Sony: We removed the headphone jack due to the XZ2's design

[JoeCoke]

7 hours ago, BadluckBrian said:

It's really not a weak argument, there's plenty of times where I leave my phone charging on my wireless pad, or somewhere and I can just walk around my house doing whatever and still listen to music. Or if I want to use Bluetooth to connect to my TV and sound bar to play music, I'd rather do that than have it wired and leave my phone where I'm not currently at. 

Depending on your surroundings, the range can be absolutely terrible. In my personal experience over 2 phones, 2 BT headphones and 2 soundbars, the range is just terrible. Like if I'm across the room the skipping is unbearable. At least from what I've seen, comparing Wifi to BT is just stupid.

[mr moose]

3 minutes ago, 2Buck said:

Depending on your surroundings, the range can be absolutely terrible. In my personal experience over 2 phones, 2 BT headphones and 2 soundbars, the range is just terrible. Like if I'm across the room the skipping is unbearable. At least from what I've seen, comparing Wifi to BT is just stupid.

Comparing wireless headphones to wired is just ridiculous to in my mind.  Sure they have their place but each currently have resounding benefits over the other. 

[Mooshi]

2 hours ago, mr moose said:

Comparing wireless headphones to wired is just ridiculous to in my mind.  Sure they have their place but each currently have resounding benefits over the other. 

Which is why there is no convincing argument they shouldn't co-exist~

[mr moose]

20 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

Which is why there is no convincing argument they shouldn't co-exist~

exactly my point. 

[D13H4RD]

5 hours ago, BadluckBrian said:

So instead of plugging your headphones in every time and wearing out the port, you could press a button to turn the headphones on. I use wireless headphones day in and out, and I have not noticed any interference when I'm on public busses and in crowds of people with many manufacturers different devices on. 

I’m genuinely curious now.

 

I know you have MDR-XB950N1s from Sony (which I nearly bought but stopped considering when I tried them. Just too bass heavy for me) and that makes me curious. Because I use WH-1000XM2s, which are Sony’s flagship offerings and whenever I’m in an area where there’s a ton of wireless transmissions, the audio starts to skip. Granted, it doesn’t skip as much as my cheaper pair, but it’s still quite annoying especially on seriously expensive pair of headphones.

 

I’ll give credit where credit is due. The audio sounds good for being wireless (not on the level of Sennheisers HDs obviously) and the battery life is actually superb. I don’t use wireless headphones that often when I’m at home but I’ve taken it on a 4 day trip with around 75% and I haven’t needed to charge. 

 

But I’m curious with how you haven’t experienced the BT issues with the 950N1 when my 1000XM2 falls victim to it in that sort of scenario.

[kv]

Kind of sad we've gone from phones with both 3.5mm and bluetooth to now being swindled in to thinking that it's now a zero-sum game where somehow we have to make a choice between 3.5mm and bluetooth.

 

I've yet to hear a convincing argument for the removal other than 'style'. Samsung's devices seem to have the highest IP-rating, a near edge-to-edge screen despite having the jack present in their devices.

 

Sony just feels like a trend-follower which is lame given I enjoyed their previous Xperia Z line in years past.

[mr moose]

Given the distinct lack of interest this seems to have generated on the WAN show.  I'd say the discussion is basically only involving 3 types of people:

 

1- people who don't understand much about headphones and think their personal experience is universal.

2- people who just want to blindly defend apple.

3- those who still want to use 3.5.

 

Which one are you?

 

 

[laminutederire]

Well Samsung will continue to dominate the android market with all of that..

[Fgtfv567]

On 3/14/2018 at 10:05 PM, Energycore said:

Sony thinking they can out-apple Apple

Next up, beautiful seamless computer cases without front IO.

Don't jinx us!!

[D13H4RD]

18 hours ago, mr moose said:

Given the distinct lack of interest this seems to have generated on the WAN show.  I'd say the discussion is basically only involving 3 types of people:

 

1- people who don't understand much about headphones and think their personal experience is universal.

2- people who just want to blindly defend apple.

3- those who still want to use 3.5.

 

Which one are you?

 

 

Not really any one of the 3.

 

I still use the jack when I'm at home but out-and-about, I use my 1000XM2s.

[79wjd]

22 hours ago, mr moose said:

Given the distinct lack of interest this seems to have generated on the WAN show.  I'd say the discussion is basically only involving 3 types of people:

 

1- people who don't understand much about headphones and think their personal experience is universal.

2- people who just want to blindly defend apple.

3- those who still want to use 3.5.

 

Which one are you?

 

 

4) someone who doesn't care about a headphone jack and just wants Bluetooth to get better and with more options.

[mr moose]

4 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

4) someone who doesn't care about a headphone jack and just wants Bluetooth to get better and with more options.

I might have missed a post like that, especially in the later part of this thread, however someone like that wouldn't be arguing on behalf of everyone else would they?  

[kokakolia]

On 3/17/2018 at 3:14 PM, mr moose said:

Given the distinct lack of interest this seems to have generated on the WAN show.  I'd say the discussion is basically only involving 3 types of people:

 

1- people who don't understand much about headphones and think their personal experience is universal.

2- people who just want to blindly defend apple.

3- those who still want to use 3.5.

 

Which one are you?

 

 

Like I said before, I am just someone that doesn't use many devices for audio so I don't mind using 2 dongles, one for the car and one for the headphones. I know it's not the prettiest solution. But the removal of the headphone jack is not as gloomy as this forum makes it out to be. The solution is a tiny unobtrusive dongle. You can get 2 for $4 if you shop from China. And it's $10 for one dongle from your local store. It's OK really. 

 

I think that the reason people are getting so angry about the removal of the headphone jack is that it doesn't seem to offer any significant benefits. But the drawback isn't really that bad if you have a bunch of dongles lying around. And they're cheap. 

[Dabombinable]

26 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

Like I said before, I am just someone that doesn't use many devices for audio so I don't mind using 2 dongles, one for the car and one for the headphones. I know it's not the prettiest solution. But the removal of the headphone jack is not as gloomy as this forum makes it out to be. The solution is a tiny unobtrusive dongle. You can get 2 for $4 if you shop from China. And it's $10 for one dongle from your local store. It's OK really. 

 

I think that the reason people are getting so angry about the removal of the headphone jack is that it doesn't seem to offer any significant benefits. But the drawback isn't really that bad if you have a bunch of dongles lying around. And they're cheap. 

You do realise that the DAC in those adapters is shit? And more often then not worse than the DAC in phones? And they are easily lost+add unnecessary bulk. 

[Drak3]

2 minutes ago, Dabombinable said:

You do realise that the DAC in those adapters is shit? And more often then not worse than the DAC in phones?

Unless it's a straight analogue passthrough. Then it's just extra length and connection points degrading the audio, with zero benefit.

[mr moose]

1 hour ago, kokakolia said:

Like I said before, I am just someone that doesn't use many devices for audio so I don't mind using 2 dongles, one for the car and one for the headphones. I know it's not the prettiest solution. But the removal of the headphone jack is not as gloomy as this forum makes it out to be. The solution is a tiny unobtrusive dongle. You can get 2 for $4 if you shop from China. And it's $10 for one dongle from your local store. It's OK really. 

 

I think that the reason people are getting so angry about the removal of the headphone jack is that it doesn't seem to offer any significant benefits. But the drawback isn't really that bad if you have a bunch of dongles lying around. And they're cheap. 

All those arguments have been addressed.  If all phones head toward no 3.5 jack then I am forced to add extra points of failure to my signal chain or pay extra for wireless headphones that do not match wired for longevity and sound quality.

[kokakolia]

On 3/16/2018 at 10:16 AM, dalekphalm said:

For what capacity, the base 16GB model? That might be alright for a basic user that installs no apps and doesn't download any/much music.

 

My music collection alone is bigger than 16GB. And I wouldn't call my music collection "massive" by today's standards.

 

I checked Amazon.ca, and I can find 16GB SE's refurb for $250. That's okay I guess. 64GB refurbs are $400. $400 is a lot of money.

 

Not to say that the SE isn't a bad value - it's actually a great phone. My fiancee, her sister, and her mother all got the 32GB SE, brand new, for around $360 - granted, this is through a carrier, but the phone is unlocked (mandatory unlocking is now law in Canada), and there's no contract, so you can jump carriers and bring it anywhere you want.

Hey, I know I'm late to respond to this. But I found a really good Canadian website for iPhone SEs. You can grab a 64gb model for $300. And that's plenty of storage. 

 

https://www.themobilebase.ca/collections/buy-used-apple-iphone/model_iphone-se

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, kokakolia said:

Hey, I know I'm late to respond to this. But I found a really good Canadian website for iPhone SEs. You can grab a 64gb model for $300. And that's plenty of storage. 

 

https://www.themobilebase.ca/collections/buy-used-apple-iphone/model_iphone-se

That's pretty good for used. But for $60 more, you can get a brand new, unlocked one from a carrier (with no contract or term length) - though I do believe that's the 32GB model (which is still adequate storage for your average user).

[kokakolia]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

That's pretty good for used. But for $60 more, you can get a brand new, unlocked one from a carrier (with no contract or term length) - though I do believe that's the 32GB model (which is still adequate storage for your average user).

Yeah, looking for deals is a lot of work. If you're buying used you gotta say F*** it! Because there's always a better deal around the corner that you're unaware of.

 

Considering that most Chinese phones with decent specs (and the proper cell phone bands) sell for $250~$300 (CAD) anyway, I'd say go for the iPhone SE! The resale value makes it a juicy deal. 

[Quadriplegic]

On 2018-03-17 at 11:14 PM, mr moose said:

Given the distinct lack of interest this seems to have generated on the WAN show.  I'd say the discussion is basically only involving 3 types of people:

 

1- people who don't understand much about headphones and think their personal experience is universal.

2- people who just want to blindly defend apple.

3- those who still want to use 3.5.

 

Which one are you?

 

 

Number 3. There are couple of reasons why I prefer 3.5mm jack over wireless headphones.

Regarding the abscence of 3.5mm jack... Sony just went all "blast from the past".

[D13H4RD]

On 3/19/2018 at 7:24 AM, kokakolia said:

Like I said before, I am just someone that doesn't use many devices for audio so I don't mind using 2 dongles, one for the car and one for the headphones. I know it's not the prettiest solution. But the removal of the headphone jack is not as gloomy as this forum makes it out to be. The solution is a tiny unobtrusive dongle. You can get 2 for $4 if you shop from China. And it's $10 for one dongle from your local store. It's OK really. 

 

I think that the reason people are getting so angry about the removal of the headphone jack is that it doesn't seem to offer any significant benefits. But the drawback isn't really that bad if you have a bunch of dongles lying around. And they're cheap. 

For iPhones, yeah. 

 

For Android, get them from Google or Essential. Because everything else sucks and is pretty much guaranteed to not work with your phone unless you use what it is made for despite using a universal connector. 

[Zodiark1593]

On 3/15/2018 at 7:34 AM, DrMacintosh said:

How on earth are Wirelesss headphones not the successor to wired ones? Seriously come on. 

 

Another thing is Apple doesn’t have to care about the Android Market, Apple isn’t in it to make things easier for everyone else. Apple knows their W series of chips are significantly ahead of standard Bluetooth and in an entirely different league than anything anyone else has. 

I only recently found this particular tidbit of using an iPhone with Bluetooth earphones in that they don't support aptX over Bluetooth. While for music over cheaper Bluetooth earphones, this isn't a big deal, the added latency (near 200 ms) of using the default SBC codec over aptX LL (low latency) is a very big deal fotowatching videos, particularly as Youtube doesn't seem to have any Bluetooth audio syncing settings. Unsure about Apple's own video player, But I'm fairly certain VLC can do this.

 

Good Bluetooth earphones with AAC support should work fine however if one doesn't want to go with any of the ear/headphones with the W1 chip. Don't know if any cheaper earphones support AAC, if for no other reason than latency. Pay attention to that spec sheet.

[Trixanity]

13 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

I only recently found this particular tidbit of using an iPhone with Bluetooth earphones in that they don't support aptX over Bluetooth. While for music over cheaper Bluetooth earphones, this isn't a big deal, the added latency (near 200 ms) of using the default SBC codec over aptX LL (low latency) is a very big deal fotowatching videos, particularly as Youtube doesn't seem to have any Bluetooth audio syncing settings. Unsure about Apple's own video player, But I'm fairly certain VLC can do this.

 

Good Bluetooth earphones with AAC support should work fine however if one doesn't want to go with any of the ear/headphones with the W1 chip. Don't know if any cheaper earphones support AAC, if for no other reason than latency. Pay attention to that spec sheet.

Most good Bluetooth implementations rely on proprietary technology. Aptx is a Qualcomm thing.