Cordless Head/Earphone – The Non Geek Assessment

I'm admittedly late to the cordless earphone /headphone party; but then I am no geek. I am, however, a music nut with an all-embracing passion for everything musical from metal to pop to Bollywood to Classical. I may not be qualified to comment upon the technical specs, but as a trained musician I know sound quality. So when I finally gave in bought myself some cordless Bluetooth JBL earphones I found that these were the pros and cons of said cordless device:

Everything is cordless so why not earphones as well? I went for these JBL earbuds. Yes, it is a good idea not to have tangled wires to deal with; not to have a long cord visibly trailing down from one's ears. The wires don’t get in the way or snag on stuff, so the cordless phones are quite freeing to that extent.

 It is also very convenient to be able to listen to music remotely – so when I'm cooking, for instance, I'm using earphones but my music device is at a safe distance from heat sources and possible spills.

Another plus point is when I'm driving or out cycling, I can change the volume, pause a song, skip a song and take calls without needing to get the phone out of the bag/pocket. Yes, I know this functionality is available in wired headphones as well, but this is just somehow better, more compact.

Another plus point is that devices these days are geared towards cordless phones. They don’t even have a headphone jack, so one has to go the Bluetooth route or use an adapter.

Further, the AirPod type earphones that are completely wireless are very discreet and are barely visible – if that is important for you (it isn't for me so I chose the type with the neckband).

Firstly, there's not a thing wrong with my old Sennheiser headphones – they have served me faithfully for years and continue to do so. The sound is brilliant – super clarity and deep, booming bass. Sound quality is a bit of a sacrifice with cordless earphones – at the same price point, you won’t get the same sound quality as in wired ones.

Second, they are plug-and-play – I don’t have to switch them on, I don’t have to pair them with anything. There is no mistaken pairing with some other device instead. In this, the wired phones are completely idiot-proof and the worst technophobe will have no problems with them. Also, the battery will deteriorate over time so the life of these is limited by definition.

Thirdly, wired phones are good for someone as clumsy as me. Being connected to each other, the earphones protect the music device from falling and vice versa. Remember all the jokes they made about AirPods when they were first launched - well they could get lost and get stuck in inaccessible places.  

And then my main problem with cordless earphones – the need to keep charging them. If you forget to charge them when required, you run the risk of your music or podcast stopping in the middle of a walk or while cycling – most annoying. So while there are plenty of reasons for buying that smart new set of cordless Bluetooth earphones, there are plenty of reasons to hold on to the old wired pair as well.