The Technology Vent and Rant Thread

[ownedbycats]

God how I despite Wikia/Fandom.

[ownedbycats]

I guess I can appreciate the honesty here.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

God how I despite Wikia/Fandom.

I'm happy to say that I don't even know what you mean.
Please keep it that way.

[Solitaire1]

One thing I find irritating is how people have been pushed to Bluetooth (BT) for their headphones due to the removal of the headphone jack. The standard headphone jack (3.5mm) is a proven connector that just works. I doubt that it was due to waterproofing issues because I think there should be a way to deal with the issue such as a cap when it's not in use.

I've got a pair of BT headphones (Shokz OpenMove) and while not having wires is a convenience, it's frustrating when I listening to something and the signal just cuts off. I don't know why it cuts off (I've eliminated the distance and low power as issues) and I wonder if it has to do with my BT version (4.2) or that I'm using the SBC protocol (since that's the only one my headphones support). Added to that is that my BT headphones don't sound as good as my wired headphones (Koss PortaPro and JVC Flats).

[Renate]

I'm a big Bluetooth fan but I don't deny that BT is a swamp of incompatibility. Frequency accuracy is important for good connectivity. It's not easily measured. It could be though. You have GPS for an accurate frequency reference and you have counters.

Bluetooth headphones are just another thing to charge.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

One thing I find irritating is how people have been pushed to Bluetooth (BT) for their headphones due to the removal of the headphone jack. The standard headphone jack (3.5mm) is a proven connector that just works. I doubt that it was due to waterproofing issues because I think there should be a way to deal with the issue such as a cap when it's not in use.

When Apple announced their "revolutionary" change, they were pushing how much thinner the new generation iPhones were. Waterproofing a 3.5mm jack is no more technically difficult than waterproofing a Lightning connector, but that waterproofing incurs bulk. I think the technical difficulty was with reliably waterproofing within the available space between the top and bottom shell layers.

They also had just finished acquiring Beats which at the time was the largest seller of wireless headphones in the world (might still be for all I know). I'm not saying that the change was to promote Beats sales, but follow the money suggests a very happy coincidence.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

One thing I find irritating is how people have been pushed to Bluetooth (BT) for their headphones due to the removal of the headphone jack. The standard headphone jack (3.5mm) is a proven connector that just works. I doubt that it was due to waterproofing issues because I think there should be a way to deal with the issue such as a cap when it's not in use.

They do make adapters for Lightning to 3.5mm and USB C to 3.5mm. My husband preferred wired headphones for a long time. Even with BT, he likes the individual earbuds to be connected to each other so they can lay around his neck when out of the ears.

[fum]

If I'm outta ears, mine will probably lay around the neck too........

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

They do make adapters for Lightning to 3.5mm and USB C to 3.5mm. My husband preferred wired headphones for a long time. Even with BT, he likes the individual earbuds to be connected to each other so they can lay around his neck when out of the ears.

So-called True Wireless since there is no wire connecting the earpieces to each other. First World Problem with a simple solution:

A piece of string.

[JSWolf]

The problem is that most people won't be getting true lossless audio with Apple Music because they are using Bluetooth headphones or earbuds and that will be lossy.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem is that most people won't be getting true lossless audio with Apple Music because they are using Bluetooth headphones or earbuds and that will be lossy.

In the vast majority of cases consumers simply don't care enough for it to matter. As someone who has spent more money on headphones and amplifiers than they care to admit in public? It doesn't matter.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by ratinox

As someone who has spent more money on headphones and amplifiers than they care to admit in public? It doesn't matter.

My setup is a little $25 12V Chinese TDA-something stereo amplifier. It came with a blue power LED that could sear a steak at 10 paces. I replaced it with a suitably mellow yellow LED. One of the channels kept dropping out so I bypassed the volume control and suffered no more problems. I was thinking that my bookshelf speakers were the cheapest, but I find that they are Micca MB42X which still retail at $90. I don't actually ever listen to music for enjoyment so it hardly makes a difference. I'll hit YouTube occasionally to transcribe a song though. Yesterday was Blondie, "Hanging on the Telephone", Gm.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ratinox

In the vast majority of cases consumers simply don't care enough for it to matter. As someone who has spent more money on headphones and amplifiers than they care to admit in public? It doesn't matter.

I don't use BT earbuds or headphones with my iPhone. I do have a USB dongle/DAC that I use that gives me a 3.5mm headphone jack.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

They do make adapters for Lightning to 3.5mm and USB C to 3.5mm. My husband preferred wired headphones for a long time. Even with BT, he likes the individual earbuds to be connected to each other so they can lay around his neck when out of the ears.

The problem with dongles is that it is just one more thing that needs to be carried...and can possibly break and it is also an extra expense. Plus, from what I understand, if you use a dongle to connect a pair of wired headphones to an iPhone you can't charge it at the same time. With my Walkman I can charge it and listen to music at the same time.

Concerning connected earbuds, the two sides of my Shokz OpenMove headphones are connected by a flexible metal bar that connects the two sides and holds them against my head when I'm using them. They use bone conduction and they stay in place. Plus, they sound very good.

When it comes to compression using Bluetooth I don't have much of an issue with it. My issue is the way that the sound cuts out at times. Plus, I've noticed when listening to audiobooks it sometimes cuts out parts of words. As an example, I was listening to Chapter Three of an audiobook using my soundbar, but when it played the heading I only heard "...ter Three." Just in case it was an issue with the actual audio file I checked and the full words "Chapter Three" was there.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

Plus, from what I understand, if you use a dongle to connect a pair of wired headphones to an iPhone you can't charge it at the same time.

There are passive headphone adapters with a power input. But now you're going from a tiny cylindrical jack to a little boxy thing. These sort of adapters make sense for phones in cars that don't do Bluetooth but do have an Aux input.