Wireless Headphones - Worth it?

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Audition planning the nano wireless headphone accessory kit. Plus rumors daily about the next iPod having BlueTooth for wireless audio.



Big question remains. What is it worth to cut the wire? The Audition kit, based on Aura's LibertyLink chip will cost about $99 (tops).



Bluetooth in the iPod won't be free- the additional battery requirements making most of the cost. The headphone will probably have to sell for some price under $100.



I assume that both implementations (Audition kit, built in BT) will offer a good listening experience.



So again I ask, is wireless freedom worth it?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    coreycorey Posts: 165member
    General rule is that wireless costs you quality...



    If you are the type that thinks iTunes downloads are a good deal and have acceptable quality, you will love a high quality wireless solution.



    If you are the type that still buys CD's and loads them into iTunes in Lossless mode, then I strongly advise against wireless of any kind.



    No one (with a clue) will claim that wireless anything is equal to (let alone better than) wired at this point in time. (I say this working in the wireless industry)



    Although I suspect within 24 months that statement may not be true.



    Corey
  • Reply 2 of 21
    podlifepodlife Posts: 23member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Corey

    General rule is that wireless costs you quality...



    If you are the type that thinks iTunes downloads are a good deal and have acceptable quality, you will love a high quality wireless solution.



    If you are the type that still buys CD's and loads them into iTunes in Lossless mode, then I strongly advise against wireless of any kind.



    No one (with a clue) will claim that wireless anything is equal to (let alone better than) wired at this point in time. (I say this working in the wireless industry)



    Although I suspect within 24 months that statement may not be true.



    Corey




    I think wireless is for on-the-go. It's not for living-room listening.



    For outdoor listening there is always going to be some background noise from cars, talking, etc.



    So I believe that a reasonable listening experience is sellable, especially for exercising or riding public transportation. But I would not tolerate pops and clicks in the stream.
  • Reply 3 of 21
    coreycorey Posts: 165member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by podlife

    I think wireless is for on-the-go. It's not for living-room listening.



    For outdoor listening there is always going to be some background noise from cars, talking, etc.



    So I believe that a reasonable listening experience is sellable, especially for exercising or riding public transportation. But I would not tolerate pops and clicks in the stream.




    Agreed. My (attempted) point was that wireless is okay if you are willing to pay the Quality price.



    Corey
  • Reply 4 of 21
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by podlife

    Audition planning the nano wireless headphone accessory kit. Plus rumors daily about the next iPod having BlueTooth for wireless audio.



    Big question remains. What is it worth to cut the wire? The Audition kit, based on Aura's LibertyLink chip will cost about $99 (tops).



    Bluetooth in the iPod won't be free- the additional battery requirements making most of the cost. The headphone will probably have to sell for some price under $100.



    I assume that both implementations (Audition kit, built in BT) will offer a good listening experience.



    So again I ask, is wireless freedom worth it?




    Send us all your bank account info so we can accurately tear apart your budget and decide if wireless is worth it for you. Come on man, these are decisions you should be making if it's strictly about $$.
  • Reply 5 of 21
    podlifepodlife Posts: 23member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ipodandimac

    Send us all your bank account info so we can accurately tear apart your budget and decide if wireless is worth it for you. Come on man, these are decisions you should be making if it's strictly about $$.



    Ha. I've already bought almost every BlueTooth dongle and headphone out there. I'm still trying to find the scheme that works.



    I like the wireless experience. But if you did tear into my account you would see I have wasted lots of dough trying to get a good one.



    Based on the amount of wireless topics and number of posts on these boards I wonder why Apple would consider a BT enabled iPod?



    I am curious to know if I am one of few or one of many looking for wireless headphones.
  • Reply 6 of 21
    robin hoodrobin hood Posts: 513member
    Forget it. Wireless headphones are a waste of money. You have to deal with batteries and poor sound quality.



    And I have the same opinion about wireless keyboard and mice.
  • Reply 7 of 21
    podlifepodlife Posts: 23member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Robin Hood

    Forget it. Wireless headphones are a waste of money. You have to deal with batteries and poor sound quality.



    And I have the same opinion about wireless keyboard and mice.






    Many people think that wireless means poor audio quality.



    BlueTooth products use very good sub-band codecs and they deliver good fidelity. The occasional pop and click is annoying but I assume that if Apple every delivers a good BT feature this problem will be cured.



    The Audition product mentioned on another Future Hardware post is not BlueTooth and should be interference free.



    Charging another set of batteries is a pain as you point out.
  • Reply 8 of 21
    appelappel Posts: 69member
    I don't see the need for wireless, I wear the clip on type headphones, not the buds.



    The buds are extremelyl sore after about an hour, plus any slight movement and they fall out. I just can't seem to get them to stay in my ears.



    Better to get clip ons, really good for being able to freely move without worrying if your going to knouck your earphnes out.



    Also, wireless is rubbish at the moment, far too over priced.
  • Reply 9 of 21
    cubistcubist Posts: 954member
    Agree with podlife, I have a friend who's spent well over $1K on wireless headphones, and he says he can't recommend any of the Bluetooth ones. There are some analog headphones using proprietary protocols which are good; my uncle has an Advent set.
  • Reply 10 of 21
    benzenebenzene Posts: 338member
    Also keep in mind that with wireless headphones not only have the associated reciever circuitry, but the batteries as well. This can add an appreciable amount of weight. Some wireless sets I've tried felt like a vise, because to support the extra weight they have to grip one's ears and head more aggresively.



    I personally own a nice set of (very light) sennheisers, and I can wear them for hours on end without discomfort. You won't know what you like until you try out several different styles.
  • Reply 11 of 21
    podlifepodlife Posts: 23member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by benzene







    I personally own a nice set of (very light) sennheisers, and I can wear them for hours on end without discomfort. You won't know what you like until you try out several different styles.






    I agree with you comfort is a major factor. I have designed a few headphones and the most difficult mechanical task is getting the neckband shape and cup pressure. Sennheiser is one of the best at this.



    BTW the LibertyLink tech data says that only a 5gram battery is required in the headphone so I believe it could be quite light.
  • Reply 12 of 21
    m_shellm_shell Posts: 30member
    i say no. i mean is the wire that much of a big deal? its just a little wire...
  • Reply 13 of 21
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by m_shell

    i say no. i mean is the wire that much of a big deal? its just a little wire...



    I found this to be surprisingly not the case with my Triports. It could just be that the Triport wire is ridiculously long, but I found that it got underneath the wheels of my office chair a fecking lot.
  • Reply 14 of 21
    mynameheremynamehere Posts: 560member
    I've had a pair of Philips for about 7 years now. One thing I will recommend: Get a pair that uses standard-sized removable batteries. Occasionally, I use these headphones for long enough or forget to recharge them, and having an extra set of batteries handy works quite well. Also, don't get anything infrered since it's limited by line-of-sight.



    My $0.02 (non-tax-deductible)
  • Reply 15 of 21
    hujibhujib Posts: 117member
    Does no one else not like the idea of a bluetooth device attached to the side of their head?! Cell phones are bad enough.
  • Reply 16 of 21
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hujib

    Does no one else not like the idea of a bluetooth device attached to the side of their head?! Cell phones are bad enough.



    Are you talking about health reasons? You're probably suffering ten times the radiation simply by living on a planet that orbits the sun.
  • Reply 17 of 21
    hujibhujib Posts: 117member
    haha,. you're probably right. When I'm on my mobile for a long time without a wired headset I feel like my brain is melting..
  • Reply 18 of 21
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    The radiation of having a Bluetooth headset attached to your head (with the cellphone in your pockets) is much smaller than that of having the cellphone itself next to your ears.
  • Reply 19 of 21
    rraburrabu Posts: 264member
    My wife got me the iMuffs for Xmas and I quite like them. I walk to work in the winter and it is nice that my headphones also work with my cell phone so I can take a call and such. The transmitter works off the iPod's battery so no extra battery to charge there and the headphones plug into normal USB to charge so no big deal there.



    The main problem I had with the wire was that it gets very stiff when cold and then is a pain in the butt to move around. Turn your head to check for cars and the stiff wire would pull the earbud out of your ear rather then flexing and letting you move about.
  • Reply 20 of 21
    elixirelixir Posts: 782member
    i'll tell you something



    ive used nothing but the ipod headphones for so long



    and i finally went out today and bought me some pro headphones for 100 dollars. i needed it to play my guitar at night but i figured id listen to some music with it today







    WOW, what a world of a difference some good headphones will do to your music.





    artist's spend millions trying to get the best sound and we trash their music with cheap headphones and sound systems.





    sorry for the rant.





    quality matters if you are a true music fan.





    wireless isn't about quality.
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