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Comment by josefresco | Hacker News Reader

Meanwhile I couldn't be happier with my $16 earbuds that I got for free. Sound quality isn't great but for watching streaming video, podcasts or a quick workout they're fantastic. If I lose them or they break, no big deal.

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I like that you're happy with the ones you have, but it's a weird flex to say that you "couldn't be happier" _and_ that "sound quality isn't great". Would you not be any happier if sound quality _were_ great?

I know that there's a kind of pleasure from not worrying about disposably cheap products, but there's also a kind of pleasure from having nice things with extra features where the trade is usually just taking care of them slightly better.

Personally I'll never go back to wired headphones after experiencing the freedom of wireless ones. Know of any wireless $16 throwaways?

Yes! Just search eBay/AliExpress. They work and sound great. I get the appeal of having nice things, but earbuds? They're tiny plastic things that just sit in your ear and could easily fall down a sewer grate at any moment.

Knowing what I know about the expected quality of things found on AliExpress, I'm hesitant to put batteries found there in my ears.

You overestimate the quality of your "trusted" brands.

Nearly every problem I've ever had with electronic components in my life has been caused by counterfeits that either lie about their capabilities, lie about what they're made of, or lie about whether they were QC tested. Maybe that means the SD card only stores a few real megabytes before trashing all of your photos. Maybe that means your phone charger destroys your phone. Maybe that means the battery in your ear explodes [0]. The thing about trusted brands is that at least they have brands to protect.

[0] - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/04/lithi...

Anker has several options for under $20 with very good build quality, sound quality and battery life. The mic for phone calls is a bit lacking; I haven’t found any cheap earbuds with noise cancelling mics.

having to charge your headphones in order for them to work is not freedom.

Mine sit in their little charging case and as a result are always ready to rock.

My headphones don't require electricity

I would be happier if the sound quality was better but did not expect that which means my expectations were not only met, but surpasses as they performed better on other ways (batter, connectivity, comfort etc.)

I do take pleasure in high quality things, just not these and especially not something so easily lost.

And they are wireless. The prices for equivalent earbuds run $25-$45 now, but if you time it right they'll go on sale or a new company will discount for under $25. I got mine free as a promo but would gladly pay even $25 for them.

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