[bfreedma]

Agreed.
I am among the almost 75% of non-iOS users in the world, and I will never own any apple products. I am totally happy with my Android phone with a 3.5 mm jack and expandable storage and I will never get rid of it. I have top of the line bluetooth headphones but will always revert to wired cans when I want to listen to real music. Bluetooth cannot compete with even a mid-level can for sound quality, and sound quality is THE most important thing to me. I didn't buy multi $k headphones to listen to bluetooth. Apple with their proprietary, non-open source products and without a 3.5 mm plug will never grace my desk or pocket.

Without delving in to the BT vs. Wired quality and brand fanboy discussion points, I doubt that any differences would be relevant given the ambient noise in most areas outside the home.

Single purpose jacks are the 8 track tape decks/floppy disks of this era. What are you going to do when the inevitable happens and the Android phone manufacturers drop the dedicated 3.5mm jack? Give up on music or adapt to the market?

 

[Blueshound24]

Without delving in to the BT vs. Wired quality and brand fanboy discussion points, I doubt that any differences would be relevant given the ambient noise in most areas outside the home.

Single purpose jacks are the 8 track tape decks/floppy disks of this era. What are you going to do when the inevitable happens and the Android phone manufacturers drop the dedicated 3.5mm jack? Give up on music or adapt to the market?

I want the option of high quality 'wired' sound wherever I am. Doubtful in the near future, but if the 3.5 jack totally goes away, I would imagine that sometime in the future that bluetooth, or some other technology, will have progressed to an acceptable audiophile level.

 

[bigshot]

Your objections have nothing to do with sound quality, and since Apple makes what are arguably the best Bluetooth headphones on the market, your opinion of the sound quality of the best Bluetooth headphones isn’t based on actually using them.

This fanboy stuff is just as illogical as basing what player you buy by the type of headphone jack.

 

[bfreedma]

I want the option of high quality 'wired' sound wherever I am. Doubtful in the near future, but if the 3.5 jack totally goes away, I would imagine that sometime in the future that bluetooth, or some other technology, will have progressed to an acceptable audiophile level.

That day is today!

Joking aside, the problems with BT aren't it's ability to be transparent, which the new codecs are outside of a few cherry picked "difficult tracks". It's the limitations in the hardware imposed by needing to locally power the headphones and their internal DAC.

 

[redrol]

Without delving in to the BT vs. Wired quality and brand fanboy discussion points, I doubt that any differences would be relevant given the ambient noise in most areas outside the home.

Single purpose jacks are the 8 track tape decks/floppy disks of this era. What are you going to do when the inevitable happens and the Android phone manufacturers drop the dedicated 3.5mm jack? Give up on music or adapt to the market?

LDAC is transparent enough to where Im happy to use it and I do. I use a small Radsone ES100 amp with LDAC so I dont break the jack on my phone. Even modified it to have like 25 hours of battery life.

 

[Claypole]

When I got a new phone last year, I wanted a headphone jack. I looked at entry level, mid range, and high end phones, and there were plenty of options that included a headphone jack.

If you don‘t need a headphone jack on a phone and want to use a USB dongle, then you have plenty of options.

You can also get a phone with a headphone jack, and still have the option of using a USB dongle if you wish.

Or, you can just use Blutooth headphones.

We have plenty of options, just choose a set up that suits you.

 

[old tech]

Your objections have nothing to do with sound quality, and since Apple makes what are arguably the best Bluetooth headphones on the market, your opinion of the sound quality of the best Bluetooth headphones isn’t based on actually using them.

This fanboy stuff is just as illogical as basing what player you buy by the type of headphone jack.

Perhaps the best marketed headphones on the market, but certainly not the best in terms of audio quality. Particularly at Apple's price points.

 

[bigshot]

Who makes better sounding bluetooth headphones? My only quibble with the APMs is that there is a slight bass boost, but that is very easy to fix. I have Oppo PM-1s and they have a better response without needing EQ, but I don't end up using them as much any more because the APMs are just so convenient and comfortable.

 

[SoundAndMotion]

Who makes better sounding bluetooth headphones? My only quibble with the APMs is that there is a slight bass boost, but that is very easy to fix. I have Oppo PM-1s and they have a better response without needing EQ, but I don't end up using them as much any more because the APMs are just so convenient and comfortable.

As a fellow Apple fan and stockholder, I want to thank you for your service. Are you paid?

 

[bigshot]

The great service I've gotten from my Apple products since 1991 is reward enough. My first Apple was a Lisa. Since then I've had Macs, iMacs, Mac pros, Cinema Displays, laptops, Air Ports, iPads, iPods, iPhones, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Pro max. Every studio I've ever worked in has been Mac based. They've all been great from first to last and they keep getting better.

You'll notice I don't down talk PCs. I haven't had a lot of experience with them. I'm sure they work fine for some folks and they are probably a bit cheaper. But I love my Apple stuff.

 

[hakunamakaka]

Perhaps the best marketed headphones on the market, but certainly not the best in terms of audio quality. Particularly at Apple's price points.

You can't argue much in such case. Try telling Dr.Beats fan that there are better headphones in the market, you'll end up nowhere

 

[SoundAndMotion]

You'll notice I don't down talk PCs. I haven't had a lot of experience with them. I'm sure they work fine for some folks and they are probably a bit cheaper. But I love my Apple stuff.

For an unpaid evangelist, you do lay it on pretty thick...

I also love my Apple stuff, but I do have a lot of experience with Windows and Android. I've recognized that Apple stuff isn't right for some people's needs. I've often recommended non-Apple products to friends and family, depending on their needs. In my limited experience, my recommendaction has not been about cost.

I like freedom of choice, and talking to people about their needs and planned usage, not a blind pro-Apple bent. I value my reputation for honesty, but you can keep pushing... my Apple stock has increased 500 fold since the end of the 90's. Thanks!

 

[gregorio]

I want the option of high quality 'wired' sound wherever I am. Doubtful in the near future, but if the 3.5 jack totally goes away, I would imagine that sometime in the future that bluetooth, or some other technology, will have progressed to an acceptable audiophile level.

There is NO technology that will EVER progress to an “acceptable audiophile level”. If there were, that would be the end of the audiophile world!

The audiophile world is driven by audiophile products and they only exist by continuously redefining what is acceptable. Take CD for example, this format 16/44.1 is effectively perfect as far as human hearing is concerned and for a while it was “acceptable audiophile level”. However, about decade after it was first introduced not only had it’s full potential been realised but it could be realised by very cheap mass produced products. To survive, the audiophile market had to come up with something new and (falsely) redefine the CD format as only “standard resolution”, that was (supposedly) inferior/unacceptable to the “hi-res” SACD 1bit and 24/96 formats. When cheap mass produced consumer products could do 24/96, then 24/192 became the “acceptable audiophile level”. Next it will be 32/384 or some DSD Wide version and after that it will be 32/768, ad infinitum. It will never stop as long as audiophile manufacturers can keep convincing audiophiles that more data somehow results in better sound quality, even though it doesn’t.

The more recent implementations of Bluetooth have already reached the point of audible transparency and therefore cannot be audibly improved upon, by having a wired connection or any other new technology to come. All of it will have to be or to become NOT “acceptable audiophile level” at some stage though, for the audiophile world to continue to exist.

G

 

[bigshot]

There are definite advantages to not mixing and matchitching Apple products with other kinds. Apple products are designed to fit perfectly in with all the other Apple products. There’s a benefit to brand loyalty in usability.

 

[SoundAndMotion]

There are definite advantages to not mixing and matchitching Apple products with other kinds. Apple products are designed to fit perfectly in with all the other Apple products. There’s a benefit to brand loyalty in usability.

For you. Yes, I recognize and accept that your use case may be best served by brand loyalty and the interoperability that comes with it. I've known many people for whom that's also true, and I've discussed it with them. But your use case in not universally applicable. You often act as though your personal needs for headphones, speakers, ripping, dongles, wired/wireless apply to all, but they don't.

A simple example relevant to this thread would be someone who wants a wired headphone connection without dongles. If they state their reasons and they are misguided, sure, help them with relevant info. But if they have other reasons or you fail to persuade, then they have their usage needs, and Apple won't fit the bill.