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Wired headphone sales are exploding

bbc.com

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Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#231

Post by al123xiaaaa »

adamfarhadi wrote: post #135
userbinator wrote: post #125

The elephant in the room is "chi-fi". There's been a huge growth in small Chinese companies with unusual names making amazingly cheap, yet great-sounding over-ear headphones, IEMs, and earbuds within the past few years, and the vast majority of these are wired.

I’m by no means an audiophile and it had been years since I owned a pair of wired headphones, but I picked up a pair of Linsoul 7HZ x Crinacle Zero:2 (yes that is actually the name) IEMs after seeing some glowing reviews online and I was absolutely blown away by how they sounded despite costing only 240 SEK (around 25 USD). Back in the early 2010s when I was more interested in hi-fi audio you definitely couldn’t get…

How long does it take from placing your order to receiving the headphones?

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#232

Post by Springtime »

Article explains it's being partially driven from people following celebrities who believe they're using it as countersignaling, demonstrating economic class via things that could be perceived as the opposite.

"Wearing wireless 24/7 tells me you don't own any land."

I wonder how much is being driven by such lead following.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#233

Post by alpaca128 »

Flow wrote: post #186

Perhaps not related to the article but I find it puzzling that Bluetooth in 2026 still sounds like a fax machine when you use the mic too. That and a much too high latency in general.

Using the mic requires the device to drop to a much older protocol for headsets designed for an old, obsolete Bluetooth generation.

Afaik that's one big reason why BT is such a mess. Many different use-cases are dictated by different protocols, many of which are outdated, and two paired devices can only use a protocol supported by both. So the headphone can't just reuse the same nice connection and add a mic, it has to start pretending like it's some Bluetooth 2.0 device from 2005 or something.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#234

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

alpaca128 wrote: post #218
mcdeltat wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What annoys me the most is that the industry collectively decided that 3.5mm jacks are obselete, removing the option of using wired headphones, for no(?) good reason. We could at least agree that wired and wireless each have their own pros and cons, but no, we're shoehorned into wireless because corporate decided it. Here, you must use simply because we said so! It's just the peak of trend following bullshittery and…

> Here, you must use simply because we said so! Because the integrated battery adds an expiration date to a device that could otherwise last decades if maintained properly. Same as Apple tightly coupling the iMac screen with the Mac's software support cycle even though nothing would stop them from just adding, say, a USB-C port that can act as video input.

Macs overall are only 10% of Apple’s revenue and with 70-80% of those being laptops and the other 20% being split among Mac Mini’s, iMacs and Mac Studios, what does you think are the chances of Apple spending time optimizing iMac sells?

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#235

Post by phrotoma »

xnyan wrote: post #39
peacebeard wrote: post #29

I never got on board with wireless headphones. * Having to charge them is a PITA * Having to pair them is a PITA * Having more points of failure is a PITA * Paying more is a PITA On the other hand: * Wires are fine

Counterpoint: wires really suck and are not fine. AirPods Pro are great, I can afford them and they improve my quality of like quite a bit. Different strokes I guess.

Some years ago I commuted to work by subway in a city that had turnstiles at all transit stops. Having earbuds unceremoneously ripped out of my ears by spinning metal arms sent me straight to bluetooth and I have never looked back.

Wires suck.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#237

Post by homebrewer »

MrDresden wrote: post #181
beloch wrote: post #83

This isn't a Vinyl vs CD thing where a clearly inferior technology lives on due mainly to sentimental reasons. There are a number of concrete advantages to wired headphones over bluetooth headphones. - They don't need charging. Charging may seem like a minor inconvenience, and we're used to charging a lot of devices. However, even a minor inconvenience is still an inconvenience. - They're harder to lose. When Apple a…

> "Too many android phones copied Apple and ditched the venerable audio jack" I understand this is a personal preference, but I never understood the anger some people had over the removal when it's as easy as just using a small USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack converter to use wired headphones.

If they replaced it with a second USB port, not simply removed the jack, there would be far fewer complaints.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#238

Post by kumarvvr »

I used Sony ear buds. Never once have I had any issues with it.

Charging is a minor inconvenience, but the freedom of not having tangled mess on my hands when I work while I speak is much more worth it.

I suspect the vat majority of these wired ones are for use during online video calls on office computers and laptops.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#239

Post by sambapa »

meekins wrote: post #118
sambapa wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vinyl is for plebs, hiring troubadours for your party is the way.

Please recommend a troubadour who knows the Neat Records, Guardian Records n' Tapes and Heavy Metal Records singles catalogues and I'm sold :)

Known repertoire is a function of BAC only.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#240

Post by bongripper »

jhbadger wrote: post #139

Maybe I am just old, but I have absolutely no idea what this passage is about -- why would people be fiddling with Bluetooth on a date and why would it cause them to forget their network? >"Bluetooth does not work," Kravitz said in a recent interview, and it's not just headphones, but Bluetooth connections in general. "It's ruining important moments. Imagine the amount of times that you're with someone on a date, you…

The idea is that you're at home with the other person and want to listen to some music from a bluetooth speaker.
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