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Wired headphone sales are exploding

bbc.com

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Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#51

Post by gruez »

reg_dunlop wrote: post #47
xnyan wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: wires really suck and are not fine. AirPods Pro are great, I can afford them and they improve my quality of like quite a bit. Different strokes I guess.

counter counterpoint: A wire sitting on a table does not suck. 2 people can gather around that table and still, the wire does not suck. As soon as 1 person picks up the wire and starts doing something with it....now an interaction with a wire sucks. But that's not the wire's fault.

>now an interaction with a wire sucks.

>But that's not the wire's fault.

So... "it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden deceleration"?

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#52

Post by ortusdux »

xnyan wrote: post #33
ethagnawl wrote: post #26

While using wired headphones, my spouse's car never steals my audio when it starts or pulls into the driveway. Also, I can join a meeting seconds before it starts without spending a few minutes scrambling to verify that my BT headset will allow me to hear/be heard.

A good bluetooth experience requires that both the headset and the audio source device implement bluetooth well, which is hard. That said, I have zero problems with my AirPods Pro pairing with my Mac or iPhone ever, it's pretty nice.

A few companies have demoed wireless cases with screens, and I would be very easy to tap connect on the case while I'm putting in the buds. My earbud was loose in my case yesterday, and it kept stealing the audio of a very important call. I almost threw them across the parking lot.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#53

Post by maxerickson »

xnyan wrote: post #33
ethagnawl wrote: post #26

While using wired headphones, my spouse's car never steals my audio when it starts or pulls into the driveway. Also, I can join a meeting seconds before it starts without spending a few minutes scrambling to verify that my BT headset will allow me to hear/be heard.

A good bluetooth experience requires that both the headset and the audio source device implement bluetooth well, which is hard. That said, I have zero problems with my AirPods Pro pairing with my Mac or iPhone ever, it's pretty nice.

I have some generic Bluetooth dongle and some anker over the ear headphones and can turn the headphones on after initiating a call and not really have problems. Sometimes Windows doesn't find the microphone right away.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#54

Post by systemsweird »

For me AirPods are one of the greatest products I’ve ever owned. I resisted them for years and recited the usual tropes about wired being better. But after being gifted a pair years ago, I realized how wrong I was.

I spend a lot of time at the gym or walking with headphones in and music, podcasts, or audiobooks on. It’s so much better not having any wires when you’re moving. I can’t imagine doing these actives anymore with wired headphones.

Battery life, pairing, charging, audio quality, and other complains are all non issues for me, but I’m also no audiophile. They work incredibly seamlessly inside the Apple ecosystem.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#55

Post by simonmic »

healsdata wrote: post #2

My wired headphones never run out of battery. They also don't drop the connection if my pocket is at the wrong angle from my ears.

Mine do. The phone's lightning connector socket has become "flaky" (from age, or lint..), and at this point I must hold the phone in hand rather than in pocket while walking, for uninterrupted playback.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#56

Post by hackingonempty »

jmpman wrote: post #14
hurricanepootis wrote: post #6

I bought a pair of IEMs. A while back, the cable broke, and I was able to repair by just buying a new cable. Also, I enjoy not having another device to charge. I recently have been wearing a traditional Casio watch more often instead of my smartwatch.

I love my IEMs but I actually want a Bluetooth version. Heck a dongle that made them act just like AirPod Pros would be my dream gadget.

Fiio has a couple of adapters that work with many IEMs and there are probably others on the market https://www.fiio.com/utws3

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#58

Post by Simulacra »

For me it's cost. I used to be able to get those JVC gummy earbuds wired, for nine dollars. Now I have to spend upwards of $20 for Bluetooth. And of course, when the battery can't be recharged anymore, I'm supposed to throw them away. Much prefer the wired headphones. Sometimes Bluetooth makes sense, But economically wired makes more sense.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#59

Post by orev »

brudgers wrote: post #24
Tarsul wrote: post #4

here's hoping that someday headphones without pressure (e.g. active/passive noise cancelling) will make a comeback, too. But then again I think there still exist cheap wired ones without such "advanced" technology. As one woman in the article said best: "'I don't like how this feels' and we're all kind of returning to the last place we were comfortable."

For wireless headphones I've gone to bone conduction and open-ear. Started with some cheap models from Ali-Express to see how I liked it. I did. Shokz had a black friday deal on Open-Run Pros and those are my goto. Admittedly, they are not as convenient as my Airpods were, but my ears appreciate not being bombarded with noise canceling.

Every headphone that has noise cancelling also gives you the option to turn it off, and also to enable audio pass through.

Re: Wired headphone sales are exploding

#60

Post by brudgers »

orev wrote: post #59
brudgers wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For wireless headphones I've gone to bone conduction and open-ear. Started with some cheap models from Ali-Express to see how I liked it. I did. Shokz had a black friday deal on Open-Run Pros and those are my goto. Admittedly, they are not as convenient as my Airpods were, but my ears appreciate not being bombarded with noise canceling.

Every headphone that has noise cancelling also gives you the option to turn it off, and also to enable audio pass through.

Yep.

I prefer other technologies over noise cancelling in my ordinary use anyway. And my ears feel healthier. But that’s me, not you.

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