471–480 of 752 posts
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If it were purely "being different from status quo", everyone would be having a linux phone (like a pinephone).
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- 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…
It is worth pointing out that not all parts age equally well. The cushions especially are not that durable and should be considered consumables. Sennheiser provides replacements should you need them. The effect they have on the sound is much bigger than you might think.
I never understood the appeal of AirPods. To me, it just seemed like an inferior product at a much higher price. You now have to worry about charging them (not to mention charging the case), you have three things that are easy to lose vs one that is hard to lose, and finally, to my taste, they are somehow gross to look at - like hearing aids from the 1950s. The product just seems like a manifestation of complexity fo…
I prefer wired headphones at my desk but my AirPods are incredible for being on the go. The noise cancellation is also great. I’ll use them if it gets noisier than my closed headphones can block. > and finally, to my taste, they are somehow gross to look at - like hearing aids from the 1950s. I do not care in the slightest how they look. They’re small and work well. > The product just seems like a manifestation of co…
You can get the Seinhensser Momentum 4, wireless optional, but closed over-ear and still work without battery, for less than 200. Way better sound quality than the in-ears.
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…
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> usb-c is too unstable Would you share more? I've never had an issue with a USB-C cable. Helps to buy well constructed ones with legit specs.
I'm talking about this specific context, rather than in general. I find that for usb-c earphones and small dongles/dacs, they disconnect more when I'm walking around with phone in pocket. They also tend to wear down with use much faster than normal aux cables. Usually, they last a few months for me before I start having issues. And when usb-c phones disconnect just a little, usually the phone will pause the music com…
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…
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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.
Cord failure is definitely a problem, but if you’re moderately capable with a soldering iron, it’s easy to repair the cord if the failure is away from the headphone side. It’s even fairly easy to replace an 8mm or 0.25” jack. Your soldering skill (and sense of adventure) would have to be far better than mine to even consider doing that for wireless earbuds.
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> removing the option of using wired headphones I am personally a fan of wired headphones with USB-C connectors. I am only ever going to use it with my phone, laptop, or desktop anyways - and all of they have at least one USB-C port. In theory it could also be the best option for audio quality: if you move the DAC all the way to the headphone itself you minimize the length of the analog chain, which should also reduc…
Got recommendations for good USB-C wired headphones? I don’t find wireless (AirPods) all that convenient, so when they inevitably die of battery illness I’d like a pair that won’t suffer the same fate.
Audio engineer originally and a current audio software. In the pro audio, wireless was never a thing with an exception of live shows where you’d might want to be free on stage but avoid stage monitors. Notice that while Apple made everyone ditch the lovely 3.5”, on the MacBook Pros they’ve actually kept it and *improved* it. As this is HN, I’ll focus on technical aspects I didn’t notice in the article. - Active Noise…
"With Bluetooth, only Apple addresses this in a very limited manner with a lock in to specific models and up to 2 devices and no video calls or live audio support." The Bose mobile app also allows me to use two pairs of Bose headphones on a single device, but still only 2 devices and AFAICT only for media consumption.
Of course, the company disappeared, and now in 2026, we have lesser tech than we had back in 2017.
If you're wondering "Well, how did a company disappear?!", feel free to take the most corpo/capitalist-dystopian guess.
If you guessed "They got bought out by Google - presumably for IP - with the founders joining Big G, and Google of course promptly shelved it and did absolutely diddly squat with it", congratulations, you win... frustration and disappointment, I suppose!
1 - https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/the-most-exciting-th...
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 don't need charging, but you will hear static regularly when attaching/detaching/touching things. Also, they pick up RF interference (TBF, BT ones also drop packets in RF-noisy environments, but they seem to be more resistant to it) * They are harder to lose, but the ones with non-detachable cords need repairing the cord if it rips, which happens frequently. Never happened with BT headsets I own. * For BT head…
I've experienced the opposite. The microwave will knock out my bluetooth completely, but the wired headphones are solid but in a decade of using both wired and wireless headphones I've never heard anything weird or staticy through the wired ones. My wired headphones were the Shure SE215, and now after a decade of using those they broke, so I have the Kiwi Ears Belle.