“Unpainfully honest” vlog convo was great. Thanks for sharing J! Enjoyed the conversation JTL. I agree, AirPods have been great and I’m just using the non-pro’s!
I mostly use wired headphones/earphones still to this day. My phone does have a headphone jack on it as well. Granted I don't have an Apple product (and never will) or a high end phone. Don't need all the bells and whistles because I will never use them all.(half the time I forget to take my phone when I leave the house) Have a Mid-level Motorola model and it does the job I need it for. I do have my late wife's Soundcore wireless earphones that work fine, but they sit around and collect dust more than anything. Honestly, what ever works best for you is what's best for you and enjoy what you like.
Happy new year Jason. When I was an Android only guy I started "collecting" Bluetooth buds and over the ear headphones. Last year I got an iPhone 15 Pro Max and I daily drive that with my Pixel 7 Pro. I've dabbled in the Apple lossless content, but mostly use Amazon Music Unlimited and the SiriusXM app for my music needs. Like you, the loss of the headphone jack really bothered me, but as the technology got better, I've come to embrace it. Tim Apple: 1 Gary: 0 💀
I'm a big fan of the AirPod pros 2. I too was not happy with the headphone jack removal , but the quality and the freedom of moving around without wires is something I won't go back to.
I recently went on the hi -res audio journey which lead me down the rabbit hole of dac's, dap's and audiophile headphones. Just for background I was a full supporter of going wireless as I was that youth that would constantly snag their headphones/earbuds on door handles or anything else that would violently yank them out of my ear. Which is why I find myself in support of both. Wired when I am stationary and wireless for on the go. Though, there is a charm about not having to worry about charging wired headphones...
There are definitely pitfalls to wireless. Charging is a big one. But I find now that I have trained myself to always put wireless buds back in the case I'm usually good. Woreless charging makes a big difference too.
My argument was no one is listening to FLAC audio files on their phone - it’s all compressed streaming music or podcasts so I didn’t see the problem, while my friends were having a hissy fit like they became audiophile music producers all of a sudden. I didn’t use the headphone jack when it was there so I sure want going to miss it when it was gone. Wired headphones were inconvenient to me in every aspect of my life - when I was running or at the gym, taking calls, watching TH-cam videos, etc. I was always using some sort of Bluetooth headphones.
My iPhone 6S with SIM card removed uses the headphone jack exclusively. I enjoy the lack of calls and messages and the fuss-free sound. My AirPods...just...sit unused in a drawer somewhere... I don't even use them with my iPhone 13 Mini or iPad. Reason? The nerves in my ear holes seem rather insensitive to the touch of the 'phones, so there's a delay when they inevitably fall out of my ears when I'm out bike riding. With the wired ones, I can retrieve them much more easily. Hau'oli Makahiki Hou to you, too. Enjoy your 2025!
I often wonder if I am getting the fullness of recordings through BT. I feel like I am not. 85% of the time this does not annoy me. But that 15% where it does, it really annoys me. I am the same age as you and I worry that I am losing the fullness of my hearing. I don’t want to take anything away from what time I have left with it. Good call on buying that GX. I am waiting for the right one to come along and then I’ll be trading my LS for one.
Ah Jason I loved the video, and I appreciate the discussion. Maybe I worded myself too strongly lol. I'm pretty sure I can agree to every single thing you've said about wireless. I don't disagree with anything you said at all. So I'm going with a "YES, AND" rather than any kind of refutation. Just like you were talking in the former half of the video about how you love the durability and repairability of your Lexus - I have some Audio Technicas over here, I am using to listen to this on my computer. They are older than my kids. And dude... the earcups - my 10 year old son will get picky and try to pick the little pieces of decaying plastic ear-cup faux-leather off my bald ass head... But I digress, these things sound great. I can keep using them, and will. I have a pair of westone alpha wired earbuds/junior IEMs that were maybe 100$. They still sound amazing. No battery, no planned or, even incidental obsolescence. Make no mistake, I have a pair of Jabra Elite 7active headphones that I love (and only occasionally cry out into wilderness over). I can take a cold shower, listen to my playlist and go. Would not dream of doing that with anything wired. There are so many use cases, convenience factor etc for bluetooth/wireless options. But I have a graveyard of old, little battery dependent, bluetooth devices. I cant fix them, they are designed to be... kinda disposable. Apple could have just as easily continued to leave the jack there, and given people the option to choose for themselves. But once Apple has done it, all the other big players follow suit because its not actually a very competitive market. Now Samsung, or google, or whoever can get us on the hook for their earbuds. And maybe solid state batteries will get the whole thing fixed up (aside from repairability) but they could have recycling etc where you can swap old for new, etc. But in the meanwhile, I can't afford to replace headphones on their cycle and to have to carry a dongle which then disables my ability to plug my phone in to charge is kind of "libertarian paternalism" - I don't mean this as a dirty word, I just literally don't have another term for it - but its that kind of design choice that forces the user to have to go out of their way to use the original or intended function of their own thing. Sure its a choice to not put a dongle on, and coordinate cable charging with headphone use etc... It reminds me of the kinds of structural friction in so much of our culture, health insurance, corporate jobs, even the gym membership. Sure you can cancel your gym membership at any time when you signed up online... but you have to physically go into their office to quit the policy? People are essentially forced into taking a sub-optimal choice. So they let it slide. At the end of the day I just hope for more choice in a more sustainable, repairable, world. And I am willing to speak up about it, try to work for it. Is it bull-headed? Idealistic? Naive? You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one (Next time you see me, feel free to slap me upside the head for every unnecessary ellipsis, or bad comma, run-on etc. I could use being took down another peg or twenty, lol)
I hope some day you'll join us. And the world will live as one... All good points and well taken. I guess I've been worn down to more of an 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' outlook, but everything you say here is spot on.
Death of the head phone jack on high end devices has been a plus for casual listeners in that we now have good quality inexpensive dongle and Bluetooth DACs/amplifiers. Along with the new options for good quality Bluetooth headphones/IEMs have opened up our options for how we listen to music. I can decide how anti-social I want to appear and be when out and about.
I mainly use wireless ear buds while at work in one ear or while out for a walk. I still have a pair wired buds and a usb-c adapter I use once or twice a year when I forget the wireless ones. I always buy cheap ones not from my phone manufacturer to avoid ecosystem lock in. They sound fine, even $20 ones! No wires is a big pro for me. At home I still have wired headphones I use with my turntable. but I also have some wireless Soundscore headphones that sound amazing playing digital files from my phone. I like the idea of wired as they could last forever (no batteries) but I use wireless 90% of the time.
I only have 2 earphones. Earpods 3.5mm and airpods pro 1. I use the lightning to 3.5 on my 12 mini and natively on my first gen SE. The earpods is still the best cheap lava mic for me.
Nothing beats good wired IEMs and headphones....well i suppose good speakers if you can use them without bothering others. TWS have gotten really good though these past 2 years.
You might alleviate the numb digits issue by putting a grip on your Apple Pencil. At least for me I notice less trouble when using a pen with a thick grip versus thin.
You got that right. I have the SHP9500 and the SHP9600. It's where I started last year in my headphone quest. I'm in the Sennheiser rabbit hole right now.
@jamesberryman9893 They got a lot of great headphones! I went down the headphones rabbithole thanks to this channel when it was mostly just headphones, but it helped me pick the best ones for me.
I know your an older guy and I ALSO know that wired headphones WE'RE the best way to experience sound, and maybe/probably still is, and Bluetooth, AT ONE POINT, WAS TERRIBLE, BUT now days, and for A LONG TIME, AT THIS POINT, Bluetooth is really good, AND WIRES ARE ANNOYING AF/they get in the way/I wouldn't want to use a headphone jack period, granted this is coming from someone who's still rocking Sony M4 headphones, but in my defense, the Sony M5s are WAY TO BIG, granted, I also don't use the case the M4s come in either/I use an aftermarket/another brands hard shell case, with the M4s, because I believe the case that comes with the M4s, are to big, but this is ALSO coming from someone who HATES Air Pod like designed ear pieces, I still use and prefer noise canceling ear pieces, my phone call ONLY ear piece, NEEDS a hook though, I don't use or like ear buds either, but I do like ear pieces, with a hook/I HAVE TO HAVE a headset with a hook, that goes over my ear, to keep the ear bud in, the hook is a REQUIREMENT, and I still use them, to this day, on the go/for portable use, and the cool thing is they charge in their case, they also have great sound quality during calls, and the noise canceling is amazing as well/you can roll down the window on the interstate and no one would even notice that your on the interstate, with the windows rolled down, you can/could technically run a vacuum cleaner and talk on the phone, if you could hear over the vacuum, the person your talking to can't hear the vacuum, but you definitely hear the vacuum/if your using a good noise canceling ear piece, people will tell you, it basically sounds like your in a closet by your self, in complete silence, no matter where you are/ if you flipped your ear pieces microphone up/out of the way and yelled, the person on the phone, couldn't hear you yell, this is also coming from someone that still uses a Bluetooth MP3 player, granted, MP3 isn't the type of files I use, I use FLAC files, I also still use and have the Razor Phone 2, with my own custom software, and I ONLY use phones/tablets/computers/devices that have 16x9 aspect ratios/no 18x9, the ONLY way I will even watch an 18x9 video, is IF the display is 55inches or bigger/my main TVs are all 65inches now, my point is, this is also coming from someone who has a physical media/a bluray collection, and bluray players and 4k bluray prayers, I do ALSO have every available streaming service TOO though, I also have a 4090 and an i9, in my computers, my laptops and desktops, but my point is, I don't like to use equipment/devices that are limiting, and I accept and like Bluetooth/I prefer it, so that must say something about/for Bluetooth, and where it is today, and where its been, for years, at this point.
anyway, i knew u woukdnt let yourself "serrle" for the ipad mini and call it a day😂. Never got the update video. I'm in the endless search for products too so i def get it. Sold my macbook pro bc i hardly used it. Then i thought it would be good to downsize and buy an ipad 10 instead. I had it for 1 day and thought the screen was trash since its not oled. Then i went to bb to look at the displays on the macbook air and the ipad 10 with the ipad mini. I don't know if i really want to spend $1000 on a macbook ao im thinking of just buying yhe ipad 10 again (which is now more money)😢. Never ends.. trust me, i get it.
Let’s be clear. The new AirPods will not correct for anything more than the mild hearing loss in a limited frequency range; there is no meaningful fine tuning, correction of hearing loss. You can’t substitute them for prescription (and yes expensive) hearing aids.
How much do hearing aids cost? I love my AirPods Pro 2! Im deaf in my leaf ear. Mumps mild lose in my right. They have literally changed my world! Love them. Apple is a love-hate relationship in this case I love them. Thank You Apple!
I think you should research the APP hearing aid feature. It’s a lot more detailed than you’re giving it credit for. I’ve used it extensively and I have moderate hearing loss.
Radical idea: enjoy all the conveniences of BT earphones AND maintain the headphone jack.
Well, that ship sailed 8 years ago.
I remember your videos about the headphone jack in 2017, I was wrong, I miss the headphone jack and the sound it provided.
Happy New Year Jason
“Unpainfully honest” vlog convo was great. Thanks for sharing J! Enjoyed the conversation JTL. I agree, AirPods have been great and I’m just using the non-pro’s!
Glad you liked it!
I mostly use wired headphones/earphones still to this day. My phone does have a headphone jack on it as well. Granted I don't have an Apple product (and never will) or a high end phone. Don't need all the bells and whistles because I will never use them all.(half the time I forget to take my phone when I leave the house) Have a Mid-level Motorola model and it does the job I need it for. I do have my late wife's Soundcore wireless earphones that work fine, but they sit around and collect dust more than anything. Honestly, what ever works best for you is what's best for you and enjoy what you like.
Happy new year Jason. When I was an Android only guy I started "collecting" Bluetooth buds and over the ear headphones. Last year I got an iPhone 15 Pro Max and I daily drive that with my Pixel 7 Pro. I've dabbled in the Apple lossless content, but mostly use Amazon Music Unlimited and the SiriusXM app for my music needs. Like you, the loss of the headphone jack really bothered me, but as the technology got better, I've come to embrace it. Tim Apple: 1 Gary: 0 💀
I'm a big fan of the AirPod pros 2. I too was not happy with the headphone jack removal , but the quality and the freedom of moving around without wires is something I won't go back to.
I recently went on the hi -res audio journey which lead me down the rabbit hole of dac's, dap's and audiophile headphones. Just for background I was a full supporter of going wireless as I was that youth that would constantly snag their headphones/earbuds on door handles or anything else that would violently yank them out of my ear. Which is why I find myself in support of both. Wired when I am stationary and wireless for on the go. Though, there is a charm about not having to worry about charging wired headphones...
There are definitely pitfalls to wireless. Charging is a big one. But I find now that I have trained myself to always put wireless buds back in the case I'm usually good. Woreless charging makes a big difference too.
My argument was no one is listening to FLAC audio files on their phone - it’s all compressed streaming music or podcasts so I didn’t see the problem, while my friends were having a hissy fit like they became audiophile music producers all of a sudden. I didn’t use the headphone jack when it was there so I sure want going to miss it when it was gone.
Wired headphones were inconvenient to me in every aspect of my life - when I was running or at the gym, taking calls, watching TH-cam videos, etc. I was always using some sort of Bluetooth headphones.
My iPhone 6S with SIM card removed uses the headphone jack exclusively. I enjoy the lack of calls and messages and the fuss-free sound. My AirPods...just...sit unused in a drawer somewhere... I don't even use them with my iPhone 13 Mini or iPad.
Reason?
The nerves in my ear holes seem rather insensitive to the touch of the 'phones, so there's a delay when they inevitably fall out of my ears when I'm out bike riding. With the wired ones, I can retrieve them much more easily.
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou to you, too. Enjoy your 2025!
I often wonder if I am getting the fullness of recordings through BT. I feel like I am not. 85% of the time this does not annoy me. But that 15% where it does, it really annoys me. I am the same age as you and I worry that I am losing the fullness of my hearing. I don’t want to take anything away from what time I have left with it.
Good call on buying that GX. I am waiting for the right one to come along and then I’ll be trading my LS for one.
Ah Jason I loved the video, and I appreciate the discussion.
Maybe I worded myself too strongly lol.
I'm pretty sure I can agree to every single thing you've said about wireless. I don't disagree with anything you said at all.
So I'm going with a "YES, AND" rather than any kind of refutation. Just like you were talking in the former half of the video about how you love the durability and repairability of your Lexus - I have some Audio Technicas over here, I am using to listen to this on my computer. They are older than my kids. And dude... the earcups - my 10 year old son will get picky and try to pick the little pieces of decaying plastic ear-cup faux-leather off my bald ass head... But I digress, these things sound great. I can keep using them, and will.
I have a pair of westone alpha wired earbuds/junior IEMs that were maybe 100$. They still sound amazing. No battery, no planned or, even incidental obsolescence.
Make no mistake, I have a pair of Jabra Elite 7active headphones that I love (and only occasionally cry out into wilderness over). I can take a cold shower, listen to my playlist and go. Would not dream of doing that with anything wired. There are so many use cases, convenience factor etc for bluetooth/wireless options.
But I have a graveyard of old, little battery dependent, bluetooth devices. I cant fix them, they are designed to be... kinda disposable.
Apple could have just as easily continued to leave the jack there, and given people the option to choose for themselves. But once Apple has done it, all the other big players follow suit because its not actually a very competitive market. Now Samsung, or google, or whoever can get us on the hook for their earbuds. And maybe solid state batteries will get the whole thing fixed up (aside from repairability) but they could have recycling etc where you can swap old for new, etc.
But in the meanwhile, I can't afford to replace headphones on their cycle and to have to carry a dongle which then disables my ability to plug my phone in to charge is kind of "libertarian paternalism" - I don't mean this as a dirty word, I just literally don't have another term for it - but its that kind of design choice that forces the user to have to go out of their way to use the original or intended function of their own thing. Sure its a choice to not put a dongle on, and coordinate cable charging with headphone use etc... It reminds me of the kinds of structural friction in so much of our culture, health insurance, corporate jobs, even the gym membership. Sure you can cancel your gym membership at any time when you signed up online... but you have to physically go into their office to quit the policy? People are essentially forced into taking a sub-optimal choice. So they let it slide.
At the end of the day I just hope for more choice in a more sustainable, repairable, world. And I am willing to speak up about it, try to work for it. Is it bull-headed? Idealistic? Naive?
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one
(Next time you see me, feel free to slap me upside the head for every unnecessary ellipsis, or bad comma, run-on etc. I could use being took down another peg or twenty, lol)
I hope some day you'll join us.
And the world will live as one...
All good points and well taken. I guess I've been worn down to more of an 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' outlook, but everything you say here is spot on.
Death of the head phone jack on high end devices has been a plus for casual listeners in that we now have good quality inexpensive dongle and Bluetooth DACs/amplifiers. Along with the new options for good quality Bluetooth headphones/IEMs have opened up our options for how we listen to music. I can decide how anti-social I want to appear and be when out and about.
I mainly use wireless ear buds while at work in one ear or while out for a walk. I still have a pair wired buds and a usb-c adapter I use once or twice a year when I forget the wireless ones. I always buy cheap ones not from my phone manufacturer to avoid ecosystem lock in. They sound fine, even $20 ones! No wires is a big pro for me. At home I still have wired headphones I use with my turntable. but I also have some wireless Soundscore headphones that sound amazing playing digital files from my phone. I like the idea of wired as they could last forever (no batteries) but I use wireless 90% of the time.
I only have 2 earphones. Earpods 3.5mm and airpods pro 1. I use the lightning to 3.5 on my 12 mini and natively on my first gen SE. The earpods is still the best cheap lava mic for me.
Nothing beats good wired IEMs and headphones....well i suppose good speakers if you can use them without bothering others. TWS have gotten really good though these past 2 years.
I just picked up the iPad Pro M4 11
You might alleviate the numb digits issue by putting a grip on your Apple Pencil. At least for me I notice less trouble when using a pen with a thick grip versus thin.
Good idea!
🎉🎉🎉 first
I'm still rocking my SHP9500 and fidelio X2HR headphones. Nothing beats a wired headset. 😺
SHP9500’s are Awesome as I’ve had them for years and still hanging in there! 👍
You got that right. I have the SHP9500 and the SHP9600. It's where I started last year in my headphone quest. I'm in the Sennheiser rabbit hole right now.
@jamesberryman9893 They got a lot of great headphones! I went down the headphones rabbithole thanks to this channel when it was mostly just headphones, but it helped me pick the best ones for me.
If I could have my LG G3 back with wired headphones I would as the audio was so much better than Apple offering hey but be a fan boy
I know your an older guy and I ALSO know that wired headphones WE'RE the best way to experience sound, and maybe/probably still is, and Bluetooth, AT ONE POINT, WAS TERRIBLE, BUT now days, and for A LONG TIME, AT THIS POINT, Bluetooth is really good, AND WIRES ARE ANNOYING AF/they get in the way/I wouldn't want to use a headphone jack period, granted this is coming from someone who's still rocking Sony M4 headphones, but in my defense, the Sony M5s are WAY TO BIG, granted, I also don't use the case the M4s come in either/I use an aftermarket/another brands hard shell case, with the M4s, because I believe the case that comes with the M4s, are to big, but this is ALSO coming from someone who HATES Air Pod like designed ear pieces, I still use and prefer noise canceling ear pieces, my phone call ONLY ear piece, NEEDS a hook though, I don't use or like ear buds either, but I do like ear pieces, with a hook/I HAVE TO HAVE a headset with a hook, that goes over my ear, to keep the ear bud in, the hook is a REQUIREMENT, and I still use them, to this day, on the go/for portable use, and the cool thing is they charge in their case, they also have great sound quality during calls, and the noise canceling is amazing as well/you can roll down the window on the interstate and no one would even notice that your on the interstate, with the windows rolled down, you can/could technically run a vacuum cleaner and talk on the phone, if you could hear over the vacuum, the person your talking to can't hear the vacuum, but you definitely hear the vacuum/if your using a good noise canceling ear piece, people will tell you, it basically sounds like your in a closet by your self, in complete silence, no matter where you are/ if you flipped your ear pieces microphone up/out of the way and yelled, the person on the phone, couldn't hear you yell, this is also coming from someone that still uses a Bluetooth MP3 player, granted, MP3 isn't the type of files I use, I use FLAC files, I also still use and have the Razor Phone 2, with my own custom software, and I ONLY use phones/tablets/computers/devices that have 16x9 aspect ratios/no 18x9, the ONLY way I will even watch an 18x9 video, is IF the display is 55inches or bigger/my main TVs are all 65inches now, my point is, this is also coming from someone who has a physical media/a bluray collection, and bluray players and 4k bluray prayers, I do ALSO have every available streaming service TOO though, I also have a 4090 and an i9, in my computers, my laptops and desktops, but my point is, I don't like to use equipment/devices that are limiting, and I accept and like Bluetooth/I prefer it, so that must say something about/for Bluetooth, and where it is today, and where its been, for years, at this point.
Looks like the gas just cost you more than the coffee. Nice video. I love my Air Pods Pro 2.
anyway, i knew u woukdnt let yourself "serrle" for the ipad mini and call it a day😂. Never got the update video. I'm in the endless search for products too so i def get it. Sold my macbook pro bc i hardly used it. Then i thought it would be good to downsize and buy an ipad 10 instead. I had it for 1 day and thought the screen was trash since its not oled. Then i went to bb to look at the displays on the macbook air and the ipad 10 with the ipad mini. I don't know if i really want to spend $1000 on a macbook ao im thinking of just buying yhe ipad 10 again (which is now more money)😢. Never ends.. trust me, i get it.
lol, I buy and rebuy things constantly too haha
It makes me crazy! Happy new year, my friend!
I'm not updating my phone because my old one has a headphone jack.
Let’s be clear. The new AirPods will not correct for anything more than the mild hearing loss in a limited frequency range; there is no meaningful fine tuning, correction of hearing loss. You can’t substitute them for prescription (and yes expensive) hearing aids.
How much do hearing aids cost? I love my AirPods Pro 2! Im deaf in my leaf ear. Mumps mild lose in my right. They have literally changed my world! Love them. Apple is a love-hate relationship in this case I love them. Thank You Apple!
I think you should research the APP hearing aid feature. It’s a lot more detailed than you’re giving it credit for. I’ve used it extensively and I have moderate hearing loss.