Mark my words: 2017 will see the most innovation from headphone manufacturers in over a decade, if not longer. For 2017 is the first year that wireless headphones can (and will) be designed to be superior in both features and sound quality to their wired predecessors, and that transition is the invigoration that the major audio brands have been awaiting to usher in a new generation of advancements in sound quality, features, and design.
Beloved audio brands are on the verge of releasing truly excellent wireless headphones this year that will make every wired headphone that has come before look like dinosaurs about to be made extinct. In such a competitive landscape where headphones will be reinvented, audio brands will follow suit with more innovation in design, audio quality, and technology than the industry has seen in a very long time.
It's akin to the transition occurring in automobiles: electric vehicles, which are superior in every single regard except range currently, will become mainstream in 2017 with Tesla's release of the no-compromise Model 3. Automobile makers are focusing on radically redesigning their vehicles in the most significant manner since the Model T in the transition to electric vehicles, and gasoline-powered cars will become archaic fossils over the next few decades if not sooner.
Practically every flagship headphone announced thus far has been a wireless model, and in such a competitive marketplace all of the biggest brands from the marketing titans to the audiophile mainstays will be following suit with their newest designs and best audio technologies. The simple fact of the matter is that 2017 spells the beginning of the end for wired headphones for all but purists and budget seekers.
Bluetooth 5.0, which is already available, features a quadrupled range and an 800% increase in data broadcasting capacity; or in other words, zero drawbacks. Even lossless files will be streamable over aptX without a degradation in quality.
More bluntly: 2017 is the year of wireless headphones, pioneered by the smartphone's removal of the headphone port (and eventual removal of all ports within the next decade) which was influenced by Bluetooth technology reaching a point where audio files can be streamed with absolutely zero effect on quality. In fact, due to wireless headphones being self-amplified and utilizing their own digital-to-analog converter they can sound about as good as they do plugged into an amp without the need for a bulky amplifier... or a cable. It's up to the manufacturer to ensure their wireless headphones sound the best they can on their own, and since they're not relying on an inferior external DAC inside of a phone or laptop they finally have complete control over their sound. Within five years, likely sooner, wireless headphone models will be class-leaders and benchmarks for audio quality due to that previously-unattainable degree of control.
(Audio-Technica is already debuting a "Pure Digital Drive" technology at CES that forgoes a digital-to-analog converter altogether -- a feat that wouldn't have been possible before. Rather that converting the sound to analog, the chip "translates the signal into digital pulses that move the voice coil in the driver." This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as innovative new features and technologies are concerned, as we will surely see more this year. )
Anecdotally last time I purchased headphones in June 2015, I agonizingly compared every single high-end model on the market down to the finest detail before making a purchase; just a year-and-a-half ago I would only consider wired headphones because there were too many compromises with every single wireless model available. Now that wireless technology is practical, and superior in every single regard to wired technology, headphone manufacturers know that they need to innovate on all fronts to a significant degree as consumers realize that this is the year wireless headphones are worth buying.
Despite my critical analysis of every headphone available in 2015 and study of what makes for good audio, ironically I purchased the Beats Solo3 as a placeholder wireless headphone. While not the most exceptional-sounding headphone on the market, they are in my eyes the first practical wireless headphone thanks mainly to the Apple W1 chip which provides incredible range, class-leading battery life, and the icing on the cake: sound that is significantly better in wireless mode than wired. (Especially when used with an iPhone 7.) While Beats of all brands has a pioneering product with an industry-leading feature set thanks to Apple, I am sure we will see the same type of no-compromise wireless headphones released from every player in the industry.
Thanks to a pioneering wireless headphone that truly feels like the future, I have gone from being an analog purist to being a convert enough so that I have no desire to use a wired headphone ever again. Even sitting at a desk, I have grown to hate having that cable in the way and all the limitations it holds. For more active purposes, perfected wireless technology provides a momentous world of difference.
Wireless headphones have been around for years, but the underlying technologies have finally reached the point where they are worth using. I wouldn't have given up a cable for a severely compromised wireless experience -- I had been waiting for wireless technology to sound as good or better than wired technology rather than "almost as good," a la even the best wireless headphones available prior to the end of 2016. The best wireless headphones from just a year or two ago already feel practically obsolete, while Bluetooth 5.0 headphones released this year will be usable and modern for many years since we have reached the pinnacle of what's required to make a seamless transition to wireless audio.
Now that absolutely perfect wireless audio streaming exists, 2017 is the year that wireless technology makes wired headphones look like archaic fossils -- a transition that has already happened in my eyes.
The headphone industry is about to be revolutionized in manners beyond just a transition to wireless as headphone manufacturers use this opportunity of total reinvigoration in the market to create their best headphones, ever. We will see gorgeous redesigned headphones packed with more technology than ever before in a flawless wireless package featuring impeccable sound quality that will rival, and potentially surpass, the best wired headphones. 2017 is the year of wireless headphones, and the year of innovation unseen for decades.
Beloved audio brands are on the verge of releasing truly excellent wireless headphones this year that will make every wired headphone that has come before look like dinosaurs about to be made extinct. In such a competitive landscape where headphones will be reinvented, audio brands will follow suit with more innovation in design, audio quality, and technology than the industry has seen in a very long time.
It's akin to the transition occurring in automobiles: electric vehicles, which are superior in every single regard except range currently, will become mainstream in 2017 with Tesla's release of the no-compromise Model 3. Automobile makers are focusing on radically redesigning their vehicles in the most significant manner since the Model T in the transition to electric vehicles, and gasoline-powered cars will become archaic fossils over the next few decades if not sooner.
Practically every flagship headphone announced thus far has been a wireless model, and in such a competitive marketplace all of the biggest brands from the marketing titans to the audiophile mainstays will be following suit with their newest designs and best audio technologies. The simple fact of the matter is that 2017 spells the beginning of the end for wired headphones for all but purists and budget seekers.
Bluetooth 5.0, which is already available, features a quadrupled range and an 800% increase in data broadcasting capacity; or in other words, zero drawbacks. Even lossless files will be streamable over aptX without a degradation in quality.
More bluntly: 2017 is the year of wireless headphones, pioneered by the smartphone's removal of the headphone port (and eventual removal of all ports within the next decade) which was influenced by Bluetooth technology reaching a point where audio files can be streamed with absolutely zero effect on quality. In fact, due to wireless headphones being self-amplified and utilizing their own digital-to-analog converter they can sound about as good as they do plugged into an amp without the need for a bulky amplifier... or a cable. It's up to the manufacturer to ensure their wireless headphones sound the best they can on their own, and since they're not relying on an inferior external DAC inside of a phone or laptop they finally have complete control over their sound. Within five years, likely sooner, wireless headphone models will be class-leaders and benchmarks for audio quality due to that previously-unattainable degree of control.
(Audio-Technica is already debuting a "Pure Digital Drive" technology at CES that forgoes a digital-to-analog converter altogether -- a feat that wouldn't have been possible before. Rather that converting the sound to analog, the chip "translates the signal into digital pulses that move the voice coil in the driver." This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as innovative new features and technologies are concerned, as we will surely see more this year. )
Anecdotally last time I purchased headphones in June 2015, I agonizingly compared every single high-end model on the market down to the finest detail before making a purchase; just a year-and-a-half ago I would only consider wired headphones because there were too many compromises with every single wireless model available. Now that wireless technology is practical, and superior in every single regard to wired technology, headphone manufacturers know that they need to innovate on all fronts to a significant degree as consumers realize that this is the year wireless headphones are worth buying.
Despite my critical analysis of every headphone available in 2015 and study of what makes for good audio, ironically I purchased the Beats Solo3 as a placeholder wireless headphone. While not the most exceptional-sounding headphone on the market, they are in my eyes the first practical wireless headphone thanks mainly to the Apple W1 chip which provides incredible range, class-leading battery life, and the icing on the cake: sound that is significantly better in wireless mode than wired. (Especially when used with an iPhone 7.) While Beats of all brands has a pioneering product with an industry-leading feature set thanks to Apple, I am sure we will see the same type of no-compromise wireless headphones released from every player in the industry.
Thanks to a pioneering wireless headphone that truly feels like the future, I have gone from being an analog purist to being a convert enough so that I have no desire to use a wired headphone ever again. Even sitting at a desk, I have grown to hate having that cable in the way and all the limitations it holds. For more active purposes, perfected wireless technology provides a momentous world of difference.
Wireless headphones have been around for years, but the underlying technologies have finally reached the point where they are worth using. I wouldn't have given up a cable for a severely compromised wireless experience -- I had been waiting for wireless technology to sound as good or better than wired technology rather than "almost as good," a la even the best wireless headphones available prior to the end of 2016. The best wireless headphones from just a year or two ago already feel practically obsolete, while Bluetooth 5.0 headphones released this year will be usable and modern for many years since we have reached the pinnacle of what's required to make a seamless transition to wireless audio.
Now that absolutely perfect wireless audio streaming exists, 2017 is the year that wireless technology makes wired headphones look like archaic fossils -- a transition that has already happened in my eyes.
The headphone industry is about to be revolutionized in manners beyond just a transition to wireless as headphone manufacturers use this opportunity of total reinvigoration in the market to create their best headphones, ever. We will see gorgeous redesigned headphones packed with more technology than ever before in a flawless wireless package featuring impeccable sound quality that will rival, and potentially surpass, the best wired headphones. 2017 is the year of wireless headphones, and the year of innovation unseen for decades.
