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Wired headphone sales are exploding

bbc.com

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Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#401

Post by alpineman »

twic wrote: post #331
alpineman wrote: post #251

Love my JBL in-ear wired headphones but I can only use them when sitting still. When I walk with them they 'rustle' like crazy (don't know how else to describe the sound)

I think you're talking about microphonics: https://zikman.audio/blog/cable-microphonics-what-it-is-and-... Also sometimes called the stethoscope effect. I think strictly speaking, this isn't actually microphonics, because that means that mechanical noise causes electrical noise, which then results in audible noise, whereas what is happening is just transmission of vibrations up the cable into the ear. Anyway, it can…

Thanks! I'm probably just being cheap with my 20 euro headphones and need to upgrade to at least mid-range

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#403

Post by kalleboo »

macNchz wrote: post #395
exitb wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve used many pairs of wired headphones over the years, cheap and expensive, and never had ones with a cable that didn’t eventually fail, unless they mostly stay plugged into a single device. The article prominently highlights mobile usage, in which case wireless headphones easily win on longevity.

I think it’s maybe close to a wash between non-replaceable batteries in wireless headphones dying and cords failing, in my experience at least. The ideal case IMO is over-ear headphones that have a replaceable cord—I have some 14 year old Bose QCs and some newer Beyerdynamics, both of which I’ve replaced the cord on.

I bought a pair of Philips headphones with a replaceable cord. Instead the jack became loose.

I’ve been using Bluetooth wireless headphones exclusively when I’m portable since 2006 (Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 represent), with only wired use at a desk and I’ve never looked back.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#404

Post by LinXitoW »

macNchz wrote: post #395
exitb wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve used many pairs of wired headphones over the years, cheap and expensive, and never had ones with a cable that didn’t eventually fail, unless they mostly stay plugged into a single device. The article prominently highlights mobile usage, in which case wireless headphones easily win on longevity.

I think it’s maybe close to a wash between non-replaceable batteries in wireless headphones dying and cords failing, in my experience at least. The ideal case IMO is over-ear headphones that have a replaceable cord—I have some 14 year old Bose QCs and some newer Beyerdynamics, both of which I’ve replaced the cord on.

Have batteries actually ever FAILED in wireless headphones? Sure, they degrade and charge becomes lower, but I've never had them outright fail. A headphone that lasts my 2-3 hours of commute/daily use is completely useable, even if it's original charge lasted 5 hours.

Cables do fail though, completely. They become unusable.

In my entire life time of using headphones/earbuds since school with the PSP, ALL wired options have failed after 1-2 years for purely mechanical cable reasons. Not a single wireless failed for electronic reasons. The did fail for me dropping them and stepping on them reasons, though.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#405

Post by Copernicron »

ahhhhnoooo wrote: post #110
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…

Vinyls are not necessarily the inferior technology. Given the choice, I'd prefer to play vinyl in some cases. In social settings vinyl's short length and need to be flipped creates a dynamic social environment. Someone has to regularly choose new music to play, acting with intent to do so. Someone has to regularly walk to the machine. These create dynamism and flow. CDs are much longer, and less tactile. There's less…

I would argue that vinyl sounds better thanks to the Loudness War[0]. CD is technically superior and should sound better but it's been compressed to hell and back during mastering in ways that vinyl simply can't be due to physical limitations. All that wonderful technology and they can't simply let it be so we get good sound quality.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#406

Post by andrewmg »

This seems backwards to me, mostly. A decade ago, quality sound on the go meant a pocket headphone amp wired to deep-seated inner-ear earphones or clunky over-the-ear cans.

Today? Airpods Pro do the trick: the second- and third-generation models rival or exceed most wired options. And that makes sense: Apple's R&D spending and engineering capabilities for a product like Airpods dwarf the resources of traditional audio companies--the built-in DSP alone is a staggering achievement. So they ought to sound great, and they really do.

And that's before you even consider all the other capabilities, like taking calls, etc. My pocket amps and wired 'phones (Etymotic, Shure, B&O, a few others I'm forgetting) have been gathering dust since the Airpods Pro came to market. I do not miss de-tangling the cables.

Of course, it is possible to do better, but not easy or inexpensive. On my desks at home and at the office are dedicated headphone rigs: DACs, amps, and wired open-backed cans (Focal, HifiMan). Those set-ups sound great--although not nearly so great as my two-channel speaker systems. But that's what it takes to get appreciably better sound than Apple's Bluetooth sets, and forget about portability.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#407

Post by lazide »

andrewmg wrote: post #406

This seems backwards to me, mostly. A decade ago, quality sound on the go meant a pocket headphone amp wired to deep-seated inner-ear earphones or clunky over-the-ear cans. Today? Airpods Pro do the trick: the second- and third-generation models rival or exceed most wired options. And that makes sense: Apple's R&D spending and engineering capabilities for a product like Airpods dwarf the resources of traditional audi…

It’s money.

Wired headphones are dirt cheap.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#408

Post by reactordev »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #335
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…

- they last forever . I still have sennheiser hd380 pro cans from 25 years ago that sound great. - cannot overstate lack of lag and simplicity. You plug in and it works, perfectly, every time, forever. - easily switch devices. I use my headphone on my phone, tablet, laptop, Synthesizer, Groovebox etc without a blink. And my phone never stops playing music and connects to our car my wife just started the way bluetooth…

Those hd380’s will last your lifetime. Almost like Sony’s MDR-7506 if you can keep it from getting sat on.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#409

Post by shlant »

aunty_helen wrote: post #386

[flagged]

> AirPods became popular because they were fashionable and now they’re unfashionable.

You don't think a significant number of people use Airpods because they are good value and convenient? I know that's why I got them. The noise cancelling alone is worth it

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#410

Post by dangus »

macNchz wrote: post #395
exitb wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve used many pairs of wired headphones over the years, cheap and expensive, and never had ones with a cable that didn’t eventually fail, unless they mostly stay plugged into a single device. The article prominently highlights mobile usage, in which case wireless headphones easily win on longevity.

I think it’s maybe close to a wash between non-replaceable batteries in wireless headphones dying and cords failing, in my experience at least. The ideal case IMO is over-ear headphones that have a replaceable cord—I have some 14 year old Bose QCs and some newer Beyerdynamics, both of which I’ve replaced the cord on.

Of course you can get the Fairbuds which have replaceable batteries.

Hopefully more Bluetooth headphone companies follow suit. Maybe we can even get a standardized battery.

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