5 ms·

Wired earbuds: - have better sound quality - have less latency - are cheaper - can't get lost as easily - weight less - don't need to be charged Wireless

Wired earbuds: - have better sound quality - have less latency - are cheaper - can't get lost as easily - weight less - don't need to be charged Wireless earbuds: - don't have cables that get tangled - rarely explode inside your ear causing permanent hearing loss

anotherboffin 2y ago
I enjoy using both, but you’re leaving out microphonics (especially on zippers), cable tangle and getting frayed/damaged/caught on clothing, just to name a few.
- otikik 2y ago
  He did mention tangling
- j_4 2y ago
  Lack of microphonics is the killer feature of wireless for me, I avoided earbuds for my entire life because of how grating I find them.
fullspectrumdev 2y ago
“Don’t have cables” is pretty much 100% of the reason why I prefer wireless headphones. My hearing is already fucked from exposure to loud noises, so the sound quality difference doesn’t matter at all. The latency with AirPods is also rarely noticeable. And charging? Not a huge issue either tbh. I’ve to charge everything else…
- newaccount74 2y ago
  The latency of Airpods is barely noticable because Apple devices are really good at syncing video to the audio latency, so it seems like there is no latency. I tried using a rythm composer app with the original Airpods a few years ago, and that was unusable, because the delay between tapping screen and hearing the instrument was too high. Not sure if it was just the app or if latency got better in the mean time.
- maccard 2y ago
  On the charging front, I have a charger on my bedside locker that I can plop my phone and AirPods on, and they’re always charged. Job done. I’ve never thought about the battery life of my AirPods in the time I’ve had them, including multiple transatlantic flights and weekend trips where I’m away from my normal setup.
IneffablePigeon 2y ago
Wireless buds also don’t pull out of my ears when the wire gets caught, or need replacing when the moving parts wear down (I’ve had my current earbuds for several years, I can’t remember ever having wired headphones that lasted more than one) I agree we should still have the option of either more easily but I’d still be picking the wireless ones to be honest.
- portaouflop 2y ago
  For me its the other way around - I have wired headphones lasting for many years while wireless ones break down randomly after short use. We will never see eye to eye
  - maccard 2y ago
    I have never experienced wireless headphones breaking down. Im on my third pair in years - the first pair failed because the cable that joined the two buds died. The second ones, I traded in for AirPods because I got rid of my android. Meanwhile in the 10 or so years before that I lost multiple pairs of wired headphones to flaky connections - the most common failure method being “have to wiggle it around to get sound through both ears and they intermittently fail if you move too much”
    - dsissitka 2y ago
      I've been using the original Galaxy Buds since they launched. That's over 5.5 years now. I kept a Pixel and an iPad Pro around for too long and their batteries ballooned. I wonder if that'll happen with the Galaxy Buds. Maybe it is time to replace them.
    - strogonoff 2y ago
      I owned multiple AirPods Pro units over years. Recent models have strong enough ANC, but in addition to losing buds or the case every unit I owned also eventually had a bud malfunction within first few months of its life. Usually it’s a pronounced low bass rumble, I think from ANC either weakening or malfunctioning (which first happened due to possibly careless use in bed, once following a drop, and other times to my knowledge for no reason at all). In my current pair, I had to swap a bud twice. Not a problem, since I do not buy them without AppleCare+ now, but their reliability record compared to my wired Shure IEMs is poor. Furthermore, battery anxiety. Wired Shure vs. wireless buds is a bit like a regular watch vs. Apple Watch—one is always there, whereas the other if you forget to charge it in 1–2 days is a brick on your wrist—except in case of the watch it is legitimately much, much more functional, whereas between wired IEMs and AirPods they do almost exactly the same thing.
leokennis 2y ago
The "no cables" outweigh all other factors and it's not even close.
- silon42 2y ago
  No charging outweighs it for me and it's not even close.
seydor 2y ago
Wired earbuds - Are now USBc which means you cannot charge your phone using them We ve regressed so much since my old S10 (+jack +SpO2 +FM radio)
- preisschild 2y ago
  Dont forget the IR transmitter I remember using that feature to control the classroom beamer...
- meowster 2y ago
  They make small and cheap USB-C splitters for charging and listening at the same time, but it is one more thing you do have to carry and keep track of.
senectus1 2y ago
I hate sticking things IN my ears, so I use Aftershokz "bone conducting" wireless headphones. Not much chop for music but really excellent for podcasts and audiobooks. With both the fact they dont isolate the environmental noise being a bonus and a subtractor. Bonus meaning I can hear and react to the world around me when using them, Subtractor being a noisey environment will drown out whatever I'm trying to lsten to.
- djtango 2y ago
  Was a huge fan of Shokz since 2019. Still like them but have recently graduated to the Huawei Freeclip. Really loving them. Audio quality is better (light on the bass) the lack of band behind means I can rest on my head rest and also wear them in bed to listen while the wife is asleep. Also the mic is a lot better I would get a lot of complaints from friends that my mic on the Shokz sucked. I am one of those people that play both sides. I dabbled in the Chifi space and got myself some BLON iems which are fantastic value for money and sit in my bag and go everywhere I go. My over ear Beyerdynamics are now approaching 10 years old still going very strong and feel almost brand new after I swapped out the pads
Modified3019 2y ago
My work vehicle is an ATV, so I wear foam earplugs all day. Instead of earbuds (which I dislike anyway) I’ve become a big fan of Bluetooth bone conduction headphones, which bypass the plugs, sound good enough, and can be found for $30 these days. They are reasonably unobtrusive even while wearing glasses. Dust goggles may or may not work, haven’t tried that yet. The cheap ones also use USB C ports, instead of proprietary connectors like the $150 ones
- 0xEF 2y ago
  I'm interested in trying some bone conducting headphones, but it seems like there's two styles on Amazon; those that go around the ear and head similar to Aftershockz, and those that "clip" to the ear. I imagine the ones that are touching yours skull/jaw do better with the actual bone conducting. Did you buy a specific brand for that cheap? It's time I tried them. I have yet to find an earbud that doesn't fall out of my ear with activity. Plus, working in industrial environments generally means I need to keep at least one ear open, anyway. There's a market someone can corner; a bone conducting mono headphone that can deal with a wee bit of machine oil on the users finders when they need to start/stop the audio.
  - Modified3019 2y ago
    I’m the same with earbuds, they work their way out constantly. Probably an ear shape thing or something, otherwise I can’t understand why so many like them. Here’s the set of bone conduction headphones I got, it’s the hanging kind. The brand is “BAICLUD”, just your typical Chinese brand that may or may not disappear in a month: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3LT2Q28 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3LT2Q28 They are supposedly waterproof, so they may or may not do well with oil. In my case, they clean off easy and don’t seem prone to collecting grime/dust. I’ve no idea if there is a barrier under the physical buttons. So far working well, though one thing I’ve found is that if my phone is in my back pocket and I crouch down or bend over, my body seems to interfere with the Bluetooth signal, sometimes interrupting it. No idea how normal that is with Bluetooth. The sound will be bit different than regular headphones, but for me it’s not an important difference. I basically listen to Doom and podcasts. So far I’d be perfectly happy buying them again. I think an advancement to this style of headphones would be some way to adjust the length and tension of the connection band.
Moldoteck 2y ago
small wired earbuds with noise cancelling are a rare breed... NC is essential for me
AlexandrB 2y ago
The wireless era sucks for me. I hate earbuds - they hurt my ears - and over-ear wireless headphones are all huge and hot. I'm pretty sure there are no "open back" ones. Give me something like this but wireless: https://theheadphonelist.com/sennheiser-px100-ii/ https://theheadphonelist.com/sennheiser-px100-ii/ Or just release those again, I'd rather live with the wires than all the other trade offs.
- Terr_ 2y ago
  > I hate earbuds - they hurt my ears - and over-ear wireless headphones are all huge and hot. Speaking as somebody who always finds earbuds unreliably loose or uncomfortably tight, have your tried ones that individually hook over each ear? While that description does include some over-ear designs [0] others are more like "sporty earbuds" [1]. For the lattee, I find I can usually let them hang freely and maybe turn up the volume a bit to compensate for not having a great seal. [0] Example: Panasonic RP-HZ47 [1] Example: Panasonic RP-HS16K
- soco 2y ago
  For me the difference between wired and wireless over the ear headphones is not noticeable - they are heavy both and I'm okay with that. Also noise cancelling is a bonus for both, even when it's bad it's already nice. Yeah that means I am not interested in open back - I don't want everybody listening along and me hearing everybody as well. But I wear headphones only outside so for the studio or home based folks the requirements list might be very different.
maccard 2y ago
And yet, people (myself included) flocked en masse to wireless ear buds. The convenience of “no cables” is really burying the lede here. It also means I’m not tethered to the thing that is playing the music.
wrp 2y ago
Wired earbuds of moderate price and quality seem hard to find these days. Recommendations would be appreciated.
- Mashimo 2y ago
  Shure 215 are a classic
  - oluminate 2y ago
    Reddit dunks on the SE215 these days in favor of “chi-fi” though https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/sm3v4x/shure_se215_disappointment/ https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/sm3v4x/shure_se... https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/7b1j7z/shure_se215_seem_to_no_longer_be_recommend_on_here/ https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/7b1j7z/shure_se...
- kalleboo 2y ago
  There are some amazing low-cost, high-quality wired earbuds coming out of startup brands in China right now, start with looking up the Moondrop Chu and related recommendations along those lines
maxglute 2y ago
No decent wired earbuds with ANC or passthrough.
faangguyindia 2y ago
Neckbands are good compromise between the two. These days atleast in india it's the most popular option out there as they are cheap and wireless. It might explode but won't make you go dead though third degree burns to neck are possible but rare (as the power density is less)
1vuio0pswjnm7 2y ago
Wired headphones - only explode outside your ear - last at least 4x longer than "earbuds" If sound quality matters, then cans are the only choice. It's reasonable to pay for high quality (wired) headphones. They will last many years if treated well. Paying high prices for "earbuds" is a waste.
fasa99 2y ago
To be fair, with certain types of wonderful music even WIRED earbudes may eggsplode in your ear or eye. I specifically am referring to the famous metal band -- DISASTER AREA --

anotherboffin 2y ago

I enjoy using both, but you’re leaving out microphonics (especially on zippers), cable tangle and getting frayed/damaged/caught on clothing, just to name a few.

otikik 2y ago
He did mention tangling
j_4 2y ago
Lack of microphonics is the killer feature of wireless for me, I avoided earbuds for my entire life because of how grating I find them.

fullspectrumdev 2y ago

“Don’t have cables” is pretty much 100% of the reason why I prefer wireless headphones. My hearing is already fucked from exposure to loud noises, so the sound quality difference doesn’t matter at all. The latency with AirPods is also rarely noticeable. And charging? Not a huge issue either tbh. I’ve to charge everything else…

newaccount74 2y ago
The latency of Airpods is barely noticable because Apple devices are really good at syncing video to the audio latency, so it seems like there is no latency. I tried using a rythm composer app with the original Airpods a few years ago, and that was unusable, because the delay between tapping screen and hearing the instrument was too high. Not sure if it was just the app or if latency got better in the mean time.
maccard 2y ago
On the charging front, I have a charger on my bedside locker that I can plop my phone and AirPods on, and they’re always charged. Job done. I’ve never thought about the battery life of my AirPods in the time I’ve had them, including multiple transatlantic flights and weekend trips where I’m away from my normal setup.

IneffablePigeon 2y ago

Wireless buds also don’t pull out of my ears when the wire gets caught, or need replacing when the moving parts wear down (I’ve had my current earbuds for several years, I can’t remember ever having wired headphones that lasted more than one) I agree we should still have the option of either more easily but I’d still be picking the wireless ones to be honest.

portaouflop 2y ago
For me its the other way around - I have wired headphones lasting for many years while wireless ones break down randomly after short use. We will never see eye to eye
- maccard 2y ago
  I have never experienced wireless headphones breaking down. Im on my third pair in years - the first pair failed because the cable that joined the two buds died. The second ones, I traded in for AirPods because I got rid of my android. Meanwhile in the 10 or so years before that I lost multiple pairs of wired headphones to flaky connections - the most common failure method being “have to wiggle it around to get sound through both ears and they intermittently fail if you move too much”
  - dsissitka 2y ago
    I've been using the original Galaxy Buds since they launched. That's over 5.5 years now. I kept a Pixel and an iPad Pro around for too long and their batteries ballooned. I wonder if that'll happen with the Galaxy Buds. Maybe it is time to replace them.
  - strogonoff 2y ago
    I owned multiple AirPods Pro units over years. Recent models have strong enough ANC, but in addition to losing buds or the case every unit I owned also eventually had a bud malfunction within first few months of its life. Usually it’s a pronounced low bass rumble, I think from ANC either weakening or malfunctioning (which first happened due to possibly careless use in bed, once following a drop, and other times to my knowledge for no reason at all). In my current pair, I had to swap a bud twice. Not a problem, since I do not buy them without AppleCare+ now, but their reliability record compared to my wired Shure IEMs is poor. Furthermore, battery anxiety. Wired Shure vs. wireless buds is a bit like a regular watch vs. Apple Watch—one is always there, whereas the other if you forget to charge it in 1–2 days is a brick on your wrist—except in case of the watch it is legitimately much, much more functional, whereas between wired IEMs and AirPods they do almost exactly the same thing.

leokennis 2y ago

The "no cables" outweigh all other factors and it's not even close.

silon42 2y ago
No charging outweighs it for me and it's not even close.

seydor 2y ago

Wired earbuds - Are now USBc which means you cannot charge your phone using them We ve regressed so much since my old S10 (+jack +SpO2 +FM radio)

preisschild 2y ago
Dont forget the IR transmitter I remember using that feature to control the classroom beamer...
meowster 2y ago
They make small and cheap USB-C splitters for charging and listening at the same time, but it is one more thing you do have to carry and keep track of.

senectus1 2y ago

I hate sticking things IN my ears, so I use Aftershokz "bone conducting" wireless headphones. Not much chop for music but really excellent for podcasts and audiobooks. With both the fact they dont isolate the environmental noise being a bonus and a subtractor. Bonus meaning I can hear and react to the world around me when using them, Subtractor being a noisey environment will drown out whatever I'm trying to lsten to.

djtango 2y ago
Was a huge fan of Shokz since 2019. Still like them but have recently graduated to the Huawei Freeclip. Really loving them. Audio quality is better (light on the bass) the lack of band behind means I can rest on my head rest and also wear them in bed to listen while the wife is asleep. Also the mic is a lot better I would get a lot of complaints from friends that my mic on the Shokz sucked. I am one of those people that play both sides. I dabbled in the Chifi space and got myself some BLON iems which are fantastic value for money and sit in my bag and go everywhere I go. My over ear Beyerdynamics are now approaching 10 years old still going very strong and feel almost brand new after I swapped out the pads

Modified3019 2y ago

My work vehicle is an ATV, so I wear foam earplugs all day. Instead of earbuds (which I dislike anyway) I’ve become a big fan of Bluetooth bone conduction headphones, which bypass the plugs, sound good enough, and can be found for $30 these days. They are reasonably unobtrusive even while wearing glasses. Dust goggles may or may not work, haven’t tried that yet. The cheap ones also use USB C ports, instead of proprietary connectors like the $150 ones

0xEF 2y ago
I'm interested in trying some bone conducting headphones, but it seems like there's two styles on Amazon; those that go around the ear and head similar to Aftershockz, and those that "clip" to the ear. I imagine the ones that are touching yours skull/jaw do better with the actual bone conducting. Did you buy a specific brand for that cheap? It's time I tried them. I have yet to find an earbud that doesn't fall out of my ear with activity. Plus, working in industrial environments generally means I need to keep at least one ear open, anyway. There's a market someone can corner; a bone conducting mono headphone that can deal with a wee bit of machine oil on the users finders when they need to start/stop the audio.
- Modified3019 2y ago
  I’m the same with earbuds, they work their way out constantly. Probably an ear shape thing or something, otherwise I can’t understand why so many like them. Here’s the set of bone conduction headphones I got, it’s the hanging kind. The brand is “BAICLUD”, just your typical Chinese brand that may or may not disappear in a month: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3LT2Q28 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3LT2Q28 They are supposedly waterproof, so they may or may not do well with oil. In my case, they clean off easy and don’t seem prone to collecting grime/dust. I’ve no idea if there is a barrier under the physical buttons. So far working well, though one thing I’ve found is that if my phone is in my back pocket and I crouch down or bend over, my body seems to interfere with the Bluetooth signal, sometimes interrupting it. No idea how normal that is with Bluetooth. The sound will be bit different than regular headphones, but for me it’s not an important difference. I basically listen to Doom and podcasts. So far I’d be perfectly happy buying them again. I think an advancement to this style of headphones would be some way to adjust the length and tension of the connection band.

Moldoteck 2y ago

small wired earbuds with noise cancelling are a rare breed... NC is essential for me

AlexandrB 2y ago

The wireless era sucks for me. I hate earbuds - they hurt my ears - and over-ear wireless headphones are all huge and hot. I'm pretty sure there are no "open back" ones. Give me something like this but wireless: https://theheadphonelist.com/sennheiser-px100-ii/ https://theheadphonelist.com/sennheiser-px100-ii/ Or just release those again, I'd rather live with the wires than all the other trade offs.

Terr_ 2y ago
> I hate earbuds - they hurt my ears - and over-ear wireless headphones are all huge and hot. Speaking as somebody who always finds earbuds unreliably loose or uncomfortably tight, have your tried ones that individually hook over each ear? While that description does include some over-ear designs [0] others are more like "sporty earbuds" [1]. For the lattee, I find I can usually let them hang freely and maybe turn up the volume a bit to compensate for not having a great seal. [0] Example: Panasonic RP-HZ47 [1] Example: Panasonic RP-HS16K
soco 2y ago
For me the difference between wired and wireless over the ear headphones is not noticeable - they are heavy both and I'm okay with that. Also noise cancelling is a bonus for both, even when it's bad it's already nice. Yeah that means I am not interested in open back - I don't want everybody listening along and me hearing everybody as well. But I wear headphones only outside so for the studio or home based folks the requirements list might be very different.

maccard 2y ago

And yet, people (myself included) flocked en masse to wireless ear buds. The convenience of “no cables” is really burying the lede here. It also means I’m not tethered to the thing that is playing the music.

wrp 2y ago

Wired earbuds of moderate price and quality seem hard to find these days. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Mashimo 2y ago
Shure 215 are a classic
- oluminate 2y ago
  Reddit dunks on the SE215 these days in favor of “chi-fi” though https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/sm3v4x/shure_se215_disappointment/ https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/sm3v4x/shure_se... https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/7b1j7z/shure_se215_seem_to_no_longer_be_recommend_on_here/ https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/7b1j7z/shure_se...
kalleboo 2y ago
There are some amazing low-cost, high-quality wired earbuds coming out of startup brands in China right now, start with looking up the Moondrop Chu and related recommendations along those lines

maxglute 2y ago

No decent wired earbuds with ANC or passthrough.

faangguyindia 2y ago

Neckbands are good compromise between the two. These days atleast in india it's the most popular option out there as they are cheap and wireless. It might explode but won't make you go dead though third degree burns to neck are possible but rare (as the power density is less)

1vuio0pswjnm7 2y ago

Wired headphones - only explode outside your ear - last at least 4x longer than "earbuds" If sound quality matters, then cans are the only choice. It's reasonable to pay for high quality (wired) headphones. They will last many years if treated well. Paying high prices for "earbuds" is a waste.

fasa99 2y ago

To be fair, with certain types of wonderful music even WIRED earbudes may eggsplode in your ear or eye. I specifically am referring to the famous metal band -- DISASTER AREA --