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

Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

361–370 of 496 posts

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#361

Post by jacquesm »

herbst wrote: post #235
thrashh wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Imagine my Sennheisers working perfectly well with my phone, laptop, computer and even the 20y old radio on my toilet. No connection issues at all, even on busy places. Just plug the wire and enjoy the very best music quality. It must be only me who doesn't care about a wire for all the added bonus like quality, stability and no battery.

Definitely not just you. I use a pair of noise cancelling headphones for music practice and they are always plugged in.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#362

Post by jacquesm »

fragmede wrote: post #69
jcims wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Specifically, Bose QCs can't be charged and used at the same time. If they're charging, then they're off, essentially.

That's a safety precaution, you really don't want charging LiPo batteries on your person, especially not stuck in your ears.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#364

Post by lwkl »

TheCapn wrote: post #355
makecheck wrote: post #3

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…

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 ca…

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.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#365

Post by WhompingWindows »

99% of the time I use corded headphones, it doesn't matter that they're corded. They are simply better in every respect outside of the cord. I've owned at least 5 pairs of mid-range headphones, I loved my Sony studio monitor headphones so much that I bought a second pair. I also bought some DT 770 pro headphones recently and I am enjoying those quite a lot.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#366

Post by alias_neo »

hmrr wrote: post #305
hparadiz wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about a high traffic place like a NYC subway?

I regularly zip in and out of London UK at rush hour on trains and tubes rammed with people with wireless earbuds, mostly AirPods. No problems. As stated the only time I had a problem was standing next to an extremely large diesel backup generator which was probably RFI related.

Anecdotally, I have a pair of Sony WF1000-XM3, bought them at full retail for ~£280, at the time they launched, my daily commute in London was unbearable. The second I hit a slightly busy station concourse it was skip-central, or the right ear would disconnect for minutes on end.

Couple of years later, Sony has updated them half a dozen or so times, and I rarely ever get skips or jumps now. I have them always set to emphasise quality over connection, and they have worked perfect. You can buy them new on the likes of Amazon for ~£120 now, which is a bargain.

Sony just(?) released the XM4 which have a slightly better form factor and better codecs, so I'm considering them next.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#367

Post by dangerface »

derefr wrote: post #165
makecheck wrote: post #3

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…

> 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,…

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.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#369

Post by alias_neo »

jcims wrote: post #35
makecheck wrote: post #3

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…

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…

Can I ask what you hated about the XM4s?

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".

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#370

Post by dangerface »

ubermonkey wrote: post #346
makecheck wrote: post #3

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…

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…

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.
Post reply on HN