Discussion
Wired headphone sales are exploding. What's with the Bluetooth backlash?
healsdata: 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.
fhdkweig: All that, plus with wires, I can run the cable under my shirt and up through the neck hole. When someone starts to talk to me, I can just pop them out of my ears and let them dangle across my chest without having to hold them in my hands. I also don't have to worry about dropping them on the floor.
ethagnawl: 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.
siva7: Headphones were a solved problem. I had 20 years ago some high end IEM that i used back in the days on on so called mp3 players - those were pocket sized music players - and since apple released the airpods and bluetooth headphones were the new standard audio quality never recovered to the state we had two decades ago
bob1029: iPod Shuffle + Shure SE215 was the pinnacle of portable audio. The ritual of maintaining a separate playlist that would actually fit made it intentional. Allowing Spotify to slip into an infinite stream of slop is so easy these days.
peacebeard: I never got on board with wireless headphones.* Having to charge them is a PITA* Having to pair them is a PITA* Having more points of failure is a PITA* Paying more is a PITAOn the other hand:* Wires are fine
xnyan: 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.
reg_dunlop: 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.
IshKebab: Because it's a freaking pain to connect them, obviously! In my experience they work well enough once you have, but consider the experience of "plugging them into a different device".Barely any devices support being paired with more than one central. So you have to tediously disconnect with the first device in some shitty menu (e.g. on Android the UI is not at all clear), then maybe put it into pairing mode (again usually though some terrible UI because manufacturers think pairing is a rare operation) and then finally pair it on the other device.Absolutely ridiculous. Oh and what's the Bluetooth equivalent of a headphone splitter? Auracast? It's taken decades to get that and basically nothing supports it.I do use Bluetooth things and I think the sound quality and reliability can be very good (if you're lucky), but the connection process is miles worse than plugging in a wire.
ndrake: My daily headphones are the Google Pixel USB-C earbuds, but they seem to be no longer made. Anyone have good recommendations for similar style USB-C headphones w/mic?
stbtrax: yeah I don't have this issue with airpods pro. charge them maybe every other week and never had issues pairing. The case charge should last for ~30-40 hrs of listening. The auto switching between laptop and phone is pretty great too for taking calls or walking away and not having to fiddle around with repairing
stuaxo: Are Google one of the last holdouts ?I've been on cheap Android phones and just moved from Samsung to Motorola and both have headphones sockets.
xnyan: 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.
ortusdux: 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.
gruez: >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"?
gruez: >* Having to charge them is a PITAThe equivalent PTIA for wired would be having to untangle them everytime you want to use them.>* Having to pair them is a PITAHow many devices do you have that this is an issue? This is an issue that pops up a few times a year, at most.>* Having more points of failure is a PITAIt's unclear which has more PoF. Wires can break, not to mention randomly catch on stuff and sending your phone flying.
simonmic: [delayed]
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.
hurricanepootis: 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.
jmpman: 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.
hackingonempty: Fiio has a couple of adapters that work with many IEMs and there are probably others on the market https://www.fiio.com/utws3
dbrgn: An alternative to a wired dongle is a high-quality bluetooth amp, e.g. from Fiio. It's reliable, keeps your phone free from cables, but you can keep using your high quality wired headphones.
