I recently read an article that said sales of wired headphones had increased. That said, let's open up the debate: wired or wireless headphones?

4 months ago · 👍 ashnar, ybaumy

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11 Replies

I like both, but I would prefer headphones with headphone Jacks, and I won't have to worry about my headphones needing battery. · 4 months ago

tbf, usecase matters. When I'm out and about, a pair of wireles earbuds are great for listening to music/podcasts from my phone. · 4 months ago

I understand the convenience of wireless, but I prefer wired. Psychologically, it introduces friction that helps me 'unplug' when I need to go touch grass etc. In terms of quality, I like the sound better, and it's cheaper IME to get over-ear wired headphones. · 4 months ago

Wired headphones are without a doubt better for sound quality, and should theoretically last much longer because of fewer electronics, no perishable batteries, etc.

That being said, I've used a set of wireless Sony's every single day for the past 10 years and they're still going strong. I recently had to replace the ear cups because they started disintegrating, but the battery lasts just as long as when they were new.

I mostly use headphones when I'm doing something else - cleaning the house, cooking, etc. So having a cable would be kind of a hinderance. I would *prefer* wired, but for my use case, wireless ones are way more convenient. :) · 4 months ago

(Just as an aside, the Apple USB-C to jack dongle is great value. Active DAC inside it so it works with literally everything. And it's cheap. Good bit of kit.) · 4 months ago

Wired all the way. I tried sine noise cancelling BT buds, Bose I think. Fucking awful user experience. "app this", "update the other and assign button that", noise cancellation was.... Pathetic. Made me rage. Sent them back and stuck with 900 yen Panasonic cheap shit ones which are backups to my Fiio IEMs (also wired). · 4 months ago

i have both, but i usually prefer speakers. · 4 months ago

As much as I like the convenience of not having to charge my headphones, I feel like I always end up breaking wired ones. · 4 months ago

Wireless are nice when travelling and on videocalls, especially those where disabling your webcam is tolerated so that you can grab a glass of water while following the discussion. But I would still always have a wired one ready for those days you have hiccups, the headset hasn't been charged, or I want the best quality.

Both. · 4 months ago

More and more I'm motivated to go for wired rather than wireless (likely Bluetooth). Wireless encrypted short range RF would be nice though. No beacon or anything that can be tracked as part of a protocol just a good old carrier wave carrying audio that's been encrypted with a user specified pairing key. · 4 months ago

I have a pair of Beats by Dre bought a while back and I love them. I use them at home.

I also have a NewBee B45 for taking long calls and a pair of Baseus Encock WM 01 for listening to music on the go.

I guess wired headphones are not my first choice when I'm not at home · 4 months ago