Earbuds
Earbuds
We used to have earbuds that don't need to be charged because they had a headphone jack, didn't get lost so easily because they had a cord attached to a headphone jack, never lost the bluetooth connection because they had a headphone jack, and they cost less because they had a headphone jack. https://bsky.app/profile/daisyfm.bsky.social/post/3l3mfjc6sn62k
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I've thrown away so many headphones because the cable frayed though. There's always some downsides.
What do y'all do to your headphones that this is a major issue? I've never really had wireless headphones and I think I've maybe had one pair of wired ones that had that issue in my life.
Normal use
But like... Clearly there's something we're doing differently here.
Pocket? Idk, it seems natural to me that moving around with a device in your pocket, plugged into a pair of headphones would cause bending and twisting of the cord, which would wear it out over time.
And lots of other stresses, like accidentally getting them caught on something and yanking them out of your ears, wrapping them up to put away in a bag/pocket, etc. It's no wonder I wore out so many pairs.
OTOH, the only wired listening device I own now is a headset that I wear at my desk, which I expect to last forever because it's subject to none of those stresses.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Guess I've just been lucky. I assume some people might also pull out the cable at the cord instead of at the base, I've seen that happening with charging cables sometimes.
At the moment I also have to use a little C to 3.5mm adapter and could maybe see that taking some damage but so far so good.
I could see the (USB-?)C adapter taking the worst of the wear-and-tear, and maybe being more resilient than plugging the 3.5mm directly into the device. Imagine the travesty if it turned out that USB-C adapters turned out to be the solution to fragile headphones all along!
Are you taking a belt sander to it? That might be the difference.
price is probably a big one, a $3 $10 $20 and $100 earbud will last wildly different amounts of time.
Just buy ones with detachable cables, or, better yet, mod headphones to use standard connectors such as MMCX (a set of Koss KSC75s). This also allows for different male connectors (3.5, 2.5, 4.4, quarter inch, XLR..) to suit different needs. There's even bluetooth cables that can plug into otherwise wired headphones. Audiophile world > convenience world.
Modding headphones is way beyond my skillset and time I can invest.
Then just buy a set with detachable cables by default. I only suggest it for the KSC75 because they're so good sounding and comfortable for cheap.
I'm just not so sure it's worth it. If the cable frays, I still have to pay $ to replace it every time.
Some of my cables are in the $100 range. They aren't fraying for many years, they're outstandingly well built. This is the benefit of detachable cables, is the ability to buy third party. Apos makes a really nice, durable cable, that never gets bent out of shape. The point is that you never have to replace the entire unit.
Lithium ion batteries will degrade over time. It's an inevitability. The cost of replacing an entire set of AirPods is far more expensive than replacing one cable every thirty something years. They're unrepairable.
The AirPods Max are an excellent example of the issue. Big, expensive headphones that have peak battery capacity for three years, if you're lucky--as opposed to the Sennheiser HD600, a set that people have daily driven for thirty years straight, sometimes replacing a cable, sometimes replacing an ear cup. Components, versus entire units.
I'd rather my headphones not be a subscription service.
I'm going into my third pair of ear buds because the batteries only survive for 1h after 2-3 years if you are a heavy user, my wired JBL is still going strong.
I remember they used to last me for years around 2005-2010. Now it is like every year at latest i need to get new ones because the cable got fucked.
I bought a pair of wired earbuds off of wish or temu, something like that, they were like eight or nine dollars.
Honestly compared to any Bluetooth headphones I've used, equivalent or better sound quality. And the wire can be pulled out and replaced for just a buck if need be. I've had them for 2 years now and they have been wonderful.
Also Moto phones with their operational 3.5 mm jacks for the win.