On a recent post, there were a lot of comments, which said that they were missing the headphones on newer mobile devices.
How many actually use the headphone jack?
I ask, because I have one on my phone, since I really wanted one, but I rarely use it. Like Tops 1/Month.
I think people who dislike the headphone jack must be young and not have (good) wired headphones.
Older people (older than teenagers and young adults I mean) often have a few pairs of good headphones they got over the years, and it’s a massive waste to just throw them away and buy wireless because that’s what the trends demand. And in most cases wireless won’t sound as good, because the budget needs to go to bluetooth chips, and dacs, and batteries and all that crap, instead of just focusing on audio.
According to Wikipedia, ‘The original 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) version descends from as early as 1877’, and it’s been an industry standard since then.
You can use it not just for headphones but as a line out, to connect all kinds of audio devices between them. You can hook up your phone to a car audio system, an old radio (if it has input, I think most do), a guitar pedal or an amplifier, a reverb or an effects unit, etc., just with the “magic” of wires.
I’m 39, and I almost never used the headphone jack on any of my old phones, and I’m one of those that doesn’t miss the jack.
I get why people want it, I’m just not in that camp, and most of my friends are the same.
I’m about 20 years older than you, and the only wired earphones I have came with devices. They’re in a box with other crap I don’t use.
I haven’t used wired earphones since about 2006.
So yea, I don’t think “older folks have more wired stuff” holds true at all. All my peers embraced BT and were happy to ditch wires.
There are honestly no good wireless headphones out there. Yes, in the price range ~300€ you can get some decent earbuds. But still not even close in sound quality to what you can buy for 100€ with a wire.
Oh come on. For $230 you can get the Sony WH-1000XM4 (or similar). Works wired or wireless, active noise canceling, pretty long battery life.
For 99% of people, those are “good” wireless headphones. I’ve been very happy with my XM3s for five or six years now
Meh, this old argument.
You’re on a mobile device in environments with gobs of noise.
Damn few people could tell the difference in sound quality in those situations, fewer still would care (e. g. People like you. Not to be dismissive at all - that’s your thing).
A car is 70db+. Just being outside in a city you’re probably looking at a variable noise level of what, 40-70+?
If that’s important to you, cool, do what you like. But most people are looking for something with far less quality. You don’t need that kind of quality to hear a podcast clearly, or listen to “Dance Dance Track 15”.
https://xkcd.com/915/
You don’t, but once you’ve had it, turning back and going to something more expensive that is worse, more annoying to use and will be aproaching useless in 3-5 years? For what? Like it straight up is less convenient for me because i forget to charge it and then it starts dying mid-run or mid commute.
I could be mistaken, but I believe the modern headphone cable/jack is 1/8”.
1/4" are the bigger ones like the size of a guitar cable.
1/4"? Feh. I use only XLR for my audio needs. /elitist audiophile
You’re correct. But you can use an adapter. Some headphones (especially more expensive ones) come with their own. And some devices (like my USB audio interface) come with a big jack for headphones, but again an adapter makes it irrelevant whether it’s a small jack or a large one.
If you’re gunna use an adapter anyway then it makes it irrelevant whether or not there’s a headphone jack in the phone. People in this thread talk about how you can’t use expensive wired headphones with your mobile devices anymore as if adapters don’t exist.
We’re not talking about the same thing here. First off a large jack to small jack adapter would be needed in rare circumstances, if you happen to use a pair of headphones that only uses a large jack with a small device like a phone, which obviously only has a small one.
That whole large jack discussion was started because of the quote from Wikipedia I posted, where they mention just how old the jack is. I’m guessing you haven’t read the rest of the comments since you brought it up?
2nd of all a jack adapter is just “wire”, it’s passive ( doesn’t have any circuitry), and doesn’t require any support.
For a dongle type of adapter that’s quite different. Software and hardware and compatibility come into play.
Lots of dongles have a DAC built into them which is separate from the phone DAC. It’s duplicating something you already have, and if your phone has a good one buit into it (which it should), the flimsy dongle most probably has a very cheap one.
I have a dongle and it only works if I plug it in before taking calls. If I already answer and then use the dongle the sound won’t work out of the headphones so it’s useless…
I have gone too far in the headphone hobby and have exited the nice middle zone where the headphone jack has value. It can’t power my headphones and my phone has no systemwide EQ so there would be no point anyway.
Some people in the headphones sub talked about using qudelix 5k to power it if you wanted mobile but at that point the jack becomes useful only for charging while listening (admittedly useful!). I don’t really think compromise free mobile listening works though, if you have good wired headphones they are fairly likely to be open back already. For those people, a midrange priced Bluetooth Focal Bathys is probably as good as investment as any other closed back for mobile.
Hence why I believe the headphone jack is for those in the middle of the pack: they have closed back wired headphones that are good enough to not want to use Bluetooth, but not headphones too difficult to power or a strong preference for EQ. Which is a ton of people to be fair. I only commented here cause you said “people who dislike the headphone jack must not have good wired headphones,” but I have several and don’t need a headphone jack in my phone. I’m aware that those in my position are a very small portion of the population and agree with most of what you said, just wanted to provide a different perspective.
Oh also, if you’re using an adapter for 1/4” to 1/8”, may as well just use a USB-C or lightning adapter. 1/4 or 2.5mm balanced and a shitload of power would actually make a phone jack useful for my case though!