Bragi Dash Impressions: Wireless Earphones Offer Enough Quality Features to Counter Small Battery

[roeiz]

I'm sorry Nostradamus! I didn't realise you were a member on MacRumors!!!

However I didn't realise you were also an audio expert. "Fair" quality simply isn't good enough for a $299 pair of earbuds. For this money, you can buy a pair of Shure SE425's which will blow these bluetooth buds out of the water.

ETA: I also thought I should add I remember you from the 3.5mm to lightning connector threads. You have zero understanding of audio so I guess "fair" quality is good enough for you.

Enjoy your mediocre music.

i have a pair of Apt-X codec earphones, and the quality has improved immensely.
i didn't say it's excellent for all music buffs, i just said this WILL be the future some day soon.
i didn't even mean that THESE earphones are good enough.
you are hostile and you're no fun btw.

i'm only saying that WHEN the quality and all complications will be solved, which feels pretty close,
i'm all for it. also about the lightning connector.
you only said that wired headphones are still better, which i didn't argue about at all.
relax, man. not healthy.

 

[Max(IT)]

Just a rumors about the iPhone 7 and now it's all about wireless headphones and earbuds....

 

[delegagtor]

Anybody who travels regularly knows that 3 hours of battery life is not enough -- it won't even get you coast to coast on a flight in the US. Just another reason that eliminating th eheadphone jack in the iPhone 7 (if the rumors are true) is an anti-consumer move.

 

[mazz0]

Yeah I'm sure on airplane mode playing music from the built in 4GB these will last a lot longer than four hours. That would be an interesting test.

Don't tell anyone, but I leave Bluetooth on when I'm flying and I haven't crashed once!
[doublepost=1452774616][/doublepost]

The lack of a cable (or something similar) holding the two pieces together strikes me as THE big problem.
I look at these things and all I can think is that they're so easy to lose...

The secondary problem is that the ONLY BT device I have ever owned that seems capable of actually connecting to my phone without constant handholding is my Apple Watch. I'm really not interested in one more BT device that kinda sorta works except every two weeks it randomly doesn't and I then have to engage in the "toggle BT on and off; OK, reboot the device; OK, reboot the phone" dance.

I am also amazed at all this "it's a new platform" business. Maybe I'm a luddite who can't see the future clearly, but I simply cannot see the need for a "platform" in my headphones. I have a perfectly fine platform in my phone, and it seems a whole lot more sustainable and productive to concentrate on putting smarts THERE rather than putting them in the cramped space of the headphones.

I agree, they'll be so easy to lose (I've lost a pair of Jaybirds (with a wire between them) twice - once I found them again, and once I had to buy a replacement pair), but I could live with that risk if the benefits were high enough. I'm not sure they are though, we'all see. Of course, the Jaybirds were one third the price of these things.

Speaking of the Jaybirds - the Bluetooth connection has never been remotely unreliable for me. There's a certain are of the street I walk on to and from work where I always get some interference, but other than that I've never had a single problem (and that's with my phone in my trouser pocket). Seriously, can't recommend the Jaybird X (haven't tried the X2) enough.

Yeah, I don't get this platform thing either. They look like a very smart, very feature rich accessory. Maybe we're wrong and they'll develop an app ecosystem of their own, we'll see. They'll struggle on their own though, I think the influence of an Apple or Google might be required to get that going.
[doublepost=1452774693][/doublepost]

Did you read what these earbuds do? There is a HEART RATE MONITOR, GYROSCOPE, PEDOMETER, 4GBS OF INTERNAL STORAGE, TOUCH PANEL FACEPLATES AND MICS IN BOTH EARBUDS for listening to outside sounds... to include a larger battery would make them too large.

The case provides 5 charges. Considering I'm not likely to leave earbuds in for several hours straight and they don't have wires, these will spend a lot of time in their case. I'm not just gonna throw these in my pocket or on a desk when I'm not using them, so I think the 3 hour battery life and external battery/case is a perfect compromise and a clever idea.

I could see using these at work where there will be periods where I have them in their case. I could see these easily making it 8 hours without dying.

No need to shout.

 

[Dorv]

Also, I know it's first gen, but that battery life.

They're made for working out specifically. I don't know about you, but I don't work out more than three hours at a time

 

[69Mustang]

They're made for working out specifically. I don't know about you, but I don't work out more than three hours at a time

They're headphones. Expensive headphones. My expectations for battery life are maybe a little different from your since I'm a cyclist. And yes, I ride for more than three hours at a time. I understand there are limitations to the battery life due to the size of the item and the number of activities it measures. Limitations, yes. But 3 hours is unacceptable in my opinion. Yours may differ.

 

[gorkt]

These are interesting for sure. As a runner they look very appealing. However, with the Apple watch giving me accurate HR info, plus a pair of $35 chinese wireless bluetooth earbuds, paying another $299 is not in the cards.

 

[1Zach1]

Glad to see competition heating up, nothing but good for the consumer.

 

[beanbaguk]

i have a pair of Apt-X codec earphones, and the quality has improved immensely.
i didn't say it's excellent for all music buffs, i just said this WILL be the future some day soon.
i didn't even mean that THESE earphones are good enough.
you are hostile and you're no fun btw.

i'm only saying that WHEN the quality and all complications will be solved, which feels pretty close,
i'm all for it. also about the lightning connector.
you only said that wired headphones are still better, which i didn't argue about at all.
relax, man. not healthy.

I'll suggest it's you that has to be a lot less aggressive with your replies. What you suggest you said was not what you implied in your original reply.

However, regardless of that I am peeved off. I love my music and I am a bit of a self-confessed audiophile. Removing the 3.5mm jack will be a massive inconvenience to me.

I currently own a pair of B&W P5 Series 2 headphone which I use daily. They set me back about $500. My other set of earbuds which I use for fitness are a pair of Shure SE425 ear buds. Both of which use 3.5mm jacks and both of which will out-perform any of the "Beats" junk that Apple is churning out.

Quite frankly I'm beginning to lose my patience with Apple as of late and the sheep that follow them. I'm amazed people aren't smart enough to realise this has nothing to do with "quality" or so called "moving forward with technology", and everything to do with making money.

• Having to replace technology forcing users to upgrade to create revenue.
• Making it inconvenient to keep using old technology to push them to replace creating revenue.
• Making users buy adapter to keep their current technology, creating revenue.
• Licensing the proprietary technology to create revenue.

There's absolutely no doubt Bluetooth has its place. Cars, and headphones too, but it also requires power, therefore charging, therefore total inconvenience to the user and higher cost.

I use my headphones all day long at work, and on flights, and at home. I use them for at least 8 hours a day. The inconvenience of having to recharge them is beyond annoying and impractical, and then I'd love somebody to answer me and tell me what happens when the battery eventually wears out. Do I simply throw away a pair of $500 headphones? (I've had my Shure's for almost 7 years now and they still sound as good as the day I bought them). I can't see this being the case with a set of Bluetooth earphones.

Are people so stupid / blind to see this?

We're just all suckered into an oblivious blackhole of consumerism and it really is beginning to piss me off.

So; To answer your final statement. No I won't relax as I stand to lose a significant amount of money and the only organisation that will gain from this is Apple.

We all lose.

 

[bommai]

Don't tell anyone, but I leave Bluetooth on when I'm flying and I haven't crashed once!
[doublepost=1452774616][/doublepost]

I agree, they'll be so easy to lose (I've lost a pair of Jaybirds (with a wire between them) twice - once I found them again, and once I had to buy a replacement pair), but I could live with that risk if the benefits were high enough. I'm not sure they are though, we'all see. Of course, the Jaybirds were one third the price of these things.

Speaking of the Jaybirds - the Bluetooth connection has never been remotely unreliable for me. There's a certain are of the street I walk on to and from work where I always get some interference, but other than that I've never had a single problem (and that's with my phone in my trouser pocket). Seriously, can't recommend the Jaybird X (haven't tried the X2) enough.

Yeah, I don't get this platform thing either. They look like a very smart, very feature rich accessory. Maybe we're wrong and they'll develop an app ecosystem of their own, we'll see. They'll struggle on their own though, I think the influence of an Apple or Google might be required to get that going.
[doublepost=1452774693][/doublepost]
No need to shout.

I believe you can legally leave electronics on while flying now! I have left mine on all the time, just put it to sleep.

 

[1Zach1]

Are people so stupid / blind to see this?

No, you are just in a very small minority of iPhone users.

 

[beanbaguk]

No, you are just in a very small minority of iPhone users.

I'm sure the majority of people would rather their technology lasts and has the highest quality possible. What Apple are offering is the exact opposite of that.

 

[1Zach1]

I'm sure the majority of people would rather their technology lasts and has the highest quality possible. What Apple are offering is the exact opposite of that.

I think the majority of people want whatever is easiest and put in front of them, we live in a world of yearly upgrades. Most people aren't putting the money into music that you and other audiophiles are, they are plugging the headphones that Apples gives them in and turning on the Pop-Artist-Of-The-Day.

 

[roeiz]

I'll suggest it's you that has to be a lot less aggressive with your replies. What you suggest you said was not what you implied in your original reply.

However, regardless of that I am peeved off. I love my music and I am a bit of a self-confessed audiophile. Removing the 3.5mm jack will be a massive inconvenience to me.

I currently own a pair of B&W P5 Series 2 headphone which I use daily. They set me back about $500. My other set of earbuds which I use for fitness are a pair of Shure SE425 ear buds. Both of which use 3.5mm jacks and both of which will out-perform any of the "Beats" junk that Apple is churning out.

Quite frankly I'm beginning to lose my patience with Apple as of late and the sheep that follow them. I'm amazed people aren't smart enough to realise this has nothing to do with "quality" or so called "moving forward with technology", and everything to do with making money.

• Having to replace technology forcing users to upgrade to create revenue.
• Making it inconvenient to keep using old technology to push them to replace creating revenue.
• Making users buy adapter to keep their current technology, creating revenue.
• Licensing the proprietary technology to create revenue.

There's absolutely no doubt Bluetooth has its place. Cars, and headphones too, but it also requires power, therefore charging, therefore total inconvenience to the user and higher cost.

I use my headphones all day long at work, and on flights, and at home. I use them for at least 8 hours a day. The inconvenience of having to recharge them is beyond annoying and impractical, and then I'd love somebody to answer me and tell me what happens when the battery eventually wears out. Do I simply throw away a pair of $500 headphones? (I've had my Shure's for almost 7 years now and they still sound as good as the day I bought them). I can't see this being the case with a set of Bluetooth earphones.

Are people so stupid / blind to see this?

We're just all suckered into an oblivious blackhole of consumerism and it really is beginning to piss me off.

So; To answer your final statement. No I won't relax as I stand to lose a significant amount of money and the only organisation that will gain from this is Apple.

We all lose.

fair enough, i'm on neither side,
and i can judge for myself when a move is only to make money
OR a genuine effort to advance technology.
for people like you who enjoy only top quality sound, this is of course more problematic.
for me, wires cause me a lot of frustration. any effort to eliminate that is blessed in my book.


btw audiophilsm can also be a very serious money wasting disease though

 

[Dydegu]

Okay, one, can we get some options that AREN'T the in-ear headphones that use those awkward rubber things I need to jam deep into my ears? Something like the Apple Headphones that look like the ones Apple sells?

And, realistically, those will fall out just as easily as these.

So how about we just man up and use ear-clips (like pictured below) instead of trying to act like these aren't a bad idea?

In fact, can we just cut the cord, bulk it up a bit for bluetooth stuff or whatever it needs to work, and sell it?

I use headphones like above at the gym ALL THE TIME, along with that I run for two hours nonstop and not once have I needed to readjust my headphones.

Why are people so afraid of ear-clips for headphones? Is it because it looks too Y2K era? It's more functional than jamming some rubber crap on the end and shoving it uncomfortably deep.

I like ear clips. I had a pair ages ago and they were actually super comfortable. You could always make them attachable, so if you were just listening around the house, you didn't need to use them. If Apple found a way to use ear clips and hide additional batteries in there, that would be cool.

It'd be difficult to feel comfortable putting something that small and expensive in my ear, while traveling, commuting, etc. But, if they put GPS in it, or made it light up or something if you lose one, that might help.

Bets on how many people will lose one of the buds rendering $299 useless.

Find My AirPod

 

[FelixDerKater]

Who's getting the PR check for this one?

 

[alexanderasher]

Freewavez does exactly this. I dislike ear clips for their compromise in long use comformt.

Was completely unaware of these. Thank you purchasing these ASAP.

 

[Vicrooloo]

A little bit of regret for skipping this on Kickstarter

 

[mijail]

And is it really going to be steadily beaming magnetic waves directly through our brains every second we are using them so that Left can sync with Right? That's how it appears to read to me.

Something like that.
If that sounds dangerous, I hope you never, ever get close to a wifi device. Nor of course to a cellular phone. And yet, I've heard of people putting them just by their ear!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Yes, a cell phone next to an ear for a typical call vs. earbuds in ears for upwards of hours at a time. Yes, that's exactly the same thing. How foolish of me.

 

[Mac 128]

I use my headphones all day long at work, and on flights, and at home. I use them for at least 8 hours a day.

There are Bluetooth headphones that are rated for 20+ hours on a single charge. This doesn't have to be an issue.

The inconvenience of having to recharge them is beyond annoying and impractical, and then I'd love somebody to answer me and tell me what happens when the battery eventually wears out. Do I simply throw away a pair of $500 headphones? (I've had my Shure's for almost 7 years now and they still sound as good as the day I bought them). I can't see this being the case with a set of Bluetooth earphones.

The inconvenience of wires is beyond annoying and impractical to me. I'd gladly charge my headphones daily to eliminate them. Also, some Bluetooth headphones have optional analogue wired connections, as well as wired digital ones. Since you don't have a problem with wires, problem solved, use them forever without ever replacing the battery. The batteries, may not be user replaceable, but they likely are.

No I won't relax as I stand to lose a significant amount of money and the only organisation that will gain from this is Apple.

How do you stand to lose a significant amount of money? From reading your concerns, it seems like a tiny $19 adapter will solve all of your problems.

And how is Apple the only organization that will profit from all these potential changes? How will they profit from Bluetooth sales by other manufacturers? Will third party product designers not also make profits, even if they have to pay Apple license fees? And what happens when Android and Samsung also drop the 3.5mm jack in order to stay competitive with Apple by including new features without making their phones any bigger?

 

[Dorv]

They're headphones. Expensive headphones. My expectations for battery life are maybe a little different from your since I'm a cyclist. And yes, I ride for more than three hours at a time. I understand there are limitations to the battery life due to the size of the item and the number of activities it measures. Limitations, yes. But 3 hours is unacceptable in my opinion. Yours may differ.

Fair point. Your workouts are likely much longer than mine

 

[6836838]

I'll stick to my IE80i's thanks.

 

[RcktMan77]

Apt-X isn't all that good, and if you are listening to already compressed files it can cause audible tandem losses. But as far as the iPhone is concerned this is moot anyway, since Apple doesn't support Apt-X.

Apple does support AAC over Bluetooth though. I'm not sure how it's implemented, but if they pass AAC files through without re-encoding, that should sound pretty good. But there are few BT headphones that support AAC.
Indeed. SBC is pretty crappy.

Apple doesn't support AptX in iOS; however, it is supported in OS X. AptX would re-encode the AAC files to compress them further prior to transmission via the low bandwidth Bluetooth A2DP protocol. In doing so, some distortion in playback of the original AAC file is likely to result--less so than SBC--but some nonetheless. With regards to these Dash wireless headphones though, they support AAC over A2DP natively, so the AAC file can be streamed directly to the headphones without an additional re-compression step. Thus, the audio quality of AAC and MP3 encoded files streamed from an iPhone should be similar to wired headphones so long as the Bluetooth connection between source and headphones (sink) is stable with the caveat that there are other components contributing to audio quality asides from the transmission of bits. Note, these headphones do support loading custom playlists with AAC and/or MP3 files directly on the headphones themselves albeit only 4GB worth which negates having to stream an audio signal altogether. Still, 4GB is probably enough music for 4 hours of playback time...

 

[Outsiderdude26]

I'll suggest it's you that has to be a lot less aggressive with your replies. What you suggest you said was not what you implied in your original reply.

However, regardless of that I am peeved off. I love my music and I am a bit of a self-confessed audiophile. Removing the 3.5mm jack will be a massive inconvenience to me.

I currently own a pair of B&W P5 Series 2 headphone which I use daily. They set me back about $500. My other set of earbuds which I use for fitness are a pair of Shure SE425 ear buds. Both of which use 3.5mm jacks and both of which will out-perform any of the "Beats" junk that Apple is churning out.

Quite frankly I'm beginning to lose my patience with Apple as of late and the sheep that follow them. I'm amazed people aren't smart enough to realise this has nothing to do with "quality" or so called "moving forward with technology", and everything to do with making money.

• Having to replace technology forcing users to upgrade to create revenue.
• Making it inconvenient to keep using old technology to push them to replace creating revenue.
• Making users buy adapter to keep their current technology, creating revenue.
• Licensing the proprietary technology to create revenue.

There's absolutely no doubt Bluetooth has its place. Cars, and headphones too, but it also requires power, therefore charging, therefore total inconvenience to the user and higher cost.

I use my headphones all day long at work, and on flights, and at home. I use them for at least 8 hours a day. The inconvenience of having to recharge them is beyond annoying and impractical, and then I'd love somebody to answer me and tell me what happens when the battery eventually wears out. Do I simply throw away a pair of $500 headphones? (I've had my Shure's for almost 7 years now and they still sound as good as the day I bought them). I can't see this being the case with a set of Bluetooth earphones.

Are people so stupid / blind to see this?

We're just all suckered into an oblivious blackhole of consumerism and it really is beginning to piss me off.

So; To answer your final statement. No I won't relax as I stand to lose a significant amount of money and the only organisation that will gain from this is Apple.

We all lose.

1. If you are an audiophile you should really reconsider using the iPhone $1 built-in DAC. While it is great for its size, it's not the best for powering you B&W P5s or Shure. You should be using an external portable DAC like this one http://www.amazon.com/Astell-Kern-Headphone-lightning-AK10-BLK/dp/B00G2WPFS2. Which bypasses the internal DAC and gives you a better sound. Bonus, It's doesn't use the headphone jack, it uses lightning so it will work with any iPhone with a lightning port, past or future.

2. Your hearing and taste are not the same as others. While B&W P5s are pretty good headphones and the Sure SE425 are respectable, some people might not want warm mids and prefer a booming bass or pay close to $1000 in headphone which in reality only a tiny fraction of the population can really discern. Personally, I prefer a flatter sound reason I have a pair of Audeze LCD-X. Its about choice and people buy what they want and like. You don't have to agree with it, and that's ok.

3. If you don't like it... Don't buy it. It's really that simple.