this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2023
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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.

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[–] [email protected] 80 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

Me. I own both wired and wireless earphones and I want to be able to use both.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

I recently switched to wireless over-the-ear headphones and overall happy. However, when it comes to earbuds - they would only be wired. Unlike my large headphones, which can be unscrewed for that, most earbuds would have trouble wen replacing the battery. And - maybe more importantly - easier to lose since they're separate and so small.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Fair. Personally I prefer wireless, since my headphone wires break all the time due to heavy use, but I can understand, why you'd like to be able to use both.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Wireless headphones have to be charged so often, it's just annoying. Good old trusty wired headphones never need to be charged.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

For larger models, replaceable batteries would improve this situation a lot. Of course that would hurt the manufacturers' planned obsolescence strategy.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

If they were wired I bet you’d have to untangle them more often than you currently charge them

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If they were wired I bet you’d have to untangle them

I never have to untangle my IEM cables. A civilized person keeps their IEM-s in the carry case when not in use.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A pair of 40€ Denons is not really an "investment piece", even though they have lasted me for 10 years.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I broke one off into a jack in my entertainment center computer once, ruined my week until I could get money to fix everything.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

my headphone wires break all the time due to heavy use

Some wired headphones have a detachable cable. Large ones use a 3.5mm jack on both ends, but there are standards for small ones.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Hell, every set of wireless headphones I've had (not earbuds) had a detectable cable as well. I use both modes frequently my sonys

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

my headphone wires break all the time

Are these detachable wires? Because I used to kill headphones all the time tripping over their wires but since I started getting ones with the 3.5 mm jack on the headphone side that hasn't happened since.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

This.
Wireless is nice, but wired earbuds never need to be charged, they just work.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

This is the correct answer. It's about having choices. I very often forget to charge my wireless when I need it and when it's dead, all I have to do is pull my wired out since my phone has the headphone jack. And when I work, I use my wired to listen to music, because in that situation, wired is simply superior. So I will always buy a phone with a headphone jack because I don't want a perfectly workable, harmless feature that I need to be taken away from me.