Month: June 2019

Yes, I write about stupid stuff on this blog; just like I used to do with my Journals back in the 90s. The only difference is you're not going to hear tales of wanton abandon at the west end of Golden Gate Park.

In this age of headphone jack scarcity and Bluetooth everythingness, it might seem strange that—after having adopted that mindset myself for the past several years—on a whim I sought out to replace my once-favorite pair of wired headphones after coming across the empty packaging they came in a couple weeks ago.

But I did.

I'm not a fan of the standard earbuds that come with Apple's iPhones, although I will admit the sound quality seems to have gotten better over the years. (They usually stay in the box, unused and unopened, until the phone is resold, but I pulled out the latest iteration a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised at how much better they seem to have gotten.) My biggest beef with them remains—and why I have no desire to buy the wireless Earpods—is the complete lack of any sort of seal against outside noise. (This makes them impossible to use in my local Starbucks, where it now seems to have become the norm to have the music at discotheque volume ALL THE TIME—an issue I've reported to corporate on more than one occasion with a friendly "we're sorry, here's x-dollar credit on your Starbucks Card" response.)

I discovered Apple's in-ear headphones back in 2013. I remember Ben and I making a right-before-closing trek to the Aspen Grove store because I'd reached the end of my rope with the Earcandy (or whatever brand it had been at the time) I'd been using and wanted more for my daily commute to and from Hell, otherwise known as DISH Corporate Headquartrers.

In my opinion, these were the best wired earbuds I'd ever owned. I was devastated when they finally died. I could have replaced them, but I'd gotten Ben a wireless pair of Jaybird Bluetooth headphones and was so impressed with the sound that I paid twice as much as I would have for the replacement to get a pair.

I still have those Jaybirds, and have in fact, replaced those with another pair of Jaybirds that I've been using without complaint for about a year or so. (Did you know it's actually possible to force your Mac to use the best codec possible when listening through Bluetooth? I didn't prior to last week.)

Anyhow, the last time I saw these Apple in-ear phones was at an Apple store about a year ago. Even though I was perfectly happy with my Jaybirds, I was sorely tempted to pick up another pair, because I knew with Apple's elimination of the headphone jack it was only a matter of time before they disappeared from the shelves.

While chatting with my friend John after finding the headphones' old packaging, the subject of these headphones came up, and—feeling a bit nostalgic—on a lark I went to the Apple website to see if they were still available. They weren't.

But they were still available from other retailers—and for $30 off their original price.

They arrived a week ago, and I love them as much as ever. Unlike the Jaybirds, where I've always struggled (on both pairs owned) to get a good seal in my ear canal, the Apple phones fit perfectly and block out almost all outside sound.

Admittedly they aren't quite as bright as the Jaybirds, but I can live with it, the difference being so slight to these old ears it really doesn't matter.