Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 239 posts

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#121

Post by shjake »

sircastor wrote: post #85
GiorgioG wrote: post #62

I stopped reading at “Vegan Leather”. Can we call it what it is? Plastic.

Because that's not what people care about in this context. People are looking at this picture and they see something that looks like leather. You say "Vegan Leather" and the message they get is "No animals were killed for this product." "I want the look and feel of leather, but not the specific ethical concerns."

Faux leather or synthetic leather seem honest enough.

IMHO “vegan” implies it’s made from plan material and/or biodegradable if not edible

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#122

Post by somesortofthing »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #4

These look really interesting. I'm curious if there are plans to sell these to American customers. Right now (IIUC) their website only ships to EU countries.

I'm in the same boat. I got all the way to the checkout page before realizing that they won't ship to the US. Seriously considering buying these and asking a friend in the EU to ship them to me in hopes of them making spare parts available in the US before I break anything. Probably won't do it, but I've been waiting for years for a pair of bluetooth headphones that I don't have to constantly worry about breaking.

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#123

Post by gizmo »

The "sustainable" and "environment friendly" choice for headphones are wired headphones that are built like a brick. A good pair will last basically forever.

Of course that isn't the market these headphones are in, but that's also the problem. New bluetooth standard? New advances in noise-cancellation? You won't get them. Even if these headphones are great (which I doubt) they're still destined for the garbage heap.

Wireless headphones last a couple of years, where wired headphones last decades. These products won't be the exception, and the marketing angle (fair! environmentally friendly! repairable!) annoys me.

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#124

Post by shjake »

uxcolumbo wrote: post #89
GiorgioG wrote: post #62

I stopped reading at “Vegan Leather”. Can we call it what it is? Plastic.

Because it wouldn't be very descriptive of the material texture & feel. Vegan leather is basically trying to explain to the customer that it is like leather but not made from animal skin. In the car industry they don't say seats covered in plastic - they say PU leather. Vegan leather is 100% PU leather.

I’m sure most customers are more aware of fake/faux/synthetic leather than vegan leather.

It’s an attempt to rebrand it since those terms generally have negative historical connotations

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#125

Post by nickserv »

usrusr wrote: post #21
artogahr wrote: post #3

They look cool and I would love to be able to buy one but the sustainability tax seems too high to be a successful product to me.

Wireless headphones are essentially streetwear. Making their product too cheap would be an unforgivable mistake in that market.

I use mine for remote work, they are so expensive I actually avoid wearing them outside as much as possible.

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#126

Post by bornfreddy »

duxup wrote: post #116
thfuran wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't charge nearly as much for "plastic" as for "vegan leather" though.

It’s funny how that works. I remember when fake leather was generally thought of as a bad thing, granted at times it could be really plastic like and brittle…. but at some point it clearly became both cheaper and really durable. I wouldn’t mind if it just said “plastic” or “imitation leather”. It’s not a bad thing to my ears. I’m remodeling my house and all the flooring I’m looking at looks like wood…. but it is not…

Is the platic leather durable though? Aside from the cars interior, I haven't noticed one that lasted more than a few years. Headphones are especially annoying in that the covers start falling apart long before other parts break.

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#127

Post by bornfreddy »

Aachen wrote: post #79
fareesh wrote: post #77

One of the problems with headphones is that the cups tend to deteriorate over time - maybe sweat or the oil from the skin or something reacts with it and it starts to peel. After a few years, the cups are no longer available for that model and so you end up having to buy a new one.

I haven't had that issue, but if you know that you do, in this case you can buy the cups separately. After trying it out for a few weeks or months to make sure it's a keeper, just order another pair of cups? I got the impression that they've had phone parts in stock for a very long time, but of course that's relative to the average phone age and I don't know how many years you'd be expecting. In this case, though, if…

Curious: do they degrade over time in drawer?

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#128

Post by millzlane »

roland35 wrote: post #108
sircastor wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think this is a hardware or a software problem? I have these headphones myself, and I really like them. This sounds awful. I had to do a factory reset on them recently because they stopped connecting to one of my devices.

I have a similar issue with my airpod pros. I believe it is a microphone issue, especially since they work in non-noise cancelling mode just fine.

Same, I have airpod pro 2nd gens and if I lay down on a pillow a certain way I get a very loud squeal.

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#129

Post by nickserv »

vegabook wrote: post #82

You've been able to fix Beyerdynamic DT770s forever, which is one reason why they're so popular with studios.

Pretty different use though, and these are more complex having NC electronics and a rechargeable battery for wireless use.

Re: Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

#130

Post by nickserv »

JonathanBeuys wrote: post #27

What are the best noise cancelling headphones to work in cafes? Im using Bose Quiet Comfort II and I always wish they would cancel better.

I have the Jabra evolve2 85 and, while being ridiculously expensive, are the best I've used.

Even better for calls than the Sony's, for me anyway.

At this price point and quality though it's more about personal preference, choosing what's most important: comfort, voice call quality, music quality, etc

Post reply on HN