path: root/hardware/about_headphones.md

There is not a perfect set of headphones.

# Headphones I use

These are a few notes about the headphones I use, with pros/cons.

## Shokz OpenComm / MONODEAL MD08 PRO

These are my favorite headphones for remote work, meaning calls.
Shokz are bone conduction, meaning they do not go over your ear, or inside your ear, but rather sit on your temples.
They vibrate on near the bones in your ear.
This produces a strange sensation, but has many advantages (and disadvantages).

* These are the most comfortable headphones I have ever tested.
  I can literally wear them for several hours and I do not notice I have them on.
  They do not warm your ears, or exert pressure, or anything.
  It's more similar to wearing glasses (and they do not interfere with wearing glasses).
  They also have a very secure fit, they cannot fall, etc.
  The only issue with comfort is using them in bed, or when your head is resting on something.

* The sound quality is good for calls, but probably the quality for music can be criticized.

* They provide **NO** sound isolation whatsoever.
  This is good, because you do not have to take them off to interact with people physically.
  But this is bad, because you will hear any noise around you.

* However, they have a boom mic, meaning they supposedly avoid most background noise.

* The controls are minimal, a volume rocker and a call/hang up button.
  Muting requires pressing volume up and down at the same time, which is not convenient, so normally I use software mute.

* They look very strange, and I don't feel comfortable wearing them on the street, etc.

* When I'm not using them, I charge them.
  I have never run out of battery.

I used them with the Avantree DG80 adapter (see below) with my laptops, which avoids most Bluetooth issues, but still some issues remain.
Recently I use them directly on Windows and Linux without much issue.

They cost around 150€.

My major doubt is if other Shokz headphones without a boom mic work well for calls.
The OpenComm are more expensive than models without boom mic.

Update: I lost the Shokz and got a MONODEAL MD08 PRO instead, which cost about half.
They are fine too.

## Mpow Air 2.4G

This is a cheap clone of the HyperX Cloud Alpha gaming headset.
Those are over ear wireless headphones with a wireless USB adapter.

* Using USB does avoid **ALL** problems with USB.
  They **always** work flawlessly with a computer, and sound quality is great.
  However, they are impractical to use with a smartphone.

* They have great sound isolation, so they filter most noise.
  However, you need to take them off to hear your surroundings, which is sometimes inconvenient.

* The microphone is very good.
  However, some other gaming headsets mute the mic automatically when you move it "pointing up".
  This has a dedicated microphone mute button, and a volume wheel.

* I find them uncomfortable, and I don't like wearing them for more than 30 minutes or so.
  They are also bad for use in bed, etc.

* When I'm not using them, I charge them.
  I have never run out of battery.

These headphones are great when I need to focus or when my environment is very noisy.
I use them mostly for work, esp. when I need to record my voice.

They cost around 75€.

## Jabra Elite 85t

Those are true wireless earbuds.

* Music quality is very good.
* Microphone is bad.
  It picks up a lot of wind and noise.
* They are quite comfortable.
  Less than the Aftershokz, but I can wear them for long stretches, and I can use them in bed.
* The controls are a bit difficult to use, although they are physical buttons.
* They have some sound isolation and passthrough mode.
* They can play background noise.
* The battery is decent, but you will have to be more careful with running out of battery.
  However, they have wireless charging, which is nice.
  I'm somewhat concerned about battery degradation too.
* True wireless earbuds can be inconvenient, if you are on the street and you want to remove them, you either need to locate their case and store them in (takes time), put them in a pocket...
  They don't have a very secure fit, and if they fall of your ear, there is no cable that will prevent them from falling into the floor and breaking (I think this happened to my 65t), or into a toilet, etc.

I like using these to listen to music, or to watch TV.

They cost around 150€.

## Sennheiser HD 458BT

These are over ear Bluetooth headphones.

* Music quality is very good
* I have not really tested the microphone much.
  I have done some calls with them, but obviously they pick up noise.
  They do not have a boom mic.
* They have good noise isolation, both physical and software.
* They have lots of controls, and they are quite nice.
* I have worn them for two hours and a half straight, they become a bit uncomfortable, but usually removing them for a minute is enough.
* Battery seems to last more than enough.
* They are a bit bulky, so if you remove them and put them around your neck they are not comfortable.

I like using these for music and TV too, and I normally use them on plane/train trips.

They cost around 150€.

## Cheap wired earbuds with microphone

I have two pairs I bought in a supermarket.
They have decent quality, they never run out of battery, and they have no connection issues or require no dongle.
They are nice backup, and they are good for calls.

I use them on the go, although one of my phones and my ChromeOS tablet require a USB adapter :(
I also use them plugged into my computer monitor, with an extension cable so I can plug/unplug them easily.

Each pair costs 5-10€.

## Sleep headband

I took an acquaintance's unused sleep headband.
That's a small Bluetooth control unit and flat speakers embedded in a fabric headband.
I cannot find the original model- you can find many variants costing from 15-20€.

They are a bit bizarre because the control buttons are in your forehead.

They solve many problems about using headphones in bed: they are quite comfortable (although my head is slightly too big for those) and they don't fall, although they can slip out of position.
Sound quality is not great, but it's decent for music for non-audiophiles.

# Notes

## On form factors

I don't think it's possible for one headset to be good at everything:

* Calls
* Music
* Noise isolation vs environment awareness.
  Headphones isolate or not.
  Some isolating headphones have passthrough modes, but very few headphones can activate this immediately.
* Comfort (esp. in bed)
* Battery life
* Connection
* Easy and varied controls (mute, volume, etc.)

Some of those areas are at odds with others.

I use different headphones for different purposes.

I know people who like very much wireless earbuds with a neck band, because they fix many of the convenience issues of true wireless earbuds.
(They add more battery, they help if the earbuds fall from your ear, they put the microphone closer to your mouth, etc.)
However, I have never used this format.

## On microphones

The closest a microphone is to your mouth, the less noise it will pick up.
I do not have any indication that there are headphones whose microphone sits near your ears that do not pick up a lot of noise.
(My Jabra Elite 85t and the previous 65t pick up a lot of noise and wind.)

My experiences with headsets with a boom mic are much better in noisy environments.

## On Bluetooth and computers

I have heard many issues with Bluetooth and computers, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Lately, I have had good succes under Windows and Linux (I have not used macOS lately).

When I had issues with Bluetooth on Linux, I used an Avantree DG80 Bluetooth *sound* adapter.
This is not a regular generic adapter to add Bluetooth to computers that do not have Bluetooth.
This is a Bluetooth audio device that connects to headphones or other Bluetooth devices and appears in your computer as a USB audio device.
Therefore, the Bluetooth implementation in your computer is ignored.
The device provides its own codecs.

With this, you avoid most of the issues of Bluetooth on computers, which sometimes works worse than on smartphones.

Also, if you pair a Bluetooth headset with the adapter, you can plug the adapter to multiple devices and the headsets will "follow" the adapter, without requiring pairing.

This headset does not avoid all problems.
Notably, using the microphone requires the adapter to detect that your computer requests microphone use, and switching the Bluetooth mode.
This requires a few seconds.

However, the adapter has all the "good codecs", so most sound quality issues are avoided, even on Linux.

## On mute

Unfortunately, few combinations of headphones and software have integrated mute capabilities.

I don't like having separate mute controls:

* On the headset
* On the operating system
* On the "software" (like Google Meet, Teams, etc.)

It is inconvenient, because with so many controls it's easier to make mistakes and you are slower.

Software mute is good, because other people will see you are muted.
This means, for example, that when you unmute, people might notice that you want to speak, etc.

However, software mute requires interacting with the application, so it's not good for multitasking.

Some headset mutes have a LED light that indicates you are muted, but it's not great.

## On gaming controllers

The XBox controllers **with their USB adapter** and the Playstation controllers **when plugged into a Playstation console** allow you to plug a wired headset.
This is very nice, because they work very reliably and you avoid much of the wireless problems (connection, battery, etc.).
If you play a lot, it's nice to have controllers with this feature.