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by avl999 1512 days ago
> This mindset is similar to what people with wired headphones think of Airpods et al. It's not an apparent benefit when you're in the bubble of thinking it's normal to have a wire going across your torso all day and hearing the thuds and bumps propagate through the wire to your ears. But when you buy a pair of wireless buds and have them for a week - you don't go back. You've discovered freedom.

What is abnormal is that in 2022 people think it is acceptable to be forced to use wireless headphones and have to constantly have to think and worry about keeping them charged, esp when they are used in a context where you quite possibly have them plugged in your ear all day.

Wireless headphones have their place (primarily in outdoor active settings in audio only contexts for small periods of time). But if you are sitting in front of your computer all day, there are these magical devices called wired headphones with infinite "battery life" and world class sound quality that you don't have to worry about being out of charge in the middle of an important meeting. Unlike wireless ones they also guarantee audio always being insync with video if you are watching a video regardless of the type of device/machine/operating system you are using them on, something I have never been able to get consistently working to my satisfaction with bluetooth headphones.

1 comments

i mean, as far as wireless headphones/headsets are concerned, my counter-argument is this:

I really don't like having a wire constantly tethering me to my desk. With my wireless headset, i can get up, walk around my office, throw something away, or walk out to the other room and grab a coke from the refrigerator; all without pausing my music or taking my headset off.

I charge it at night and it is good all day. no worries here.

I don't want to have to keep track of charging yet another device, esp one as important and frequently used as headphones. Heck, some days I forget to plug in my phone to charge let alone headphones. Not worth the headache esp when there is another version of the device available with "infinite battery life". If some people prefer wireless and don't mind having to deal the potential inconvenience of always having it charged then more power to them... my problem is when companies try to push wireless headphones on us by taking away the 3.5mm jack.
I have wireless headphones. They were cheaper than AirPods (they're Jabra) and have pretty good sound. They're full-size, not earbuds.

The battery lasts for a couple days of fairly heavy use, and they degrade to... wired headphones, essentially, since I can use them while they're charging. Also they have a 3.5mm jack if I want to use that. And they've got a microphone, so I can walk around while on calls.

Best of both worlds.

same. mine are HyperX Cloud Stingers for work, and they are fantastic. Range is so-so, but I believe that is due to it being plugged into a docking station.
My headphones (Sony WH-710n) have ~35 hours of battery life. That's a bit over 4 workdays of battery life. They seem to recharge from very low to full in less than an hour. So every few days I'll plug them in at my desk for about an hour, and I'm good for another few days. Its not too difficult for me to find up to an hour every four days to charge them. Its not like I'm having to micromanage charging them, needing to plug them in every night or else I don't have headphones at all the next day. And they charge off the same cable as a lot of the stuff in my bag already, USB-C.
Yea I find them a huge PIA for anything other than gym sessions or running. For that, however, they are amazing.

Then again the battery has just died in one of my wireless headphones (luckily not the primary) which means I can now only exercise with one side. Not a crappy brand either. I have wired headphones going on 10+ years that work flawlessly.

my wireless headset can be used while charging. not really a headache. at worst, my wireless headset just becomes wired for the time period that i am using it while charging.