The comments on this post are entirelly missing the point. Jesus christ lemmy. Yes, we know you like 3.5 mm jacks. That is not the point. The point is that FairPhone launched earphones with ANC with replaceable batteries. This is good!
Not when they’re twice the price is decent Sonys
We’re allowed to want both.
Counterpoints:
- Good IEM-s don’t really need ANC. If the silicone tip doesn’t isolate enough you can use foam tips that basically function like hearing protection earplugs.
- No battery is even better than replaceable battery.
- Wired IEM-s never get obsolete. At worst you’ll need to replace the silicone tips from time to time, or the cable and today even 20€ Chinese IEM-s have replaceable cables. With good care wired IEM-s can last decades.
So you basically said there’s no need for fair wired headphones because cheap 20€ chinese wired ones perfectly serve that market?
Even better that fairphone builds true wireless earbuds with all those fair features, because there is no alternative there already.
If you don’t think you need ANC you’ve never experienced good ANC, even the best passive noise isolation won’t quiet down the sound of a full cafeteria or bus.
No wired iems will never be obsolete, but I will just be leaving them at my desk where the downsides over wireless are less.
I’ve used passive noise isolation earbuds that work better than any ANC. This one time I took them off after a long flight, only to realize that a toddler was crying behind me.
Well, my point is that we wouldn’t need wireless headphones if Fairphone still had a headphone jack
Nvm replaceable batteries, I keep buying 2-3 pairs of ear buds a year because I keep forgetting them in my pants when I wash them, or I give them a pat down and don’t feel them inside of them.
They going to get all my business.
“I want my two dollars!”
that’s cool, ill never buy silicon tips again tho. why is apple the only one making real ear buds?
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. I’m a person with ears that do not work with silicone tips either. I love the fit of AirPods. Tried AirPods Pro, and for my ears, they suck. Doesn’t matter what size tips I use, they seal poorly and fall out constantly. Regular AirPods fit great.
Edit: grammar
Edit 2: that being said, I want to try these because I really want replaceable batteries for my earbuds. It may be moot for me though as I live in the US and currently they aren’t shipping to the US.
yah, luckily airpods 1:1 clones are like $20.
i have downvotes completely hidden so i wouldn’t have noticed.
I haven’t used the clones yet, but I’ll likely go with something like that when these die.
> only support AAC and SBC codecs
> available for 149
Eh.
Starting to notice a trend with these “specialty” device companies, crap specs and high (relatively) prices.
The FP5, released last year has a SoC that performs worse than the Tensor. The TENSOR, a chip widely regarded as shitty, and can be had on a phone 200$ cheaper. :/
Then don’t buy them and keep buying from less ethical sources. You’re not the target market for this. It’s fine.
The high prices at least should be obvious, a product using fairly sourced components will always be more expensive.
fairly sourced components
Uses Qualcomm
Mmm, ok…
The workers literally get paid bonuses for each phone that gets made. The phone’s parts all get certified for sustainability. They need to find manufacturers willing to fulfill their requirements, for which they will obviously charge more.
I’m not saying that they’re for everyone or should be free from criticism. I personally decided against buying one due to the size, performance and camera. But if you’re complaining about a sustainable product costing more than a regular one, you’re missing the point and were never in the target audience in the first place.
Other’s make it cheaper because they don’t care about “fair”. How do you think cheap products become cheap? Think about it for a second.
Anti Commercial AI thingy
You can be “fair” and pricey, just put a better competitive SoC, rn it’s near budget tier for upper mid range money
And then they expect someone to use it for 10 years? LMAO, that thing is gonna be sluggish AF in another 1 or 2 tops, can’t imagine trying to use it in 10 lolol
You can be “fair” and pricey, just put a better competitive SoC, rn it’s near budget tier for upper mid range money
That’s the thing, fair SoC’s aren’t cheap because they aren’t available everywhere nor is a fair supply chain easy to setup. Do you think somebody just snapped their fingers or trusted the words written in a contract? "This supplier says they’re fair and ethical, so I’ll believe them 🤷 "
Who do you think has to verify suppliers claims? Do you think they are free? Do you think a manufacturer will simply throw out an unfair supplier to be ethical and fair if that meant loss of business or revenue?
Think about it from the extreme: are slaves cheaper than paid employees? Then continue the thoughts from there and the impacts they have on the cost and availability of products. Just walk through the logistics yourself and compare the cost of doing business ethically vs not. Maybe even write it down to get a better picture.
Anti Commercial AI thingy
I had at least hoped for FastStream.
I mean even Sony didn’t get it working on my XM4s, I don’t know why people expect it from $150 earbuds.
Hang on, is THAT why call quality is abysmal with practically every bluetooth device?
Yes. and why it’s wildly complicated on Windows machines where you have an audio output device for headphones and for headset, and once something starts using the mic the output device itself changes.
So joining team chat in a game will either make audio sound horrible or break it entirely if you had specified the output device instead of using default device.
How in the fuck is bluetooth even a competing standard? If it’s “good enough” than so is SD video and VHS tapes.
Bluetooth turns twenty-six this year, maybe we’ll be closer to good integration once it hits it’s thirties.
There’s a lot of things that make the Bluetooth experience better… it’s just almost all focused on mobile phones, maybe apple laptops if you stay in their walled gardens, but definitely not stock windows.
I say stock because if you do use windows and want to use Bluetooth you can improve things with a third party driver https://www.bluetoothgoodies.com/a2dp/ it’s still not great but at least you can use better codecs than default
If you’re using earbuds then being a codec snob is kind of unnecessary tbh. And if you want quality, ethically made repairable electronics, they cost a premium. $150 is not wild.
In-ear phones have the potential of having the highest fidelity of all headphone types. So, no, being a “codec snob” is completely justified. Though I personally won’t be using BT phones before we get lossless connection as a standard. Wired are cheaper, last longer and have less environmental impact during production and after EOL.
In-ear phones have the potential of having the highest fidelity of all headphone types.
How so? Isn’t converting from digital to analog better than from digital to digital to analog?
Anti Commercial AI thingy
Nothing to do with ADA conversions (and digital-to-digital, eg SRC or bitdepth conversion, is completely transparent if done even remotely adequately). Small drivers close to eardrum with good seal just seem to be easier to manage when it comes to frequency response and distortion. Most open circumaural headphones, for example, seem to have deficiencies in lower end no matter the price.
Small drivers close to eardrum with good seal just seem to be easier to manage when it comes to frequency response and distortion.
Are you saying the length of the cable from my phone to my ears has an impact on audio quality?
Also, is there no loss when converting from the digital audio format to whatever bluetooth uses?
Most open circumaural headphones, for example, seem to have deficiencies in lower end no matter the price.
This seems unrelated to jack vs bluetooth.
Anti Commercial AI thingy
No, they’re saying accurately reproducing sounds for people to listen to has much more to do with the vibrating membrane to eardrum interaction than anything that happens between the source material and the vibrating membrane.
Theoretically, yes. Practically, bluetooth has been way funkier than cable ever has for me. It drops, loses packets, and sometimes tries to catch up on whatever shit it was doing to suddenly have the audio sound like it’s fast forwarding. My ears aren’t the best, but that’s the kind of shit I do hear. Membranes can’t protect you from that.
Anti Commercial AI thingy
Are you saying the length of the cable from my phone to my ears has an impact on audio quality?
Why of course that is why OP only buys the finest MONSTER Vibranium-Plated Unobtanium-Engraved Analog Audiophile Cables.
Hard disagree that earbuds negate codec importance. I love open-back over-ears, but one of my best pairs of headphones are Moondrop IEMs, and I can hear differences in audio quality more noticeably on them than a lot of speakers. I very often plug them into a Bluetooth receiver for semi-wireless convenience, and I can absolutely hear the difference between LDAC and SBC.
However, yeah definitely agreed that $150 is fair for what’s being offered here. Limited codec support is common (if unfortunate) enough in similarly priced gear without the other benefits these bring, so I’d say it’s fair enough unless the drivers themselves are bad.
I meant to say wireless earbuds but yes you are correct
It’s not just about quality (AAC is perfectly fine quality-wise), it’s IMHO more about the extreme latency, and the fact that they have to to drop down to terrible-sounding HSP/HSP when using the microphone, since A2DP is monodirectional. Sucks that they don’t support LE Audio.
Turning your nose up at SBC isn’t being a codec snob; it’s having functioning ears.
And if you’re on Android, AAC is not well implemented compared to on iOS / MacOS. Maybe this has changed in the past couple years but it was immediately noticeable to me when I upgraded from the WH-1000XM3s to the XM4s, I could immediately tell that the audio was worse if they weren’t using LDAC. And these don’t have LDAC.
Unlike with competent compression codecs (mp3 vs AAC vs FLAC), where most people genuinely cannot tell the difference between a well-compressed song vs a lossless one, many people can immediately tell the difference between AptX and AAC or SBC on Android.
There are plenty of true wireless headphones out there that support LDAC or AptX for less than $100. It’s not surprising to me that people in their target audience would think $150 for something that sounds terrible to them isn’t reasonable.
If you’re using Bluetooth headphones it’s kind of moot anyway IME.
Running sbc at higher bitrates than default sound subjectively better than most existing codecs. I use 552 kbit/s regulary and it sound great. Unfortunately the support for higher sbc bitrates is terrible.
My most expensive earbuds were $75.
At $150, I’d rather buy multiple “lesser” ear buds and not worry about battery lifespan.
Then these aren’t for you and that’s fine. You don’t value what they offer, and you’re not obligated to buy them. Some of us do.
Sorry, what? They are obliged to buy them, if not today, they will be when their phone stops working and they have to buy a new one, because that won’t have a jack connector.
Except of course if they don’t use a smartphone.
Bluetooth headphones are unusable for videos and games if they only support high latency codecs.
Then don’t use them for that or don’t buy them.
They’re only showing the battery replace in the CASE though, do the headphones themselves not use batteries?
What are you talking about? They show the headphone battery being replaced in the same image as the case. It’s a little button cell that hinges out.
I didn’t see that piece, just the case battery.
I have Samsung Bluetooth earbuds that I have had for a few years and they work great but I rarely use them. I rarely listen to music through headphones. If I were to buy a new pair I may consider that ones from Pine.
Only 899,- and your first born kid. One could think it’s on purpose…
Awesome, but I’m skeptical. Not because it’s Fairphone, but because previous bad experiences.
I bought Sony buds, after reading loads of reviews and those were the best! They cost me around 300 and what I got was just shit.
I (still) own a number of lg 800 Bluetooth headsets (those with a thing you wear around your neck) that cost me 50 bucks each, that have better audio quality, louder audio, better noise cancellation, are more comfortable, and after over 4 years still have a battery life of around 10 hours where those huge ass Sony ones cut out new after like 3-4 hours and they died after 1,5 years. I think those wearable bugs are just too small to be any good at all.
Bluetooth is okay. But, I wish they offer USB c dongle connection like JBL or Anker. I hate pairing
Nice, how make one with the earbuds attached to each other with a wire and I’ll buy it for sure!
Why would you want that? I can’t imagine to ever going back to non wireless buds
Because if you do any kind of outside activity including uh work? Once it falls out - it’s gone forever. That’s a pricey accident.
I know we are all made different but Earbuds do not stay in my ear for shit. That’s why I just use headband headphones.
I guess the experience varies wildly based on ear shape but I never lost a bud. I think there are better ways to address this than to add a whole ass cable though. That’s not very creative.
What are the better ways to address this?
Ones that don’t involve a cable lol
I really wish earbuds would stay in for me. But anything other than sitting down and listening, and they start slipping. I’ve tried so many different shapes/sized ones, but it’s the same problem. At least if my wireless slip, it’s still hooked around my ear
And I literally just started looking at some Shockz headphones the other day! Will probably try them out, I just hope it doesn’t make my head feel uncomfortable or cause headaches/vertigo. I doubt it, but they’re a little pricier than my wired ones, and it would suck if I ended up not liking them after a while
Beware they are bone conduction headphones so they are not audiophile quality. I think they sound fine but my wife says I’m half deaf anyways.
I use them for Audiobooks and they are fantastic for situational awareness. I can hear everything all around me even while doing other tasks.
I really appreciate the heads up! But I actually pretty much want them for the “situational awareness”. I feel like I understand the expectations for audio quality. I’m not very much an audiophile, especially for what I’m trying to get out of them.
I work in a pretty quiet environment that only gets really noisy if there’s a situation that needs to be handled. So I wanna be able to hear the alarms and would be pausing my podcast/whatever if I need to respond. And I also like the way it seems to fit and stay in place. It seems like a great fit for what I’m after, I just hope I’m not unlucky enough to be too sensitive to the vibrations. I kinda doubt it would be an issue, but that’s my (small) main concern… would I stop using them 6 months later because I can’t get used to it
Should I get the “pro” version for better quality, or stay away because it could be too much bass/vibration (even at lower volume)
But I’ve seen a few people at work with them, and they love them… and a few others have tried, but can’t deal with the vibrations
So I’ve been torn. I’m probably gonna try them cause they check almost every box for what I’m looking for. But should I get the pro version? Would it be too much? Idk, and I could maybe try them from a co-worker, but I feel like I would have to spend time with them before knowing what I like. Just kinda wanna buy the right kind, if I’ma throw the money at it
Wired still has some advantages. Mainly sound quality.
I like the infinite battery life wired headphones have.
All of these honestly ought to just come with a small hole and bring your own ‘lanyard’/‘string’. I can’t imagine it would require much in terms of design to put a hole in a corner.
The thing about wired earbuds and headphones is that they’re already pretty sustainable. A good pair can last you decades, while wireless buds are usually throwaway products. So I think it’s pretty cool that they’re doing something about that for those that want wireless earbuds.
Ugh? I used to burn through wired earbuds at a pace of maybe one pair per month. You basically have to sit and not move if you don’t want to damage the wire IME
Some of the better ones have removable cables. You’ll usually just yank them out or worst case if the cable is damaged you can easily replace it.
How much are you paying for your headphones? Nicer ones that don’t break as easily are probably a cost effective option for you.
And still like only $20 for ones with the ability to replace a broken wire
I think you misunderstood, I want wireless headphones that have the two earbuds connected via a wire so you know, one doesn’t just pop out if your ear and drop on the street.
Ah, indeed I did.
They are called “Wireless” headphones when there is a wire connecting them. “True Wireless” means two separate earbuds.
Then “true wireless” is a bad experience, at least from my eyes.
I think JBL and some other brands do carry such earbuds, but maybe it might not be thz kind of wire you’d fancy. There are also cheaper options that have a wire linking the two ear buds, but as I said those are usually cheap and might not be up to your standards.
You may like Shokz. Their headsets are wireless and bone-conducting. The drivers get pressed to your temples with a flexible wire connecting them and you hear the sound conducting through your head instead of your ear canal. The only downside I’ve experienced with them is that they can only drown out so much noise, so if you’re planning on using them in a noisy environment, probably go with another choice.
A friend of mine has a set of them at work and they work well in our noisy environment - machine shop.
The rule for earbuds is that you can only have one in so the bone conduction are gaining popularity at work.
I wish they fit in my motorcycle helmet. My earbuds fall out all the time when I take my helmet off.
I can use them everywhere. Except my whole subway ride…
wireless charging is not supported
This is 2024, right? Heckling aside, I’ll look for the next release.
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I never understood wireless charging either, you still can’t move your device around (well if we ignore the fact you can move it around somewhat with a cable). It requires a charging pad too, so it also takes up more space.
for earbuds it’s useful as many modern phones can share their battery to wirelessly charge another device, so you can top up your earbuds off of your phone while you’re out somewhere and not need to lug around a charger and cable.
For wirelessly charging phones, I agree the pad style chargers defeat a lot of the point, but I am a fan of the dock-style wireless chargers. I have one at my desk and can just glance at my phone to see notifications, and I have to set my phone somewhere anyways, so this lets me top up my phone without really thinking about it.
That’s the only benefit I can think of, the reverse charging on phones (which is very slow). They could add that feature to the usb port though. I mean the dock thing sounds alright I guess, but I just plug my phone in, then it’s charging on desk and in hand and it only needs to be in for like 30 mins and it’s full charged.
Fairbuds: replaceable batteries
Fairerbuds: open source app
Fairestbuds: open source firmware
If only they shipped to the US…at least, I didn’t see that option.
First thing I looked at as well. Shame. I’ll buy them when my AirPods die if they offer shipping to the us.
Cool. Their first gen Fair buds were kinda pointless. The headphones though, the Fair buds XL are excellent. I bought a pair recently and I love them.
