Wireless Audio

Please allow me to start by saying that I've owned several different pairs of Bluetooth earbuds over the past five years. That's why I'm writing this. I'm well-aware that I won't be breaking any new ground here.

Bluetooth (and general wireless) accessories can prove very useful when carefully engineered and with caveats deeply considered. Having said that, modern Bluetooth accessories in general are something of a stain on our society, but since this is a music-oriented website and because I've used wireless audio peripherals as part of my day-to-day life for a decently long time, I'm gonna aim my frustration squarely at those. That includes AirPods, Galaxy Buds, Raycons, etc. Any and all of 'em. Fuck 'em.

Imagine this scenario, if you will: you plug a pair of earbuds into your computer or smartphone or MiniDisc player... and they simply work. Audio plays back through them; music, even. No strings attached, just a cable. Does that sound useful or what? Now, don't worry. I'll purport to hear your thoughts loud and clear, since they're about to become contextually relevant:

"Wait, Mr. Future! It's far and away too convenient to have a product (which I paid for with my own currency) function as intended!"

Fret not, you intrepid jackass reader. Fortunately, Big Tech™ is here to "solve" that "issue". They're here to replace convenience with something much better: "convenience". Instead of having to deal with an infinitesimal trade-off in the form of one cable that might even be replaceable and/or customizable, wireless earbuds will drastically improve your life with the addition of:

• Almost certainly (and I can't stress this enough) a much higher price

• Connectivity and signal issues that happen on a specifically-whenever-is-least-convenient-for-you basis

• Playback and software issues (e.g.: random pausing, track skipping/restarting, etc.), even between first-party software and first-party hardware

• Delicacy rivaling that of a baby horse

• Build quality rivaling that of a disintegrated baby horse

• Noise canceling that, while highly useful, is competing against or even outdone by a pair of wired earbuds retailing for over ten times less than most wireless models (see below)

• A BATTERY

Doesn't all that sound fun?

I know that these issues aren't guaranteed to occur for everybody who owns wireless audio gear, but just think about that concept in and of itself for a few seconds. Just because a set of issues aren't guaranteed to unanimously occur does not mean that they should be a purchase risk. There's a much-higher-than-zero chance that those highly-coveted, multi-hundred-dollar earbuds being touted by influencers and cretins will become dysfunctional within hours of you removing them from the box, and that's not an exaggeration.

All three sets of AirPods that I've owned have featured prominent issues in some form or another, even when I'd only owned each set for less than six months. My current set, a pair of second-generation AirPods Pro, are starting to have chronic issues seemingly due to being in service for under a whopping 2.5 (two-point-five!) years.

Also, let's take a tangent to get the hell outta here with that term: "generation". "My second-generation AirPods!" "Oh, mine are third-gens!" They are not children. They are not VHS tapes that suffer from generation loss. Diminishing returns, sure, but that's it.

So, what're the alternatives? What works well in place of "true convenience"? Well, I've got a few that spring to mind instantaneously:

• Moondrop Quarks or maybe the Quark 2's (I truly hate Amazon, but Moondrop doesn't offer an online storefront to my knowledge, so...)

  • These are the ones to go with, in my opinion. Even with everyone on the internet highly recommending the Quarks and my absolutely stellar experiences with my Dawn Pro, I was still wary before picking them up, but now I understand the praise. I've never experienced music like this from a sub-$20 USD product. So very crystal-clear and mind-meltingly balanced for something this inexpensive. I only have the original, non-DSP Quarks, but they still sound incredible. I've seen people complain that the Quark 2's aren't a "big enough improvement"; I don't know. Take it all with a grain of salt.
    
    16 ohms, they'll work with any sort of 3.5mm jack you've got on hand, yada yada yada. A DAC will still nourish them, though, even if somewhat marginally.
    
    Now, the Quarks obviously don't have active noise cancellation, but the way they sit in your ear canal (adjustable tips included, by the way) makes their passive noise blocking actually preferable to the AirPods, at least for me. It's a far tighter seal. I've seldom been able to listen to music with this kind of unobfuscated detail while walking through busy New Jersey streets, even with AirPods in. Wild stuff.
    
    These are what made me want to create this wall of text. If IEM's aren't your favorite method of listening to music (which is the case for me), these'll likely fill the stopgap. However, if you do prefer IEM's, then...

• KZ ZSN Pro X (same case as with Moondrop; KZ's website just redirects you to Bezosland)

  • I've had a pair of these laying around since late 2023. They're great! Although I much prefer the sound of the Quarks, I can understand why many prefer in-ears. Plus, you can swap out the cables. As such, I highly recommend these (if that means anything to you), especially at their price of ~$25 USD.

• SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 (of course this is the only one of SteelSeries' headsets that isn't featured on their website; fantastic!)

  • A bit of a departure from IEM's and earbuds, but this is a damn good headset with a microphone and a not-awful soundstage, for what it's worth.

This silly little passion page on my passion project website isn't going to alter anything in the audio industry, especially not for the likes of technology conglomerates that make tens of millions, likely more, off of wireless garbage. I wrote this because I'm at my wit's end.