Have you tried out Shure’s or Westone’s bluetooth MMXC cables?
I haven’t tried them myself but they may offer a better experience than lugging around a seperate transceiver.
Nay for me. The inconvenience to power manage yet another device outweighs any benefits a wireless headphone may bring to the table. I would consider wireless for non-critical, portable applications, but frankly I can’t think of a case scenario where wireless trump wired. In some sense wireless seems to me like a solution in search of a problem.
Precisely. The use-case matters. When I’m doing anything like critical listening, it’s the main, wired, headphone setup. When I have music on as “background” while I do something else, the B&W MM-1s on my desk are fine. And for the occasional time I want to listen to music in bed, the “inferior” Denon+Klipsch+Polk 7.2 setup in the bedroom is “good enough”. It matters what you’re doing. Just like you’re not going to walk around with a 5’+ long .50 BMG stuffed down your pants every day, even it’s better stopping power than a Glock 19.
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One more thought in favor of wired: what happens when your rechargeable battery reaches EOL? I would fear the cost to have the battery replaced or to replace the wireless headphone itself. Not eco friendly or economical.
As far as I’m concerned they have no place in an high-end headphone forum.
Fair enough – but the technology is changing fast enough that even us skeptics will be convinced. I think we’re in the same place that the camera industry was in ~2005, film was definitely better, but it was unclear how long that would last. As people attempt to bridge that gap, I think this is the perfect place to have a conversation about how successful they’ve been.
Personally, I’m looking forward to HiFi tuned for my physiology being beamed directly to my cochlea-- and I have no doubt we’ll get there.
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I have Weston’s Blurtooth cable. It can attach to any of the Westone’s with tha MMCX connectors. I use it with a set of W30s and my Samsung S7 which transmits AptX. I use the when I really don’t want to hassle with a cable like mowing the lawn or at the dogpark. The sound is good. Not as good as wired but way better than I expected. It also has a built in mic so I can take phone calls when I’m using them. I suspect that the W30s are better than most wireless iems, generally speaking. At about $550 this setup is not a bargin, but it does show the possibilities of goid wireless. I’ll try the adapter with my W80s this week and post my thoughts on that. One nice feature is that I can have both wired and wireless options for very little weight or space. The adapter charges via micro USB and can be easily charged off of a phine charger in laptop. I haven’t really pushed battery life, but i believe I’m getting 4-6 hourd at least.
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wireless headphones rely on transmition through FM which limits the fidelity.
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HiFi beams into the cochlea is biohacking on a whole other level.
For me, wireless headphones are a nay. I don’t want to fumble with having to charge another device or the less-than-ideal fidelity.
But I use wireless earphones everyday–but only when I am at the gym. I hate having to charge it, but I rather deal with that than get my expensive headphones all disgusting.
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I think this category has a lot of room for improvement. I still haven’t found a gym headphone that I could confidently recommend to someone else
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Agreed.
I did not know it existed yet!
Thank you for pointing it out. By the way, here the link (Shure) if someone else needs it
http://www.shure.com/americas/products/accessories/earphones/earphone-headphone-cables
Thanks again
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Oh, I totally agree with you that there is much to be improved about current wireless offerings. There is a reason why I did not mention the make and model of the wireless earphones I use at the gym; they just aren’t THAT great.
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My first wireless phones were full size “quadraphonic” AR cans that had their own base station like a wireless home telephone. The sound kept going away when I walked around the room.
Have one pair of bluetooth skull candy. Yuck. I think it’s hard to put decent electronics in, have any kind of power. If you want wireless, I recommend earplugs. Keeps down the noise on a plane.
If you want to blow away someone with the comparison, and have an iPhone, get a camera card, a Dragonfly Dac, and some wired phones. (I like 1More triple drivers). Now there is portable sound.
I’m gonna have to figure out a sig line here soon…
I’m a fairly hardcore audiophile, but I’ve been using AirPods as my commute and travel headphones since the day they launched now, and I’m never going back to wires. The convenience is so damn good, and the sound quality is good enough for my usual diet of podcasts and audiobooks (though they sound surprisingly decent for music).
Dunc
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I personally say YAY.
I currently use the Sennheiser PXC550, which are an amazing pair of headphones. I don’t have any problems in terms of battery with these and I love using them when I’m in class or in a loud place. They are nice because I don’t have to worry about any wires, however I sometimes feel like using Bluetooth uses more phone battery than just plugging some earbuds in.
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Agreed. I think the PXC 550s are a good balance. They’re my current sub-$500 wireless recommendation. Particularly for those who are thinking about the QC 35s
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Im on wireless when using the mass transit. With all the hassle and bustle, wireless is a way to go otherwise you’ll be entangled with the cable.
But when in the comfort of my room and in the park, it’s better to be wired.
Big time Nay!
Hey Chris, I’m curious why you think this?
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