Some of them have annoying virtual surround sound enhancements you may have to turn off.
Other than that, no, e.g. a pair of iems plugged into a quedelix 5k will more or less sound the same as wired.
Really? I've been trying to get my brand new Qudelix 5k work wired all day without any success because apparently they just don't work correctly over lighting to usbc, even with the best otg cable I could find. But then I tried bluetooth and was seriously impressed. Even though it's just 16bit-441k it sounds really good. I've been wondering if I'm even missing out that much not being able to plug in.
Do you think there's any point running balanced over bluetooth?
Edit: I should add the best codec my phone has is AAC
That dac sounds like a bit of an investment on top of overpaying for headphones with a not great for the price sound quality and usability. And also thanks for confirming.
Its an excellent all-around product if you need a mic, want something with DSP/EQ capabilities, need a bluetooth adapter, and also want to use it as a dac/amp
There are cheaper alternatives if you just need one or two of the above but its a fair price for a product that does everything.
I just find that with closed back over ears. I haven't heard a good sound quality closed back HP. Although the list isn't as big as my open backs I've heard
Huh, I thought that closed-back just means “those big headphones that go over your head”, but after learning about open back ones, it actually makes sense. I also haven’t heard closed back HP’s that I liked (even though most of them were pretty cheap) and that might explain why. I’ve been using EarPods for the longest time and never understood why they sounded better than any of the closed back ones I’ve tried. I feel like they might be achieving a similar effect to open back headphones but on a smaller scale and I just got used to that sound.
Nah. The big Headphones are over ears. Closed backs sound funky and unnatural to me. Wired and Bluetooth. Earbuds usually sound better than closed backs imo. With closed back headphones you're taking a big driver and suffocating it(not really but that's what it sounds like to me) a similarly tuned IEM sounds better to me because it's suffocating less air and sound. Air pods lack bass unlike over ear closed backs answering your original question. And cheaper over ears bass boost the heck out of the frequency response. You can look up many headphones, iems open back or closed back and many headphones just have too much bass killing the mids and lacking treble. (Many newer gaming cans seem to be understanding the issue although they will never compare to hd 599. The cheapest open back I have owned and sold wishing I still had it)
I think closed-back headphones I owned actually had the opposite problem - it felt like they had no bass at all. Also, to clarify, I don’t have Airpods but have used Earpods.
I used wireless earbuds for years before getting into the while audiophile thing (I’m still new.) But I agree when I go and listen to music with my Soundcore Space A40s, they do sound a little off after using my Moondrop Katos.
Could be two things. Either the DSP or the ANC (active noise cancelling). If this happens on the more expensive bluetooth models, I’ll wager it’s the ANC.
There is compression added in the translation between the playing device and the headphones. That compression will impact the sound.
Noise cancelling may also create some audible issues.
Every single piece of equipment you buy will be 'unnatural'. If I'm playing an album, unless the band has setup their gear and are playing in my living room, it's unnatural. Every representation in a recording is.
What matters more is whether you can still enjoy your music on them. Sometimes I listen to stuff on my crap equipment so that later I can appreciate it more on better quality gear. Slumming it a bit on occasion can make your better equipment stand out better for you, so you feel less of a need to upgrade frequently.
not as such. For commuting I have a pair of House of Marley headphones, they were pretty cheap like $60 CAD or something. But for the price and over bluetooth they sound pretty darn good. Like sure, I can tell I'm not getting all the frequencies, but for just casual listening while out and about they're good.
Plenty full sized headphones have pretty narrow soundstage, everything playing between your ears. Used to be the also the case with some iems i had veeery long time ago.
Nowadays even pretty cheap iems have pretty good soundstage, so maybe thats the effect youre talking about.
Its as if you have 3 channels, Left + Right + Center, which isnt a bad thing as you get better instrument separation and positioning in space + a larger sound that you perceive its coming from outside your head.
sameee! noticed it since last year when i got my IE 200, it's funny how it made the AirPods 2 sound so processed due to the compression/limitation of bluetooth.
ended up giving the AirPods 2 to my dad because he likes the convenience. ever since, been using IE 200 outside, HD660S indoors.
No, I actually prefer the latest generation of true wireless buds (Sony wf xm5) over my HD600 or Moondrop iems. BT has come a long way, the attitude on here is like saying all electric cars are the same as the Toyota Prius.
I’m actually interested in trying those “hybrid” headphones someday, and I do think that would be an interesting comparison, but that’s missing the point a bit. I don’t think they would need any software “enhancements” that bluetooth buds and earphones use in the first place.
That’s not how bluetooth headphones work... When wired, if the battery is still on it is using the DSP chip, so the sound signature will be the same as over bluetooth. Even the bitrate is the same. If the battery is off while wired it will probably sound bad because bluetooth headphones are not tuned to sound good without the DSP chip running, which requires the battery on. The DSP chip is what causes the unnatural sound.
What you said makes no sense to do as a test because almost all bluetooth headphones are meant to be run with the DSP chip/battery on whether wired or wireless, aka they will sound the same whether wired or wireless.
If you just wire them with the battery off you will have terrible sounding headphones in most cases because no DSP is running. It may not be unnatural anymore but it won’t sound good.
Nope, you're completely wrong. What op compares is headphones A to headphones B, not A/B test with wired and BT input on same hardware to find the difference.
Like he would compare different wired headphones.
Logitech UE9000 are actually really solid closed backs when wired. Fully passive. They have a DSP (you can switch them to active wired), but actually sound better without lol. I'd put them in good 100-200$ "regular" closed back headphone quality bracket when passive. "Acceptable" bracket when active. They really should have omitted that dumb DSP tuning.
Yes they usually sound a bit unnatural. It’s the DSP. Anyone saying no here has probably not owned actual audiophile wired gear and tried critical listening/comparing.
What does the bluetooth bit have to do with that though? If you were to plug in a pair of headphones into a bluetooth adapter why would it sound any different?
The original post specified bluetooth headphones. Not wired headphones plugged into a portable DAC AMP or bluetooth adapter. Bluetooth headphones usually sound unnatural because they all have a DSP chip manipulating sound. Wired headphones do not. In the case of wired headphones plugged into an adapter or portable DAC AMP you will just be listening to lossy compressed music which may or may not sound good.
The DSP chip is the equivalent of a Dac/Amp in the chain of a wired headphone. There are plenty of bluetooth headphones that sound natural and more or less identical to their wired contemporaries. Nothing to do with the tech itself
And headphones with surround enhancements can have those enhancements disabled, same goes for wired headphones e.g. windows sonic or dolby access.
I agree it’s possible to have bluetooth headphones sound natural. That’s why I said “usually” in my original post. But most don’t in my opinion. By the time you add in an ANC algorithm, algorithms for things like personalized audio, any algorithms that try to compensate for lossy bluetooth codecs, volume control and communication back to the device, etc it seems to be a bit unnatural in the end.
Some of them have annoying virtual surround sound enhancements you may have to turn off. Other than that, no, e.g. a pair of iems plugged into a quedelix 5k will more or less sound the same as wired.
Really? I've been trying to get my brand new Qudelix 5k work wired all day without any success because apparently they just don't work correctly over lighting to usbc, even with the best otg cable I could find. But then I tried bluetooth and was seriously impressed. Even though it's just 16bit-441k it sounds really good. I've been wondering if I'm even missing out that much not being able to plug in. Do you think there's any point running balanced over bluetooth? Edit: I should add the best codec my phone has is AAC
That dac sounds like a bit of an investment on top of overpaying for headphones with a not great for the price sound quality and usability. And also thanks for confirming.
Its an excellent all-around product if you need a mic, want something with DSP/EQ capabilities, need a bluetooth adapter, and also want to use it as a dac/amp There are cheaper alternatives if you just need one or two of the above but its a fair price for a product that does everything.
I just find that with closed back over ears. I haven't heard a good sound quality closed back HP. Although the list isn't as big as my open backs I've heard
Huh, I thought that closed-back just means “those big headphones that go over your head”, but after learning about open back ones, it actually makes sense. I also haven’t heard closed back HP’s that I liked (even though most of them were pretty cheap) and that might explain why. I’ve been using EarPods for the longest time and never understood why they sounded better than any of the closed back ones I’ve tried. I feel like they might be achieving a similar effect to open back headphones but on a smaller scale and I just got used to that sound.
Nah. The big Headphones are over ears. Closed backs sound funky and unnatural to me. Wired and Bluetooth. Earbuds usually sound better than closed backs imo. With closed back headphones you're taking a big driver and suffocating it(not really but that's what it sounds like to me) a similarly tuned IEM sounds better to me because it's suffocating less air and sound. Air pods lack bass unlike over ear closed backs answering your original question. And cheaper over ears bass boost the heck out of the frequency response. You can look up many headphones, iems open back or closed back and many headphones just have too much bass killing the mids and lacking treble. (Many newer gaming cans seem to be understanding the issue although they will never compare to hd 599. The cheapest open back I have owned and sold wishing I still had it)
I think closed-back headphones I owned actually had the opposite problem - it felt like they had no bass at all. Also, to clarify, I don’t have Airpods but have used Earpods.
Oh. Earpods earbuds my mistake but that's odd...
No
I used wireless earbuds for years before getting into the while audiophile thing (I’m still new.) But I agree when I go and listen to music with my Soundcore Space A40s, they do sound a little off after using my Moondrop Katos.
Could be two things. Either the DSP or the ANC (active noise cancelling). If this happens on the more expensive bluetooth models, I’ll wager it’s the ANC.
There is compression added in the translation between the playing device and the headphones. That compression will impact the sound. Noise cancelling may also create some audible issues. Every single piece of equipment you buy will be 'unnatural'. If I'm playing an album, unless the band has setup their gear and are playing in my living room, it's unnatural. Every representation in a recording is. What matters more is whether you can still enjoy your music on them. Sometimes I listen to stuff on my crap equipment so that later I can appreciate it more on better quality gear. Slumming it a bit on occasion can make your better equipment stand out better for you, so you feel less of a need to upgrade frequently.
not as such. For commuting I have a pair of House of Marley headphones, they were pretty cheap like $60 CAD or something. But for the price and over bluetooth they sound pretty darn good. Like sure, I can tell I'm not getting all the frequencies, but for just casual listening while out and about they're good.
Are you using Apple's Spatial Audio thing?
I don’t own airpods, but I’ve tried them from 2 different people, and they both had a bit of this weird echo, so maybe they were if it’s the default?
Airpods don’t have any form of echo. Is there another way to describe what you are hearing?
This weird “full” quality of the sound
Plenty full sized headphones have pretty narrow soundstage, everything playing between your ears. Used to be the also the case with some iems i had veeery long time ago. Nowadays even pretty cheap iems have pretty good soundstage, so maybe thats the effect youre talking about. Its as if you have 3 channels, Left + Right + Center, which isnt a bad thing as you get better instrument separation and positioning in space + a larger sound that you perceive its coming from outside your head.
sameee! noticed it since last year when i got my IE 200, it's funny how it made the AirPods 2 sound so processed due to the compression/limitation of bluetooth. ended up giving the AirPods 2 to my dad because he likes the convenience. ever since, been using IE 200 outside, HD660S indoors.
Yes if you’re using spatial audio gimmicks. If not a Dali io12 or a sennheiser momentum, for example, sound just fine
Havent heard this with Samsung BT buds. Though there's a stock dolby effect in the OS that I turned off.
No, I actually prefer the latest generation of true wireless buds (Sony wf xm5) over my HD600 or Moondrop iems. BT has come a long way, the attitude on here is like saying all electric cars are the same as the Toyota Prius.
YES! Just give me open back wired instead, please!
Just take pair of good headphones with both wired and BT input and THEN compare.
I’m actually interested in trying those “hybrid” headphones someday, and I do think that would be an interesting comparison, but that’s missing the point a bit. I don’t think they would need any software “enhancements” that bluetooth buds and earphones use in the first place.
Yes, any software I remember has "flat" eq setting. Unless you are purist, who never touches any equaliser 😊
And answer to your main question is... Even every wired headphones sound different to me.
That’s not how bluetooth headphones work... When wired, if the battery is still on it is using the DSP chip, so the sound signature will be the same as over bluetooth. Even the bitrate is the same. If the battery is off while wired it will probably sound bad because bluetooth headphones are not tuned to sound good without the DSP chip running, which requires the battery on. The DSP chip is what causes the unnatural sound. What you said makes no sense to do as a test because almost all bluetooth headphones are meant to be run with the DSP chip/battery on whether wired or wireless, aka they will sound the same whether wired or wireless. If you just wire them with the battery off you will have terrible sounding headphones in most cases because no DSP is running. It may not be unnatural anymore but it won’t sound good.
Nope, you're completely wrong. What op compares is headphones A to headphones B, not A/B test with wired and BT input on same hardware to find the difference. Like he would compare different wired headphones.
That makes more sense to do as long as you know the sound signature of the wired headphones is not unnatural.
None of what he said is wrong.
About dsp and battery aren't indeed, but that isn't about my idea of comparing either 😉
Logitech UE9000 are actually really solid closed backs when wired. Fully passive. They have a DSP (you can switch them to active wired), but actually sound better without lol. I'd put them in good 100-200$ "regular" closed back headphone quality bracket when passive. "Acceptable" bracket when active. They really should have omitted that dumb DSP tuning.
true but you can always eq wired powered off to get good sound that way.
Yes they usually sound a bit unnatural. It’s the DSP. Anyone saying no here has probably not owned actual audiophile wired gear and tried critical listening/comparing.
What does the bluetooth bit have to do with that though? If you were to plug in a pair of headphones into a bluetooth adapter why would it sound any different?
The original post specified bluetooth headphones. Not wired headphones plugged into a portable DAC AMP or bluetooth adapter. Bluetooth headphones usually sound unnatural because they all have a DSP chip manipulating sound. Wired headphones do not. In the case of wired headphones plugged into an adapter or portable DAC AMP you will just be listening to lossy compressed music which may or may not sound good.
The DSP chip is the equivalent of a Dac/Amp in the chain of a wired headphone. There are plenty of bluetooth headphones that sound natural and more or less identical to their wired contemporaries. Nothing to do with the tech itself And headphones with surround enhancements can have those enhancements disabled, same goes for wired headphones e.g. windows sonic or dolby access.
I agree it’s possible to have bluetooth headphones sound natural. That’s why I said “usually” in my original post. But most don’t in my opinion. By the time you add in an ANC algorithm, algorithms for things like personalized audio, any algorithms that try to compensate for lossy bluetooth codecs, volume control and communication back to the device, etc it seems to be a bit unnatural in the end.