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I have never really gotten used to wireless buds, and still find myself reaching for wires half the time: - Wireless buds don’t connect 100% reliably; sometime

I have never really gotten used to wireless buds, and still find myself reaching for wires half the time: - Wireless buds don’t connect 100% reliably; sometimes I get one and not the other, or neither. Sometimes they will randomly disconnect during use. - Sometimes the sound glitches out randomly, which is so irritating that I don’t care how good the sound supposedly is the rest of the time. - Gestures and voice are simply not as convenient as buttons on the wire. If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear and may still not register. - They fall out of my ears, no matter how “snug” they seem. This makes me only want to use them in places where I won’t lose them, e.g. at home but not out for a walk. Crucially, there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires. The only inconvenience is that the default headphone wires are stupidly short (provided by a company that sells wireless buds, hmmm) but that is fixable.

deleted 5y ago
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herbst 5y ago
I have a pair of really good wired Sennheisers. I never owned or used Bluetooth devices for more than giving it a try. I may be audiophile. But when I put a music on I want to get fully absorbed and hear every little detail while I don't worry about battery life. Sounds weird I know
- Vrondi 5y ago
  When you do try bluetooth again, try full cans from a good brand. No earbuds at all. Check which codecs the cans will use. Just cans vs earbuds makes a hug sound and comfort difference. Literally, you get larger drivers and a larger battery, so physics is already on your side vs earbuds.
  - herbst 5y ago
    I think the only wireless 'full cans' I've tried are beats which I don't like the sound profile of anyway. Also larger battery surely will decrease the comfort from its weight? However I keep my ears open :)
- linker3000 5y ago
  I'm a bit of a fan! I have: PX100s for when I am out of the house (but not when driving!) because they sound good but do not isolate me from my surroundings. HD220s for radio and TV (on tablet or phone) late at night. HD485s for paying attention to music.
- stinos 5y ago
  I may be audiophile Theoretically I don't think there's a reason why it wouldn't be possible to make the sound produced in the audible range the same (preferrably roughly matching Harman target out of the box) for wired and wireless. But yes, I'd never trade the slight inconvenience a cable is with the amount of inconveniences of wireless. Especially the battery: I grew up having to deal with battery life in portable players (cassette, minidics, you name it) and this finally got a lot better so I almost don't have to care anymore (talking actual music players, not smartphones), I'm really not going to go back to something inferior again. It's fascinating how well this has been marketed though, but that's really almost all there is to it for me: just marketing, not a whole lot of actual value.
Ancapistani 5y ago
Do you have AirPods or AirPods Pro? I was a fan of the originals, but bought the Pros shortly after they came out. I'm on my second pair now - the first pair came down with the dreaded "crackling" and Apple replaced them. I find that they stay in my ears well enough that I regularly use them when driving my Jeep without doors, even when I'm not listening to music. They provide some level of reduction of the wind noise that I'm certain has been damaging my hearing in my left ear in particular.
- dharmab 5y ago
  It's pretty common for motorcyclists to wear hearing protection- as little as 18mph of wind can cause permanent damage with extended exposure.
  - saberience 5y ago
    Does a helmet not provide that protection or are you referring to riders who don't wear helmets?
    - vr46 5y ago
      They provide some, my Schuberth is waaay quieter than my older ones but nowhere near anything useful at any speed. Earplugs for every ride.
    - bartread 5y ago
      No, helmets don't provide protection against hearing damage, or at least not enough protection.
    - jalgos_eminator 5y ago
      Absolutely not, unless you are going very slow (like bicycle speed). The wind noise even with a good helmet is deafening and well above OSHA limits for workplaces. I would never ride without earplugs if my trip was over 10 minutes or above 35 mph. I did it a few times when I first started and I would get off the bike after 30-45 minutes and It felt like I had been to a rock concert. With earplugs I can go as long as my back allows and I'm not fatigued afterward.
jcims 5y ago
My problem is I lose them. I bought the Bose QuietComforts earlier this year and have lost one or the other a couple of times already. Right now one is sitting in the console of my truck and i can’t find the other one. No clue where it could be and of course the batteries are dead. It would be nice if they all had Tile or similar tech, but if their batteries go dead just sitting there (super annoying thing about the bose) then it’s useless too. (FWIW also tried the Sony wf1000-xm4s and hated them.)
- salamandersauce 5y ago
  The case is to help keep them together and keep them charged. Although the QC Earbuds case is giant so it's somewhat annoying to do that. But yeah get into the habit of putting them back in the case when done and they'll be charged and in same place.
  - jcims 5y ago
    I do 95% of the time for just that reason. I think some folks are just wired differently in this regard. My wife never lost anything, I lose stuff regularly.
- fragmede 5y ago
  Specifically, Bose QCs can't be charged and used at the same time. If they're charging, then they're off, essentially.
  - newobj 5y ago
    They also charge CRAZY fast.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    That's a safety precaution, you really don't want charging LiPo batteries on your person, especially not stuck in your ears.
    - Kirby64 5y ago
da39a3ee 5y ago
You don't have to accept wires to not have buds. There are 4 options: 1. Wireless buds 2. Wireless non-buds (some sort of wrap-around design to keep them on) 3. Wired buds 4. Wired non-buds I go with (2) personally, but mainly because Apple stopped me using wires. My main problem with bluetooth is that the headphones aren't loud enough (yeah you have to watch the line between loud and damaging but headphones are my opportunity to play music loud). Recommendations for loud wireless headphones appreciated!
- aksss 5y ago
  Is it really a volume issue or a) an equalization issue; b) a background noise issue; c) both? Some BT buds will let you futz with an equalizer (jabra). It really influences the experience of what you’re listening to, for instance different genres of music and pure voice.
- joecot 5y ago
  Whenever I've done it I've always gone with #2, wireless non buds. I've gotten multiple pairs. While they don't get lost, I have always ended up with two fundamental problems with them #1 Bluebooth connectivity to computers. If I was just using my phone they were mostly fine, but at a computer it was a constant fight to get them to connect, to work with whatever app I'm using, and especially when I'm switching back and forth between using them for listening to music or using them to video conference. This might also be partly because Linux is my main driver, but having to switch back and forth between high quality audio output for music and two way cell phone quality audio sucks. #2 Having owned multiple pairs over the years, none of them would connect over Bluetooth while charging. Let me make my wireless headphones temporarily wired. At this point I use an over the ear headphone with a mic and a USB DAC. I specifically only get phones with a minijack so I could use them with that too.
  - thrashh 5y ago
    #1 is because your BT drivers suck. The Mac’s BT driver seamlessly switches fine and I don’t have connection issues. I actually don’t have connection issues on Windows either, but it does have the switching problem.
bradknowles 5y ago
Yeah. Bluetooth sucks. It has sucked for as long as it has existed, and I don’t see that changing any time soon, if ever. I’m sorry to say it, but welcome to the future of wireless audio.
- ddingus 5y ago
  Clear startup opportunity? Seriously. More of us would jump on board if it were not Bluetooth.
  - weberer 5y ago
    I've had really good experience with the SteelSeries Arctis 7. It uses some kind of low latency 2.4GHz protocol, but requires a USB transmitter dongle.
    - ddingus 5y ago
      Interesting. I should look those over just to understand what is out there.
  - raydev 5y ago
    Apple has pretty much solved all Bluetooth problems in their AirPods and Beats lines.
    - ddingus 5y ago
      No, they haven't. Comments are here and elsewhere, easy to see. Apple has done well, make no mistake. I applaud them for that. But the fundemental issues remain, despite what appears to be a solid effort.
- thrashh 5y ago
  Apple’s BT has actually been pretty solid for me. My AirPods Pros work rally well with my iPhone, Macbook Pro and Windows laptop. I can switch easily and it already is connected to my last device when I put the AirPods in my ear.
fho 5y ago
I was a white happy owner of the Nokia BH-503 on-ear BT headphones. Sadly they just recently broke, I had them for like 10 years and. My point is, that they just didn't have any of the problems you mention above (with the exception of random sampling frequency changes that changed pitch minimally, but noticable). Sound quality was ok, I think it was one of the first A2DP headsets. Ok, for what it was mind you, my good over-ears are definitely better.
- throaway46546 5y ago
  >I was a white happy owner Is this some idiom I am not familiar with?
  - fho 5y ago
    Upps :-) ... yes ... I guess autocorrect messed that up somehow.
  - andrewaylett 5y ago
    I suspect a typo for "quite"?
    - aksss 5y ago
      Ha I was thinking like “white-hot” but ur probably right.
derefr 5y ago
> Sometimes they will randomly disconnect during use. FYI, that's interference. Wi-fi "randomly" disconnects for a few seconds due to interference just as often, but you don't notice, because 1. the OS hides short disconnects, and 2. most protocols you use are TCP-based, and so use retries. (If you were doing something involving UDP streaming, you'd notice.) Bluetooth audio, on the other hand, is a realtime protocol, which just drops stale packets rather than trying to retransmit them. Drop enough packets in a row, and the carrier thinks the device has gone out of range and disconnects it (as the alternative would be boiling your battery by turning the antenna gain up to infinity, as sometimes happens when cellular baseband misbehaves while ranging.) > Gestures and voice are simply not as convenient as buttons on the wire. If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear and may still not register Have you tried the AirPods Pro where you squeeze the stems? They're essentially buttons. > Crucially, there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires. Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones. Or: try to change your shirt while keeping your headphones on + playing. (I know, unusual thing to do, but I've changed my shirt with wireless earbuds in without a thought.) Or: get up and go to the bathroom, while continuing to listen to the livestream you're watching on the desktop PC sitting on your desk, without missing anything. (Provided I'm at home, I can usually get about 40 feet away from the Bluetooth source before my wireless headphones disconnect.)
- eertami 5y ago
  >Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones. This is really easy with a backpack, I assume it's only a problem with a messenger bag (which is probably a bigger problem for one's back, unless the load is kept very light.)
- yodsanklai 5y ago
  > Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones. First world problem...
- mecha_ghidorah 5y ago
atoav 5y ago
As someone who worked as a freelance audio engineer I have certain pairs of (chorded) headphones that I just want to use to hear my mixes (or other music) on. I know how they sound and what they do to sounds. Every in-ear solution I had in my ears up to now doesn't even get close in terms of "resolution" (this is not a technical term but it is true, that some monitoring solutions will let you hear more of the recording than others). Additionally my on-the-road headphones (Sennheiser HD25) last for a decade now. If the cable ever should fail I can get a replacement. If the earpad is through I can get a replacement. The only problem recently is, that phone manufacturers decided they need to be stingy about adding a 3.5mm TRRS-jack.
- fleaaa 5y ago
  Can't get enough praise for HD25 as a heavy user. It's portable, modular structure, replacement part is dirt cheap, comfy as hell, sounds awesome, cable is your choice, isolation is top notch and even quite cheap for what it is. As a DJ, I've been abusing it for a decade and it's still going strong. For me it's a peak mass product.
  - input_sh 5y ago
    I got two Sennheisers, HD 25 and one wireless one (PXC 550). I do use wireless ones more when I'm on the move, but when I'm home and want the reliable sound I'm used to, nothing beats HD 25s. It's like the opposite of planned obsolescence. They first came out five years before I was born, and here I am using them in my late 20s. I have no doubt they'll outlive my PXC 550s, which after about three years of usage have a degraded battery and a slow charging speed (micro USB is inexcusable).
- hmrr 5y ago
  I’ve got a 18 year old pair of HD25’s. They are indeed excellent. On their third cable and ear pads now. But quite frankly I don’t use them any more. Switched to AirPods (2nd gen). They are absolutely no good for pro audio due to the latency but general audio perspective they are perfect.
- herbst 5y ago
hmrr 5y ago
Been using 2nd gen AirPods since they came out. Never had any connection reliability issues at all. They switch between my phone and iPad all the time as well. No glitches at all here other than one time I was walking past a large diesel generator. As for gestures, I don’t use them. I usually use Siri, my watch or phone as a control surface. As for snug that depends on the person at the end of the day. I don’t have problems with mine even doing a 5k run. I’m not going back to having to untangle a pocket full of wires and car keys. Also I’m not having the cable tugging when I’m walking or running and having to shove the things back in every two minutes. This product was a life changer for me.
- concinds 5y ago
  AirPods auto-switching is absolutely awful. Try downloading IntervalTimer on your iPhone. Start a timer. Listen to music from your Mac. The Interval app on your phone will make beeps when intervals end; when that happens, your iPhone will pause your Mac's audio and switch to the iPhone. It's borderline unusable.
  - deleted 5y ago
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- dylan604 5y ago
  Do you only have 1 pocket? Could you really not use another pocket so your keys and headphones are not in the same pocket to avoid this situation? I'm unfamiliar with any designer that makes jeans/pants with only one pocket, but I'm no fashionista
  - hmrr 5y ago
    I’m not sure I want to get into a pocket logistics discussion. I have kids. There are never enough pockets.
    - dylan604 5y ago
      so your dedicated headphones pocket has been reassigned to peanut butter & jelly sandwich holder, sniffles tissue holder, candy wrapper holder, neat rocks holder, and other daily fascinations holder. the contents of this magic pocket are never truly understood until after the washing.
thibauts 5y ago
What about a wire only linking the earbuds to each other and providing controls and a Bluetooth transmitter ?
google234123 5y ago
Try the airpod pros with an iPhone.
mike_hock 5y ago
Plus, they don't have a battery that needs to be charged. Wireless buds "solve" a non-issue while introducing real issues.
bryanrasmussen 5y ago
if you have more than one device you want to use your high quality headphones on it is a hassle because the headphones are always connecting to the wrong one.
- mrjin 5y ago
  That's exactly the problem I had. Eventually have to connect to one device only. And I just realized now I mainly use wired ones and sometimes even use the wireless ones wired...
Kaibeezy 5y ago
> the sound glitches out randomly Edge case: white noise generator. I’ve been looking for a small, wired and preferably powered external speaker for travel to provide louder and better quality sound masking than the tiny speaker in the phone. There are a million little Bluetooth speakers out there but the random inverted hiccups (sudden silence then resume) wake me up every time. I’m sure it’s the Bluetooth because it doesn’t happen when I use the phone speaker. I carry a 1st gen iPhone SE for wired audio, so I guess now it’s basically an iPod. Edit: Well, looks like there’s some stuff on eBay I didn’t see in previous searches. Retro 2000s stuff. I can roll the dice for £5 plus shipping. Use case is still relevant.
- lupin_sansei 5y ago
  How about a small portable radio tuned between stations? It might have to be an old analogue tuning one to actually not mute when there’s no signal. https://youtu.be/t1thDa4zeog https://youtu.be/t1thDa4zeog
  - Kaibeezy 5y ago
    I got used to the running stream sound, which seems to throw enough transients to mask voices, doors, etc. But I like the retro appeal of an old transistor radio. As a kid, I used to fall asleep listening to hockey games, which had a constant drone of speech almost like a slow-moving auctioneer, punctuated with a bunch of unfamiliar French surnames and the occasional “he scoooores!” If I half-tune it to something like that it could be just the thing.
ricardobeat 5y ago
> If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear > They fall out of my ears Sounds like you don't have a good fit. Sealed buds should not have much room to 'go deeper' when properly seated. > there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires These last two have nothing to do with wires, just the fit for a particular model?
artificialLimbs 5y ago
I had all of these problems with several cheap models of bluetooth earbuds until I got some Sennheiser CX 150BTs a few years ago. They connect to both my computer and phone at the same time if they're both on, switch between the two automatically thereafter (whoever plays audio first gets exclusive use), sound decent, and get 8-10 hours on a charge. Cons: mic volume is low, and when a device disconnects they will play disconnect sound until they reboot.
ubermonkey 5y ago
A number of these complaints seem like they are issues of implementation and not of wirelessness in and of itself. I definitely found 3rd party Bluetooth headphones to be not worth the trouble early on, but since Apple introduced the AirPods I got tempted back to them. Either Bluetooth got a lot better or Apple's doing something clever (or both), because with the occasional "one pod didn't wake up; put it back in the case and take it out again" issue, they work perfectly for me. I do still use corded headphones -- I'm an audio guy; I have a bunch -- but it's increasingly rare.
- dangerface 5y ago
  Audio dropping out because the wireless signal is not strong enough or interference is not something that can be fixed in implementation it is a fundamental limitation of the technology. When it happens it makes wireless headphones useless at their one function playing audio.
  - ubermonkey 5y ago
    Yes, a persistent problem with said issue WOULD definitely be grounds for abandoning Bluetooth headphones. However. What I'm saying is that this is not a problem for me with the Apple headphones I use (Airpods Pro and Max), which is what I'm using for most of my listening (owing to convenience, I've almost completely stopped using wired headphones). I do occasionally experience dropouts with the AfterShox I use for some outdoor exercise, and I did sometimes experience the issue with the Sennheisers I had before I got the Airpods Max, which leads me to believe that there ARE aspects of this problem that CAN be ameliorated with implementation, contrary to your assertion. I mean, how else do we explain the fact that it's only been a problem for me when I use nonApple hardware?
    - dangerface 5y ago
      If we took your worst performing wifi device to an empty field in the middle of no where it would work perfectly. In comparison to my office in the city with walls that are nearly three feet thick with no cavity made of stone and rubble, the building is nearly 200 years old there are electrical conduits to all the hallogen office lights and two electrical conduits circle the room, theres old telephone equipment, servers, networking, 4g repeaters, a nest wifi router and 10 iMacs. Look I dunno what exactly causes the wifi black hole that is my office but it should be pretty obvious that wifi in the space is a challenge. Anyway air drop won't work, move a foot away from your imac and your ear pods will drop their connection. Wifi has way more to do with the space than it does the hardware, think about it the only way apple could improve their signal above the competition is just to boost the signal strength and they can't do that because its agains't government regulation. If you bought three brands of lotto ticket each with the same payout spec but on paid out while the others did not would you think that the winning brand of lotto ticket had better odds? or would you think that you just got lucky that time?
pfranz 5y ago
I had a kid a few years ago when I switched. Wearing headphones and holding a child sucks because they will probably get pulled out of your ears. I always hated cords tangling in my pocket and I'd often have the wires snag on a doorknob or drawer when walking around--often breaking them. I also used a messenger bag. Ear fit sucks, is it worse with cordless headphones? Ear fit always comes up with earbuds, wireless or wired. I've heard individuals say wireless is better for them because there's no wire tugging on their ear. I'm surprised to see a lot of people walking around with over-the-ear headphones (I tend to use them at home or on a plane).
- navbaker 5y ago
  FWIW, the standard Apple earbuds, both wired and regular AirPods, will not stay in my ears, but the silicon tipped Pros fit like a champ. I have the same experience with non-Apple earbuds as well. Something about the shape of my ears makes the silicon ends a necessity.
christophilus 5y ago
Aftershokz are really good (not buds). They never fall off, they work really well when exercising, kids don't yank them off, they have nice physical controls. I love mine. That said, when I'm sitting at my desk to do work, I use wired headphones (and wired mouse and keyboard). When I'm really in the flow, the last thing I want is to be interrupted by a "low battery" prompt.
TheCapn 5y ago
Without coming across too much as an ad placement, I have to say I have virtually none of these problems with my Jaybird X2 headphones, and I think its entirely a design thing. My headphones are wired from one to the other. They're wireless to the music device, but wired to each other if that helps paint you a picture. Plus, they have these little rubber fins that help hold the headphones in your ears So for me: I can't lose one without the other, and them being tethered together makes it harder to lose them in general. The controls are on the wire, so none of that "pressing your head" issue you describe. The only time I seem to have issues is when I have my phone in my front pocket opposite to the bluetooth receiver... I think my body just blocks the signal too well. Otherwise I can be 30ft away and still get a strong bluetooth connection. Enough of the ad talk (Please email me for my info Jaybirds so I can collect my shill cheque) I think its just a design issue. Everyone wants those tiny things that hide away in your ear, but I've always felt the inconvenience of having 2 easily misplaced little buds outweighs any design advantages they have. Its like the trend of making phones smaller and smaller, then suddenly bigger and bigger, but not addressing the convenience of having a smart phone. I don't need a massive screen, I need a stronger battery... so make it 3mm or 5mm thicker if that's what it takes to get 48hr life on a charge. But now i'm ranting.
- lwkl 5y ago
  I had the Jaybird X2 headphones and they always fell out with the silicon tips and the foam tips made it so I couldn't hear anything in my vicinity and they still fell out (especially while running). Also they felt kind of bad in my ears. I now have AirPod Pros and I have none of the above problems. I waited a long time before buying them and was really surprised how well they fit (because of my experience with normal iPhone headphones and the Jaybird headphones). I guess experiences differ depending on your on your ears and it's probably best if you try them first if you can.
  - philliphaydon 5y ago
    When they announced AirPods 3 I checked the apple website every day since the release. But they are not sold in Taiwan yet. So I bit the bullet and got the pros about 5 days ago. I hate my wife’s Sony headphones cos they hurt my ears, and figured the pros would last until the non silicon tip comes came out. But now I love the pros.
taneq 5y ago
> - They fall out of my ears And contrariwise, while for day-to-day wear I love my bluetooth over-ear headphones, my 'plane earphones' are wired Bose QC25s. Partly because in-ear provides superior noise canceling, partly because when I'm on that 5:30am flight I can lean my head against the side of the plane without upsetting my headphones, but mostly because if I drop my phone I can fish it back up with the headphone cable. :D
lobocinza 5y ago
> They fall out of my ears, no matter how “snug” they seem. This makes me only want to use them in places where I won’t lose them, e.g. at home but not out for a walk. In this case wired is just another mode of failure as they will get loose if the cable is tensioned. If you are afraid of losing them you can use one with a wire between the buds (non-TWS).
ashtonkem 5y ago
That’s not been my experience. In fact I can leave my phone inside and still get Bluetooth out close to the street. I was originally very upset about Apple removing the headphone port, but after getting my first AirPods I basically stopped caring. They just worked so well, I never wanted wires again. By the by, I had more headphones yanked out by door handles than I’ve had wireless buds fall out, but I’ll grant that the latter is strongly affected by individual ear geometry.
VortexDream 5y ago
Honestly, I'd be surprised to find out that most people used wireless 100% of the time. I have a few good wired headphones that I didn't throw out just because I got myself BT earbuds. What do people use with their PCs?
ergot_vacation 5y ago
The rich truly live in a world of their own. Wired headphones never went away. Wireless earbuds were mostly airpods and clones, which were always a victory of style over practicality or rationality, yet another example of douches with too much money burning that money on inferior products to look fancy (see also: Apple's entire business model). At BEST, you end up paying a higher price for something with ALMOST the same audio quality, slightly less wire-related hassle, and new, much worse NON-wire related hassle, like dropping one somewhere you can never retrieve it from.
dunefox 5y ago
I used ear buds for the first time in years today (nothing special, soundcore) and they'd be decent if not every single step I take while walking got transferred into my ears. It's quite loud and distracts from the music. This alone makes me buy over ear headphones...
golergka 5y ago
I've had all the glitches you described with at least three last wireless headphones I used before switching to airpods pro. I haven't had a single problem like this with them, which I've been using for 2 months now.

deleted 5y ago

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herbst 5y ago

I have a pair of really good wired Sennheisers. I never owned or used Bluetooth devices for more than giving it a try. I may be audiophile. But when I put a music on I want to get fully absorbed and hear every little detail while I don't worry about battery life. Sounds weird I know

Vrondi 5y ago
When you do try bluetooth again, try full cans from a good brand. No earbuds at all. Check which codecs the cans will use. Just cans vs earbuds makes a hug sound and comfort difference. Literally, you get larger drivers and a larger battery, so physics is already on your side vs earbuds.
- herbst 5y ago
  I think the only wireless 'full cans' I've tried are beats which I don't like the sound profile of anyway. Also larger battery surely will decrease the comfort from its weight? However I keep my ears open :)
linker3000 5y ago
I'm a bit of a fan! I have: PX100s for when I am out of the house (but not when driving!) because they sound good but do not isolate me from my surroundings. HD220s for radio and TV (on tablet or phone) late at night. HD485s for paying attention to music.
stinos 5y ago
I may be audiophile Theoretically I don't think there's a reason why it wouldn't be possible to make the sound produced in the audible range the same (preferrably roughly matching Harman target out of the box) for wired and wireless. But yes, I'd never trade the slight inconvenience a cable is with the amount of inconveniences of wireless. Especially the battery: I grew up having to deal with battery life in portable players (cassette, minidics, you name it) and this finally got a lot better so I almost don't have to care anymore (talking actual music players, not smartphones), I'm really not going to go back to something inferior again. It's fascinating how well this has been marketed though, but that's really almost all there is to it for me: just marketing, not a whole lot of actual value.

Ancapistani 5y ago

Do you have AirPods or AirPods Pro? I was a fan of the originals, but bought the Pros shortly after they came out. I'm on my second pair now - the first pair came down with the dreaded "crackling" and Apple replaced them. I find that they stay in my ears well enough that I regularly use them when driving my Jeep without doors, even when I'm not listening to music. They provide some level of reduction of the wind noise that I'm certain has been damaging my hearing in my left ear in particular.

dharmab 5y ago
It's pretty common for motorcyclists to wear hearing protection- as little as 18mph of wind can cause permanent damage with extended exposure.
- saberience 5y ago
  Does a helmet not provide that protection or are you referring to riders who don't wear helmets?
  - vr46 5y ago
    They provide some, my Schuberth is waaay quieter than my older ones but nowhere near anything useful at any speed. Earplugs for every ride.
  - bartread 5y ago
    No, helmets don't provide protection against hearing damage, or at least not enough protection.
  - jalgos_eminator 5y ago
    Absolutely not, unless you are going very slow (like bicycle speed). The wind noise even with a good helmet is deafening and well above OSHA limits for workplaces. I would never ride without earplugs if my trip was over 10 minutes or above 35 mph. I did it a few times when I first started and I would get off the bike after 30-45 minutes and It felt like I had been to a rock concert. With earplugs I can go as long as my back allows and I'm not fatigued afterward.

jcims 5y ago

My problem is I lose them. I bought the Bose QuietComforts earlier this year and have lost one or the other a couple of times already. Right now one is sitting in the console of my truck and i can’t find the other one. No clue where it could be and of course the batteries are dead. It would be nice if they all had Tile or similar tech, but if their batteries go dead just sitting there (super annoying thing about the bose) then it’s useless too. (FWIW also tried the Sony wf1000-xm4s and hated them.)

salamandersauce 5y ago
The case is to help keep them together and keep them charged. Although the QC Earbuds case is giant so it's somewhat annoying to do that. But yeah get into the habit of putting them back in the case when done and they'll be charged and in same place.
- jcims 5y ago
  I do 95% of the time for just that reason. I think some folks are just wired differently in this regard. My wife never lost anything, I lose stuff regularly.
fragmede 5y ago
Specifically, Bose QCs can't be charged and used at the same time. If they're charging, then they're off, essentially.
- newobj 5y ago
  They also charge CRAZY fast.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  That's a safety precaution, you really don't want charging LiPo batteries on your person, especially not stuck in your ears.
  - Kirby64 5y ago

da39a3ee 5y ago

You don't have to accept wires to not have buds. There are 4 options: 1. Wireless buds 2. Wireless non-buds (some sort of wrap-around design to keep them on) 3. Wired buds 4. Wired non-buds I go with (2) personally, but mainly because Apple stopped me using wires. My main problem with bluetooth is that the headphones aren't loud enough (yeah you have to watch the line between loud and damaging but headphones are my opportunity to play music loud). Recommendations for loud wireless headphones appreciated!

aksss 5y ago
Is it really a volume issue or a) an equalization issue; b) a background noise issue; c) both? Some BT buds will let you futz with an equalizer (jabra). It really influences the experience of what you’re listening to, for instance different genres of music and pure voice.
joecot 5y ago
Whenever I've done it I've always gone with #2, wireless non buds. I've gotten multiple pairs. While they don't get lost, I have always ended up with two fundamental problems with them #1 Bluebooth connectivity to computers. If I was just using my phone they were mostly fine, but at a computer it was a constant fight to get them to connect, to work with whatever app I'm using, and especially when I'm switching back and forth between using them for listening to music or using them to video conference. This might also be partly because Linux is my main driver, but having to switch back and forth between high quality audio output for music and two way cell phone quality audio sucks. #2 Having owned multiple pairs over the years, none of them would connect over Bluetooth while charging. Let me make my wireless headphones temporarily wired. At this point I use an over the ear headphone with a mic and a USB DAC. I specifically only get phones with a minijack so I could use them with that too.
- thrashh 5y ago
  #1 is because your BT drivers suck. The Mac’s BT driver seamlessly switches fine and I don’t have connection issues. I actually don’t have connection issues on Windows either, but it does have the switching problem.

bradknowles 5y ago

Yeah. Bluetooth sucks. It has sucked for as long as it has existed, and I don’t see that changing any time soon, if ever. I’m sorry to say it, but welcome to the future of wireless audio.

ddingus 5y ago
Clear startup opportunity? Seriously. More of us would jump on board if it were not Bluetooth.
- weberer 5y ago
  I've had really good experience with the SteelSeries Arctis 7. It uses some kind of low latency 2.4GHz protocol, but requires a USB transmitter dongle.
  - ddingus 5y ago
    Interesting. I should look those over just to understand what is out there.
- raydev 5y ago
  Apple has pretty much solved all Bluetooth problems in their AirPods and Beats lines.
  - ddingus 5y ago
    No, they haven't. Comments are here and elsewhere, easy to see. Apple has done well, make no mistake. I applaud them for that. But the fundemental issues remain, despite what appears to be a solid effort.
thrashh 5y ago
Apple’s BT has actually been pretty solid for me. My AirPods Pros work rally well with my iPhone, Macbook Pro and Windows laptop. I can switch easily and it already is connected to my last device when I put the AirPods in my ear.

fho 5y ago

I was a white happy owner of the Nokia BH-503 on-ear BT headphones. Sadly they just recently broke, I had them for like 10 years and. My point is, that they just didn't have any of the problems you mention above (with the exception of random sampling frequency changes that changed pitch minimally, but noticable). Sound quality was ok, I think it was one of the first A2DP headsets. Ok, for what it was mind you, my good over-ears are definitely better.

throaway46546 5y ago
>I was a white happy owner Is this some idiom I am not familiar with?
- fho 5y ago
  Upps :-) ... yes ... I guess autocorrect messed that up somehow.
- andrewaylett 5y ago
  I suspect a typo for "quite"?
  - aksss 5y ago
    Ha I was thinking like “white-hot” but ur probably right.

derefr 5y ago

> Sometimes they will randomly disconnect during use. FYI, that's interference. Wi-fi "randomly" disconnects for a few seconds due to interference just as often, but you don't notice, because 1. the OS hides short disconnects, and 2. most protocols you use are TCP-based, and so use retries. (If you were doing something involving UDP streaming, you'd notice.) Bluetooth audio, on the other hand, is a realtime protocol, which just drops stale packets rather than trying to retransmit them. Drop enough packets in a row, and the carrier thinks the device has gone out of range and disconnects it (as the alternative would be boiling your battery by turning the antenna gain up to infinity, as sometimes happens when cellular baseband misbehaves while ranging.) > Gestures and voice are simply not as convenient as buttons on the wire. If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear and may still not register Have you tried the AirPods Pro where you squeeze the stems? They're essentially buttons. > Crucially, there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires. Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones. Or: try to change your shirt while keeping your headphones on + playing. (I know, unusual thing to do, but I've changed my shirt with wireless earbuds in without a thought.) Or: get up and go to the bathroom, while continuing to listen to the livestream you're watching on the desktop PC sitting on your desk, without missing anything. (Provided I'm at home, I can usually get about 40 feet away from the Bluetooth source before my wireless headphones disconnect.)

eertami 5y ago
>Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones. This is really easy with a backpack, I assume it's only a problem with a messenger bag (which is probably a bigger problem for one's back, unless the load is kept very light.)
yodsanklai 5y ago
> Put on your wired headphones. Sit down (e.g. on the bus.) Now try taking off your shoulder-strapped bag to hold it in your lap, without first taking out your headphones. First world problem...
mecha_ghidorah 5y ago

atoav 5y ago

As someone who worked as a freelance audio engineer I have certain pairs of (chorded) headphones that I just want to use to hear my mixes (or other music) on. I know how they sound and what they do to sounds. Every in-ear solution I had in my ears up to now doesn't even get close in terms of "resolution" (this is not a technical term but it is true, that some monitoring solutions will let you hear more of the recording than others). Additionally my on-the-road headphones (Sennheiser HD25) last for a decade now. If the cable ever should fail I can get a replacement. If the earpad is through I can get a replacement. The only problem recently is, that phone manufacturers decided they need to be stingy about adding a 3.5mm TRRS-jack.

fleaaa 5y ago
Can't get enough praise for HD25 as a heavy user. It's portable, modular structure, replacement part is dirt cheap, comfy as hell, sounds awesome, cable is your choice, isolation is top notch and even quite cheap for what it is. As a DJ, I've been abusing it for a decade and it's still going strong. For me it's a peak mass product.
- input_sh 5y ago
  I got two Sennheisers, HD 25 and one wireless one (PXC 550). I do use wireless ones more when I'm on the move, but when I'm home and want the reliable sound I'm used to, nothing beats HD 25s. It's like the opposite of planned obsolescence. They first came out five years before I was born, and here I am using them in my late 20s. I have no doubt they'll outlive my PXC 550s, which after about three years of usage have a degraded battery and a slow charging speed (micro USB is inexcusable).
hmrr 5y ago
I’ve got a 18 year old pair of HD25’s. They are indeed excellent. On their third cable and ear pads now. But quite frankly I don’t use them any more. Switched to AirPods (2nd gen). They are absolutely no good for pro audio due to the latency but general audio perspective they are perfect.
herbst 5y ago

hmrr 5y ago

Been using 2nd gen AirPods since they came out. Never had any connection reliability issues at all. They switch between my phone and iPad all the time as well. No glitches at all here other than one time I was walking past a large diesel generator. As for gestures, I don’t use them. I usually use Siri, my watch or phone as a control surface. As for snug that depends on the person at the end of the day. I don’t have problems with mine even doing a 5k run. I’m not going back to having to untangle a pocket full of wires and car keys. Also I’m not having the cable tugging when I’m walking or running and having to shove the things back in every two minutes. This product was a life changer for me.

concinds 5y ago
AirPods auto-switching is absolutely awful. Try downloading IntervalTimer on your iPhone. Start a timer. Listen to music from your Mac. The Interval app on your phone will make beeps when intervals end; when that happens, your iPhone will pause your Mac's audio and switch to the iPhone. It's borderline unusable.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
dylan604 5y ago
Do you only have 1 pocket? Could you really not use another pocket so your keys and headphones are not in the same pocket to avoid this situation? I'm unfamiliar with any designer that makes jeans/pants with only one pocket, but I'm no fashionista
- hmrr 5y ago
  I’m not sure I want to get into a pocket logistics discussion. I have kids. There are never enough pockets.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    so your dedicated headphones pocket has been reassigned to peanut butter & jelly sandwich holder, sniffles tissue holder, candy wrapper holder, neat rocks holder, and other daily fascinations holder. the contents of this magic pocket are never truly understood until after the washing.

thibauts 5y ago

What about a wire only linking the earbuds to each other and providing controls and a Bluetooth transmitter ?

google234123 5y ago

Try the airpod pros with an iPhone.

mike_hock 5y ago

Plus, they don't have a battery that needs to be charged. Wireless buds "solve" a non-issue while introducing real issues.

bryanrasmussen 5y ago

if you have more than one device you want to use your high quality headphones on it is a hassle because the headphones are always connecting to the wrong one.

mrjin 5y ago
That's exactly the problem I had. Eventually have to connect to one device only. And I just realized now I mainly use wired ones and sometimes even use the wireless ones wired...

Kaibeezy 5y ago

> the sound glitches out randomly Edge case: white noise generator. I’ve been looking for a small, wired and preferably powered external speaker for travel to provide louder and better quality sound masking than the tiny speaker in the phone. There are a million little Bluetooth speakers out there but the random inverted hiccups (sudden silence then resume) wake me up every time. I’m sure it’s the Bluetooth because it doesn’t happen when I use the phone speaker. I carry a 1st gen iPhone SE for wired audio, so I guess now it’s basically an iPod. Edit: Well, looks like there’s some stuff on eBay I didn’t see in previous searches. Retro 2000s stuff. I can roll the dice for £5 plus shipping. Use case is still relevant.

lupin_sansei 5y ago
How about a small portable radio tuned between stations? It might have to be an old analogue tuning one to actually not mute when there’s no signal. https://youtu.be/t1thDa4zeog https://youtu.be/t1thDa4zeog
- Kaibeezy 5y ago
  I got used to the running stream sound, which seems to throw enough transients to mask voices, doors, etc. But I like the retro appeal of an old transistor radio. As a kid, I used to fall asleep listening to hockey games, which had a constant drone of speech almost like a slow-moving auctioneer, punctuated with a bunch of unfamiliar French surnames and the occasional “he scoooores!” If I half-tune it to something like that it could be just the thing.

ricardobeat 5y ago

> If I tap the thing in my ear, it tends to get shoved further into my ear > They fall out of my ears Sounds like you don't have a good fit. Sealed buds should not have much room to 'go deeper' when properly seated. > there isn’t a single problem above that occurs when using wires These last two have nothing to do with wires, just the fit for a particular model?

artificialLimbs 5y ago

I had all of these problems with several cheap models of bluetooth earbuds until I got some Sennheiser CX 150BTs a few years ago. They connect to both my computer and phone at the same time if they're both on, switch between the two automatically thereafter (whoever plays audio first gets exclusive use), sound decent, and get 8-10 hours on a charge. Cons: mic volume is low, and when a device disconnects they will play disconnect sound until they reboot.

ubermonkey 5y ago

A number of these complaints seem like they are issues of implementation and not of wirelessness in and of itself. I definitely found 3rd party Bluetooth headphones to be not worth the trouble early on, but since Apple introduced the AirPods I got tempted back to them. Either Bluetooth got a lot better or Apple's doing something clever (or both), because with the occasional "one pod didn't wake up; put it back in the case and take it out again" issue, they work perfectly for me. I do still use corded headphones -- I'm an audio guy; I have a bunch -- but it's increasingly rare.

dangerface 5y ago
Audio dropping out because the wireless signal is not strong enough or interference is not something that can be fixed in implementation it is a fundamental limitation of the technology. When it happens it makes wireless headphones useless at their one function playing audio.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  Yes, a persistent problem with said issue WOULD definitely be grounds for abandoning Bluetooth headphones. However. What I'm saying is that this is not a problem for me with the Apple headphones I use (Airpods Pro and Max), which is what I'm using for most of my listening (owing to convenience, I've almost completely stopped using wired headphones). I do occasionally experience dropouts with the AfterShox I use for some outdoor exercise, and I did sometimes experience the issue with the Sennheisers I had before I got the Airpods Max, which leads me to believe that there ARE aspects of this problem that CAN be ameliorated with implementation, contrary to your assertion. I mean, how else do we explain the fact that it's only been a problem for me when I use nonApple hardware?
  - dangerface 5y ago
    If we took your worst performing wifi device to an empty field in the middle of no where it would work perfectly. In comparison to my office in the city with walls that are nearly three feet thick with no cavity made of stone and rubble, the building is nearly 200 years old there are electrical conduits to all the hallogen office lights and two electrical conduits circle the room, theres old telephone equipment, servers, networking, 4g repeaters, a nest wifi router and 10 iMacs. Look I dunno what exactly causes the wifi black hole that is my office but it should be pretty obvious that wifi in the space is a challenge. Anyway air drop won't work, move a foot away from your imac and your ear pods will drop their connection. Wifi has way more to do with the space than it does the hardware, think about it the only way apple could improve their signal above the competition is just to boost the signal strength and they can't do that because its agains't government regulation. If you bought three brands of lotto ticket each with the same payout spec but on paid out while the others did not would you think that the winning brand of lotto ticket had better odds? or would you think that you just got lucky that time?

pfranz 5y ago

I had a kid a few years ago when I switched. Wearing headphones and holding a child sucks because they will probably get pulled out of your ears. I always hated cords tangling in my pocket and I'd often have the wires snag on a doorknob or drawer when walking around--often breaking them. I also used a messenger bag. Ear fit sucks, is it worse with cordless headphones? Ear fit always comes up with earbuds, wireless or wired. I've heard individuals say wireless is better for them because there's no wire tugging on their ear. I'm surprised to see a lot of people walking around with over-the-ear headphones (I tend to use them at home or on a plane).

navbaker 5y ago
FWIW, the standard Apple earbuds, both wired and regular AirPods, will not stay in my ears, but the silicon tipped Pros fit like a champ. I have the same experience with non-Apple earbuds as well. Something about the shape of my ears makes the silicon ends a necessity.

christophilus 5y ago

Aftershokz are really good (not buds). They never fall off, they work really well when exercising, kids don't yank them off, they have nice physical controls. I love mine. That said, when I'm sitting at my desk to do work, I use wired headphones (and wired mouse and keyboard). When I'm really in the flow, the last thing I want is to be interrupted by a "low battery" prompt.

TheCapn 5y ago

Without coming across too much as an ad placement, I have to say I have virtually none of these problems with my Jaybird X2 headphones, and I think its entirely a design thing. My headphones are wired from one to the other. They're wireless to the music device, but wired to each other if that helps paint you a picture. Plus, they have these little rubber fins that help hold the headphones in your ears So for me: I can't lose one without the other, and them being tethered together makes it harder to lose them in general. The controls are on the wire, so none of that "pressing your head" issue you describe. The only time I seem to have issues is when I have my phone in my front pocket opposite to the bluetooth receiver... I think my body just blocks the signal too well. Otherwise I can be 30ft away and still get a strong bluetooth connection. Enough of the ad talk (Please email me for my info Jaybirds so I can collect my shill cheque) I think its just a design issue. Everyone wants those tiny things that hide away in your ear, but I've always felt the inconvenience of having 2 easily misplaced little buds outweighs any design advantages they have. Its like the trend of making phones smaller and smaller, then suddenly bigger and bigger, but not addressing the convenience of having a smart phone. I don't need a massive screen, I need a stronger battery... so make it 3mm or 5mm thicker if that's what it takes to get 48hr life on a charge. But now i'm ranting.

lwkl 5y ago
I had the Jaybird X2 headphones and they always fell out with the silicon tips and the foam tips made it so I couldn't hear anything in my vicinity and they still fell out (especially while running). Also they felt kind of bad in my ears. I now have AirPod Pros and I have none of the above problems. I waited a long time before buying them and was really surprised how well they fit (because of my experience with normal iPhone headphones and the Jaybird headphones). I guess experiences differ depending on your on your ears and it's probably best if you try them first if you can.
- philliphaydon 5y ago
  When they announced AirPods 3 I checked the apple website every day since the release. But they are not sold in Taiwan yet. So I bit the bullet and got the pros about 5 days ago. I hate my wife’s Sony headphones cos they hurt my ears, and figured the pros would last until the non silicon tip comes came out. But now I love the pros.

taneq 5y ago

> - They fall out of my ears And contrariwise, while for day-to-day wear I love my bluetooth over-ear headphones, my 'plane earphones' are wired Bose QC25s. Partly because in-ear provides superior noise canceling, partly because when I'm on that 5:30am flight I can lean my head against the side of the plane without upsetting my headphones, but mostly because if I drop my phone I can fish it back up with the headphone cable. :D

lobocinza 5y ago

> They fall out of my ears, no matter how “snug” they seem. This makes me only want to use them in places where I won’t lose them, e.g. at home but not out for a walk. In this case wired is just another mode of failure as they will get loose if the cable is tensioned. If you are afraid of losing them you can use one with a wire between the buds (non-TWS).

ashtonkem 5y ago

That’s not been my experience. In fact I can leave my phone inside and still get Bluetooth out close to the street. I was originally very upset about Apple removing the headphone port, but after getting my first AirPods I basically stopped caring. They just worked so well, I never wanted wires again. By the by, I had more headphones yanked out by door handles than I’ve had wireless buds fall out, but I’ll grant that the latter is strongly affected by individual ear geometry.

VortexDream 5y ago

Honestly, I'd be surprised to find out that most people used wireless 100% of the time. I have a few good wired headphones that I didn't throw out just because I got myself BT earbuds. What do people use with their PCs?

ergot_vacation 5y ago

The rich truly live in a world of their own. Wired headphones never went away. Wireless earbuds were mostly airpods and clones, which were always a victory of style over practicality or rationality, yet another example of douches with too much money burning that money on inferior products to look fancy (see also: Apple's entire business model). At BEST, you end up paying a higher price for something with ALMOST the same audio quality, slightly less wire-related hassle, and new, much worse NON-wire related hassle, like dropping one somewhere you can never retrieve it from.

dunefox 5y ago

I used ear buds for the first time in years today (nothing special, soundcore) and they'd be decent if not every single step I take while walking got transferred into my ears. It's quite loud and distracts from the music. This alone makes me buy over ear headphones...

golergka 5y ago

I've had all the glitches you described with at least three last wireless headphones I used before switching to airpods pro. I haven't had a single problem like this with them, which I've been using for 2 months now.