7 ms·

All it takes is one odd jostle on your morning commute, and suddenly your $150 headphones fly down a storm drain. Why can't we have high quality wired headsets

All it takes is one odd jostle on your morning commute, and suddenly your $150 headphones fly down a storm drain. Why can't we have high quality wired headsets?

vbezhenar 8y ago
You can use airpod strap. E.g. https://www.spigen.com/products/airpod-strap?variant=27600250113 https://www.spigen.com/products/airpod-strap?variant=2760025...
- lowercased 8y ago
  IF those had an option of being the 'wire' in a wired set - like... a detachable wire for convenience in both directions - that would be the best of both worlds. I'm meaning like... airpods that could also accept a physical input, and work wired or wireless. Wireless for convenience, wired when needed.
mcculley 8y ago
I have been running with mine for a couple of years and I have never had one of them fall out.
- pushpop 8y ago
  Not everyone's ear is shaped the same. Which is why most other upper end earphones will come with a variety of attachable foam and/or rubber pieces so you can fit the ear bud to your ear. edit: Why am I getting downvoted for pointing out a fact that peoples ears are shaped differently? Is this some kind of fanboyism in effect because it wasn't meant as a critisim against Apple. I happen to have an iPhone but opted for 3rd party earphones because they fit better.
  - mcculley 8y ago
    I realize my experience is anecdotal. I'm just amused that so many people are concerned about them falling out and yet I have never seen that happen. Maybe the designers at Apple thought about that.
    - pushpop 8y ago
      I'm sure they thought about it but my experience with Apple earphones are they don't fit my ears and subsequently fall out. If it was as easy as a "1 size fits all" then other manufacturers releasing equivalently prices earphones wouldn't go down the multiple attachments route I described. It's also worth mentioning that having those rubber / foam attachments does have an added benefit in that they contribute to noise cancelling so you don't need to crank the earphones as loud when in noisy locations. Which is healthier for your hearing.
      - mcculley 8y ago
        I find that the very light weight and not having a cord hanging out seems to make them very unlikely to fall out, compared to my wired earpods.
        pushpop 8y ago
        Thankfully Apple don't have a monopoly on wireless earphones. So for people like me who their earphones wouldn't fit, I can have wireless earphones on my iPhone and still have them fit securely for when I'm out running. Win win. It's also worth noting that different earphones have different frequency curves. Whilst Apple do make some nice sounding earphones, I wanted something with a different colourisation.
        mcculley 8y ago
        I agree that a monopoly would be bad. I responded to the comment about "one odd jostle" making the AirPods fall out. I have never seen that happen for myself or the many runners I run with in races. It is not at all a concern for me, based on my experience. Your postulation leads you to a different conclusion.
  - rhinoceraptor 8y ago
    You can buy silicone tips that fit over airpods, they're just inconvenient if you need to use them all the time.
    - pushpop 8y ago
      Why would they be an inconvenience if you need them all the time? Wouldn't you just keep them attached to the airpod (just like you would with any other earphone)? In any case, at that price I'd expect those silicone types to come with the airpods - just like they would with any other earphone.
      - rhinoceraptor 8y ago
        They're inconvenient because of the way the airpods are designed, they don't fit inside the case with the tips on.
        pushpop 8y ago
        This is exactly why it's better to get earphones that are designed to and come with the attachments. They have no problems charging and are more likely to fit your ear from day one.
antidaily 8y ago
Never had an issue working out, running, etc with mine.
taspeotis 8y ago
PSA: AirPods don’t fall out of your ears.
- hornbaker 8y ago
  Sure they do, depends on your ear size. Happens to me if I simply bend over. (Still love my AirPods, but am forced to use silicone wraps on them if doing anything active with them.)
- bspammer 8y ago
  While I personally have no problems, I know a few people who can't keep them in. It seems to be very much based on if you're lucky enough to have the ear shape that Apple decided to target.
nwhatt 8y ago
I embraced airpods early because I had the opposite problem: my corded headphones would get caught by a dog leash and pull my $1000 phone out of my pocket.
- arethuza 8y ago
  I decided to go with Bluetooth headphones after the second time I managed to cut the cord while pruning bushes in our garden :-)
- ioulian 8y ago
  Hah, I saw another situation in London. One person dropped his phone in the tube, due a large amount of people wanting to get out, he could save his $1000 smartphone because he cought the cords of the earphones. Everything has it's own advantages and disadvantages
chrisseaton 8y ago
Do your regular ear buds just spontaneously fall out of your ears? Why do you think these would? They're actually more secure as there isn't a wire pulling on them.
- tartrate 8y ago
  Yes, maybe once per year.
lowercased 8y ago
what would you plug them in to? but seriously... wow up to 5 hours of listen time? My wired QC20 headset gives me ... 160 hours of listen time, and then it keeps going even more. But even the 'functionality' - the noise cancelling aspect - gives me > 8 hours of noise cancelling on a short charge. And when it's out of power, the music still comes through. When the airpods can be used on airplane flights... maybe I'll take the plunge. (and yeah, for now, I still have an SE for the headphone jack)
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  > My wired QC20 headset gives me ... 160 hours of listen time Well that's because it's got a massive battery hanging off it isn't it? Not sure they're really equivalent products.
  - lowercased 8y ago
    to be clear, I was meaning 160+ as in ... they keep functioning forever because they're wired. Sorry - didn't convey that very well. The battery - initially felt clunky - more than makes up for it with the noise cancelling (and that typically lasts 8+ hours on a charge).
pushpop 8y ago
There is a happy middle ground. You can have wireless earphones which are wired together. So you have the safety of having a wire round the back of your head but with the convenience of not having your phone wired into your head. I have Bose earphones designed like that and they cost around the same price as these Airpods. I'm very happy with them.
- rhinoceraptor 8y ago
  I use only the right airpod at least half of the time I'm using them, I'm usually listening to a podcast so I don't need stereo. It's really nice for when I'm riding my bike or in a store to be able to listen to something, but also have situational awareness.
rhinoceraptor 8y ago
I ride my bike with my airpods (using only the right side so I can hear cars behind me), and I've had them fall out once, when I was messing around and hitting a curb cut to bunny hop off of. If I'm sweating they're more prone to fall out, but I have silicone tips that I can put on if I need to. Also, you can buy a single replacement airpod for $70 which isn't a great price, but it's at least on option.
criddell 8y ago
> Why can't we have high quality wired headsets? Use the adapter and you can use any wired headset you want.

All it takes is one odd jostle on your morning commute, and suddenly your $150 headphones fly down a storm drain. Why can't we have high quality wired headsets?

vbezhenar 8y ago

You can use airpod strap. E.g. https://www.spigen.com/products/airpod-strap?variant=27600250113 https://www.spigen.com/products/airpod-strap?variant=2760025...

lowercased 8y ago
IF those had an option of being the 'wire' in a wired set - like... a detachable wire for convenience in both directions - that would be the best of both worlds. I'm meaning like... airpods that could also accept a physical input, and work wired or wireless. Wireless for convenience, wired when needed.

mcculley 8y ago

I have been running with mine for a couple of years and I have never had one of them fall out.

pushpop 8y ago
Not everyone's ear is shaped the same. Which is why most other upper end earphones will come with a variety of attachable foam and/or rubber pieces so you can fit the ear bud to your ear. edit: Why am I getting downvoted for pointing out a fact that peoples ears are shaped differently? Is this some kind of fanboyism in effect because it wasn't meant as a critisim against Apple. I happen to have an iPhone but opted for 3rd party earphones because they fit better.
- mcculley 8y ago
  I realize my experience is anecdotal. I'm just amused that so many people are concerned about them falling out and yet I have never seen that happen. Maybe the designers at Apple thought about that.
  - pushpop 8y ago
    I'm sure they thought about it but my experience with Apple earphones are they don't fit my ears and subsequently fall out. If it was as easy as a "1 size fits all" then other manufacturers releasing equivalently prices earphones wouldn't go down the multiple attachments route I described. It's also worth mentioning that having those rubber / foam attachments does have an added benefit in that they contribute to noise cancelling so you don't need to crank the earphones as loud when in noisy locations. Which is healthier for your hearing.
    - mcculley 8y ago
      I find that the very light weight and not having a cord hanging out seems to make them very unlikely to fall out, compared to my wired earpods.
      - pushpop 8y ago
        Thankfully Apple don't have a monopoly on wireless earphones. So for people like me who their earphones wouldn't fit, I can have wireless earphones on my iPhone and still have them fit securely for when I'm out running. Win win. It's also worth noting that different earphones have different frequency curves. Whilst Apple do make some nice sounding earphones, I wanted something with a different colourisation.
        mcculley 8y ago
        I agree that a monopoly would be bad. I responded to the comment about "one odd jostle" making the AirPods fall out. I have never seen that happen for myself or the many runners I run with in races. It is not at all a concern for me, based on my experience. Your postulation leads you to a different conclusion.
- rhinoceraptor 8y ago
  You can buy silicone tips that fit over airpods, they're just inconvenient if you need to use them all the time.
  - pushpop 8y ago
    Why would they be an inconvenience if you need them all the time? Wouldn't you just keep them attached to the airpod (just like you would with any other earphone)? In any case, at that price I'd expect those silicone types to come with the airpods - just like they would with any other earphone.
    - rhinoceraptor 8y ago
      They're inconvenient because of the way the airpods are designed, they don't fit inside the case with the tips on.
      - pushpop 8y ago
        This is exactly why it's better to get earphones that are designed to and come with the attachments. They have no problems charging and are more likely to fit your ear from day one.

antidaily 8y ago

Never had an issue working out, running, etc with mine.

taspeotis 8y ago

PSA: AirPods don’t fall out of your ears.

hornbaker 8y ago
Sure they do, depends on your ear size. Happens to me if I simply bend over. (Still love my AirPods, but am forced to use silicone wraps on them if doing anything active with them.)
bspammer 8y ago
While I personally have no problems, I know a few people who can't keep them in. It seems to be very much based on if you're lucky enough to have the ear shape that Apple decided to target.

nwhatt 8y ago

I embraced airpods early because I had the opposite problem: my corded headphones would get caught by a dog leash and pull my $1000 phone out of my pocket.

arethuza 8y ago
I decided to go with Bluetooth headphones after the second time I managed to cut the cord while pruning bushes in our garden :-)
ioulian 8y ago
Hah, I saw another situation in London. One person dropped his phone in the tube, due a large amount of people wanting to get out, he could save his $1000 smartphone because he cought the cords of the earphones. Everything has it's own advantages and disadvantages

chrisseaton 8y ago

Do your regular ear buds just spontaneously fall out of your ears? Why do you think these would? They're actually more secure as there isn't a wire pulling on them.

tartrate 8y ago
Yes, maybe once per year.

lowercased 8y ago

what would you plug them in to? but seriously... wow up to 5 hours of listen time? My wired QC20 headset gives me ... 160 hours of listen time, and then it keeps going even more. But even the 'functionality' - the noise cancelling aspect - gives me > 8 hours of noise cancelling on a short charge. And when it's out of power, the music still comes through. When the airpods can be used on airplane flights... maybe I'll take the plunge. (and yeah, for now, I still have an SE for the headphone jack)

chrisseaton 8y ago
> My wired QC20 headset gives me ... 160 hours of listen time Well that's because it's got a massive battery hanging off it isn't it? Not sure they're really equivalent products.
- lowercased 8y ago
  to be clear, I was meaning 160+ as in ... they keep functioning forever because they're wired. Sorry - didn't convey that very well. The battery - initially felt clunky - more than makes up for it with the noise cancelling (and that typically lasts 8+ hours on a charge).

pushpop 8y ago

There is a happy middle ground. You can have wireless earphones which are wired together. So you have the safety of having a wire round the back of your head but with the convenience of not having your phone wired into your head. I have Bose earphones designed like that and they cost around the same price as these Airpods. I'm very happy with them.

rhinoceraptor 8y ago
I use only the right airpod at least half of the time I'm using them, I'm usually listening to a podcast so I don't need stereo. It's really nice for when I'm riding my bike or in a store to be able to listen to something, but also have situational awareness.

rhinoceraptor 8y ago

I ride my bike with my airpods (using only the right side so I can hear cars behind me), and I've had them fall out once, when I was messing around and hitting a curb cut to bunny hop off of. If I'm sweating they're more prone to fall out, but I have silicone tips that I can put on if I need to. Also, you can buy a single replacement airpod for $70 which isn't a great price, but it's at least on option.

criddell 8y ago

> Why can't we have high quality wired headsets? Use the adapter and you can use any wired headset you want.