I couldn’t tell if you were going along with the joke or had no clue and were just talking about people at the mall since they have lotion.
I’ve never really used headphones. If I can’t listen to music because it bothers others I tend to just set the player to silent and pretend there’s music on.
So you’re saying it’s a browser tab situation.
Pretty much.
The Bluetooth consortium (or whoever works out the details) kept saying “No really, the next version is going to fix all your problems” but it never got anywhere close. Apple comes along and pretty much says “Look, we’ll show you how to do it” and it Just Fucking Works. I don’t see other companies catching up any times soon, which is a pity, but in this case I’m very happy to have bought in to the Apple ecosystem.
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I have no problem with Bluetooth or using W1 or whatever other tech, but there is a massive world of super-good headphones that have wires and a massive world of sound sources that aren’t wireless and while the audiophile woo pit is expensive, many solid wired cans aren’t even that expensive. No matter how good a specific tech is at wireless, your headphones always will need a battery and will be limited by the onboard DAC and amp. And they will likely be much more expensive for equal audio quality.
Since W1 is proprietary to Apple and specific headphones with that tech, it can be amazeballs but only some Apple users can take advantage right now. Anyway it can only ever be slightly better than a good BT setup, and still won’t be any better than a good wired setup when working at a desktop.
Also you guys say you have 3 headphones and make me feel not too strange for having 4 sets of headphones and then you go and explain that two of those sets are not headphones at all but are in fact ear buds or some such not-headphones bull… and now I’m strange again for having a set of music cans, a set of lightweight gaming cans, and 2 sets of BT ANC cans; not counting the requisite myriad pile of ear buds and iems and other things that are definitely not headphones
People here keep talking about “wired setup when working at a desktop” but I’ve not owned a desktop computer since about 2008.
And no, the BeatsX headphones with the W1 chip are not “slightly better” than a good bluetooth setup. They are so much better they cross the line between “pain in the ass” and “a joy to use”. That’s a HUGE difference.
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I got the pixel2 when it came out and had to buy some bluetooth headphones or deal with the crazy dongle. Which isn’t so bad. I was really amazed at how well the bluetooth system works now. The earbuds I got had me rub them against the phone (NFC) and then everything was okay. It just worked.
If you guys enjoyed the Time Cube video, you should definitely check out the other Down the Rabbit Hole videos if you haven’t already. They’re all a similar level of quality, often similarly horrifying-and-yet-fascinating, and always engrossing regardless of the topic. He tends to over-enunciate a little, but in general he’s a great storyteller with this format. A couple others you’d probably like:
I’m never up to date on anything audio related. I still have a sound card. Though the mic port on it is busted. I “think” it makes gaming audio better… it has all these bells and whistles and an MMO setting and an FPS setting, but I may be an idiot. Nobody still seems to need these things, so I must be dumb or something.
So I’ve frequently mentioned how I love etymotics. They sound great, and the isolation and hearing protection is really the best. Very important in the loud-as hell city. The major problem has always been durability. Every single time they have this problem where eventually one or more ears just cuts out. Wiggling the wire around can temporarily bring the sound back, so you can tell there has been damage inside the cable. The cables are not replaceable. If you try to get warranty service, they always send you a new pair, but it’s still annoying as hell.
I also mentioned how the apple lightning adapter has resulted in my current pair lasting longer than before. It is true. My current pair has lasted much longer than previous ones. This adapter gave the jack a bit of wiggle room allowing the cable to go longer without being damaged.
Well, the universe had a big laugh in that just two days after doing an episode on headphones, they broke again. I think I will still try to get the warranty replacement as usual, because why not? However, I have decided to get some wireless headphones. It seems right now there are not a lot of options for headphones that have the apple wireless support, so I ordered the beats X that Luke loves so much. As much as I am not really a fan of beats, I guess beats is just Apple now. Also, they gotta be better than the official apple wireless earbuds. We’ll see how they work, and more importantly how well they isolate.
I was going to have to get some eventually because otherwise there’s no way to listen to music with the Apple Watch. I fully expect them to add Spotify to it at some point, so…
I use my BeatsX as earplugs when trying to sleep traveling, even if I’m not listening to music or podcasts or audiobooks. They isolate pretty well with the right earbud attachment. There is a choice of four of five sizes, so I’m sure they will fit just fine.
If you have an iPad and iPhone and Macbook and watch all on the same apple id, you only have to pair with one of them, which is great.
I have an iPad and an iPhone and an iWatch all on the same Apple ID, so that’s pretty kewl.
I thought you had a MacBook too.
Never. The only Apple PCs I have ever owned are a Mac Plus (1MB!) and an Apple //GS.
I guess I also technically partially owned that Mac mini core solo back in the day? It’s attached to my mom’s TV now. It’s really sad and slow.
Regardless of the way those look I’m so skeptical of those being good quality.
Almost every production person or audiophile I’ve known always go with the ATH-M50x.
Yeah, those are great for studio work, but not the greatest for walking around town or sitting at your desk enjoying some music or podcasts.
Don’t get me wrong they’re not crazy great quality sound, but for what they are they sound really good. The pads muffle a lot of outside sound which is nice. I will say though they’re mostly made of plastic, and the first pair I had the arm that holds the can on one side broke but that was caused by my own clumsiness.
True, but I’d also argue starting from zero allows you the widest range of adjustments. Granted if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s probably a pain in the ass and not worth it. But listening to other headphones after monitor headphones just kinda bother me with the way they try to tune to your specific music. Beats to me are tuned more to drumlike sounds (rap beats and whatnot) and listening to rock or metal just sounds off. Studio headphones are kinda nice in that all sound is basically equal.
I hate that everyone wants to hear more bass. Even radio stations boost bass on the broadcast. I have high range hearing loss so when people turn the bass up it drowns out the vocals and melody which is what I want to hear. I have on more than once smacked friend’s hands away from my car equalizer trying to turn the bass all the way up.