4 ms·

> "* 3.5mm headphones?*" Sure as heck aren't those. While I still want a physical connector, jiggling the cable to get a good connection when the jack started

> "* 3.5mm headphones?*" Sure as heck aren't those. While I still want a physical connector, jiggling the cable to get a good connection when the jack started wearing out is something that should have been put it in its grave long ago.

nixpulvis 4y ago
Just give the leads a quick lick.
DrThunder 4y ago
Nah, wired ear buds are quite popular again. They're just so easy to use, cheap, and not have to fiddle with remembering to charge them.
wwweston 4y ago
Still working on most of the devices I've got that were made in the 80s/90s, meanwhile I have machines with USB ports less than a decade old where how you seat the cable matters or the port just outright doesn't work anymore. Some of that you can chalk up to survivor bias, but if this is a conversation, the main reason anybody can actually have it is that we're talking about a standard that was universal enough for long enough.
dontlaugh 4y ago
I also don’t understand the love for analog, with all the crackling from interference or poor connection.
- legacynl 4y ago
  I don't understand the 'love' for digital. Why would you want to replace your headphones with wireless ones that are more expensive, can run out of battery, can't plug into your amplifier, and are probably impossible to repair.
- dspillett 4y ago
  As much as I wouldn't be without my bluetooth headphones (usually bone conduction for a little extra safety/comfort/convenience) and don't use a 3.5mm jack on anything mobile myself, I can definitely agree it has advantages that are attractive enough that some really want it over what I prefer: ♯ No extra device to remember to charge (unless, perhaps, you have big noise-cancelling cans). ♯ No running out at an inconvenient/irritating time if you don't charge them (or are just out for a long time). ♯ Standard fitting so anything can plug in, makes carrying a spare set (or buying one in an “emergency”) inexpensive. ♯ Easily plug in a double+ adaptor too (not seen it for a while that I remember, but there was a spate of people on public transport listening to the same music that way). Try that with BT. ♯ No pairing issues (tell me you've never had them, even with supposedly good quality kit, and I'll call you a lier!). ♯ Easily switch between devices (my headset doesn't always want to connect when I switch from work to personal phone, so I have to go through the BT-on-and-off-again-at-both-ends dance. At least these days decent devices (and most cheap ones) remember multiple pairings, it used to be even worse. ♯ The crackling from a poor connection was rare with a good jack+socket in my experience, and BT is not immune to interference in busy environments. I've also experienced BT dropping out temporarily if devices get too close (i.e. I sit and bend to adjust a shoelace while my phone is on a trouser pocket). And of course there is little reason not to have a standard jack as a fallback option, even if you do usually use wireless playback.
  - dontlaugh 4y ago
    Most of that would also apply to wired digital headphones. It's the analog bit I don't get. Why would I want to give up data integrity until right up to the speaker?
    - dspillett 4y ago
      Ah, you were segueing further from the 3.5mm jack than I thought. If there was a wired digital standard as ubiquitous or at least as nearly as, perhaps people would be wanting that instead. The 3.5mm jack debate on phones is not about digital/analogue, it is about what people know, understand, _already have_ or can easily afford/access. They don't specifically want analogue, like people buying vinyl, they want the port that common head gear plugs into, for the reasons I and others have mentioned, and that port being analogue is just a coincidence of its history.
- coeneedell 4y ago
  Yeah all those high end headphones with famously crackling connections.
- LoveMortuus 4y ago
  To me, it's more about the device being self-sufficient, meaning it works without me having to repeatedly put effort into it. Wired headphones work just as they are, regardless of time that has passed, I know that as long as they're not broken, I can always take them out of my bag and they'll work. With wireless headphones, it's always a question, do I have enough battery for this trip, what to do if I run out of the battery, the answer is usually just taking additional wired earphones with me, just as a backup. The same reason is why I use wired mouse and wired keyboard, I don't want to have to think about the battery nor knowing that there will come a time when I'll have to change the battery or charge the keyboard. As others have mentioned, there are benefits to wireless devices, but everything has a Yin and a Yang, you get wireless but you trade something else in exchange.
  - dontlaugh 4y ago
    Wires can make sense, but why not wired digital? No chance of data loss and the DAC is guaranteed to be matched to the speakers and is permanently and reliably connected to them.
legacynl 4y ago
> jiggling the cable to get a good connection when the jack started wearing out I think this is mostly due to shitty cables though. I've had multiple Sennheiser earbuds that lasted for 4,5 years on average, while only costing 20 euros at the time. Similarly, my current headphones are semi-profesional studio monitors that I've used heavily for the last 8 years, (including DJing) and they still work perfectly. I think there's a difference between solid-core or stranded cables. I don't recall which is the more durable one, but as long as you get the right one cabled headphones can last a long time. Also when it does break it's trivially easy to repair or replace the cable.
- arcanemachiner 4y ago
  I've had female connectors go bad, but to your point, I place the blame on the connector, not the standard itself.

nixpulvis 4y ago

Just give the leads a quick lick.

DrThunder 4y ago

Nah, wired ear buds are quite popular again. They're just so easy to use, cheap, and not have to fiddle with remembering to charge them.

wwweston 4y ago

Still working on most of the devices I've got that were made in the 80s/90s, meanwhile I have machines with USB ports less than a decade old where how you seat the cable matters or the port just outright doesn't work anymore. Some of that you can chalk up to survivor bias, but if this is a conversation, the main reason anybody can actually have it is that we're talking about a standard that was universal enough for long enough.

dontlaugh 4y ago

I also don’t understand the love for analog, with all the crackling from interference or poor connection.

legacynl 4y ago
I don't understand the 'love' for digital. Why would you want to replace your headphones with wireless ones that are more expensive, can run out of battery, can't plug into your amplifier, and are probably impossible to repair.
dspillett 4y ago
As much as I wouldn't be without my bluetooth headphones (usually bone conduction for a little extra safety/comfort/convenience) and don't use a 3.5mm jack on anything mobile myself, I can definitely agree it has advantages that are attractive enough that some really want it over what I prefer: ♯ No extra device to remember to charge (unless, perhaps, you have big noise-cancelling cans). ♯ No running out at an inconvenient/irritating time if you don't charge them (or are just out for a long time). ♯ Standard fitting so anything can plug in, makes carrying a spare set (or buying one in an “emergency”) inexpensive. ♯ Easily plug in a double+ adaptor too (not seen it for a while that I remember, but there was a spate of people on public transport listening to the same music that way). Try that with BT. ♯ No pairing issues (tell me you've never had them, even with supposedly good quality kit, and I'll call you a lier!). ♯ Easily switch between devices (my headset doesn't always want to connect when I switch from work to personal phone, so I have to go through the BT-on-and-off-again-at-both-ends dance. At least these days decent devices (and most cheap ones) remember multiple pairings, it used to be even worse. ♯ The crackling from a poor connection was rare with a good jack+socket in my experience, and BT is not immune to interference in busy environments. I've also experienced BT dropping out temporarily if devices get too close (i.e. I sit and bend to adjust a shoelace while my phone is on a trouser pocket). And of course there is little reason not to have a standard jack as a fallback option, even if you do usually use wireless playback.
- dontlaugh 4y ago
  Most of that would also apply to wired digital headphones. It's the analog bit I don't get. Why would I want to give up data integrity until right up to the speaker?
  - dspillett 4y ago
    Ah, you were segueing further from the 3.5mm jack than I thought. If there was a wired digital standard as ubiquitous or at least as nearly as, perhaps people would be wanting that instead. The 3.5mm jack debate on phones is not about digital/analogue, it is about what people know, understand, _already have_ or can easily afford/access. They don't specifically want analogue, like people buying vinyl, they want the port that common head gear plugs into, for the reasons I and others have mentioned, and that port being analogue is just a coincidence of its history.
coeneedell 4y ago
Yeah all those high end headphones with famously crackling connections.
LoveMortuus 4y ago
To me, it's more about the device being self-sufficient, meaning it works without me having to repeatedly put effort into it. Wired headphones work just as they are, regardless of time that has passed, I know that as long as they're not broken, I can always take them out of my bag and they'll work. With wireless headphones, it's always a question, do I have enough battery for this trip, what to do if I run out of the battery, the answer is usually just taking additional wired earphones with me, just as a backup. The same reason is why I use wired mouse and wired keyboard, I don't want to have to think about the battery nor knowing that there will come a time when I'll have to change the battery or charge the keyboard. As others have mentioned, there are benefits to wireless devices, but everything has a Yin and a Yang, you get wireless but you trade something else in exchange.
- dontlaugh 4y ago
  Wires can make sense, but why not wired digital? No chance of data loss and the DAC is guaranteed to be matched to the speakers and is permanently and reliably connected to them.

legacynl 4y ago

> jiggling the cable to get a good connection when the jack started wearing out I think this is mostly due to shitty cables though. I've had multiple Sennheiser earbuds that lasted for 4,5 years on average, while only costing 20 euros at the time. Similarly, my current headphones are semi-profesional studio monitors that I've used heavily for the last 8 years, (including DJing) and they still work perfectly. I think there's a difference between solid-core or stranded cables. I don't recall which is the more durable one, but as long as you get the right one cabled headphones can last a long time. Also when it does break it's trivially easy to repair or replace the cable.

arcanemachiner 4y ago
I've had female connectors go bad, but to your point, I place the blame on the connector, not the standard itself.