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Wired headphone sales are exploding

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Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#491

Post by scarecrowbob »

KaiserPro wrote: post #275
scarecrowbob wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work with a lot of audio in a professional capacity. You're correct if you're saying that neither tech is universally "teh best". And you're correct that wired phones have a lot of advantages. Tack on that they don't have latency, though I've never really tried to track vocals on wireless cans. I have a pretty nice collection of what I consider to be quality mid-tier stuff for my studio (hd280, dt770, mdr7506, k240…

> bluetooth'd 3M ear muffs. How do you rate those? I made my own, but they sucked balls. I have some Plantronic cans which have ~10db nrr, but they are falling apart now, and I'm looking for alternatives with decent NRR

Well, I have had them for about 2 years and would buy them again.

To be clear, these are for noise protection and are heavy. They are big enough that I have another pair of muffs for shooting rifles and some ($$) molded westone earplugs for working on loud stages.

I mostly use the 3m when I am running a chainsaw or driving vehicles with the windows down (I find that too damn loud for my tastes). For a while I'd track drums with them over my shure se215, but I've started playing quieter and have found that something like an HD280 cuts stuff down enough to track drums while feeling more comfortable.

On one hand, they are kind of expensive, bulky, and the mic isn't great. Also their "ambient sound" is not anywhere near as loud or controllable as the muffs I use for shooting. On the other hand, they pair well, sound okay, have a lot of noise reduction, and they seem pretty rugged. They run on AAs and Battery life is pretty good, too.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#492

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

LinXitoW wrote: post #404
macNchz wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 option…

My sennheiser earbuds are now down to 15 minutes of battery life. Less if it's a cold day. Sure, they're not completely dead yet, but they're effectively useless. And it's not like I can easily replace the batteries. Most wired earbuds or headphones at a similar price point have replaceable cables.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#493

Post by eipi10_hn »

LinXitoW wrote: post #412
NikolaNovak wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- 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…

They also lack any and all useful features. Even just the ability to tap for pause is critical to my daily life. I just wonder if wired fans just never skip forward a song, or adjust the volume. Or even use active noise canceling.

Many wired headphones have buttons and wheels too. We've been adjusting things via them for so long lol.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#495

Post by kimmk »

SoftTalker wrote: post #477
moregrist wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The few times I've tried to solder headphone wire I've been defeated because the wire isn't wire, it's some kind of copper and synthetic fiber weave, that the solder just won't adhere to.

I've repaired a few headphone wires; theyre usually thin copper wires covered with enamel insulation. Burn off the insulation with a blob of solder, or sand it off, and the solder will stick.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#496

Post by furyofantares »

computator wrote: post #350

This trend story about wired headphones is possibly a "submarine" story as Paul Graham calls it[1], like a headline that "Suits make a corporate comeback": "The suit is back," it begins. Trend articles like this are almost always the work of PR firms. Once you know how to read them, it's straightforward to figure out who the client is. With trend stories, PR firms usually line up one or more "experts" to talk about t…

I agree. At the very least it's vastly overstating a real trend.

> Sales are through the roof in recent months.

OK, I'll follow the link here. It goes to an article titled "Wired Headphones Growth Is a Throwback to 2016"[1], already a far cry from "through the roof".

From that article we have this:

> After 5 years of sales declines, which culminated in a $42M drop in 2024, wired headphones rebounded in 2025, growing 3% (about $15M).

OK, great. So wired headphones are a little bit trendy after years of decline. And of course they have some real advantages as many people here are testifying.

But c'mon, "sales are exploding", "sales are through the roof". They're not through the roof, they did a little bounce when they hit the floor. OK, to be fair it also says "the trend really gained momentum in the second half of 2025, with sales surging 10% between July and December", so maybe it's getting some momentum, but let's not get so far ahead of ourselves.

[1] https://www.circana.com/post/wired-headphones-growth-is-a-th...

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#498

Post by user_7832 »

hdivider wrote: post #345

Here's a standard-structure, VC-funded, exit-oriented startup to consider: make video calls reliable. As in, you provide a guarantee and pay the customer if the call didn't work. Wired headphones could be one part of the solution. They're just far more reliable ( if they don't break, which they will). But if the reliability of video calls can be improved so that it's literally as reliable as talking to someone next t…

Funny you mention it; I actually have been thinking of this as a startup/solution for ages (especially since covid). I realized that it's likely a fair bit more difficult (you'd need significant control of both software as well as hardware stacks.)

If you or anyone's seriously interested in pursuing it, feel free to reach out to the email address in my profile page.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#499

Post by moron4hire »

exitb wrote: post #368
NikolaNovak wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- 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…

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 have not had an issue with any wires wearing out anywhere since my walkman headphones in the 90s.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#500

Post by letmeinhere »

muddi900 wrote: post #483
MrDresden wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "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.

Can you charge the ohone while listening on the phone?

I have a splitter but it's pretty niche and probably not the best DAC
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