I’ve got a few questions, regarding bluetooth headphones, if you don’t mind, please?

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By Oliver (AKA the Admin) on 48 comments
in Categories: Just Talking

Hey guys!

I’m a bit bothered, my good old headphones that I wear to work out are starting to work poorly, the quality of their sound is getting bad. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise, I’ve been using them for way over a decade. I’m now searching for a replacement for working out.

I thought I’d look at bluetooth models, it must be SO much more convenient than the ones I’m with, with their wire getting in the way… But, damn, the market is a whole horrible confusing mess.

So, I thought, why not ask on Hentairules for generic advice, it makes sense, no?
… No, okay, it doesn’t make sense, but I don’t know where else to ask anyway :lol:

The reason I’m asking is that I’m, basically, lost.
There are multiple criteria to choose among, and I don’t really get which ones matter.

To make things worse, I keep my purse’s strings tight, I am not willing to spend more than 85 $ / 80 € on something I use in a noisy environment while I don’t focus that much on the music. So, there will be compromises on quality, I know it’s unavoidable.

The 1st thing I find puzzling, you’ll find headphones with a sort of semi-rigid plastic band going behind the head, from one ear/earphone to the other. Other headphones are just separate pieces to plug into both ears and you’re done. Would one or the other kind of headphones be better for working out, I’m not doing anything so intense than my good old wire headphones ever risked to fall out, after all. Also, band behind the head or not, which of the two options pulls the price up?

There’s also the matter of the time it can play music without needing to be recharged. I’ve seen Amazon reviews of headphones giving up after 20 minutes despite promising 4 hours of battery, this is madness, right?!?

Which brings me to another generic question, are there manufacturers to trust, manufacturers to distrust?
For a 85 $ / 80 € budget target I can’t expect high fidelity with all-day battery, of course, but I would like to be able to place my trust in the product to not betray me after two years of service.

Sorry those are generic questions like that, but maybe your replies could help me (and “dude, stick with wire headphones” answers are totally OK, it’s what I will do if I am not confident enough), so thank you ^^

An update: thank you so much for all the useful information! I’ve got lots of reading to do now, which is good.

If I may add a question: for those of you who recommend a model you use, could you tell if you’re also using it for running, and, then, if there is, or isn’t, a loss of sound with the phone held on an arm bracer while you run? Context: I’ve seen quite a few online comments pointing it as a flaw in other otherwise satisfactory models…

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fallawy
fallawy
4 years ago

hello!
I have two JBL t110bt with the cable behind the neck, and BOTH of them have the left plug dead
so, maybe avoid them

Vidar
Vidar
4 years ago

I have been using the Anker Soundcore Liberty Neo wireless headphones for a few months now, and I love the sound quality and how they feel. They seem to meet all of your requirements, and I can verify that the charge on them lasts at least 3 hours. I got them from Amazon for about US$40, so they should be within your budget.

chunky
chunky
4 years ago

Points to note when buying a wireless/BT earphones:
1. the advertised “# hours of play” is normally divided into time on ear and time after recharge using case (as most comes with in-case charging) – not all brands will advertise both separately
2. the smaller the earphones, the amount of charge the batteries can hold is limited
3. volume levels affect play time

I have a couple of smaller in-ear earphones, and battery life does degrade after 1+ years of usage. The larger over-the-ear headphones have better and more durable battery life but will not be as portable. You will have to decide which one suits your usage pattern most.

BOb
BOb
4 years ago

Eh for 80 euro I’d say stay with wired headphones. headphones that loop around your earlobe have been a success in working out for me, not the seperate pieced ones. 2 years of service is going to hard for a cheaper wireless Bluetooth set. Sony are generally what I’d say are the minimum quality, audio technica can be good and Bose are overpriced no matter which country you come from

Bob
Bob
4 years ago

Yeah, I had a similar problem with the wire, I bought a wire extension cable and just swung the rest of the wire behind my head or in my pocket for $10 so I wouldn’t have to see my phone skidding across the ground again.

Marcus
Marcus
4 years ago
Danger Stranger
Danger Stranger
4 years ago

Well I do not really know if this type is something you are looking for Oliver, but in this video link below, there are some earbuds tests in case you are interested in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a30Hnuzgr6s

Hope it can be helpful in your search.

john
john
4 years ago

the weak link ( i think the pricing too) of a bluetooth earphone is the battery. the bluetooth circuit board is cheap compare to the battery in price. good brands like sony, have better battery quality (normally can last 2 years). personally, i get the cheap ones ( around MYR 20) use a few months, and dump it. because…. no matter the quality, in the end everything will spoil and bluetooth battery is hard to replace

Pavlov
Pavlov
4 years ago

You are totally correct. Expect sealed units with soft plastic and absurdly strong glue, so you end up completely destroying the unit when you take it apart. Which is pretty sad, because everyone except for cell phone makers are using standardized lithium ion batteries so you SHOULD be able to pop one out and put a new one in its place.

TuttaFuffa
TuttaFuffa
4 years ago

Soundcore (by Anker) makes pretty pieces earphones (like this one https://www.amazon.fr/Soundcore-Liberty-%C3%89couteurs-Wireless-Anker/dp/B07MCGZK3B ) but right now I’m very happy with this bt receiver https://www.gearbest.com/headphone-accessories/pp_663674.html and there are different Mi-store in France (at least 3 in Paris) so you can try it directly.

TuttaFuffa
TuttaFuffa
4 years ago

You are right, it’s OT, but i’ve used so far for as backup with every wired headphones. It works fine and it’s just 20eu.

frankoh
frankoh
4 years ago

As you say there are a ton of criterias… an qualities even the same maker. The best advice would be you go to a store and TRY by yourself what type of earphones are you confortable (every head an every ear are a world). Then, once you know the type of you want, you can narrow your search by price an features (example noise cancelling). When you found one or a few models you like, search for reviews abouth them in the web, then you can have an idea about what could you buy. An again, if you can, TRY the device before buy. There is no guarantee of getting the best, but life is so. PS,be careful with very cheap earphones, they could explode in your ears (no joke)

Pavlov
Pavlov
4 years ago

The reason for the plastic band between the headphones is to hold and protect the wires from one side to the other. If your headphones are one piece then you only need one battery, one bluetooth radio, and one charge socket. Apple hates wires and cost is no object, so you get two unconnected devices, each with a battery and a radio. But users are finding out that it’s easier to lose two small units vs a headband. Are you going to lose these? Do you care?

If you’re getting these for working out, I agree with wireless. I remember the first time that I DIDN’T garrote myself with wireless headphones. You get tired and clumsy when you’re working out, wireless makes a lot of sense. Batteries aren’t usually a problem if you just charge them after every workout.

Whoever you buy from should have a good return policy. Those Amazon reviews where the battery lasts minutes instead of hours are just defective hardware. If someone makes 10 million headphones and 1% are defective, that’s actually a pretty damn good rate! Sometimes you just get unlucky. Return them, get another set. Can you imagine paying a $1000 for hand-crafted headphones, because that’s what it costs to get guaranteed functionality. Some people like to get refurbished headphones. They’ve been through the testing cycle twice, the price is marked down, sometimes you get a hell of a deal. On the other hand, if they don’t find the problem during the refurbish, you’re going to be returning those as well!

You didn’t mention the shape of the headphones section. Over-ear is bad, because your sweaty hair will saturate the foam of the cup. Earbuds are nicely portable and give you good sound isolation, but be aware that they shove your ear wax back into your eardrum. Maybe that’s not a problem for you, but I used to have to get my ears washed out roughly every year and a half. Just part of the fun! On-ear cups are cheap, common, and you probably won’t be wearing them long enough for your ears to get sore.

I can’t give you advice on specific headphones, my needs are too different from yours. Oh! It’s also nice that my headphones double as a phone headset so if someone interrupts my music with a phone call, I can just answer the call without picking up my phone! Not really a need during a workout, but you might look into it if it fits your lifestyle.

Pavlov
Pavlov
4 years ago
Reply to  Pavlov

Edit: I took a look on Amazon afterwards. I know you just *love* them, but what the hell, it’s an easy place to see what’s on the market. Connected earbuds were around $20, non-connected were around $30, on-ear were around $30, presumably for the cost of the larger speaker. It was pretty easy to find headphones that last multiple hours, how long are you planning to work out? If you’re just wanting to charge once a week, you’re going to have to drop more cash for a heavier battery. Hell, just get a power bank of some kind. Also, fast-charging is probably worthless to you and costs more. Just plug the headset in after your workout and unplug it before the next workout. That anvil-of-a-battery pack can sit in your bag while you wear the lightweight battery.

BTW, on those reviews, I generally ignore the 5-stars, they’re either paid reviews or they’re trying to justify their purchase and haven’t even had them for a day. Likewise, I ignore the 0-stars, they’re usually venting about something stupid like UPS or Amazon in general. The in-between reviews are usually more constructive, although you should still apply a credibility filter.

Pavlov
Pavlov
4 years ago

I’ve been home sick the last few days so I spent more time thinking about your headphones than most people would consider normal (feeling better now!) I also noticed that you’ve written several posts about your headphones over the years. Heck, your headphones are practically family!

On your other postings, you mention not wanting to go into brick-and-mortar stores to try things out. Here’s a thought: take a notebook with you when you go in. In fact, print out this web page and take it as well. Anyone who sees you with all this paper and prep is going to know you’re comparison shopping and they’ll be lucky if you buy ANYTHING in the store. They won’t spend time on you and you won’t feel guilty about not giving them a commission. Total honesty! I’m not sure why, but my natural body language always screams out, “Not ready to buy yet.” Seriously, I have to hunt down salesmen in the back room when I actually want to buy things, they just completely ignore me!

Creative
Creative
4 years ago

get creative outlier gold… best bang for buck… got aptx… and it last u more than 1 hour in a single charge… excluding the case charger

coppertrial
coppertrial
4 years ago

you should also keep in mind latency if you plan to watch videos, and if it matters to you, to see if you can control both the volume and skip/prev on the headphones. many models, eg. the popular anker liberty neo, only supports skip/prev

Logan
Logan
4 years ago

Got the Raycon E50 model recently and love it as its a true wireless bluetooth set of earphones with great audio quality. Goes for $80 but if you use the code MY20 on their site, the price goes down to $64. I did some research before buying and these are considered some of the best. Check it out:

Logan
Logan
4 years ago

Haven’t run in them but they come with several sizes of ear plugs so you can customize the fit so that they stay inside.

Logan
Logan
4 years ago

I’ve seen them on Amazon at regular price so check there.

Asgar
Asgar
4 years ago

I had the same decision to make some months ago and I have decided for the “Sennheiser CX 6.00BT In-Ear-Wireless-Headphones”

https://www.amazon.fr/Sennheiser-CX-6-00bt-Ear-Heapdhone/dp/B077Y3GCD4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=Sennheiser+CX+6.00BT&qid=1567026560&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Price is around that 80€ at Amazon France although at Amazon Germany I got them for 65€.

They have that band behind the head which prevents them from falling to the ground if they may fall out of the ear and it’s easy to take them out and just let them dangle around your neck if you may want to talk to someone.

The sound quality is good imo as I was used from Sennheiser.
The battery life is really good. I think they say it’s 8 hours and I tend to confirm that. At least I can get through a whole day of normal use (with some natural breaks).

So I would recommend those and definitely would buy them again.

kraatu
kraatu
4 years ago

Hey Oliver, I recently did some research on wireless headphones to buy here in Brazil and I may have some tips. My recommendations are based on the headphones I can find in my local market so…
I’m assuming you want over ear headphones with good sound quality and battery life.

Me personally I own a Audio-Technica ATH-S200BT, which sounds good and can last some work days of 8h shifts without a charge. The downside of this headphone is that it clamps my head really hard, so I ended up not using it that much.

Here are some headphones I considered buying and you might be interested:

Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT
Audio-Technica ATH-AR3BTBK
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC500BT

EDIT: If you want earbuds take a look into Redmi Airdots.

Bakumatsu
Bakumatsu
4 years ago

You could use this
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/qPZZVoTm
Plus this
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/nvG71PUG
(Fair price is about 60-70$)

Giiilga
Giiilga
4 years ago

You will want a headphone with the band behind your head. You can use it to take off the headphone if you want to talk to someone at the gym and they can hang on your neck! Two separate plugs are too easy to lose in my opinion.

Corvin
Corvin
4 years ago

I can really recommend the Plantronics Backbeat FIT. Awesome sport BT headphones. have a look at them ;)

jackbotol
jackbotol
4 years ago

I think you should try Sabbath e12 or tfz bv2

Koala
Koala
4 years ago

Would recommend entry-level Q7L (the last iteration I tried – might be up to Q8 these days) or MPOW. Decent for their price point – about 20? but sound quality is not for the discerning