Buying Headphones in 2018 is Going To Be a Fragmented Mess (theverge.com)

Vlad Savov, writing for The Verge: At CES this year, I saw the future of headphones, and it was messy. Where we once had the solid reliability of a 3.5mm analog connector working with any jack shaped to receive it, there's now a divergence of digital alternatives -- Lightning or USB-C, depending on your choice of jack-less phone -- and a bunch of wireless codecs and standards to keep track of. Oh, and Sony's working hard on promoting a new 4.4mm Pentaconn connector as the next wired standard for dedicated audio lovers. It's all with the intent of making things better, but before we get to the better place, we're going to spend an uncomfortable few months (or longer) in a fragmented market where you'll have to do diligent research to make sure your next pair of headphones works with all the devices you already own.

Comments

Don't buy...

[b0s0z0ku]

Don't buy hardware that doesn't adhere to established, working standards, like USB, USB-C, or 3.5mm jack.

The Pentaconn thing seems interesting, as it's still an analog connection.

Re:Don't buy...

[nctritech]

"Don't buy hardware that doesn't adhere to established, working standards, like a 3.5mm jack."

Fixed that a bit for you. For audio, especially audio on consumer playback devices, USB and Lightning are NOT "established working standards." 1/8-inch jacks have been the only standard for these things for many decades while 1/4-inch has been standard for headphones on hi-fi decks for longer than that. There is no need to reinvent this wheel. Wired headphones for portable use should have a 1/8-inch (3.5mm) jack, end of story. Any wired headphones that don't should be disregarded. Vote with your wallet against this crap.

Re:Don't buy...

[swillden]

If a phone is thinner than 3.5mm, it's difficult to hold anyway.

According to hardware designers I've talked to, the thickness of the 3.5mm plug isn't the issue. The problem is its volume and placement. It consumes 240 mm^3 on an outer edge, on one end of the phone, which is incredibly valuable real estate in a modern phone, because that's pretty much where the antennas have to be -- and phones have a lot of antennas, because they have a lot of radios (e.g. LTE requires 8 radios, and most phones support 5+ bands, plus Wifi, bluetooth, GPSr and NFC). It's also where speakers have to be, and they also require some depth, so significant volume. And where the charging/data port has to be.

So from their perspective, being able to shift audio output functions to the data port and wireless frees up important volume and makes it easier to fit ever more stuff into an ever-smaller space (yes, phone thickness does come into play here).

What's the obsession with making phones paper-thin at the expense of durability and utility anyway?

Dunno. But it's undeniably what consumers want. Thick phones don't sell. Maybe it's not what you want, but the market focuses on volume.

Five headphone connectors

[swb]

Would someone tell me how this happened? We were the fucking vanguard of headphones in this country. We made the headphones to own.

Then the other guy came out with a three-connector headphone. Were we scared? Hell, no. Because we hit back with a little thing called the Turbo Headphones.. That's three connectors and an aloe strip. For moisture. But you know what happened next? Shut up, I'm telling you what happenedâ"the bastards went to four connectors. Now we're standing around with our cocks in our hands, selling three connectors and a strip. Moisture or no, suddenly we're the chumps. Well, fuck it. We're going to five connectors.

Re:Five headphone connectors

[Austerity Empowers]

But I bet you didn't see them taking the connectors off completely! Not even an aloe strip to heal your wounds. You need to go to -1 connectors. That's right, people are going to have to plug their headphones into something else, to listen to your music.

Re:Five headphone connectors

[DickBreath]

> Would someone tell me how this happened?

Apple had the courage to remove a decades old, industry standard headphone jack.

But industry standard is an understatement. This jack was used by much more than smartphones and tablets. It was the standard on PCs. Old stereo equipment back to the early 1980's had this jack. Walkman cassette players. Car entertainment systems use this jack. MP3 players and personal video pod type players. I can just barely describe how widely used this jack was and for how long. This jack was used everywhere on the entire planet. It was way more standard than electrical outlets which vary by country.

But . . . Apple!

The king of ever changing non standard connectors that have "premium priced" cables, dongles, etc. Do you see a pattern yet?

Re:I need help

[TechyImmigrant]

I don't know how to complain about companies ditching the 3.5mm jack without sounding like a Luddite.

I'm listening to your comment with my $350 Bose noise cancelling, wireless headphones, using the 3.5mm jack because farting around with Bluetooth audio is not how I like to spend my time.

Re:Stand your ground

[HornWumpus]

You did have a choice, but you made the wrong one.

only two connectors count

[swschrad]

3.5mm stereo and 1/4-inch. everything else is a gimmick that will be crap in several years. stand your ground!