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do you think google nexus phones will keep audio jacks?

Sento

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2011
213
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i'm all for change, if it's in the right direction, but as an audiophile who knows what gives good quality audio and what's marketing BS, I'm not a fan of the whole "lets get rid of 3.5mm jacks!" thing... People for it argue "oh well it gives room for aftermarket dac/amps!" - but anyone who has even a basic knowledge of sound science, knows that diminishing returns for dac/amps are quite low, and especially when driving portable low impedance headphones, the difference is not even noticeable - aside from the fact that most phones these days already have a decent dac/amp built in anyways - do a blind test with a galaxy s6 headphone jack vs a 300$ oppo and you will NOT be able to tell the difference.

Honestly all this is going to do is create more proprietary crap, lower cost of iphone productions (don't worry, the price will still stay the same) and people will buy more crap thinking they are getting superior audio quality - and i'm going to get a heart attack from the amount of cringiness i'll endure when i hear soccer moms telling me about how I need to get a pair of beats with a new iphone to really know what good music sounds like.

I see motorolla following iphones footsteps, granted they gotta follow trends to stay relevant, but i feel like google is smart enough and powerful enough to not have to get rid of the jacks...but who knows what dreams may come.
 
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I think, so what if Nexus devices do away with a headphone jack. Google Nexus devices don't have micro-SD, but that hasn't stopped other manufacturers putting them in, and even Samsung realized that with the S7.

Wireless headphones are garbage, when it comes to audio quality. I hope Google doesn't follow suit with this unnecessary trend.

The stock cheap earbuds that come with phones are also garbage in terms of audio quality, but that's what most joe public seem to use. And if they do use something else, it's often Beats from what I've seen.....or more likely it's knock-off Beats. :thumbsupdroid: ...like what my friend, Michael in Ningbo flogs. :D

I've got a pair of BT wireless headphones, nothing too expensive, www.askatek.cn They certainly sound better than the stock tinny Oppo earbuds.
 
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No. Apple removing it is doubtless simply a ploy to sell headphones with lightning connectors, since they are now a headphone company. There's no incentive for anyone else to do it.

OK, there are potential advantages to "smart" headphones, done right, but fragmentation due to the lack of a standard digital connector is something I'm not cool with (and let's face it, what's the chance of Apple adopting USB-C like everyone else?).

The stock cheap earbuds that come with phones are also garbage in terms of audio quality, but that's what most joe public seem to use. And if they do use something else, it's often Beats from what I've seen.....or more likely it's knock-off Beats. :thumbsupdroid:
It's interesting how these things vary with location. From my observations of commuting in the UK I see more Sony on-ear sets than Beats or any other brand (commenting only on on-ear or over-ear, since it's harder to identify the brand of in-ear sets from a distance).

The one that always gets me is when someone has some cheap earbuds and I can recognise what they are listening to from several seats away...
 
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No. Apple removing it is doubtless simply a ploy to sell headphones with lightning connectors, since they are now a headphone company. There's no incentive for anyone else to do it.

OK, there are potential advantages to "smart" headphones, done right, but fragmentation due to the lack of a standard digital connector is something I'm not cool with (and let's face it, what's the chance of Apple adopting USB-C like everyone else?).


It's interesting how these things vary with location. From my observations of commuting in the UK I see more Sony on-ear sets than Beats or any other brand (commenting only on on-ear or over-ear, since it's harder to identify the brand of in-ear sets from a distance).

The one that always gets me is when someone has some cheap earbuds and I can recognise what they are listening to from several seats away...
Sony isn't too popular in China, Apple and Dr. Dre are. :D

It's worse when the clowns on buses and subways start "singing" along to their "music".

EDIT:

I've just had a look at the night market from my window.
market.jpg


He's not there tonight, the stall with the Beats is usually there by the bollards.
 
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The stock cheap earbuds that come with phones are also garbage in terms of audio quality, but that's what most joe public seem to use. And if they do use something else, it's often Beats from what I've seen.....or more likely it's knock-off Beats. :thumbsupdroid: ...like what my friend, Michael in Ningbo flogs. :D

I've got a pair of BT wireless headphones, nothing too expensive, www.askatek.cn They certainly sound better than the stock tinny Oppo earbuds.
That's true about stock earbuds. But I never have, nor will use them for the same reasons. I currently have a pair of Shure S112's. They're inexpensive, durable and have great sound quality. The best I ever owned, actually.

Before that: I had a pair of Klipsch Image S4's. Good sound, but terrible build quality. They needed replacing within a mere 4 months. And worst of all, they were pricier than my current earbuds. :mad:

I am ashamed to say that I also had some cheap Skullcandy's before, due to an act of desperation. Never again. Just stay away from them. You'd be better off.

One more thing: I find wired headphones more convenient, because it's one less thing to worry about charging. Just plug and play whenever you want. But, to each their own.
 
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I've found especially the last couple of years, I don't actually use headphones too much, unless I'm travelling, on planes, trains and long distance buses. I don't have regular commute as such, and if I'm on the e-bike, I like to hear what's going on around me, unlike some other nutters. At home I'm listening using speakers, which are Bluetooth.
 
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I mainly use headphones when travelling, or when away in the evening. Only time I use them at home is if I need to join a meeting, as I've normally left my headset in the office.

I don't actually have a wireless set myself, but my daughter has. Oddly enough after 2 weeks of BT use she mainly uses them wired - not so much for quality (they do well, and are pretty similar wired & wireless) but just the convenience of not having to worry about charging. Hence for her the wireless feature was essential in the purchase, but has become a backup option in use.
 
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I don't actually have a wireless set myself, but my daughter has. Oddly enough after 2 weeks of BT use she mainly uses them wired [...]

That's why I plumped for BT cans that have an optional (supplied) 3.5mm input. Very handy when your state-of-the-art 4K "Smart TV" doesn't support BT audio. Srsly Sony??? :rolleyes:

I don't see the 3.5mm output going away anytime soon on mainstream Android devices. Wireless audio is now capable of excellent sound quality but the price is still higher than comparable wired 'sets.
 
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That's true about stock earbuds. But I never have, nor will use them for the same reasons. I currently have a pair of Shure S112's. They're inexpensive, durable and have great sound quality. The best I ever owned, actually.

Before that: I had a pair of Klipsch Image S4's. Good sound, but terrible build quality. They needed replacing within a mere 4 months. And worst of all, they were pricier than my current earbuds. :mad:

I am ashamed to say that I also had some cheap Skullcandy's before, due to an act of desperation. Never again. Just stay away from them. You'd be better off.

One more thing: I find wired headphones more convenient, because it's one less thing to worry about charging. Just plug and play whenever you want. But, to each their own.

Normally I'd defend Skull Candy earbuds that you find near a cash register, until recently. They got cheap. I found that now you have to buy the $15+up buds to get the good sound. SCs are the only liquid tight buds that work on my already compromised hearing :)

But now I have another problem, damn Kyocera phones limit their volume, and the current phone I have is basically unroot-able, and I've yet to find a way to increase max volume without root access. Sucks being deaf
 
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I think what's happening, the (and I use this term loosly) "engineers" at apple are taking bets at how ridiculous they can make their products and still get people to buy them. Hence the macbook with only 1 port for charging, and everything - and the new iphone with no headphone jack.
 
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The reason for losing the headphone jack is because they want to make the phones so thin that there is no room for one.
However, I have heard literally 0%'of people I know complain about their phone being too thick, and 100% of people that would like longer battery life. So yeah.
I use the headphone jack on a regular basis, so this is no-go for me. Bluetooth ear buds? Hell no, I refuse to deal with another thing to keep charged!
 
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The reason for losing the headphone jack is because they want to make the phones so thin that there is no room for one.
However, I have heard literally 0%'of people I know complain about their phone being too thick, and 100% of people that would like longer battery life. So yeah.
I use the headphone jack on a regular basis, so this is no-go for me. Bluetooth ear buds? Hell no, I refuse to deal with another thing to keep charged!

I don't think I ever used a bluetooth earpiece except to try it out. Like Hadron said, another thing to charge. The Vulcan loves his.

I had to get any aux. speaker for the Tab4 Samsung tablet. The sound coming through the speakers is so crappy.
Is it engineered to lower any speaking against background?
Try to listen to a ball game and you can't hear the announcers. Since there is now a mic by home plate, the crack of the bat changes the volume. It will shut off the aux. speaker. If we stream over the Roku, there is no sound problem, so it's the device.
 
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I often use a wireless Bluetooth speaker in the classrooms, for my lessons. Yes, it's one more thing to charge, but it's less wires on the podium, and saves unnecessary wear and tear on my phone or laptop headphone jack. Wired amplified speakers, I'd have to either charge or plug into an outlet anyway. :D

This bought last week, to replace the old one with knackered battery.
b50833e178943a1df2c55e2a53355789.jpg
 
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Sorry to bump up the thread... but until 5 minutes ago, I was convinced that getting rid of the headphone jack was a good idea... or at the least it was an idea that I didn't care about, and so fine let them do it.


I was wrong!


It's a terrible idea.. not for any of the reasons above, but rather because it closes an analogue hole, and adds a layer of DRM to everything

http://boingboing.net/2016/08/12/how-a-digital-only-smartphone.html

Once all the audio coming out of an Iphone is digital -- once there's no analog output -- Apple gets a lot more options about how it can relate to its competitors, and they're all good for Apple and bad for Apple's customers. Just by wrapping that audio in DRM, Apple gets a veto over which of your devices can connect to your phone. They can arbitrarily withhold permission to headphone manufacturers, insist that mixers be designed with no analog outputs, or even demand that any company that makes an Apple-compatible device must not make that device compatible with Apple's competitors, so home theater components that receive Apple signals could be pressured to lock out Samsung's signals, or Amazon's

and thats not even the worst part...

http://boingboing.net/2016/08/12/how-a-digital-only-smartphone.html
 
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