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I'm not sure if that's truly normal and if it is, it shouldn't be. My first and only pair of Bluetooth headsets are the Beats X. I chose them because, unlike th

by vlozko 9y ago

I'm not sure if that's truly normal and if it is, it shouldn't be. My first and only pair of Bluetooth headsets are the Beats X. I chose them because, unlike the AirPods, they stay in my ear and the ease of switching between my devices as the source. Never once had it cut out on me when I'm near my source. It only starts occasionally dropping when I'm 25+ feet away and with a wall in between. I'm not trying to say that Apple's are the best but rather am wondering if there's really that many headsets out there that perform so poorly.

throwanem 9y ago
As with the Anker set mentioned by someone else here, the Beats X doesn't suffer the same limitation of size and antenna placement - the RF hardware is on the cord that goes around your neck, and not in your actual ear. That's a vastly more hospitable environment for an antenna intended to pick up a Bluetooth signal. The AirPods similarly include a design feature that places the antenna mostly in free air. The Kanoa earbuds do not. For comparison, my Rowkin Mini does fine anywhere in my apartment when my phone's sitting on the shelf by the door - but only if I happen to be oriented such that my head isn't between the earbud and the phone. If I turn to face the opposite direction, it cuts out and stays out unless I'm within about six feet. So the problem doesn't lie with the receiver per se, but with the thick layer of RF insulation that a human body can put between the receiver and the signal it's meant to pick up. I don't think it's a totally insoluble problem. But it is a very hard one. As I said before, I get the dissatisfaction with $300 earbuds that don't perform up to the claimed spec. But, to the best of my knowledge, there is no fully in-ear Bluetooth earbud available for any price which won't exhibit the same behavior to a greater or lesser degree.
kalleboo 9y ago
> It only starts occasionally dropping when I'm 25+ feet away and with a wall in between The issue is water, not walls. I had a pair of bluetooth earbuds that I could set on a table and walk all around my apartment between rooms no problem, but using in a pocket in my cargo pants they'd cut out due to my body (what is it, 60% water?) covering the line of sight between the buds and my phone. That said form follows function. If you've designed earbuds that fail to defy the laws of physics you shouldn't sell them.

by vlozko 9y ago

throwanem 9y ago

As with the Anker set mentioned by someone else here, the Beats X doesn't suffer the same limitation of size and antenna placement - the RF hardware is on the cord that goes around your neck, and not in your actual ear. That's a vastly more hospitable environment for an antenna intended to pick up a Bluetooth signal. The AirPods similarly include a design feature that places the antenna mostly in free air. The Kanoa earbuds do not. For comparison, my Rowkin Mini does fine anywhere in my apartment when my phone's sitting on the shelf by the door - but only if I happen to be oriented such that my head isn't between the earbud and the phone. If I turn to face the opposite direction, it cuts out and stays out unless I'm within about six feet. So the problem doesn't lie with the receiver per se, but with the thick layer of RF insulation that a human body can put between the receiver and the signal it's meant to pick up. I don't think it's a totally insoluble problem. But it is a very hard one. As I said before, I get the dissatisfaction with $300 earbuds that don't perform up to the claimed spec. But, to the best of my knowledge, there is no fully in-ear Bluetooth earbud available for any price which won't exhibit the same behavior to a greater or lesser degree.

kalleboo 9y ago

> It only starts occasionally dropping when I'm 25+ feet away and with a wall in between The issue is water, not walls. I had a pair of bluetooth earbuds that I could set on a table and walk all around my apartment between rooms no problem, but using in a pocket in my cargo pants they'd cut out due to my body (what is it, 60% water?) covering the line of sight between the buds and my phone. That said form follows function. If you've designed earbuds that fail to defy the laws of physics you shouldn't sell them.