Anybody find that they’ve collected a bunch of something even though they are in no way an enthusiast?
My old bluetooth earbuds crapped out a while ago and I just ordered a fancy new set of true wireless buds.
I currently have:
A wireless gaming headset originally purchased for my PS4, but it uses a USB dongle, so I also have
A comfy wireless over-ear pair with noise-canceling for general use, but I like to bike, so I also have
Open-ear bone conduction headphones so I can keep situational awareness, but I don’t like to listen to the bustle at the gym, so I also need
Regular bluetooth earbuds that can be used at the gym.
I also have an unknown number of cheap wired earbuds from the last however many years, and some budget over-ears for throwing in a bag or a drawer at work without worrying about them. These new earbuds are pretty fancy, and I think should cover every use case except biking.
On every headset I buy, the first things to die are (1) the microphone and (2) the pads that cover the earpieces. So I have a number of headsets that still produce sound just fine, but are missing the pads and a working microphone.
(That’s not counting all the airline headphones that we have in a bag somewhere.)
In every of my several odds and sods drawers I have at least two wired pairs of earbuds from all the phones they came with of the last ca. 23 years. I only have one pair of headphones I actually use sometimes, a closed JBL bluetooth piece that was rather cheap, but sounds good. I only use it when I’m traveling or at a hospital, because at home I prefer listening to music over speakers.
I’ve still got the headphones that came with my Sony Discman from the late 1990s. I’ve replaced the ear pads a few times, but the ones on it currently are getting a bit worn out, too.
It used to be that every time I upgraded my phone it came with a new pair of earbuds, so I’ve got like three sets of the old wired Apple earbuds around here.
When Apple stopped including the headphone jack on their phones I bought a set of off-brand Bluetooth earbuds.
I’m sure I’ve got a few pairs of airline earbuds around here as well.
I have at least twenty good knives for cooking, but most of the time I only use my favourite one. And I don’t consider myself a knive fetichist, they just accrued, like, on their own.
Same with tea pots, we have dozens. But that I can blame on my wife. I think she does like them, but we mostly only use two.
Same for me, but I only have dull ones, without exception. They all used to be sharp, but I’m both unable to buy a knife that stays sharp and to sharpen them, though I own a A-class knife sharpener according to the woman who sold it to me.
They are dull? Ah, well, Mr. Anchovy, you know, your report here says that you are an extremely dull person. Our experts describe you as an appallingly dull fellow, unimaginative, timid, lacking in initiative, spineless, easily dominated, no sense of humour, tedious company and irrepressibly [???] awful. [Sorry, couldn’t resist ]
Headphones are in that category of items that are easily lost and fairly cheap to replace (after which of course the original item turns up) so you end up with tons of them right up to the point you need them (which is rare nowadays, as I don’t work in a coworking space or office where I need them that often, as I listen to music on my speakers when I’m working from home) at which point the number goes back down to zero
Everything comes with earbuds and I can’t wear them, they simply don’t fit my ears. I’m due to invest in a new set of headphones/microphone, but I can’t afford Bose. I’ll happily take recommendations.
I have three sets of head phones now. A lot of it is due to poor hearing the other huge reason is that I’m a programmer, and if I need to talk while typing, well…
I’ll second Soundcore. I don’t have any of their headsets, but their Liberty 3 Pro earbuds sound as good as the much more expensive Sony WF-1000xm4s and AirPod Pro 1st Gen.
I could rummage through my junk drawers, my workbench, my bike bag, and my suitcase (that I never quite unpack fully*) and come up with at least thirty.
Half of them will be unusable, with one channel cutting in and out, or earbuds an inability to stay in my left ear. Why the hell don’t I toss them?
I’ve been on a quest to find bluetooth 'buds (but with a cord behind my head… one will pop out of my left ear and the cord catches it), WITH decent battery life. Winner so far is Skullcandy for fit, but Sonys can go for days without a charge.
But what that means is that I have a good dozen of trial-and-error earbuds and headphones lying around…
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*And still I find myself on a plane without a corded pair for in-flight “entertainment”.
I know a guy who, to get a good fit, got earbuds that were molded to the insides of his ears. You’ve probably seen them on rock stars in concert.
He got two lumps of high-tech Play-Doh to shove in his ears, let harden, then send into the company*. They used those to make “ear inserts” that gave him a perfect fit…and they stayed in both ears.
*If he’d gone up a few hundred in price, he could’ve gotten a technician to take the molds.
I had those on a job I had many years ago. I developed a rash inside my ears. Never again. It took several months to heal. Mind you, my coworkers didn’t have this problem. I’m a bit of a medical challenge that way. Probably other ways as well.
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