Key Takeaways
- Wired headphones offer better sound quality for the same price, and even budget options sound excellent compared to similarly priced wireless models.
- Wired headphones are more versatile, offering different designs, more additional equipment, and a higher level of personalization and scalability.
- I also feel that wired headphones give me a more engaged listening experience compared to quite mindless listening on Bluetooth headphones.
The retro craze is all around us, and I’m totally here for it. With all the tech from the 80s, 90s and 2000s back in fashion proving that old can, indeed, be much better. Audio in particular hits the retro buzz hard with consumers. From vinyls, to lossless audio, record players, and MP3 players, we’re firmly in a pre-Y2K heyday.
Just as compact cameras, film photography and film videography are coming back (and boy am I on that bandwagon as well), the same is true for wired audio. This might be a bit counter-intuitive, as the best Bluetooth headphones claim to sound just as good, with all the added conveniences of a wireless connection.
I can clearly see that cords still have distinct advantages, while the lauded strengths of Bluetooth can be a bit exaggerated.
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However, after using only wired headphones for more than two months now, I can clearly see that cords still have distinct advantages, while the lauded strengths of Bluetooth can be a bit exaggerated. I’m sticking to wired headphones for the foreseeable future for the following reasons.
1 You get more sound for the same price
Focus on the drivers
The first and most honest reason I opted for wired headphones was their price. For Bluetooth headphones to sound great, especially over-ear designs, it usually requires dropping a bit of money. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as these headphones have to come as a whole package, with included batteries, microphones, DACs and AMPs, and all the other hardware crammed into a set of cans or earbuds.
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Wired headphones, on the other hand, only have to get the most out of the drivers that are inside. So, if you’re paying $150 for just the drivers, or the same amount for the drivers and everything around them to make the headphones wireless, it’s quite obvious that the stripped-down, wired version will easily win.
That means you can get incredible budget wired headphones that often sound better than expensive wireless ones. On the other hand, higher-end wired headphones offer sound quality that wireless headphones have no way of matching, making them an obvious choice for any music lover.
2 Fuller sound on wired
Cords don’t rely on codecs
Connected with the lower price is, in general, the better sound quality of wired headphones. When you pay the same amount for a pair of wired and Bluetooth headphones, the wired version will sound noticeably better as it fosters a more stable connection without relying on additional codecs to make the most out of high-res files.
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Additionally, you’re not limited to the specific sound of your headphones, as is the case with wireless audio. You can pair different headphones with different DACs and AMPs, changing their sound profile and making the sound fit your personal preferences.
3 Wired headphones offer more versatility
You can even dabble in vintage audio
Pairing your headphones with DACs and AMPs for the perfect sound combo is not the only part where wired audio shines. The versatility of corded headphones also shows when you look at their designs.
In general, wireless headphones nowadays are made to work with Active Noise-Cancelling (ANC) and other nifty software features. That wireless design, however, necessitates a certain style: they are all either over-ear cans or in-ear buds, with closed packs and as good sound isolation as possible. It’s a tried and true design choice that can guarantee excellent sound, but can be a bit limiting if you want to explore other types of audio.
Your choice is also much bigger when it comes to the sound of the headphones, as you can go for neutral-sounding studio monitoring headphones, or choose something more fun, with accentuated trebles or bass — or both.
When you’re going wired, the world really is your oyster. You get budget open-back designs that make the sound much more spacious, so you can pinpoint the location of instruments with near-perfect accuracy. Your choice is also much bigger when it comes to the sound of the headphones, as you can go for neutral-sounding studio monitoring headphones, or choose something more fun, with accentuated trebles or bass — or both.
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Finally, you can even go down and dirty and start dabbling with vintage audio gear. It’s so much fun, as the headphone jack has been around for decades, so you can find quirky-looking and still great-sounding audio gear from years ago.
4 Wires have ergonomic advantages
Not as much pressure build-up
Even though wireless headphones are said to be more comfortable to use, they often have to sacrifice ergonomics. As batteries and other hardware inside simply weigh more and take more space, wireless designs tend to be much heavier and more bulky than headphones with cords attached.
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The wires, especially when it comes to in-ear earbuds are, somewhat counter-intuitively, a great help when it comes to ergonomics. Quite a few wired in-ear designs nowadays use molded wires as ear hooks, which help stabilize the buds themselves and take the weight off your ear canal. This makes for a much better, more stable fit that is comfortable to wear for hours on end.
5 They’re more environmentally friendly
Simplicity lends to durability
Wired headphones are also a much more environmentally-conscious option to consider. Wired audio stays good for decades. Not only does the sound itself not get any worse with the age of your headphones, but they also don’t have any parts that work worse with age. Couple that with, generally, more repair-friendly designs and fewer parts to break, and you get a recipe for a long-lasting device.
Wireless headphones, on the other hand, are limited to work for only a couple of years at best.
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Wireless headphones, on the other hand, are limited to work for only a couple of years at best. They are equipped with batteries that are bound to break and stop working, making them essentially e-waste after the battery runs out of life. And because there are many more different parts, wireless headphones are also more prone to breaking, and repairing them will also be less cost-effective than their wired counterparts.
6 You can scale your wired setup almost indefinitely
Mix and match
When you’re picking up wired headphones, you have almost indefinite possibilities of expanding your setup, matching it to your needs and budget. You can choose a pair of awesome budget headphones and listen on your phone, maybe with a USB-C DAC, and it’ll still sound awesome. However, you can also go much bigger, with audiophile-grade, power-hungry headphones and an amplifier to match, to really hear all the details and get this precious, precise sound.
The possibilities are endless, and you can mix and match parts of your setup to create something that suits your needs to the point. With Bluetooth headphones, you simply get what the manufacturer gives you — there is no room for improvement and no way to scale your setup up after a certain point.
7 A more engaging experience
Mindful listening
Finally, there is the final, most definitive, and most personal reason why I’ll be hanging on to wired headphones. To put it simply, lately, I’ve been on a quest to experience my hobbies and other things I like more mindfully. Wired headphones, along with the gear that I use them with, give me that slower, more thought-out experience.
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Essentially, because you need to think about the wire, plugging the headphones in, and all the other details, I have so much more fun when listening to music now. Of course, part of it is the better sound and another part is just that I’m paying more attention, but the latter one is a two-way street. I’m paying more attention to my music because I’m noticing my gear. Bluetooth headphones, on the other hand, tend to aim to be as hidden and as frictionless as possible, essentially making them extremely boring and mundane — of course, at least for me.
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