionally my on-the-road headphones (Sennheiser HD25) last for a decade now. If the cable ever should fail I can get a replacement. If the earpad is through I can get a replacement. The only problem recently is, that phone manufacturers decided they need to be stingy about adding a 3.5mm TRRS-jack.
I "upgraded" mine with a fiio BTR5. Now I just wrap the cable around the BT receiver and put it in my shirt pocket. Wireless freedom with wired 'phones!
I got a poco because I won't replace my HD-25 II anytime soon.
Before that I even took a MP3 player with me most of the time. Fiio Xsomwthing. However it broke, and for some reason you don't find good MP3 players with actual buttons anymore either.
I’m not going back to having to untangle a pocket full of wires and car keys. Also I’m not having the cable tugging when I’m walking or running and having to shove the things back in every two minutes. This product was a life changer for me.
Please understand that not everyone has the same experiences as you do.
Third-party over-ear headphones working on my Android phone, Windows gaming computer and work Linux machine is a whole other deal.
I’m sorry to say it, but welcome to the future of wireless audio.
Seriously. More of us would jump on board if it were not Bluetooth.
I may be audiophile. But when I put a music on I want to get fully absorbed and hear every little detail while I don't worry about battery life. Sounds weird I know
Theoretically I don't think there's a reason why it wouldn't be possible to make the sound produced in the audible range the same (preferrably roughly matching Harman target out of the box) for wired and wireless.
But yes, I'd never trade the slight inconvenience a cable is with the amount of inconveniences of wireless. Especially the battery: I grew up having to deal with battery life in portable players (cassette, minidics, you name it) and this finally got a lot better so I almost don't have to care anymore (talking actual music players, not smartphones), I'm really not going to go back to something inferior again.
It's fascinating how well this has been marketed though, but that's really almost all there is to it for me: just marketing, not a whole lot of actual value.
PX100s for when I am out of the house (but not when driving!) because they sound good but do not isolate me from my surroundings.
HD220s for radio and TV (on tablet or phone) late at night.
HD485s for paying attention to music.
It would be nice if they all had Tile or similar tech, but if their batteries go dead just sitting there (super annoying thing about the bose) then it’s useless too.
(FWIW also tried the Sony wf1000-xm4s and hated them.)
I have a pair of XM3s and I love them (for what they are) but the form factor of the XM4 looks nicer so was considering an "upgrade".
I definitely found 3rd party Bluetooth headphones to be not worth the trouble early on, but since Apple introduced the AirPods I got tempted back to them. Either Bluetooth got a lot better or Apple's doing something clever (or both), because with the occasional "one pod didn't wake up; put it back in the case and take it out again" issue, they work perfectly for me.
I do still use corded headphones -- I'm an audio guy; I have a bunch -- but it's increasingly rare.
I was a fan of the originals, but bought the Pros shortly after they came out. I'm on my second pair now - the first pair came down with the dreaded "crackling" and Apple replaced them.
I find that they stay in my ears well enough that I regularly use them when driving my Jeep without doors, even when I'm not listening to music. They provide some level of reduction of the wind noise that I'm certain has been damaging my hearing in my left ear in particular.
Wireless buds "solve" a non-issue while introducing real issues.
Ear fit sucks, is it worse with cordless headphones? Ear fit always comes up with earbuds, wireless or wired. I've heard individuals say wireless is better for them because there's no wire tugging on their ear. I'm surprised to see a lot of people walking around with over-the-ear headphones (I tend to use them at home or on a plane).
My headphones are wired from one to the other. They're wireless to the music device, but wired to each other if that helps paint you a picture. Plus, they have these little rubber fins that help hold the headphones in your ears So for me: I can't lose one without the other, and them being tethered together makes it harder to lose them in general. The controls are on the wire, so none of that "pressing your head" issue you describe. The only time I seem to have issues is when I have my phone in my front pocket opposite to the bluetooth receiver... I think my body just blocks the signal too well. Otherwise I can be 30ft away and still get a strong bluetooth connection.
Enough of the ad talk (Please email me for my info Jaybirds so I can collect my shill cheque) I think its just a design issue. Everyone wants those tiny things that hide away in your ear, but I've always felt the inconvenience of having 2 easily misplaced little buds outweighs any design advantages they have. Its like the trend of making phones smaller and smaller, then suddenly bigger and bigger, but not addressing the convenience of having a smart phone. I don't need a massive screen, I need a stronger battery... so make it 3mm or 5mm thicker if that's what it takes to get 48hr life on a charge.
But now i'm ranting.
I now have AirPod Pros and I have none of the above problems. I waited a long time before buying them and was really surprised how well they fit (because of my experience with normal iPhone headphones and the Jaybird headphones).
I guess experiences differ depending on your on your ears and it's probably best if you try them first if you can.
Edge case: white noise generator.
I’ve been looking for a small, wired and preferably powered external speaker for travel to provide louder and better quality sound masking than the tiny speaker in the phone. There are a million little Bluetooth speakers out there but the random inverted hiccups (sudden silence then resume) wake me up every time. I’m sure it’s the Bluetooth because it doesn’t happen when I use the phone speaker.
I carry a 1st gen iPhone SE for wired audio, so I guess now it’s basically an iPod.
Edit: Well, looks like there’s some stuff on eBay I didn’t see in previous searches. Retro 2000s stuff. I can roll the dice for £5 plus shipping. Use case is still relevant.
https://youtu.be/t1thDa4zeog
I was originally very upset about Apple removing the headphone port, but after getting my first AirPods I basically stopped caring. They just worked so well, I never wanted wires again.
By the by, I had more headphones yanked out by door handles than I’ve had wireless buds fall out, but I’ll grant that the latter is strongly affected by individual ear geometry.
Cons: mic volume is low, and when a device disconnects they will play disconnect sound until they reboot.
And contrariwise, while for day-to-day wear I love my bluetooth over-ear headphones, my 'plane earphones' are wired Bose QC25s. Partly because in-ear provides superior noise canceling, partly because when I'm on that 5:30am flight I can lean my head against the side of the plane without upsetting my headphones, but mostly because if I drop my phone I can fish it back up with the headphone cable. :D
1. Wireless buds
2. Wireless non-buds (some sort of wrap-around design to keep them on)
3. Wired buds
4. Wired non-buds
I go with (2) personally, but mainly because Apple stopped me using wires. My main problem with bluetooth is that the headphones aren't loud enough (yeah you have to watch the line between loud and damaging but headphones are my opportunity to play music loud). Recommendations for loud wireless headphones appreciated!
#1 Bluebooth connectivity to computers. If I was just using my phone they were mostly fine, but at a computer it was a constant fight to get them to connect, to work with whatever app I'm using, and especially when I'm switching back and forth between using them for listening to music or using them to video conference. This might also be partly because Linux is my main driver, but having to switch back and forth between high quality audio output for music and two way cell phone quality audio sucks.
#2 Having owned multiple pairs over the years, none of them would connect over Bluetooth while charging. Let me make my wireless headphones temporarily wired.
At this point I use an over the ear headphone with a mic and a USB DAC. I specifically only get phones with a minijack so I could use them with that too.
Audio matters to me. Can't own a device with no analog jack.
Some BT buds will let you futz with an equalizer (jabra). It really influences the experience of what you’re listening to, for instance different genres of music and pure voice.
My point is, that they just didn't have any of the problems you mention above (with the exception of random sampling frequency changes that changed pitch minimally, but noticable).
Sound quality was ok, I think it was one of the first A2DP headsets. Ok, for what it was mind you, my good over-ears are definitely better.
Is this some idiom I am not familiar with?
That said, when I'm sitting at my desk to do work, I use wired headphones (and wired mouse and keyboard). When I'm really in the flow, the last thing I want is to be interrupted by a "low battery" prompt.
In this case wired is just another mode of failure as they will get loose if the cable is tensioned. If you are afraid of losing them you can use one with a wire between the buds (non-TWS).
> They fall out of my ears
Sounds like you don't have a good fit. Sealed buds should not have much room to 'go deeper' when properly seated.
> there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires
These last two have nothing to do with wires, just the fit for a particular model?
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All wireless earbuds I have ever used, including Apple Airpods Pro, sucked. Fit, charging stability, not randomly breaking, sound, you name it.
By contrast, I have wireless Sennheiser (over-ear) headphones which sound great (compared to my old wired HD25, say), last for 20 hours or so, and plug into USB, Headphone jack and, well, Bluetooth. Run out of battery? Just plug it in.
I really only use earbuds for sport. In my opinion, that's what they are for.
Yeah, I found that odd. I thought "headphones" very specifically referred to the type you wear on your head (hence the name?). I thought this was going to be about audio quality of headphones versus earbuds (wired or wireless). Instead it's just fashion works in cycles, what's old is new again, we're back to 2005 again etc.
I have a pair of jabra active elite's that i use for working out/biking/doing crap outdoors and they are fantastic. Can't really think of a single complaint with them.
My friend has an older model that he uses every day for like 4 years, the battery is still reasonably good. And after that, you can still replace the battery and they'll be good as new.
So I opted for over-ear Sony and never looked back. The considerable investment (about 130% of top AirPod model in my country) is totally worth it in my opinion. My wife's AirPods became unusable for a single 1-hour call after about a year.
People have different ears. People have different needs. Maybe if you talked to more people about why they used earbuds instead of headphones - you’d know that earbuds can be for anything.
Simple reasons like not wanting headphone hair are reason enough to not use headphones. Same for other aesthetic reasons. Personally, I am not a bigger user of earbuds either because I have small ear canals that don’t play nicely with most in-ears but I 100% understand why people would use them for more situations than headphones. I frequently wish I could use in-ears because I also wear glasses and overear headphones do not play nicely with my glasses. Again, so simple to think about as to why use earbuds over headphones…
May be I am cheap, but I cant get myself to buy another Wireless Earphone again with non -replaceable battery. They are basically consumables. And Apple expect you to buy a new pair every 1-2 years. And even if you dont use it much the battery will still deteriorate after 2 years.
I dont know about current M1 MacBook, EarPod and HomePod, but Apple has a history of speaker being relatively easier blown out. But even then they last 4 - 5 years.
Again may be I am cheap. I expect these things to last a decade. I have often dream of a Wireless earphone where the long end part is a screwable battery.
Had I just bought wired headphone every month for $10. At the end of 2 years I would have spent $240, which is right around the price of Airpods Pro's.
I will say though the one killer feature for me in Airpods is the handoff functionality. I'm an iOS developer so I work on a Mac all day long. It's so nice to be able to switch off from one Macbook for a meeting to my iPhone with little to no effort.
It's a bit disingenuous to compare $10 cans with $240 Airpods. What is this? Reddit?
So while I appreciate your anecdote, I also think it doesn't apply to me and should not in any way influence my purchases.
I'm still getting my moneys worth 15 years later!
Any recommendation of a wired in-ear earphone that could last a decade?
Edit: I just looked them up. MDR-E484. They seem to be classics that sell for hundreds of dollars used! I never realised they were so sought after!
As you said, headphones are basically a commodity. But when the press reports cases of people having anxiety about losing airpods, for me it's a clear sign something went wrong.
I do all of my work calls using them, I use them if I have to make a phone call, I use them for listening to music while working, I use them (the right side only for safety) while riding my bike, I listen to podcasts while doing chores, I connect them to my PC for playing video games, and I use them to listen to a sleep podcast when I go to sleep.
Most users use them every day and are very happy with them. I think it is pretty reasonable to pay that kind of money for being happy.
I bought some Sony over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones 3-4 years ago. I only tend to use them when flying (only a few times a year). I have an old pair of original AirPods (2016) I use as backups. I haven't noticed any deterioration. I'm sure there is some, but a majority of the aging is due to use.
For the wireless argument, here is mine.
I use an airpods pro. I also have multiple high end headphones. I only apple os with wireless. If I was using linux, android, windows then I have to use my other headphones, since my bluetooth always have issues with wireless using other os.
The airpods pro is probbably my favourite headphones that I have. I use it 95% of the time
The only time I use wired headphones is if I need to use my amp when I really need/want to listen to the quality of something or if im using non apple os.
Wires are a pain in the a$% for me personally and ironically more fragile than my airpods pro. It's hard to move around with wires and they tangle a lot wether if im wearing them or not.
The airpods pro are small and you can have noice cancelling, transparency, and normal mode. The only downside is I have to charge them every 5~ hours.
They connect to my phone, and my 3 computers easily without unhooking the wires.
The only annoying thing about the airpods pro is that people don't know that i have something in my ear because my hair is long and I am listening to something. When they are trying to start a conversation I usually can't hear them.
The only time they fall out of my ears is if im cleaning the house cause im moving my head around too much. They don't even fall when I'm working out or running
People like what they like. Forcing it just does not go well, unless the reasons are really good.
I was, and am seriously put off by the omission of analog audio jacks. Most of the reasons given just do not resonate and sometimes it is stated or strongly implied I am somehow the problem.
I guess Airpods Max would count?
I mean that sounds like a pretty major downside. Maybe when this becomes "I have to charge them every 5 weeks" they might be more appealing.
That's pretty obvious. The article gave that for granted (actually, it even explicitly acknowledged it) and put the spot on famous or not so famous people going the other way round. They will be always be a minority and guided by fashion/aesthetics rather than comfort, but it was worth (or not) to point it out.
* never run out of juice
* never have internal noise/audible hiss
* never have trouble connecting
* you can hear your vinyl rip FLAC as it is, not subjected to lossy psychoacoustic compression
* you can use a variety of devices spanning decades to listen your music on
Background: I have a collection of even older "goodish" headphones which I have kept alive with solder over the years. My teenage son recently started buying similar headphones, and they all have replaceable cables. This was me as well until my Yes, this wasIf you have bought a rea
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2 bonus points: -the chord makes it much harder to lose the headset - when on a call, people around don't think you're someone losing it, having a discussion with yourself out loud
And:
* Cheap * Better for the environment by a mile * Much harder to lose
The one downside is the damn tangled wire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D_oV14dGmM
EDIT: Some people in the comments seem to think this shortens the life of the cable, but I've never had problems with Apple earbuds or Bose headphones (that have a replaceable wire anyway).
EDIT2: Another advantage of wired headphones if you want the wire out of the way and to make them less visible: Just thread them through your shirt!
I like materials that resist bending after a fairly large minimum radius. More could be done IMHO.
Pro audio equipment usually prefers connectors such as XLR [0] (or even heavier-duty cables like Speakon [1] if you need to carry large amounts of power). They're a lot bulkier but immune to all these problems: the ground pin connects first, the connector physically latches into place, and they're typically used to carry a balanced signal over a twisted pair so they're mostly immune to interference. The only place you'll find a TS/TRS connector on a stage is on a "patch cable" for making short-distance connections, like from a guitar to an amp -- and you have to be very careful not to touch them unless the sound guy tells you it's OK, because those pops will be loud over a PA.
Newer (and more expensive) equipment is moving in the direction of avoiding analog altogether and transmitting audio over Ethernet using protocols like Dante [2].
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakon_connector
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_(networking)
It got chosen because it was compact, it can be repeatedly plugged and unplugged, sockets can be through-hole soldered, and double-ended cables are widely available. There is no obvious alternative with those characteristics, and they outweigh the bad.
I've got a guitar cable (1/4", but some basic design) that has some sort of trick setup in the plug where it shorts everything until the ground is firmly connected... no pops or crackles.
Edit: This is the plug used.. https://www.amphenolaudio.com/products/14-2/t-series-switch-...
I have a good pair (WF-1000XM3) because my phone doesn't have an audio jack and they are always a pain. They connect to the wrong device frequently, the battery life is barely a few hours and the sound quality is ok. Always have trouble with voice quality on calls too. Often only one headphone will turn on but not the other. They are supposedly easier to carry because no cords, but they are harder because I need to carry two things (case + headphones) most of the time instead of one. Given how low the battery life is, carrying the case is essential
In contrast, my wired headphones are 100x easier - i plug them in and they work. It takes less time than fiddling with bluetooth and they are 100% reliable.
I switched to AirPods (Pros and Max) and a lot of my issues dissapeared.
Honestly it's a shame because the audio quality on the XM3 was better than the Airpod Pro but the software is just not there.
The AirPods aren't perfect either of course, but it's a night and day difference between the reliability of them vs the Sony.
I found the Sony was extra bad when there was either a busy area or if I took out just one ear. Often I'd start dropping connectivity to one ear and then they'd just crap out altogether till I reset them.
The only issue I had with them was that I recently tried to connect them to a Mac that wasn't in my iCloud. It is possible to do a non-iCloud paired direct bluetooth connection with them and this worked. But ~1 week later they suddenly disappeared from my main iCloud account. I'll not try that again.
The one thing that really does piss me off about the XM3 is that the buttons are too sensitive - if I'm wearing a hood, the slightest brush against the headphones acts like a push of the button. I have to remember on rainy/windy days to turn the buttons off completely.
That said I’ve gone back to plugging in the XM3s in an attempt to take advantage of Apple’s lossless music.
[0] Unless you try to make a call using the microphone, when it switches to a low quality codec, but are there any Bluetooth headsets that don't have this issue?
Yes. The recently released Bose QC45 headphones do not have this issue. I don’t know what they did to stop it, but it’s not present.
The Headset profile's audio codecs are hot garbage. Any time your device uses the microphone it switches to this and audio quality turns to mud.
Until they come up with a high definition profile for mic and audio, wired headsets will always have a place.
I sometimes really struggle to understand others when they are using wireless units. It is AM quality at best, like 5 to 8Khz bandwidth.
That is not so bad frankly. But, couple it with cell phone call audio codecs and it is a mess.
Sounds like they are broken. I have XM3s. The batteries last for a very long time, something like 12h with noise cancellation on. I've never had an issue with the speakers turning on or off individually.
> Always have trouble with voice quality on calls too.
Their mic is their biggest weakness. It's pretty bad.
I don’t know how good they’d be for your use-case, but definitely worth considering the mx4 as distinct from the mx3.
edit: xm4 not mx4. Shows how little I care about headphones :-D