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Probably preaching to the choir here, but headphone jacks are really a must, and USB-c adapters have their limits (lemmy.zip)

submitted 8 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

74 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Just randomly sharing my experience here. My sister told me a few weeks ago she was going to change for a new phone (a Motorola, she likes AOSP-like experience). I noticed that her new phone wouldn't get a jack.

"Yeah, I know, I hope I can make it work with a USB-adapter". She has nice headphones that she likes to use, so USB-C earplugs were not an option.

Fast forward to today, she told me the adapter she got starts to malfunction:

she has to twitch the jack in the adapter for the thing to work
when she plugs the adapter in, Google Assistant takes over and randomly starts skipping songs.

She's now considering getting wireless earbuds, but she's not a fan of having to recharge them to be able to use them, and is also cautious about the e-waste potential.

I have a Moto G84 which does the job. It's not the best phone in the world, I'm eyeing a flagship from time to time and keep the G84 as a "connected walkman", but would it break today, I would probably get a G55 (https://www.notebookcheck.net/Motorola-Moto-G55-smartphone-review-Inexpensive-doesn-t-have-to-be-boring.932900.0.html)

That's it for me, do you have similar experiences to share?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 33 minutes ago (1 children)

A good quality DAC connected to your USB port will give you far better sound than having a headphone jack.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 26 minutes ago

Good thing that type-c port is still there either way then.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 hours ago (4 children)

Headphone jack and removable battery are the two features I will not compromise on. Makes selecting a new phone pretty damn easy. I would have loved a fairphone but sorry, no exceptions.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 hours ago

At some point, you're just not going to have a phone at all then, the way things are going.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

What is your current phone?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

XCover 6 pro

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

Seems like a nice device, it was on my list for a while, but a bit too chunky

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago (4 children)

Regarding your sister's issue: that happened to me less when I paid a little more for a quality adapter. I think I got a two pack for $15 and the cord has some rubber protection where the wire turns into USB C and where it turns into a headphone jack. Haven't had the same issue your sister is having ever since.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 minutes ago

Also cheap phones have really bad USB C ports that are super loose. With my pixel or iPhone? Almost no issues with connections. But my moto phones? Well there’s a reason why they’re so cheap.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 32 minutes ago

You can't get a good quality DAC for $15. Lol

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

My friend group used to be very big on "pass the aux cord" when we're hanging out. It was incredibly easy to switch out our phones (or iPods and portable CD players before that) to let all of us contribute music for the gathering.

Now? Ok, I disconnected from the BT speaker. Do you see it yet? Lemme try turning the BT speaker off and on again. [BING BONG!; "Connected"] Ugh, it reconnected to my phone. Let me just turn BT off on my phone and you try again.

It's just such a PITA with BT, and having to keep USB-C and Lightning adapters on hand is even more annoying than that. If only there were a reliable and dedicated connection for audio devices....oh well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

On the other hand, YouTube and Spotify let you add songs to the queue from your phone without taking over the whole thing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 hours ago

yeah, in case all of you use their services

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I actually quite like the Bluetooth DAC I got because of the disappearance of my headphone jack. It breaks that physical attachment of my headphones to my phone while giving very good quality audio.

I'd recommend checking out the Fiio BTR line if interested.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

A "must", only for a subset of users.

If it were truly a "must", more people would be complaining.

I get it, you find Bluetooth unappealing for reasons, just like I find larger phones unappealing. Unfortunately, we're a minority, neither of these are a "must" for most people.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 hours ago (4 children)

For me I'm really split on wired vs wireless headphones as well. I do love how being wireless makes moving around easier. I'm sure we've all felt the rage when the wire gets caught and gets unplugged. But the amount of times I have to charge it while I want to use it is pretty annoying too.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

You shouldn't have to choose

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

I haven't had a charging concern for Bluetooth for probably 10 years.

Today, my ear buds have a case. If I use them for music for 8 hours, they tell me they need charging. That's how much they've improved.

The charging case rarely needs charging, and it supports wireless, so I just set it on the charging base.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (4 children)

For me, nobody makes wireless over-ear headphones for people with giant skulls. I have broken headbands over time because they aren't meant to go wide enough to actually fit on my head.

IEMs aren't really an option for me due to earwax (they either fall out, or the eartips degrade rapidly and I'm spending $20 every couple of months)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I am in no way trying to sell you on bluetooth headphones because I won't use them either, but I imagine the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wireless or AudioTechnica ATH-M50xBT2 would fit your head. Neither are exactly something you'd walk around town in, I imagine.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

Funny enough, audio technica M50's are one of the ones that broke 😅 the part just below the leather headband cracked and broke apart after about a year IIRC

Had some Beyerdynamic dt 770s that broke just above the swivel hinge too.

Currently using Sennheiser hd 58x jubilee, theyre holding up well and fit much better than the audio technicas.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

The swivel hinge on the DT 770/880/990 family used to be sold individually under $2 for a reason :) I am surprised to hear your M50s broke that way though. I had Sennheiser hd600 and hd650s both crack badly and I had to buy entirely new assemblies for the headband, so I am surprised those are working for you. Good to hear though.

The Amiron/DT-1990/1770 family has a newer mechanism that is much more sturdy and I haven't had an issue with my DT-1990s.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 44 minutes ago* (last edited 41 minutes ago) (1 children)

Kinda surprised the 58x is holding out myaelf. Didnt care for the circular earpads on the Beyerdynamics, just slid around all over the place around my ear (also wear glasses, because of course i need to have as many issues with my head as possible)

Ive been eyeing the Meze 99's as well, been curious to try that style of headband (plus, not held together by glue. All fasteners.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 37 minutes ago

I found the Meze too small/tight for me, but they sounds OK. For the 58X, I am assuming you found or figured out yourself the safe way to band the headband for larger heads (if not look it up, probably have better luck searching for HD650 but the band is identical).

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Yeah once I had 8h multi connect headphones I was sold. Being able to take work calls at my computer, end the call, play my phone audio book or music while I do chores, get call notifications from my PC while I'm doing chores... All seamlessly, I was completely in.

Edit I'd be curious what the downvote is for here, just sharing an opinion.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

She's now considering getting wireless earbuds, but she's not a fan of having to recharge them to be able to use them, and is also cautious about the e-waste potential.

I was wondering if there exists a bluetooth device that connects to your phone, and the device itself is just a headphone jack.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

https://www.fiio.com/btr15 yes sorta?

Its a bluetooth DAC with its own battery, but idk how convenient this is vs just a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle. There's other models and brands too varying from very cheap to extremely expensive (audiophile circlejerk material).

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (4 children)

About 4years ago, I decided to get a phone that I could modify (custom rom, root and such) and that had a proper camera. So I got a xiaomi mi 10, which has no audio jack (or even sd card reader..)

The default adapter lasted about 3years (I dont use wired earphones that often) and I decided to get a "proper" one from a ugreen brand (I found reviews that their previous model was bad and they had released a new better one) (it's this one UGreen AV161). It seems sturdy (it has that fiberglass sleeve too), hoping it will last.

It's indeed bad that they dont put a headphone jack and I find it sad that fairphone dropped it too, cuz I'm thinking of buying a phone from them in the future. Not only it reduces the phone's usability, but also indirectly forces you to buy wireless earphones. On top of that, using wired earphones puts extra wear on the single usb port (which I dont know how easy it is to replace it, I've only replaced a micro-usb port).

I dont exactly know where I'm going with this comment, but ok😅

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The extra wear on usb-c port is definitely still an issue as I have had that be the reason for needing to replace my wife's phone twice now. It was worse with micro-usb in my experience, but it stopped me from making use of my usb-c dongles. BTW, if you're using usb-c DACs, most kinda suck. Weirdly, I found the one from Google actually had the best sound, but if you haven't had an issue thus far then don't sweat it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

It was worse with micro-usb in my experience

Indeed, I had to replace the micro usb port in about 4 years (and it was already mulfunctioning probably for years), while the type c port still works almost flawlessly.

About the dac, even though I dont think I can detect the difference, I remember seeing comments that the previous model of my adaptor had a bad dac (or it didnt even have one??), but they seemingly fixed it ij the new model.

(PS. I download flac songs, but I dont think I can tell the difference between a proper lossless flac and a 64kbps opus, lol. It might be bad equipment, it might be my hearing, it might be that I tend to listen at low volumes, a combo of all the above or something.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

It had to have a DAC if it was converting the bluetooth digital signal, but it could have been either a bad DAC or just poorly implemented DAC chip. I've seen it in a lot of these types of devices (Fiio, I am looking at you). It's not like the chips are that expensive in comparison to the final price of the device.