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Fairbuds XL review: noise-cancelling headphones you can fix

theguardian.com

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

#161

Post by ip26 »

adhesive_wombat wrote: post #145
ip26 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Planned obsolescence can be a good thing. Cans from the fifties and sixties still work. Nobody wants to use them; they are heavy, uncomfortable, have poor performance, need an amp to drive, and use huge old school connectors. They are from a time when music was enjoyed seated in one place. Products that fail prematurely or wear out while the owner still wants them are poorly designed. The pinnacle of design is a prod…

> The pinnacle of design is a product that works flawlessly until the day you are through with it Indeed, but for maximum utility, the second hand market is included in the "you" here. Things can continue to be useful to someone long after the first owner is through with them.

Fair, I should probably say "the public" instead of "you". Many things enjoy a long second-hand life before the public's appetite for the product is gone.

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

#162

Post by Aachen »

MivLives wrote: post #41
martin_a wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They already have those: https://shop.fairphone.com/de/accessories/true-wireless-ster... While I don't see spare parts for those, they claim to be "100% electronic waste neutral". Probably much harder/impossible to repair due to the form factor though, not sure.

They have a 1/10 from iFixit on the repairability score.

Not their only goal btw. Besides repairability, they also source from sustainable mines/suppliers (so far as reasonably possible, given that virtually nobody else creates demand for such a thing) with normal wages and such. And recycling is a thing but I'm less read up on what they do there.

I still agree that they made a product nobody asked for just so they could get rid of the 3.5mm jack in their latest smartphone, until today that is (first time I see someone ask for fair earbuds!), but I do want to give them credit for their overall mission beyond just repairability.

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

#163

Post by Aachen »

Uvix wrote: post #30
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.

Noise cancelling only really works for constant sounds (like airplane engines), not for background music/chatter.

Why is that btw? When I first heard of noise cancelling a few years ago, I figured electrons travel faster than sound waves (by a few orders of magnitude), so they'd just have a mic on the outside and speakers on the inside, amplifier in between and connect plus and minus the wrong way around to create an inverse signal. No chips with delay needed, just an analog signal going directly from mic to speaker. Shouldn't that cancel literally all sound?

Apparently they, instead, all use some software solution that mainly works for constant noises. I don't understand why

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

#164

Post by FeistySkink »

fgeiger wrote: post #143
gizmo wrote: post #123

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.…

I work at Fairphone but am not at all involved with the headphones. Still, I know that this is an issue that we thought about and address. Headphones should keep working even if the manufacturer goes bust and stops providing software support. And even if your battery dies and spare parts are unavailable. That is precisely the reason why we also sell a cable with a 3.5mm jack for these cans. That way, this product is…

Fairphone 4 doesn't have a 3.5 mm jack beacuse reasons. So much for sustainability.

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

#165

Post by Aachen »

bornfreddy wrote: post #127
Aachen wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

The person speculated that it might be from skin oils, which would make sense to me more than natural degradation across the timespan of a few years of doing literally nothing to them. But yeah, I don't actually know.

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

#167

Post by stainablesteel »

gizmo wrote: post #123

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.…

i've never had a pair of wired headphones last more than ~2 years

i usually buy cheap wired ear buds that i can listen to while i walk to work

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

#168

Post by dghlsakjg »

Tijdreiziger wrote: post #40
dghlsakjg wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bose has repair service. It isn't self-service, so it depends if your goal is throwing less shit away, or being able to service your own devices.

‘Repair service’ often just means they’ll throw it away for you and ship you a new one.

I think it depends a lot on the product. Their aviation headsets and other non-consumer audio equipment gets repaired for sure

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

#169

Post by dghlsakjg »

lozenge wrote: post #37
dghlsakjg wrote: post #20

I’ve got a set of 6 year old $60 taotronics headphones that I just replaced the earpads on. Took 5 minutes and they use generic earpads available from AE or Amazon. The battery is soldered in, but is a generic lipo foil pouch accesible behind a screwed together earcup so I won’t need to find a specific form factor or break any glued together stuff to get at it. I don’t see this product as more “repairable” than other…

Do you think Bose actually repair anything? I always assumed they just replace it and recycle/destroy the old one.

I think it depends a lot on the product. Their aviation headsets and other non-consumer audio equipment gets repaired for sure

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

#170

Post by davemarchevsky »

v3x3366 wrote: post #52

I certainly appreciate this idea. My WH-1000XM4s developed an issue where the NC has a feedback loop that sends a deafening shriek as soon as you place them on your ears and it lasts until you turn off the NC. I have to go through this (quite embarrassing in public) ordeal every time I turn them on. I'd just upgrade if they weren't so absurdly expensive in the first place.

I had the same issue with NC feedback loop and was able to get the headphones replaced under warranty with little hassle. Worth a shot if yours are still covered.
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