Wireless Headphones?

I do apologise if I step on the toes of some Audiophiles out there, but from a technology standpoint, there are quite a few different options out there if you are looking to listen to some good tunes. The trick becomes how do you want to listen to those tunes? Certainly, if you look at the mobile world in which we live there are a few different options out there, but the fundamental question becomes “do you want to go wireless?” For this, we have to set up a few different boundaries on what we’re talking about when we’re talking about wireless headphones.

Wireless Vs Wired – This should be the ground rules for what we’re talking about today. The obvious differentiator is that wireless headphones do not have a physical connection to the device. Wired headphones do have a physical connection to the computer. I am sure that many of the audiophiles out there would argue that wired is better than wireless because you get a better quality sound. While I used to believe that wholeheartedly, wireless technology has come along quite a ways, and for many of them, the sound quality can be as good as the wired headphones.

Wireless Vs “Wireless”  – Over the past couple of years (as of this posting) there has been an explosion on the market of true wireless earphones. Where the “wireless” earphones that came before were not connected to your device, they would still have a wire plugged in between them which would wrap around the back of your head. I have had a few of these types of headphones, but one of the things that I found was that they would pull out my ears quite easily. Yes if I turned my head sharply or if I didn’t have the right plastic bit on them to make them more comfortable in my ear, they would fall out, and I would spend half my listening experience trying to get the frickin’ things to stay in my ears. It was frustrating. For sure they all came with different ear pieces for different ear sizes, but because I occasionally get hit with a strong case of Murphy’s law, the extra ear pieces would take a walk. They would only reappear after I replaced the first ones…The other way they would fall out (to get back on track) is by just being long enough that they would catch on my clothing and when I turned my head, they would fall out. On the other side of the coin, there are truest wireless earphones — things like AirPods which don’t have any wires at all. You connect them via Bluetooth and not only do they not touch the physical device, but they also don’t touch each other in any way. Well, apart from when you are holding both in one hand, naturally, but to function, they do not need a connecting wire.

Why I like true wireless – I have to say since I bought my AirPods about a year or so ago (as of this posting) I have used them almost exclusively. I genuinely enjoy the fact that I can opt them in my ears and there is no connecting wire or anything to make it so that they fall out of your ear. I also like the fact that you can (if you feel so inclined) only put one in your ear so that your an listen to music with one ear and have one ear open for other things. I don’t know if the one ear open thing is the same for the other proper Wireless headphones. What you need to remember about true Wireless devices is that they (generally) are quite comfortable, easy to handle and remarkably don’t fall out of your ears that easily. When I used to go jogging in the morning, I wouldn’t dream of talking my AirPods with me because I was afraid of them falling out of my ear somewhere on the road, which would result in me likely losing them forever and feeling like an idiot for doing that in the first place. A few months ago I did a half hour on an elliptical with them in, and they didn’t budge, so I might be willing to give that a go and see what happens.

There are so many more reasons to go with wireless headphones. I’m sure I could go on and on about it, but I don’t think I want proper audiophiles at my door all “torch and pitchforky.” For me, I like the fact that you can get true wireless devices which allow you the convenience of good quality sound, the effortlessness of simply connecting to your Bluetooth and going, and the ease of not having to worry about the cord ripping the earphone out of an ear if you turn your head too sharply. Having true wireless headsets allows you a certain level of freedom which makes life just that much more straightforward. I don’t believe it’s going to do anything wild and crazy like cause world peace, but they can make your life just a little bit simpler.

What kind of headphones do you have?

Let me know in the comments section below. If you like this blog post and want to see more, you can follow me on Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @jasonlovefiles) or Subscribe to my blog to get new content delivered directly to your mailbox.