I abandoned wired earphones before this whole mess with headphone jacks because I grew tired of replacing the every other month because the cable stopped working
remind me, was the S10 the last Samsung phone that didn’t explode or literally fall apart in your hands?
No. That’s (almost) all Samsung devices. They make decent screens and camera sensors though…
Still have this phone but it is getting a bit ragged, really just the battery. Might upgrade to Sony Xperia 1 V or 1 VI soon. Need the headphone jack and microSD slot.
Check out HMD phones. They have the SD slot and the 3.5mm jack as well. They also have partnered with iFixit so that you can replace parts as well.
Unless you are in India.
Their customer service apparently drove a relative of mine to Apple.Also some of the cheaper Nokia ones have a great number of problems:
- SIM card not detected after Restart
- Some bad sensor causing Google Maps to show you facing the wrong direction.
Alright, it’s just 2, but happens enough to make me regret.
Some high end model had its LCD liquidate somehow, without a visible crack and was not covered in warranty.
Looking at the specs of this HMD phone, I would not recommend it. The headphone jack and SD card slot are about all this phone has going for it. It’s underpowered, especially for a phone running Android 14. I guess it wouldn’t be too bad for people who just need the cheapest Android phone they can get.
…There also appears to be a hole in the screen 🙃 (i loathe camera holes and screen “notches”).
I have this same phone and I like it.
Where my LG homies at?
Why not buy a Sony phone with an earphone jack?
Not only does the Xperia have a headphone jack, it supports aptx for Bluetooth headphones! No matter if you prefer wired or wireless, it’s not skimping on either.
A lot oft phones have aptx, no?
I moved from Galaxy S10 to Xperia 1 V precisely because none of the phones in the Galaxy line support aptx.
Also, there’s aptx, aptx-hd, aptx-LL (low latency), and aptx-adaptive. My headphones support only aptx and aptx-adaptive and I really wanted support for the latter. There’s licensing involved so not all devices support the whole range of aptx standards.
LDAC or bust, homie.
Is it better than aptx-hd?
Edit: aptxhd: 567kbit/a max and ldac 990kbit/s max
I just had to give up my S10…I got a 20…I need my ports
USB C to 3.5mm Dongle Adapter (Amazon link)
If you need to charge and listen at the same time, they make split adapters for that too. Adding 2" of wire to your wired headphones is a very minor inconvenience.
There are also wired headphones with USB-C plugs if you don’t want to bother with adapters.
This is true. The only caveat I’ll add is that not all USB-C-to-3.5mm + power delivery adapters are created equal, which is annoying. I bought this one a couple years ago and it has an audible buzz when plugged into power, so it’s basically junk.
I just don’t want a dongle. I’m not willing to buy one, I’m not willing to keep track one one, and I’ll never have it when it need it. I’m not willing to charge wireless earbuds, and they’re going to get lost after 2-3 uses anyway.
Just give me a fucking 3.5mm jack and be done with it.
I kind of can’t believe we’re still having this conversation. It’s ridiculously cheap and easy to use wired earbuds with a modern phone if you want to. I got it back when it was just iPhones and Apple was selling lighting to 3.5 adapters for like $7k, but that’s obviously not the case anymore. If someone wants to hold on to their 5+ year old phone and run it dead, that’s great. More power to them. Doing it to avoid getting a phone with no headphone jack is a little silly at this point, though.
Here’s the problem, it’s a solution to a problem nobody had. Never once have I heard someone say “well it’s a solid phone but God I just wish it didn’t have that pesky 3.5mm headphone jack!” It’s just another feature stripped from the phone to clearly get you to buy more shit. I don’t want yet another damn thing I have to charge. I dont want to deal with keeping track of two tiny ass earbuds and if I lose one I gotta get a whole new pair. I don’t want to deal with the fact that now if I want to listen to wired I have to buy more shit like an adapter and if I lose those headphones, now I gotta buy another one of those along with new headphones. And I hate that if I do go wireless and lose them or they break, I can’t fall back on wired because it’s not even an option unless I happen to also have the adapter.
It’s just another in a long line of clear middle fingers to consumers and it’s annoying. Does it like ruin the phone and the experience of a phone? Of course not. Is it a completely pointless pain in the ass with the obvious and sole purpose of funneling consumers into buying a cycle of products they almost definitely don’t need and don’t already have? Absolutely. And for that I say they can eat a big bag of crap.
Technology has been solving problems people don’t have since… Always. No one had a problem listening to music from an 8 track tape, but that technology still died and we moved on. The truth is that an increasing majority of consumers either don’t care or even prefer wireless headphones. If you consider not having a headphone jack a deal breaker, then you’re not the market most phone manufacturers are after. Sorry to break it to you. Good news though, there are still several smartphone models that have a headphone jack. Buy one of those. Or get whatever phone you want and get a $5 adapter. Or just sit on the internet seething every time a new phone comes out without an increasingly niche feature. Up to you.
I don’t have a problem with wireless headphones when it comes to mobile devices. It sucks, and I wish I still had a headphone jack, but I’ve kinda come to peace with the fact that wireless accessories for phones are apparently the future.
However, I wish there were “mid/high-end” Bluetooth/wifi cans. All the wireless headphones are either earbuds, IEMs, or overpriced Skullcandy/beats/Bose/apple/etc. I want an AKG or Audio-Technica pair of wireless headphones that go over my ears, and I want an option between closed-back and open-back headphones. I prefer closed-back due to the sound isolation and I’m annoyed that there’s a price gap where it’s hard to find closed-back headphones in the $300~$600 range.
…or at least it was when I checked a year or two ago; everything with a closed back was either entry (<$100), low-level (<$300) or too expensive (>$600 + $100 or more for an amp, because at that price range most headphones need one).
Edit: oh yeah, and a optional balanced cable that uses a standardized connector, like miniXLR
^ This person audio-engineers.
No judgement - just from reading your comment I definitely get this vibe. I get it though. Most wireless stuff is either going to be heavily EQed consumer trash or overpriced audiophile stuff with all the latest buzzwords. There just doesn’t seem to be much of a market for reference-grade stuff in a wireless format.
Not that I could justify spending a bunch on good headphones though, so I’ve settled for a low-end pair that sound acceptable for what they are.
I actually don’t, but maybe I should because I love audio stuff, I just don’t usually have the money to blow on it. Any idea what skills audio engineers usually have?
I used to actually know a ton about this stuff but haven’t touched a musical instrument or audio device in over 12 years. Sooooo, bear with me.
All of this will depend entirely where your interests lay in terms of audio production/engineering. One of the core skills would be the ability to pick out different sounds from a soundscape. I suspect you already have a knack for that given how much you seem to think about audio quality. Tied in with that would be an understanding of how digital audio works in terms of bitrate, dynamic range, what clipping sounds (and looks) like, etc. I’m sure there’s tons of info on all that online. Analog audio has a whole other set of skills associated with it, but I doubt it’s super accessible these days for a beginner. That’s outside of cassettes, at least. I’m sure old 4-track cassette recorders are super cheap. As much as I loved analog recording, you’re probably better off just going digitally and using processing to get an approximation of the “traditional” analog sound, though, if that’s your jsn. Or if you’re going for a black metal sound or something else intentionally grungy, go to town on a cassette deck.
From there I’d say the biggest skills would be understanding basic mic technique, the general physics of sound, and how to properly set your levels (basically the ratio of preamp vs amp). Next up would be figuring out basic processing - namely the different types of EQ and compression. Effects play into that too - especially reverb and delay - but EQ and compression (plus proper micing and levels) are generally going to be the foundation of a good mix.
That being said - this all entirely depends on what you’re going for. If you don’t do anything musical yourself and aren’t inclined to record other musicians, you can have tons of fun remixing other people’s work. I’m pretty sure there are sites out there where you can download raw audio tracks to mix yourself. Another viable option if you’re into electronic forms of music is to get a sequencer and experiment that way.
I got my start when I was maybe 13 or 14 with a cracked copy of Fruity Loops (I think it’s called FL Studio now). I used that to write dumb electronic songs despite having no theoretical musical or audio knowledge (besides having previously used the built in Windows sound recording software to layer weird shit I recorded with a crappy mic). That software also came with demo tracks that I experimented with. About a year later I got a bass guitar and started a punk band, and that led to all sorts of weird experimentation with recording mediums. From there I bought a shitty reel to reel tape deck and began recording punk bands out of their jam spaces, eventually went to school for audio engineering, had a bunch of jobs related to the art (while freelancing doing recording work and live sound), and finally burned out and never touched a guitar or mic again.
None of that is necessary or even something I’d recommend. It’s a perfectly legitimate hobby if you want to keep it small-scale. You can start it with almost no money, but that’s where I’d caution you if you have anything approaching an addictive personality - the gear can get super addictive as you begin a quest for the perfect tone. For a few years there I worked at a musical instrument store and most of my paycheck went right back to my work (the staff discount sure helped though). Likewise, most of what I’d make freelancing would go back to gear as well. That’s one of the big reasons I quit cold turkey one day. I still miss it as a hobby, but I know the second I start it back up I’ll be right back to dreaming of expensive tube preamps. Your own mileage may vary if you have better self-control.
One of the core skills would be the ability to pick out different sounds from a soundscape. I suspect you already have a knack for that given how much you seem to think about audio quality. Tied in with that would be an understanding of how digital audio works in terms of bitrate, dynamic range, what clipping sounds (and looks) like, etc. I’m sure there’s tons of info on all that online. Analog audio has a whole other set of skills associated with it, but I doubt it’s super accessible these days for a beginner. That’s outside of cassettes, at least. I’m sure old 4-track cassette recorders are super cheap. As much as I loved analog recording, you’re probably better off just going digitally and using processing to get an approximation of the “traditional” analog sound, though, if that’s your jsn. Or if you’re going for a black metal sound or something else intentionally grungy, go to town on a cassette deck.
I can already do a lot of this, and while I’m a bit lacking on the analog aspect, I have an okay understanding of how electricity works, which would probably help with the analog side.
From there I’d say the biggest skills would be understanding basic mic technique, the general physics of sound, and how to properly set your levels (basically the ratio of preamp vs amp). Next up would be figuring out basic processing - namely the different types of EQ and compression. Effects play into that too - especially reverb and delay - but EQ and compression (plus proper micing and levels) are generally going to be the foundation of a good mix.
Don’t have as much of an understanding here, especially when it comes to calling out specific frequencies to be EQ’d. I don’t do enough of that to be able to “play it by ear” and know what frequencies I want to adjust without some experimentation. I’m also somewhat familiar with how compressors work, but I need a UI because I tend to forget what bit does what, so I need visual feedback to show me what I’m changing. Shouldn’t be too difficult to memorize the terminology and how certain frequencies sound, but it would take some effort. I do understand how decibels work though!
That being said - this all entirely depends on what you’re going for. If you don’t do anything musical yourself and aren’t inclined to record other musicians, you can have tons of fun remixing other people’s work. I’m pretty sure there are sites out there where you can download raw audio tracks to mix yourself. Another viable option if you’re into electronic forms of music is to get a sequencer and experiment that way.
It’s something I’d probably do as a career. The career I wanted to go into has turned out to be extremely toxic and heavily exploitive, so I’m kinda looking for alternatives. That said, most creative careers tend to be very exploitive so I might be looking in the wrong place.
If you really truly are interested in it as a career don’t hold back, but know that it’s a looooooong road for very little money and absolutely no guarantees. Like anything fairly creative, only the top percentile make actual good money (or even sustainable money), and even then you usually have to freelance and build your own reputation to get there. That said, there are viable adjacent jobs that use that skillset. I worked in corporate AV for a few years, which involves running sound, lighting, and video for events. It’s far from glamorous though, and mostly involves manual labor in setups and teardowns. You’re basically a roadie who also runs the gear, but instead of mixing cool rock shows you’re mixing a few mics and a PowerPoint presentation for a pharmaceutical convention. The hours can also suuuuuuuck. My longest shift was 20 hours. I got home at 3 AM after that and then had to be back at the shop for 7. You live on free coffee and cookies that the banquet staff give you (you get to be on a first-name basis with every hotel banquet server in your city). It can be weirdly fun as a youngster but I have no idea how the older techs survived. I regularly worked 40 hour weeks when I was part time and 60-80 when full-time. I burned out by like 22.
The music store gig was really fun though. I ran the rentals desk and spent a lot of time teaching my customers how to use the pro audio gear. That’s also the most ridiculous place I’ve ever worked in terms of memorable stories.
You can also run sound in a dive bar, but that’s mostly about who you know and involves more networking than you’d expect to work in a dive bar for very little money.
As far as actually being a professional audio engineer or producer who makes a living making records - that’s the real tough part. I suppose it’s possible to land a staff job in a studio, but that’s not really how it worked in my small city. I freelanced with my own gear and home studio for years until I met a (relatively - this is Canada) big-name producer who I’d built rapport with from my job in the music store. He offered to let me work out of his proper studio for a very reasonable rate. Note that this wasn’t a job - it was an offer to pay him to use his facility. Still, it was the closest thing I had to a break and for a few glorious months I was (barely) scraping by as a full-time recording engineer. The clientele I had built up over the previous decade were almost exclusively local punk and garage rock bands, meaning none of them had money, and now they had to pay real studio fees on top of my own, so I was charging way too little. I was technically doing it though, but then I finally fully burned out - due in part to some looming personal issues - and that was that.
As to all your other comments - alllll of that can be learned through study and experimentation. I went to an overpriced school to learn the fundamentals, but a diploma like that means shit and you can learn it just as well on your own. With stuff like EQ you don’t need to be able to instantly pick out a good/bad frequency fully by ear - there are little tricks for zoning in on what you’re looking for (crank the gain on the EQ and scan the frequency range until you find the tone you’re trying to get rid of, then turn it down. Hint: it’s almost always the lower-mids making stuff sound muddy.)
This all being said, if you’re interested in this stuff I suggest dipping your toes in as a hobbyist first. If it becomes your obsession maybe consider a career, but only if you’ll be content working adjacent jobs rather than recording bands full time. Also, in case I didn’t make it quite clear, there’s a ton of networking involved. It’s easier if you actually play in a band, as I did (you don’t have to be good - just out there meeting people). I suppose it’d still be possible otherwise if you spend most of your free time at local shows and really get to know the musicians. Also, by the time I was getting in, home recording was a vibrant industry so wasn’t just competing with other engineers for jobs - I was also competing with bands just doing it themselves. I’m sure that’s only gotten tougher these days with cheap gear being so accessible.
I hope this doesn’t come across as demoralizing. I just want to make sure you know what you’re potentially getting yourself into. If you’re hating your current industry, though, and this all sounds overwhelming, another approach is to find something tolerable but maybe not what you envisioned, and make the best of it. In creative fields work typically becomes your life as it’s a constant grind to make ends meet and something that was once pleasurable inevitably becomes tainted by association. Some people have the emotional fortitude to survive under those conditions but I suspect they’re few and far between. I’ve worked probably a dozen jobs in my life before landing in my current role. Depending on how you count it, I’ve been here about 11 years and I fully expect this will be the company I work at for the rest of my working life (in part because my family bought the business a few years ago after several of us had worked there for years). The job has nothing to do with anything I went to school for and is in an industry I have no personal interest in. But, the work itself is interesting and sometimes creative,. Most importantly, the people are good, so I’m about as happy as a person can be in a job. Keep yourself open to opportunities like that, if you can find them. Buying the business helped, but even before that I had pretty much accepted that I was a lifer because this was the first grown-up job I felt content in.
Sennheiser has a few wireless cans in that category for ~$400
I’ll have to check them out, thanks!
Maybe too basic for you but the ATH-M50X bluetooth has served me well for mlre than 5 years and the only complaint I have is the faux leather comming off.
Ye, though tbh, I’ve thought about just getting a secondary pair of headphones, like a cheaper wireless pair for being out and about, and a more expensive pair for at home. If I went that route then I’d probably do something like the ath-m50x
Focal Bathys? They are expensive and delicate though
Holy shit those actually kinda sound exactly like what I want. They are pretty expensive, and I wonder what the sound quality is like, but those are basically the kinda thing I’ve been looking for.
As an audiophile, I’ve tried these at an event and they sound pretty close to audiophile grade wired headphones. They have the Focal house signature (slightly warm but not bassy or boomy)
God I miss my S10. It really was a perfect phone. I finally had to let it go when the screen cracked. Replacing it cost more than a refurbished S22 or S23, and I couldn’t justify purchasing another S10, since it will probably fall victim to planned obsolescence soon.
My S10e is cracked but only all over the backplate. Which is also no longer really attached to the phone. I’m driving this thing into the ground.
Still using the S9 with only the back and sides cracked. Only put 50€ into replacing the battery and jack. This has got to last until 2027 at least until replaceable batteries hopefully become a thing again.
How do you crack the sides of an s9? It’s metal…
I meant the curved sides of the front screen. The metal is just scratched.
S9+ still going strong after over 6 years. I dread the day I will need a “new” phone.
I have an old S9 right here on my desk. I cracked the screen, and took it to one of those screen replacement places, and he asked if I had insurance. I told him I didn’t, and he said, wellllllll it’s going to be a lot more expensive than you think to replace this screen.
That wraparound screen they had was basically also the frame of the phone - you’re not so much replacing the screen as you are moving the rest of the components to a new phone body. I wasn’t sold on value of that wraparound screen in the first place; this didn’t improve my opinion of it.
We put a plastic screen protector on it and a new case, and I used it for a few months until we were ready to upgrade phones.
I’m really hoping that Framework release a phone one day, given how good the Framework 16 laptop is.
I still use my s10e every day on my commute with the headphone jack plugged into a radio tuner so I can listen to podcasts
My phone would drop and just detach from the phone jack and still fall, sometimes ruining the headphones in the process. My phone has a case and takes a fall better than my headphones. But it’s also older (Samsung note 8), so there’s that
Love my AirPods Pro man. No wires, great sound and noise cancellation. I have never had them fall out of my ears, even when working out.
If your earbuds are falling out, clean your ears and your earbuds before you put them in. Either that, or you need tips that fit your ear better. If you have those ear canals that don’t want anything in them, we also now have great (and wireless!) headphones now too.
Wires are really just for those audiophile enthusiasts, people who can’t be bothered charging wireless things, or people who would lose their head if it wasn’t attached.
To each their own, of course. :)
lol, love it when people try to justify purchases that end up as e-waste after a couple/few short years.
The product I’ve had since 2021? Shut the fuck up.
I would never praise these things, but I’ve been using the same pair for 5 years now. Why would they become e-waste so quickly?
They have batteries, batteries do not last long
That’s fair. I’m not exactly testing their endurance, just use them for YouTube and podcasts, so it’s likely they’ve degraded quite a bit without me noticing.
Umm, you might want to read it again.
Why…?
Cause it said nothing about dropping earphones, it was all about saving phone with audio wire.
Okay? And there are plenty of other people on here talking about their own stories, so why the fuck can’t I talk about mine?
However, a lot of companies dropped headphone jacks, because they could both save a buck on them, make them even more slightly thinner to the point it starts to impact usability, and create a market for 3rd party accessories (wireless head/earphones, converters, etc.).
Still typing this on my S10! I’ve replaced the power button twice as it eventually started falling out. I have to admit I mostly use wireless earbuds these days but options are nice.
The S10 is such a good phone! Things like samsung dex and being able to cast to TV are really useful - I’m guessing the later models have these, but I’d hate to lose them either way. I rarely use the headphone jack nowadays but it’s still nice to have. Hopefully I can get a few more years out of my S10.
I’ve been getting the Samsung ‘plus’ models several years after they come out for a couple hundred bucks and still can’t find a reason to upgrade from the S10+
New phones are way too expensive for a better camera and marginally faster apps, which would be entirely out matched by a dedicated camera at the same price.
Surprise surprise, I also drive an old ranger that has aux but no Bluetooth so everything works out
options are everything, i’m rocking 500gb removable storage, feel like a pig in shit
I like wireless, I just fucking loathe earbuds. Unfortunately, they have completely replaced the wrap around on-ear headphones that were the best for wearing while running errands or exercising.
I don’t want something big and bulky while I’m walking around, but I also don’t like having shit jammed into my ears. And critically, those on ear headphones are just the right size to have a convenient button layout so I can easily pause or go back a few seconds in my audiobook whenever I need to.
But Apple decreed that wireless earbuds were the future and the market for everything else fucking died.
This might be the right thing for you:
Wraparound on-ear headphones with USB-C plug. I can’t vouch for them personally though.
The problem with most USB c earphones (which are not super expensive) is that they sound like shit because they have a cheapo small DAC (digital to analog converter) in them. Our phones - most of the time - have decent enough DACs, at least had them when they had the 3.5 mm jacks
Have you tried bone conduction earphones? Shokz are pretty sweet, I use my pair all the time.
I think peak design was the on-ear, behind-the-neck style. They rested on the top of your ears, and your hair didn’t get all fucked up from the headband. I don’t know why they had such a short-lived popularity.
I’ve tried the wired Koss independent on-ears, but you lose clarity of lows without the pressure of a neckband or headband.
They still exist, although aren’t as common. Plenty of places have them if you order online
The form factor exists, but not in competitive terms. Good luck finding them with high quality drivers. I tried for years and gave up.
I felt this comment in my bones. It’s too bad my over ear buds are so old now the plastic has degraded. Regular earbuds just don’t stay in and I find them uncomfortable.
Now the real winner would be looped over your ear but using that spacial localized speaker thing Valve puts into their VR. That stuff works great, has surround sound, and you don’t feel a thing. A wonder if only exists on that headset and that headset alone.
Seems to be rather unique to them.
https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/index/deep-dive/ear-speakers
To be fair, I’d be like one of two people in this world who’d rock those in public. They’d catch an eye, haha
The parts are available, but I don’t know if there’s a way to send them regular stereo channel inputs without hardware hacking or writing custom software drivers from scratch.
Used to have a pair of these. Motorola S305. They were the perfect running headphones. Big chunky buttons for volume and track skipping, a plastic band that wrapped the back of your head and over your ears so it would never fall off but otherwise wireless. The only downside was really old Bluetooth tech so connection was sketchy at times. Also audio has improved a lot since then.
Modern buds don’t stay in my ears. I’m using the pixel buds pro right now. The right ear stays in pretty good but the left is completely unpredictable.
Having the pixel buds myself, I feel your pain. Do a little bit of physical activity and at least one side gets loose and slippery.
I found that I simply dont have symmetrical ear canals, I use the mid size plug on one and the smallest plug on the other ear. That way they seem to fit somewhat reliably.
I had some jaybird buds that have the wrap around wire with a clip to your shirt so you can pop one out without tugging the other, also they came with all sorts of ear mounts so they can stay in your ear, I have really found anything that work as good for use while working
I’m using the pixel buds pro right now. The right ear stays in pretty good but the left is completely unpredictable.
I wonder if it’s their manufacturing or something, because I have the same issue with only the left bud.
Usually one bud is the primary one which connects to the phone and maintains the link. Then it pairs with the other and relays the Bluetooth session encryption key so the second bud can play it’s part of the audio
Have neckband Bluetooth headphones of various kinds too (I’ll never ever use those tiny plugs, I’d be worried about losing them and chances are they won’t fit well). Got a regular sport model, and recently got a cheap air conduction headset too.
Heroes never goes out of style
