Comment by chisleu | Hacker News Reader

Comment by chisleu | Hacker News Reader

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I've not used a wired headset since I stopped gaming several years ago. Sony's bluetooth headphones have very good noise cancellation and very good sound quality. It's not quite as my old JVC HA-RX700 wired headphones.

I understand how audiophiles might really enjoy that quality gap, but beyond that niche market, I don't get it.

My bluetooth headphones even have wires to plug into 3.6mm / airplane connectors as well.

It seems that most people don't care about the headphone jack given companies have decided to ditch them en-mass. Certainly online forums give a voice to those that still want it, but I've not read any comments that seem to be valid for ME.

Problems I've seen described: * connecting to airplanes (I have connectors on my bluetooth headphones) * not wanting to use multiple dongles (bluetooth has no dongles) * pairing sucks (modern bluetooth versions don't have the pairing issues of old. I don't have to repair to get it to connect. I just hold the button and tell it to connect to the already-paired device and it works every time.) * "Considering the prices of bluetooth headsets, bluetooth ubiquity for audio will still remain a niche for the rest of the world." - bluetooth is CHEAP. high quality bluetooth are definitely more expensive than high quality wired.

Are there any arguments that I've not seen?

Pairing still sucks compared to plugging wired headsets. Especially with a bluetooth device you're not familiar with. "Where the f* is the button" is something I find myself saying way too often.

Being able to get a pair of 5 bucks headphones that don't use batteries is just convenient. Being able to get really fancy noise cancelling headphones for half the price is convenient. Being able to use the same headphones across all my devices (my new desktop computer has bluetooth, my old one didn't. When I was looking at motherboards, a lot of them didn't) is convenient. Being able to not have to worry about battery life is VERY convenient. Not having to worry about my phone's battery life is also convenient (though newer bluetooth uses very little, its still non-zero).

Interference is still an issue. Where I live there's so many 2.4ghz devices around, they barely work (ironically in the middle of manhattan I have less issues, mind you)

> Pairing still sucks compared to plugging wired headsets. Especially with a bluetooth device you're not familiar with.

Much as I love the TT-BA08 dongle, having double-click power be both "initiate pairing" and "initiate phone call" depending on (largely) invisible context is a bloody pain in the arse.

The biggest issue I have is wireless headphones "all" suffer from cutouts and other connection issues.

The one thing I don't want is a song to cut in and out, and that's exactly what wireless headphone provide.

Never experienced this. Google changed Bluetooth Audio to be realtime scheduled, but I never experienced this before that. I can go into other floors of the building and my Song headset still works.

For me, my biggest complaint is about having to charge yet another device.

Especially now that phones have adopted USB-C, I have to have both a C and micro charger.

I can certainly appreciate this. I also have USB micro charger for my headphones, but I only charge once a week or so.

I don't want to have to keep another device charged. Wired headphones will always work no matter how forgetful I was the night before.

How long does the battery in your headset last? I fly often for 7h+, and with travel to/from airport, waiting etc, it can be more than 12.

Mine lasts about a week. I usually only use it for a few hours at a time, but it's never been a problem before. It charges way faster than it discharges.

I'm using the TT-BA08 dongle and it gets about 20h of battery life - substantially more than any Bluetooth headphones I've seen (and Etymotic don't make any AFAIK.)

> bluetooth is CHEAP

I think you're overstating this. With a normal headphone jack, if I find myself heading out for a hike or vacation or whatever and discover that I left my earbuds at home, I can pick up a tolerable pair at any drugstore for $10. For the time being at least, I'd have to go to a specialty electronics shop (probably in that city an hour back) and pay $30 to get a comparable bluetooth set.

Oh certainly. I was referring to initial purchases of reasonable quality headphones vs bluetooth headphones. It's not as big of a gap as it used to be.

FM Radio using the headphone cable as antenna. (Caveat: Obviously depends on the quality of the stations where you live)

Edit: Less delay.

+1!

I don't use FM anymore as I use spotify premium. I absolutely HATE advertisements in all it's forms however I totally appreciate the utility of FM receivers for emergencies.

I already have some good headphones, why should I buy a pair of new ones when the sound would not be any better?

I guess the people with 8 tracks complained when cassette tapes took over too. Then CDs, then MP3, then streaming.

You don't have to buy new headphones, but you don't get to buy a new cellphone either.

> It seems that most people don't care about the headphone jack given companies have decided to ditch them en-mass.

Sell more expensive hardware, close the analog hole for DRM content. Consumers are just the willing sheep in this equation who are willing to be distracted by loss of wires and shiny..

Ehhhh I don't think many people are using cell phones to circumvent DRM... It's far easier to use a PC.

I dont want to have to keep another device charged when a wired headset works just fine for me.

That's fine, but then you have to select from a dwindling number of phones.

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