Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The AirPods Effect

theescapenewsletter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

791–800 of 824 posts

Re: The AirPods Effect

#791

Post by wlonkly »

throw0101c wrote: post #361
gijsnijholt1980 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Unrelated pro-tip: wearing them while riding a motorcycle. Reduces fatigue and transforms a rough experience into almost luxurious. Highly recommended.

> Agreed. Unrelated pro-tip: wearing them while riding a motorcycle. Reduces fatigue and transforms a rough experience into almost luxurious. Highly recommended. What kind of NRR rating, active or passive, do they have? I wear disposable foam plugs when riding, and haven't ever considered using the AirPods I have. I find the sound of the machine part of the experience of riding and wouldn't really want to get rid of…

The reason they don't (and won't) have an NRR rating is that they're only useful for constant noise, and not for impulse sounds. There's no question that Airpods are not industrial PPE, for instance.

But I also ride with foamies most of the time (laser lites) and airpods occasionally, and I'd guess that the bike and wind are maybe 10-15% louder with airpods. The foamies win out for actually staying in my ears when I put my helmet on, but if I can get it on then the airpods stay in place fine.

Surprisingly, when I was looking for a rough equivalent to NRR for Airpods, I discovered that Apple does advertise their ANC as hearing protection[1], which I'll assume the FDA has now permitted, because Apple didn't used to make that claim because the FDA wouldn't permit it. They don't offer an NRR and they do warn against impulse sounds, but that KB article suggests a 20dB drop, which is nothing compared to foamies but is in the same range as musicians' earplugs or hardhat earmuffs, and probably better than Loops.

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-ca/120850

Re: The AirPods Effect

#792

Post by inigyou »

joxdosba wrote: post #544
moooo99 wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I extensively use public transit. While the cost savings are certainly nice, it is just soo much more comfortable. Today I spent half my workday on a train going +200km/h to visit my parents. The alternative would have been an excruciating 6 hour car drive

> Today I spent half my workday on a train going +200km/h to visit my parents. The alternative would have been an excruciating 6 hour car drive You are describing an experience which couldn’t be further from the norm in Europe.

high speed trains, that can go up to about 350kmph/200mph, are the norm in Europe if you're going a long distance across France or Germany, but they're not daily public transit for most people just like flying isn't.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#793

Post by inigyou »

joxdosba wrote: post #762
aiisjustanif wrote: post #734

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about in European big cities where that is not the case? Prague, London, Prague, Budapest, Zurich, Madrid, Berlin, Vienna…? So many people, especially not particularly poor people, use them to commute every single week. Notoriously, for some of these cities, it is slower to travel by car for your commute.

I live in London, temperatures in excess of 30C are frequent on the Tube. If I’m going to or coming from the gym, that’s fine. Otherwise it really isn’t. The metro in Prague is indeed good, it’s just not a big city. Zurich also has excellent public transport, but it’s really a village at best. Madrid has Barcelona beat, but still occasionally suffers from a lack of air conditioning frequently leading to absurd temper…

TIL Zurich is a village

Re: The AirPods Effect

#794

Post by joxdosba »

inigyou wrote: post #793
joxdosba wrote: post #762

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in London, temperatures in excess of 30C are frequent on the Tube. If I’m going to or coming from the gym, that’s fine. Otherwise it really isn’t. The metro in Prague is indeed good, it’s just not a big city. Zurich also has excellent public transport, but it’s really a village at best. Madrid has Barcelona beat, but still occasionally suffers from a lack of air conditioning frequently leading to absurd temper…

TIL Zurich is a village

There’s not even half a million people living in Zurich; it is absolutely tiny, which is basically the entirety of its charm.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#795

Post by stasomatic »

Enginerrrd wrote: post #473
stasomatic wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is using headphones on a bike with music on or not somehow different from driving in a Lexus with music on or not?

Yeah, it’s definitely higher risk. When riding a motorcycle, you’ll encounter people that don’t see you almost every trip. The same is not true in a car. Riding a bike is just a 100% engagement thing with higher risks and lower margins for error, for all kinds of reasons. And it’s not just traffic, minor pavement imperfections become relevant, the necessary skill floor is also higher. It just demands more attention,…

I’ve been over handlebars a couple of times. The last time was riding a bicycle no faster than 10 mph, I hit some loose sand, the rear wheel swerved and I panicked. My MIPS saved my scull but I still looked beat up 2 weeks later, cheeks, chest, shoulders .

This is to say - I am aware of the dangers:) My state doesn’t even have a helmet law for motorcyclists.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#796

Post by kleiba2 »

krapp wrote: post #503
kleiba2 wrote: post #498

I stopped chit-chatting at the water cooler because I have a specific sense of humor that not everybody likes. And by "not likes", I mean the feminist women in my department get offended. Very easily. And because they're women, they hold special power wrt HR. So I just quietly spend my day now.

So you literally cannot hold a conversation at work without making offensive and misogynist jokes in front of female coworkers? Is this something you need to see a doctor about?

Perhaps. Just like you might have to see one about reading into other people's statements and blowing them out of proportion.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#797

Post by kleiba2 »

minitrollster wrote: post #502
kleiba2 wrote: post #498

I stopped chit-chatting at the water cooler because I have a specific sense of humor that not everybody likes. And by "not likes", I mean the feminist women in my department get offended. Very easily. And because they're women, they hold special power wrt HR. So I just quietly spend my day now.

Um I think this might be on you and not them.

Or just on the combination.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#798

Post by kjkjadksj »

conductr wrote: post #782
kjkjadksj wrote: post #534

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t have airpods but I still use earpods for video conferencing. Honestly they fit and sound better (louder) when I have right and left switched.

Is this a primary preference or something you do because of your environment (busy coworking space/ cubicles/etc)? I use over the ear headphones when I need to but am thankful that I’ve almost always had a dedicated office and can use speakers and a microphone without disrupting anyone else. I also like the speakers because I can listen to voice/music while muting OS sounds or control volume separately pretty easily.…

I only use them for zoom calls. Just what I had in the drawer with a microphone during covid and they have yet to break. I think the mic is better than the laptop mic since it is closer to the mouth. For any other audio I break out over ear monitors.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#799

Post by billbrown »

avsn wrote: post #595

While I can see the point author is making, it’s weird how it is pinpointed to “headphone use”. I’ve been listening to music on the go for almost 30 years, starting with cassette players, then CD players, then mp3/ipods. Taking a bus/metro and listening to some new album or old favorite was very formative experience as a teen music lover. I have a sense that the important moment with regards to the issues described i…

100% this. People used to read newspapers and books on mas transit and Walkmans have been with us since the early 80s.

I think it comes down to people not _wanting_ to interact with anyone outside of their circle. I pull out my earbuds _constantly_ when I'm out in order to greet people, interact with retail staff, and hear things around me.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#800

Post by try_the_bass »

wolvoleo wrote: post #192
try_the_bass wrote: post #94

The thought of intentionally deafening myself to the outside world, even partially, is unnerving, because I can't stand the thought of nerfing my own situational awareness to that degree. Especially in fast-paced environments, like city streets, where sounds can carry such important signal. Even watching someone else walk around a city with headphones/earbuds in is something that makes me uncomfortable by proxy. It's…

You can turn most of them into transparency mode too. I do that sometimes when I'm in an area where I feel unsafe. So I can hear people sneaking up on me.

Transparency mode is better, but it isn't perfect. The simple fact that you have something else producing noise in close proximity to your ears is enough to disrupt your ability to hear other things, even if they're also making it to your ears with high fidelity.

I mean, noise cancelling works by producing more noise, not less; and there will be plenty of times when what's outside with destructively interfere with what you're listening to, or vice versa.

This may be hard to do in a city, but a good test is to go outside on a quiet night, wearing only on one ear, and then turn your head back and forth to alternate ears while trying to listen to specific distant sounds. It'll really highlight just how many things are still being filtered out.

Or it'll demonstrate how much more deaf you might be in one ear :P

Post reply on HN