Apple compatible headphones (1 Viewer)

[Ted Todorov]

I have been using Bose headphones for years because they are light & fit my big head/ears most comfortably. However my love for the AirPods & hate for and past Bluetooth I had tried lead me to try out a W1 Bluetooth based Beats headphones. The Beats 3 Solo don’t fit me at all, so I tried the different shaped noise cancelling version of Beats.

W1 based Beats headphones with 24 hour battery life are indeed as highly appealing as one can imagine, sound quality is very good, but unfortunately it was quickly obvious to me they were way to uncomfortable, heavy and just did not fit my head, so back to Apple they went… I should add they had one hard to believe problem - a USB mini or micro (I can never tell the difference) port/cable for charging. It is a horrific experience compared to a Lightning port or USB C port one of which is used for all Apple devices, and for both the cable is randomly flippable. Considering Apple was wise enough to quickly upgrade Beats devices to W1, that they didn’t upgrade them to Lightning or USB-C is puzzling at best.

Since my old Bose headphones had completely fallen apart I was forced back to the Bose store for new ones. They no longer have a cable only headphone version anymore - the choice is Bluetooth with or without noise cancellation. They still do fit similarly to my old ones, so I picked up the the Bose AE2 Soundlink version (no noise cancellation). I started by trying out the latest version of Bluetooth. The good news: it was straightforward, no manual reading or Bose app needed to connect to my devices (iPhone, iPad, AppleTV & MacBookPro). It works very well with my AppleTV - there is one situation where not having to deal with a long cable hooked up to the Receiver is a huge improvement. I was starting to hope that (non-W1) Bluetooth had finally been improved into the tolerable level. Then I hit the brick wall — the first time I tried switching over to the Mac (not counting the initial setup/test) it simply refused to connect, after numerous attempts. The only thing I didn’t attempt was to remove it from all my other devices - I just fished out the cable and plugged it in. Bluetooth is still not ready for prime time… And yes, of course the Bose has the same USB mini or micro plug for charging as the Beats (though here I had no realistic USB-C hope) and a considerable shorter than 24 hours battery.

Basically the only perfect(ish) device out right now are Apple’s AirPods, which of course are not over the ear headphones, and can’t replace them.

 

[Johnny Angell]

That’s discouraging. I was hoping to find a recommendation for a Bluetooth set of ear phones. I’ll use them for walking and someday, running, so I want the kinds the have loops that hold them on the ears. I’d want good sound, easy pairing with iOS devices, good battery life. It’d be nice if they are in the ATT store since I expect to have a credit there.

 

[Ted Todorov]

That’s discouraging. I was hoping to find a recommendation for a Bluetooth set of ear phones. I’ll use them for walking and someday, running, so I want the kinds the have loops that hold them on the ears. I’d want good sound, easy pairing with iOS devices, good battery life. It’d be nice if they are in the ATT store since I expect to have a credit there.

The current Apple Air Pods are perfect for walking & running. I can sprint all out with them (every morning as part of the dog walk with our schnauzers we do an all out downhill sprint) pick up the doggies ball to throw it again, etc. The Air Pods couldn't be more secure, and the lack of wiring keeps them from getting pulled out. Now that is cold, I were a large variety of hats, no problem. So far as battery, they get charged very quickly from the little case you keep in your pocket when with them - better than any alternative I know of.

If you have the kind of ears that Apple's regular wired pods that come with you iPhone fall out and don't fit - actually there is an alternative with loops (and 3 different sizes of attachments for different sized ears) that are from Beats - same W1 chip that makes the Air Pods so reliable: http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...wireless-earbuds-with-apples-w1-wireless-chip

But, unless you are in the one small percentage of people whose ears are incompatible with the Air Pods - the Air Pods are the best ones.

 

[Johnny Angell]

The current Apple Air Pods are perfect for walking & running. I can sprint all out with them (every morning as part of the dog walk with our schnauzers we do an all out downhill sprint) pick up the doggies ball to throw it again, etc. The Air Pods couldn't be more secure, and the lack of wiring keeps them from getting pulled out. Now that is cold, I were a large variety of hats, no problem. So far as battery, they get charged very quickly from the little case you keep in your pocket when with them - better than any alternative I know of.

If you have the kind of ears that Apple's regular wired pods that come with you iPhone fall out and don't fit - actually there is an alternative with loops (and 3 different sizes of attachments for different sized ears) that are from Beats - same W1 chip that makes the Air Pods so reliable: http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...wireless-earbuds-with-apples-w1-wireless-chip

But, unless you are in the one small percentage of people whose ears are incompatible with the Air Pods - the Air Pods are the best ones.

I just don’t want to spend a $150 or so on earbuds and I imagine the apple air pods are expensive, they are apple. I happened to see the powerbeats3 in an ATT store and they were in that price range.

I’ve found these on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B075M1T...liid=I3HRVHDWLFUPYI&colid=3399ER5R6AD9I&psc=1 . They get good reviews and cost $30. Part of the expense of apple and Beats is name value and not entirely quality based. I haven’t bought the amazon set yet.

 

[Ted Todorov]

I just don’t want to spend a $150 or so on earbuds and I imagine the apple air pods are expensive, they are apple. I happened to see the powerbeats3 in an ATT store and they were in that price range.

I’ve found these on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B075M1T...liid=I3HRVHDWLFUPYI&colid=3399ER5R6AD9I&psc=1 . They get good reviews and cost $30. Part of the expense of apple and Beats is name value and not entirely quality based. I haven’t bought the amazon set yet.

For $30 it is absolutely worth trying, and the overwhelming complaint I have about non-Apple Bluetooth is connecting to multiple different devices - iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleTV, Apple Watch, etc. - so long as you are using them just with an iPhone, it will be fine

 

[Sam Posten]

Sony MDX-1000

 

[Johnny Angell]

Sony MDX-1000

Those are over the ear headsets. I want ear buds of some sort. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Sam Posten]

Those are over the ear headsets. I want ear buds of some sort. Thanks for the suggestion.

My reply was to @Ted Todorov =)

 

[Ted Todorov]

Sony MDX-1000

Is there a store I can try them on in, to see if they fit my head properly (i.e. the way you can in an Apple or Bose store) and in the case of Apple a 2 week money back return?