I am one of those dinosaurs that still have not owned a pair of Bluetooth earbuds. I can see the appeal of not having tangled wires while outside, but I don’t like earbuds in general, as it’s very hard to find a pair that fits comfortably in my ears and doesn’t fall off. With wireless earbuds, I am sure I will lose them easily. I also don’t like having to remember to charge another device. I mostly use earbuds when I listen to audio books outside. Convince me why I should get Bluetooth earbuds, and which ones would you recommend?
You’re trading one problem for three more.
Need to charge
Often poorer audio quality as the DAC is smaller and located on the actual earbud
Easy to lose when falling out. Watch out for that toilet! Don’t worry, you’ll instinctively reach in to save it but never use the shit earbuds as they will be forever tainted.
Wired for the win! And mine, I store in the case that came in the phone charger to solve the tangling issue.
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I use edifier earphones.
Fit well
Charge fast
Good audio
Cost about 2k
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Currently using sony wf-1000xm4. Tried Bose, B&O, Shure and galaxy buds and these sound and fit the best for me.
Only went Bluetooth as I bought a phone without a jack. I wasn’t convinced at first, but the convenience and tech is good. Only use wired at home with full size headphones now, won’t go back to wired for travelling.
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I was recently in the USA and bought a pair of Jaybird Vista 2’s for $90, on sale. I also listen to audiobooks while working, but with only one ear as I need the other to hear orders and other things. I’ve been using wired connected to my SanDisk mp3 player. I decided to switch because I always have to adjust the wired ones as they are always being wiggled about because of the wire.
The Jaybirds sound awesome with music, good bass, treble, and mids, plus you can adjust the eq with the phone app. Audiobooks don’t need super awesome sounding buds, so you may consider something less expensive.
I’ve used them jogging and not a chance of them falling out. They fit comfortably in my ear and come with 3 sizes to fit. The case is nice and is supposed to hold an additional 8 hours of charge (I think it’s 8). USB-c connection.
These also allow me to use one bud if I want. Some other brands don’t have that option. They also have active noise cancelling as an option.
So far, I like them and am glad of the switch.
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Bluetooth earpods sure make wearing a mask a lot more convenient.
I became dedicated during covid because the wired ones kept getting tied up with my mask.
I also quit buying nice ones because I lose them or break them or they fall into my drink or into the river when I’m riding my bike.
My latest pair are fine and they are $NT580 from the night market. You can find some that the night market that have more capabilities than airpods for under 1,000.
Earpods and sunglasses are two things I don’t spend much money on.
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I bought a pair that still has a cable between the buds, they fit well and less likely to get lost, called ‘Blacklabel’, cheap and pretty good sound. High dynamic, good bass, nice high tones. Got them at Carrefour. Not even 400NT$.
I ruined 3 sets of wired ear buds this year (3.5mm jack), cables keep crapping out.
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Yes. It’s the only actually useful technology to come out last decade. Never using wired earphones/buds again.
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Hi, call me Barney. We can hang out. I am a dinosaur too.
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If you find a pair that fits your ears well, it’s a great purchase. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing them quite fast…
I personally really like the first generation AirPods and use them for all phone calls and web meetings. I also bought a pair of AirPods Pro - but they just keep falling out of my ears after some time…
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bad for environment (batteries), cant listen for extended periods (batteries). so I am not for them. the wire hassle trumps the other 2 bigger issues.
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For me, yes. I could never go back to wired.
They are a must for working out and travel. If you’re just listening at home I would just Save money and go wired but wireless is a must if you’re on the move all the time with them.
I would skip Apple products, plenty of companies focuses on audio technology that are also better priced. Apple is more about the brand rather than audio technology. Other companies, it’s their core business and they have been working on audio technology for decades.
Sony WF/Wh are amazing
Bang & Olufsen
sennheiser
These are my go to brands.
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I’m a dinosaur too, never used bluetooth earbuds. I just use that wired apple earbuds that used to come with iphones. They sound reasonably good and is cheap.
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Unlike many responding, I’m not hard over either way - has it’s plusses and minuses. If you’re happy with wired, no particular reason to go wireless although the one big benefit of wireless (imo), with most dedicated audio ports gone now, is you can charge while listening if needed. But if you’re mostly listening outside, not really applicable.
I’m not sure there’s actually an audio benefit of wired anymore on phones, as I don’t think there’s anyone bothering with higher end dacs on board anymore.
Some of the other points mentioned: listening times - get something with a charging case, and it’s not a big deal. most wireless buds are basically all day devices anyway, so with the availability of a quick charge, not a big deal. working out - I preferred either wired or Bluetooth with the two sides connected.to each other - if I take them out, I can just let them hang. Air travel, I bring wired, so I can use them on the plane’s in flight system as well.
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Another traditionalist here, and I have been using wired earphones at work and at home. During the heydays of COVID I had to attend meetings late at night and I was studying part time as well - having the mobility of Bluetooth earphones helped a lot.
With the bluetooth earphones, I can move from room to room, and having a small plastic case in the pocket is more convenient than an unwieldly tangle of cables in the backpack. Helps that I can listen to podcasts when cycling or on e-bike.
I didn’t want anything fancy - Xiaomi’s Redmi Buds 3 pro works well for me. Noise cancelling is important especially when using the earphones for work related calls.
I find that my bluetooth earphones cannot replace its wired sibling. Mostly default to wired earphones for online meetings.
For reference: 藍牙耳機 - 小米手機官網原裝配件唯一在線銷售渠道 - 小米官網 (mi.com)
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I prefer wireless because I don’t like spending time untangling wires or having my dogs trip over them, and wireless are generally easier for exercise, outdoor activities (like gardening and hiking), and sleep. I also enjoy the noise cancelling, noise amplifying, mute, call answer, and other functions some of them have.
These days I use wired only on flights and when I misplace my wirelesses earbuds. That said, I am eagerly awaiting delivery of a pair of wireless earbuds to ones I lost last week… These new ones are supposed to have 8 hours of battery life, with capacity for 2 full charges in the case.
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As I read this thread, it does sound like these things are quite easy to lose.
Maybe they should attach wires to them or something to stop this from happening. 
Guy
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I don’t use them on flights because they are so hard to find if you drop them. Most do have a locator beep, but my Samsung’s were too quiet for a plane. And it doesn’t work if they are in the case.
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Had many bluetooth earphones and headphones over the years, and so far sticking with 3 for different uses:
- Sony WH-1000xm4, amazing noise cancelling and very, very good audio quality (especially if you phone supports LDAC codec), you can even wire them when the battery dies. Best for travels, particularly airplane
- Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (the Beans), good for fit and long use, audio quality is not amazing, but still decent and very limited noise cancelling. You can find amazing deals now for these
- Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (now the 2s are out, great improvement). Good ANC and audio quality, small case, wireless charging, I just don’t like too much the eartips, better to swap them with some less sweaty for my ear canal. But also here amazing deals are out.
The tech is getting very good, unless you are an audiophile caring for absolute lossless quality, you will be satisfied. Very few people can’t be satisfied with modern bluetooth audio.
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I have a cheap pair and they’re great for working out or running or otherwise having lots of free movement. Any other time I’d prefer the wires. Really, the only thing I’m afraid of is that I’d drop the things into some unrecoverable crevice like inside the MRT.
The battery inside of them is tiny and charges quickly. I had extra chargers lying around, but it’s not even necessary because it’s so quickly charged.
I’m not a musician, so can’t say much about audio quality. One disappointing thing to me is that noise cancelling setups don’t do much of anything.