# What in-ear bluetooth earpod thingies should I get? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078 "2019-08-22T19:22:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/21 "2019-08-30T01:02:04Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > 1. Works if I just have one in (specifically the right one). Yes. But only the right one. This is a minor bummer because one way I was able to stretch my Airpods as the batteries got worse is to use one, then switch when the battery died. This let me use them continuously with minor fiddling on each switch until the case ran out. Since you can only use the right one or both of them, I won’t be able to do that. Not a problem with full battery life, but as they age this will become more of an issue. This puzzles me. How can you stand listening to just one earbud? Almost all music is recorded in stereo. That means that the sound on the right side is not the same as the left. If you only listen to one side you miss something, in some cases you miss a lot. For example Windy by the Association has the lead vocal completely on one side and the background singers completely on the other. Simon and Garfunkel’s Silent Night/7 O’Clock News has the news report on the right and the piano on the left, with the vocals mostly to the left. More recently the arrangement of Something Stupid that was used on Better Call Saul had the man on the right and the woman on the left. Even on music more evenly mixed it sounds thin and hollow listening to only one channel. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/22 "2019-08-30T02:59:15Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > This puzzles me. How can you stand listening to just one earbud? Almost all music is recorded in stereo. That means that the sound on the right side is not the same as the left. If you only listen to one side you miss something, in some cases you miss a lot. For example Windy by the Association has the lead vocal completely on one side and the background singers completely on the other. Simon and Garfunkel’s Silent Night/7 O’Clock News has the news report on the right and the piano on the left, with the vocals mostly to the left. More recently the arrangement of Something Stupid that was used on Better Call Saul had the man on the right and the woman on the left. Even on music more evenly mixed it sounds thin and hollow listening to only one channel. Perhaps **iamthewalrus** is not listening solely to music. I’ve found that a podcast or audiobook can be heard just fine using just one earbud. It’s not optimal, but it’s not terrible, either. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/23 "2019-08-30T12:06:47Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > This puzzles me. How can you stand listening to just one earbud? Almost all music is recorded in stereo. That means that the sound on the right side is not the same as the left. If you only listen to one side you miss something, in some cases you miss a lot. For example Windy by the Association has the lead vocal completely on one side and the background singers completely on the other. Simon and Garfunkel’s Silent Night/7 O’Clock News has the news report on the right and the piano on the left, with the vocals mostly to the left. More recently the arrangement of Something Stupid that was used on Better Call Saul had the man on the right and the woman on the left. Even on music more evenly mixed it sounds thin and hollow listening to only one channel. He already answered this. If I were better at multi-quote, I would do so, but instead, you’ll have to settle for a cut and paste: > [@](#): > > It’s true. I’m very much not an audiophile, and I generally listen to podcasts and audiobooks in semi-noisy environments, so I’m both unqualified to answer effectively and don’t care that much. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/24 "2019-08-30T14:30:05Z")
I have the Jabra Elites and overall I like them quite a bit. But they didn’t feel great to wear, so I bought the replacement foam earpieces from Comply for like $10 and they made a world of difference. (not intended to be an ad!) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/25 "2019-08-30T16:23:24Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > This puzzles me. How can you stand listening to just one earbud? Almost all music is recorded in stereo. That means that the sound on the right side is not the same as the left. If you only listen to one side you miss something, in some cases you miss a lot. For example Windy by the Association has the lead vocal completely on one side and the background singers completely on the other. Simon and Garfunkel’s Silent Night/7 O’Clock News has the news report on the right and the piano on the left, with the vocals mostly to the left. More recently the arrangement of Something Stupid that was used on Better Call Saul had the man on the right and the woman on the left. Even on music more evenly mixed it sounds thin and hollow listening to only one channel. It’s not the 60’s anymore where stereo was brand new. I think 99% of modern music you won’t notice the difference between the left and right side. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/26 "2019-08-30T16:52:55Z")
Yes, I’m mostly not listening to music. I do use both for music on the rare occasions that I’m listening to music. The times that it’s really nice to be able to use either one independently are for long phone conversations. Adding the microphone runs the battery down much faster. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/27 "2019-08-31T05:35:11Z")
The Jabra’s simultaneous linking to two devices isn’t quite as awesome as I initially found. It apparently can link to my laptop even when it’s asleep, so as I move around closer and farther from it, it will occasionally say “two devices connected” and “disconnected”. And sometimes, even if I’ve used it with my phone the last dozen times, if I pull it out of the case and put it in my ear then press the button, it’ll start playing some movie on my laptop! With the case closed! ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/28 "2019-09-02T18:22:48Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > This puzzles me. How can you stand listening to just one earbud? Almost all music is recorded in stereo. That means that the sound on the right side is not the same as the left. If you only listen to one side you miss something, in some cases you miss a lot. For example Windy by the Association has the lead vocal completely on one side and the background singers completely on the other. Simon and Garfunkel’s Silent Night/7 O’Clock News has the news report on the right and the piano on the left, with the vocals mostly to the left. More recently the arrangement of Something Stupid that was used on Better Call Saul had the man on the right and the woman on the left. Even on music more evenly mixed it sounds thin and hollow listening to only one channel. This kept bugging me, because I _do_ sometimes listen to music with just one, and it sounds fine. So I ran a little test to confirm, and it works fine. It’s not like listening to just one side of a wired pair of headphones where the channels are electrically isolated. The bluetooth connection knows what’s connected. If you only have one bud in, both stereo channels are mixed together in one ear. Put the other one in, and it separates into two channels again. ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/29 "2019-09-02T21:56:58Z")
Has anyone tried ones that you can sleep comfortably on your side while in your ears? My husband watches television at night and I cannot sleep without some kind of meditation music in my ears…or Mock the Week…puts me to sleep instantly. I go through earbuds with the wire connection like candy; I keep only one in at a time depending on which side I’m sleeping and I wake up with the cord wrapped around my neck or digging into my side and eventually one side snaps. I’d love to be able to keep both in all night. The ones specifically for sleep seems to have preloaded music…I’d rather be able to choose my own ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078/30 "2019-09-03T17:21:10Z")
> [@kbear](#): > > I keep only one in at a time depending on which side I’m sleeping and I wake up with the cord wrapped around my neck or digging into my side and eventually one side snaps. I’d love to be able to keep both in all night. I can’t imagine any of the “true wireless” earbuds are going to work well for this. They all have (fairly) big batteries in them and are going to be uncomfortable to wear on the ear side that’s facing down. If you just wore one (on the top ear) or if you slept on your back they might work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-ear-bluetooth-earpod-thingies-should-i-get/839078.md?page=1)