5 ms·

We do have something better! And we’ve had it for decades. It’s a cable.

3pt14159 4y ago
Wireless wins for all my uses. I can easily bike with my Beats wireless headphones. I can easily run. I can get up from the computer while watching a YouTube show or if I'm in the middle of a video chat and still want to listen in while I make a quick tea or something in the kitchen. I've literally gone swimming with my wireless headphones. Heads up front crawl, but still. These things are awesome. Why on earth would I want to be shackled with my computer or phone or worry about tripping on a cable while exercising? To me the hard part is finding the right headphones. Sound quality isn't perfect, but a reliable bluetooth connection and easy ergonomics for skipping a song are near-perfect on these Beats.
- cronix 4y ago
  And it's really fun buying a new pair every x years purely because the battery has degraded and not really replaceable. I quit buying them purely because they fairly rapidly (compared to wired headphones) become e-waste, for the slight conveniences you mentioned. All those things including swimming were done with wired headphones too, with maybe the exception of walking into the other room to get your tea.
  - drstewart 4y ago
    That's funny, because I've had to buy more pairs of wired cables because they frayed than I ever did wireless headphones because the battery died.
    - asdff 4y ago
      Buy junk get junk. I have a 10 year old set of sony wired headphones. Reference tier sound still. For blutooth, how many of these devices allow the users to replace batteries to make it to 10 years and ongoing as I have done with my headphones? Bang and Oulfson afaik is it but you have to shell out half a grand for one of their headphone sets, plus the battery is proprietary so if the company gets some MBA holders at the helm they will change it slightly between generations and not sell older replacements, to force you to buy new and not leave money on the table.
  - RockRobotRock 4y ago
    My noise cancelling bluetooth headphones will still work without any power if you plug them into 3.5mm. Of course, they were horrendously expensive, so any longevity gains are outweighed by the cost.
- mixmastamyk 4y ago
  Tuck the cable inside the shirt, and most of these aren't issues. Quality excellent. Also don't have to worry about earbuds falling off to be run over, or falling in a storm drain. Sounds unlikely but my keys just narrowly missed this on a recent bike ride.
  - colinmhayes 4y ago
    People say this, I don't find it to be true. I still got the cable stuck on door handles all the time when it was tucked into my shirt, because finding the perfect cable length is impossible. Either way, the main problem remains; I want to be to move around a room with my headphones but without my phone/computer. That requires wireless.
    - mixmastamyk 4y ago
      Never happened, three feet is perfect for head to waist pocket. With cable inside shirt it is impossible for this to happen, perhaps you did it differently.
      - jhbadger 4y ago
        People are different heights, and it isn't only differences in leg length. Maybe for you three feet is the perfect length for head to waist, but that's not universal.
        asdff 4y ago
        If you are shorter than 3 feet you can just wrap the cable around the device or shove it in the pocket with the device. If you are longer than 3 feet on the torso you are quite a human specimen anyway and are probably buying a lot of custom things for living your life.
        colinmhayes 4y ago
        Or... you could just get a wireless device and not deal with wrapping and shoving cables every time you want to listen to something. I put airpods in my ear and the music starts playing. It's just a much better experience than wired headphones were. No reaching through my shirt. No getting the cable caught anyway. No pulling my device around when I get up but forget to unplug.

Wireless wins for all my uses. I can easily bike with my Beats wireless headphones. I can easily run. I can get up from the computer while watching a YouTube show or if I'm in the middle of a video chat and still want to listen in while I make a quick tea or something in the kitchen. I've literally gone swimming with my wireless headphones. Heads up front crawl, but still. These things are awesome. Why on earth would I want to be shackled with my computer or phone or worry about tripping on a cable while exercising? To me the hard part is finding the right headphones. Sound quality isn't perfect, but a reliable bluetooth connection and easy ergonomics for skipping a song are near-perfect on these Beats.

cronix 4y ago
And it's really fun buying a new pair every x years purely because the battery has degraded and not really replaceable. I quit buying them purely because they fairly rapidly (compared to wired headphones) become e-waste, for the slight conveniences you mentioned. All those things including swimming were done with wired headphones too, with maybe the exception of walking into the other room to get your tea.
- drstewart 4y ago
  That's funny, because I've had to buy more pairs of wired cables because they frayed than I ever did wireless headphones because the battery died.
  - asdff 4y ago
    Buy junk get junk. I have a 10 year old set of sony wired headphones. Reference tier sound still. For blutooth, how many of these devices allow the users to replace batteries to make it to 10 years and ongoing as I have done with my headphones? Bang and Oulfson afaik is it but you have to shell out half a grand for one of their headphone sets, plus the battery is proprietary so if the company gets some MBA holders at the helm they will change it slightly between generations and not sell older replacements, to force you to buy new and not leave money on the table.
- RockRobotRock 4y ago
  My noise cancelling bluetooth headphones will still work without any power if you plug them into 3.5mm. Of course, they were horrendously expensive, so any longevity gains are outweighed by the cost.
mixmastamyk 4y ago
Tuck the cable inside the shirt, and most of these aren't issues. Quality excellent. Also don't have to worry about earbuds falling off to be run over, or falling in a storm drain. Sounds unlikely but my keys just narrowly missed this on a recent bike ride.
- colinmhayes 4y ago
  People say this, I don't find it to be true. I still got the cable stuck on door handles all the time when it was tucked into my shirt, because finding the perfect cable length is impossible. Either way, the main problem remains; I want to be to move around a room with my headphones but without my phone/computer. That requires wireless.
  - mixmastamyk 4y ago
    Never happened, three feet is perfect for head to waist pocket. With cable inside shirt it is impossible for this to happen, perhaps you did it differently.
    - jhbadger 4y ago
      People are different heights, and it isn't only differences in leg length. Maybe for you three feet is the perfect length for head to waist, but that's not universal.
      - asdff 4y ago
        If you are shorter than 3 feet you can just wrap the cable around the device or shove it in the pocket with the device. If you are longer than 3 feet on the torso you are quite a human specimen anyway and are probably buying a lot of custom things for living your life.
        colinmhayes 4y ago
        Or... you could just get a wireless device and not deal with wrapping and shoving cables every time you want to listen to something. I put airpods in my ear and the music starts playing. It's just a much better experience than wired headphones were. No reaching through my shirt. No getting the cable caught anyway. No pulling my device around when I get up but forget to unplug.