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Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

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Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#401

Post by aksss »

grishka wrote: post #259
bradknowles wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. Bluetooth sucks. It has sucked for as long as it has existed, and I don’t see that changing any time soon, if ever. I’m sorry to say it, but welcome to the future of wireless audio.

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 ne…

Yet BT just “works” hitting 80% of expectations, 80% of the time. That’s why the solutions sell.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#402

Post by sudosysgen »

timeon wrote: post #268
sudosysgen wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy some with replaceable cables. I use KZ ZSX and I keep a spare cable, if it ever breaks no biggie thats 4$

Is $ the only issue?

It's a big one. The cables are cheap enough that you can buy a second one and keep it in your backpack for complete peace of mind. Other IEMs have cables that cost much more and you might not preemptively carry one.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#403

Post by VortexDream »

_fat_santa wrote: post #386
ksec wrote: post #298

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 wil…

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 ev…

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?

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#405

Post by acd »

I have a set of wired Sennheiser 600. These wired headphones has lasted twenty years. Ie wired headphones last long which are better for the environment than wireless with glued non user replaceable batteries. Since wired headphones do not have electronics they do not get obsolete.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#406

Post by aksss »

da39a3ee wrote: post #64
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…

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 o…

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.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#407

Post by dukeyukey »

hmrr wrote: post #179
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…

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 p…

AirPods working with Apple devices is one thing.

Third-party over-ear headphones working on my Android phone, Windows gaming computer and work Linux machine is a whole other deal.

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#408

Post by kymaz »

_fat_santa wrote: post #386
ksec wrote: post #298

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 wil…

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 ev…

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'm still getting my moneys worth 15 years later!

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#409

Post by [deleted] »

concinds wrote: post #288
hmrr wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 p…

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.

[deleted]

Re: Corded headphones are making an unexpected return

#410

Post by diebeforei485 »

Corded headphones are arguably better if your commute involves a bike ride or crowded subway. They also feel more secure when face masks are involved.

Airpods 1 and 2 have long stems, and can fall off when wearing certain accessories like scarves, earmuffs, and face masks (when wearing or removing masks that use ear loops). This is not an issue with Airpods 3 or Airpods Pro which have shorter stems.

Tip for people who find the connection unreliable - I have noticed that having Bluetooth 5.0 on both the source device (iPhone X or later) and the earbuds (Airpods 2 or later) resolved most connection issues. It is miles better than Bluetooth 4.2 in my experience.

My complaint with wired headphones (not all of them, notably not the Lightning EarPods) is that the wire itself creates sounds while it's moving.

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