On a recent post, there were a lot of comments, which said that they were missing the headphones on newer mobile devices.
How many actually use the headphone jack?
I ask, because I have one on my phone, since I really wanted one, but I rarely use it. Like Tops 1/Month.
Wireless headphones have to be charged so often, it’s just annoying. Good old trusty wired headphones never need to be charged.
For larger models, replaceable batteries would improve this situation a lot. Of course that would hurt the manufacturers’ planned obsolescence strategy.
Not so true. I use a set of “wireless” where the two ears are connected around the back of my neck. (A pair of beatx). These have 12hr battery and I listen a lot. I only kill the batteries on long ski days (the cold probably bring the battery life down a bit).
All my complaints at this point are lack of options in this mostly perfect form factor.
(Better fit in my ears, better sound, etc). This isn’t a wired/wireless problem.
A decent pair can charge enough for hours in minutes. When they about to die, pop one out and into the case, let it charge until the one in your ear is dead or dying, swap them out, 10 minutes and you’re back to stereo for a few hours.
I can get 2-3 days of use out of my wireless before they absolutely need to be charged. They’re not the best sound quality out there, but they have the features I need for my situation.
If they were wired I bet you’d have to untangle them more often than you currently charge them
I never have to untangle my IEM cables. A civilized person keeps their IEM-s in the carry case when not in use.
Cool. You know that the majority of people have no clue what that even is, and that wouldn’t apply to those folks.
Anyway Congratulations on having a nice investment piece for your audio enjoyment
A pair of 40€ Denons is not really an “investment piece”, even though they have lasted me for 10 years.
I’m not super versed on monitors outside of stage performances, and I didn’t do acquisitions. Don’t most people who use IEM’s for standard audio use a nice driver or prefer a device with a good audio out and lossless format compatibility? I guess I kinda assumed if you cared enough to distinguish using monitors instead of earbuds you care about other factors too.
IEM is easier to type than “in-ear headphones” and has become the defacto generic term for them, just like “monitor” has become to mean any stand mount/bookshelf speaker.
Anyway, over the past few years the market has flooded with cheap and very good “IEM-s” by manufacturers like Moondrop, Truthear and others. 30€ can get you a pair that follows Harman curve quite closely and has low enough distortion to allow EQ. Generally they use 10mm dynamic drivers instead of balanced armatures, but they also have more expensive multi-way BA and DD/BA options.
In short, high quality IEM style headphones have become a commodity and you don’t need to be an audiophile or muso who’s willing to pay hundreds for Shure SE535-s.
Last time I tried to use wired headphones for work, the connection snapped off in the port. I’m definitely good to stay away from wired headphones for everything other than my computer.
I broke one off into a jack in my entertainment center computer once, ruined my week until I could get money to fix everything.