7 ms·

Lets be real here, you probably cannot afford a new phone if you have to cheap out with wired headphones/earbuds on a mobile device in 2023.

Dylan16807 3y ago
> cheap out with wired That is not correct. Please do not say that.
- Shekelphile 3y ago
  It is if you care about ANC and convenience of use. At home wired is obviously king :)
  - Dylan16807 3y ago
    Noise cancelling isn't incompatible with wires... And both wired and wireless have their own convenience problems. But the wireless ones are more frustrating in my experience.
    - okdood64 3y ago
      What's inconvenient about wireless ones with ANC versus wired ones with ANC?
      - Dylan16807 3y ago
        Pairing problems, occasional dropouts, and the biggest one, delay.
        wiseowise 3y ago
        Never had any of those. Define delay, maybe I have it.
        Dylan16807 3y ago
        https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Pictures/Hardware/Bluetooth/Latency.jpg https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Pictures/Hardware/Bl... https://www.0db.co.kr/files/attach/images/179/725/105/002/ebfe9542ff0ff0eea9217a7359f51d53.png https://www.0db.co.kr/files/attach/images/179/725/105/002/eb... Bluetooth usually introduces some pretty big delays to sound. Sometimes video players can synchronize themselves, but controls will have a weird lag even for audio-only applications and hopefully you don't want to do anything interactive. And speaking of interactive, your typical bluetooth device will drop to horrendous quality if you switch into headset mode.
brewdad 3y ago
It's nice to have a set of earbuds I don't have to worry about having charged. That said, since I changed over to a device without a headphone jack, it's never been a problem after maybe a month of adjustment. It's really just one more device added to my charging routine.
- Moldoteck 3y ago
  with reverse charging it's not a problem? From pixel 5, I could charge my earbuds from the phone, no problem. 5 mins of charge are enough to keep me entertained for at least 30mins
MAGZine 3y ago
I was buying expensive wired earbuds long before airpods were a thing. if anything, they normalized spending $200 on audio equipment. passive audio protection > active sound canceling. Unlike most people, I don't find losing earbuds and surprisingly discharged earbuds to be 'features'.
endorphine 3y ago
Factually incorrect. Most high-end audiophile headphones are only wired. And we're talking 400$+.
- PennRobotics 3y ago
  If I believe AudioScienceReview, phones with a dedicated DAC (much of LG) are far better, spec-wise, than phones using the amp in a modern Snapdragon handset. In other words, you're plugging expensive headphones into a mediocre driver.
raun1 3y ago
Cost is not the only reason to prefer wired over wireless.
- guywhocodes 3y ago
  If there was a bluetooth profile that was duplex and had acceptable audio playback I would consider paying for a good pair, again. But mSBC, being the best available, is mono only and sounds like a 90s phone call.
  - summm 3y ago
    Bluetooth Low Energy Audio with the LC3 codec should be finally able to do it. And some of the newer headphones support that. In theory. How good this works in practice, I don't know, manufacturers aren't even advertising proper duplex, probably because they would have to admit that the old mechanism is just crap.
    - guywhocodes 3y ago
      That's actually exciting. I'll keep an eye out for that for sure. And I agree I think this is not talked about because we would collectively agree that what we have is shit.
dacryn 3y ago
nah, cables have their niche use cases. I for example like to ride my bicycle with some earbuds, the cables help me to wrap it around my helmet strap so they are very tight in my ear, and I don't have to worry about losing an airpod when riding rough terrain. I haven't found the same satisfaction with bluetooth buds. I had some Jabra's that were connected to each other with a cable, but then the receiver is in a location that somehow blocks bluetooth reception when the phone is in my back pocket.
bigstrat2003 3y ago
I can afford wireless earbuds fine. I like them less. They offer no utility, and in fact are a downgrade (since they have to be charged/can easily be lost), AND I have to pay more for the privilege. Why on earth would I ever choose to pay more for worse functionality?

Dylan16807 3y ago

> cheap out with wired That is not correct. Please do not say that.

Shekelphile 3y ago
It is if you care about ANC and convenience of use. At home wired is obviously king :)
- Dylan16807 3y ago
  Noise cancelling isn't incompatible with wires... And both wired and wireless have their own convenience problems. But the wireless ones are more frustrating in my experience.
  - okdood64 3y ago
    What's inconvenient about wireless ones with ANC versus wired ones with ANC?
    - Dylan16807 3y ago
      Pairing problems, occasional dropouts, and the biggest one, delay.
      - wiseowise 3y ago
        Never had any of those. Define delay, maybe I have it.
        Dylan16807 3y ago
        https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Pictures/Hardware/Bluetooth/Latency.jpg https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Pictures/Hardware/Bl... https://www.0db.co.kr/files/attach/images/179/725/105/002/ebfe9542ff0ff0eea9217a7359f51d53.png https://www.0db.co.kr/files/attach/images/179/725/105/002/eb... Bluetooth usually introduces some pretty big delays to sound. Sometimes video players can synchronize themselves, but controls will have a weird lag even for audio-only applications and hopefully you don't want to do anything interactive. And speaking of interactive, your typical bluetooth device will drop to horrendous quality if you switch into headset mode.

brewdad 3y ago

It's nice to have a set of earbuds I don't have to worry about having charged. That said, since I changed over to a device without a headphone jack, it's never been a problem after maybe a month of adjustment. It's really just one more device added to my charging routine.

Moldoteck 3y ago
with reverse charging it's not a problem? From pixel 5, I could charge my earbuds from the phone, no problem. 5 mins of charge are enough to keep me entertained for at least 30mins

MAGZine 3y ago

I was buying expensive wired earbuds long before airpods were a thing. if anything, they normalized spending $200 on audio equipment. passive audio protection > active sound canceling. Unlike most people, I don't find losing earbuds and surprisingly discharged earbuds to be 'features'.

endorphine 3y ago

Factually incorrect. Most high-end audiophile headphones are only wired. And we're talking 400$+.

PennRobotics 3y ago
If I believe AudioScienceReview, phones with a dedicated DAC (much of LG) are far better, spec-wise, than phones using the amp in a modern Snapdragon handset. In other words, you're plugging expensive headphones into a mediocre driver.

raun1 3y ago

Cost is not the only reason to prefer wired over wireless.

guywhocodes 3y ago
If there was a bluetooth profile that was duplex and had acceptable audio playback I would consider paying for a good pair, again. But mSBC, being the best available, is mono only and sounds like a 90s phone call.
- summm 3y ago
  Bluetooth Low Energy Audio with the LC3 codec should be finally able to do it. And some of the newer headphones support that. In theory. How good this works in practice, I don't know, manufacturers aren't even advertising proper duplex, probably because they would have to admit that the old mechanism is just crap.
  - guywhocodes 3y ago
    That's actually exciting. I'll keep an eye out for that for sure. And I agree I think this is not talked about because we would collectively agree that what we have is shit.

dacryn 3y ago

nah, cables have their niche use cases. I for example like to ride my bicycle with some earbuds, the cables help me to wrap it around my helmet strap so they are very tight in my ear, and I don't have to worry about losing an airpod when riding rough terrain. I haven't found the same satisfaction with bluetooth buds. I had some Jabra's that were connected to each other with a cable, but then the receiver is in a location that somehow blocks bluetooth reception when the phone is in my back pocket.

bigstrat2003 3y ago

I can afford wireless earbuds fine. I like them less. They offer no utility, and in fact are a downgrade (since they have to be charged/can easily be lost), AND I have to pay more for the privilege. Why on earth would I ever choose to pay more for worse functionality?