The world has stepped into the wireless era. Keyboards and mice, data transfer, Internet access - everything has long gone away from cables. However, there are still certain things that literally hold us like a stone in this terrible world of wires. And besides the most obvious - for example, chargers, there are also less noticeable, but far from less important accessories - headphones. After all, you see, not everyone has to like every time to think about where and how to "stick" the wire just to go out into the street. And when playing sports, it is generally better not to remember about headphones. What is really there - hasn't it ever annoyed you that they should be taken off in order to get up from the computer? Therefore, for many, the question of buying wireless headphones is quite acute. It would seem that there is everything for this - at the moment this market is already saturated enough to find a suitable option for yourself. But, unfortunately, there are a number of problems. Indeed, in fact, bluetooth headphones have not made significant quality breakthroughs since their inception.

But on a certain day, such a question came before me. Confident that the technology had matured by the current year, I quickly chose my gadget - Jabra Halo 2. [Lyrical digression]: yes, we can say that the Jabra Halo 2 is not an indicator and a bad example. However, not every average buyer can afford an advanced technique like or - although it is possible that they will be devoid of all the disadvantages listed below. Moreover, even Jabra Halo 2 cannot be called budgetary - let me remind you that for the same one thousand hryvnia you can buy quite serious wired headphones [end of lyrical digression]. And after almost a year from the beginning of operation, he is ready to tell about all aspects of life with bluetooth headphones of the middle class.

The first minus surfaced almost immediately - as soon as the phone is in the jeans pocket, the signal starts to be lost. I had to put the phone in a jacket pocket, jacket, or in a bag (however, it turned out that communication is established much better in the right jeans pocket, but this did not completely solve the problem). Anyway, audio interruption is the most common problem. Interference can find you literally at any time, and it is so nasty that you involuntarily start to twist the phone in your pocket in search of the "optimal position". Moreover, it happens that the signal is affected by the environment - near the local stadium, for example, interference is almost always observed. Also, the gap will follow you in the first minute or two after connecting to the device.

The second problem is the sound quality. Yes, in fact, bluetooth headphones sound great - but with the wire connected. Wirelessly, they are only suitable for listening to podcasts, radio, watching videos from YouTube and chatting with friends. Music connoisseurs will turn up their noses in disbelief (and rightly so), although not particularly picky users (like me) will be satisfied with such.

And it is logical that the speed of work is a little lame. From the sound itself to its playback in the headphones, it takes some time within a second. Moreover, from the very first day, the user will notice that before starting to play sound, the headphones will turn on a barely noticeable noise (it is completely lost against the background of music), and when playback is over, this noise will disappear, while with a rather sharp click, which is at a high level volume can hit your ears perceptibly. However, you can get used to it quickly enough.

And at least these three minuses already predetermine the fate of wireless headphones. There is no practical sense in them. It can be seen that this direction is gradually developing, but at the moment it is a waste of money. One gets the feeling that the market exists in order for it to exist at all - but there will still be a user. Trust me, freedom from wires is not worth all the problems described above. Although there are positive aspects of using such headphones, my advice to you is: either buy expensive bluetooth headphones, or take good and wired ones.

Imagine a situation, you bought new excellent headphones, but when you plugged them in for the first time and started listening - the sound was just awful... But how is this possible, because in all the reviews that you read before buying, journalists and bloggers wrote that the headphones are great.

Let's break down a few of the most common reasons that make even the best headphones sound terrible.

Headphones sound too quiet

You bought headphones, connected them to your compact player or smartphone, and they sound quiet and sound expressionless, flat. It's all about the lack of nutrition. Many headphones have an increased requirement for the power supply of the sound source, which is why there are special markings on the headphones that they are compatible with smartphones. If the headphones have such markings, then the manufacturer created them specifically to work in tandem with a smartphone. And if there is no marking, no one will give you a guarantee that a particular headphone model will be ideally compatible with compact sound sources.

The main parameter that you should pay your attention to when choosing headphones for mobile use is impedance. For smartphones and players, it is not recommended to choose headphones with an impedance higher than 32 ohms. Yes, some phones are capable of swinging headphones with great resistance, sometimes up to 60 ohms, but there is no guarantee that you will be lucky. Therefore, when buying, pay special attention to this parameter.

In general, it is believed that the higher the impedance of the headphones, the cleaner they can reproduce sound. But remember that this feature is important for home listening, where there are no extraneous sounds, a special headphone amplifier is available. In this case, you can really catch the difference in sound. But we are talking about headphones for the phone and you will most likely listen to them on the street, in transport or in the gym. So there is no reason for you to chase high impedance headphones, it just doesn't make any practical sense.

Solution: portable headphone amplifier

If you are determined that you want uncompromising sound in all situations and have bought high impedance headphones, then you need a portable headphone amplifier. Such an amplifier does not take up much space, it can be easily carried with you. Although, of course, you need to provide for where you will put it.

Just be sure to check the specs on any amp you buy and make sure the "output impedance" number on the spec is less than 1/8 the impedance of the headphones you want to use. In this case, you will achieve the perfect sound.

At home, the headphones sound great, but it's impossible to listen to them in the metro and transport.

I have to upset you, but the headphones have nothing to do with it. If you listened to them at home, you liked the sound, but on the subway you noticed that it was not sound - and not an indigestible mess of noise, the headphones had nothing to do with it. The human hearing is to blame for everything.

Like any microphone, our ears are not perfect. The fact is that our ears pick up the sound that sounds louder than the other, this effect is especially noticeable if the frequencies of these sounds are close or coincide. In this case, you will hear the sound that sounds louder. Nothing can be done about it.

Solution 1: avoid places with high background noise

This is an obvious and simple solution, it is a pity that in most cases it will not work for us. After all, you need the subway to get to work or school, and for the sake of a song with headphones it is foolish to use another mode of transport.

Solution 2: block outside noise

This is one of the best solutions I can recommend for you. There are several ways to drown out external noise to better perceive music through your headphones:

1. Use in-ear headphones with foam ear cushions. These headphones can significantly reduce the level of external noise. Of course, it will not be possible to completely exclude it, but at least you will start listening to music, and not the noise of the wheels in the subway;
2. If you are using open-back headphones, stop doing so. Open-back headphones have no isolation from the outside world, try switching to closed-back headphones with a high level of passive noise isolation. You can find out which headphones are most suitable for you by reading the review or reviews for a particular model, unfortunately there is no other solution;
3. Use active noise canceling headphones. I think this is the most effective and simple way out. Modern headphones with an active noise canceling system very well protect you from external noise, the leader among such headphones is the BOSE model. There are similar systems from other manufacturers, but in my experience the BOSE models coped with this task most effectively. In addition, most often such headphones are wireless, which means that you will not only be pleased to listen to music, but also comfortable, because there will be no interfering wires.

Solution 3: turn up the volume on your headphones

Do not do that! Technically, if you increase the volume of the music in your headphones, you will hear it better. But you also significantly increase the likelihood of damage to your hearing, and it will be impossible to restore it. On the subway, you will not be able to adequately assess the volume of music that will be loud enough to out-shout the sound of the carriage, but not loud enough so as not to harm your hearing. Therefore, I recommend that you adjust and memorize the maximum volume level in the headphones in a quiet environment. For example, put on your headphones at home and start turning up the volume on your phone. You will see a volume slider on the screen. Remember its position when the sound will seem loud and uncomfortable to you, and never exceed it. In the subway, it may seem to you that the music is playing quietly, but looking at the volume slider on the screen, you can easily understand that you do not need to increase the volume higher. It is better to drive a couple of stations without music at all than to suffer from hearing impairment later.

Bluetooth headphones sound bad when paired with my phone

Many modern phone manufacturers are starting to ditch the traditional headphone jack. They do this for various reasons, but for us, as consumers, there is only one thing left - to use Bluetooth headphones. Yes, it is much more convenient than wired headphones. there are no wires and nothing prevents you from using your phone and listening to music at the same time. Although, you have to pay for the convenience - regularly charge not only the phone, but also the headphones for it.

The difficulty in choosing wireless headphones is that there are several profiles for transferring music from phone to headphones via Bluetooth. We can assume that these are different languages. When you connect the headphones to the phone, these profiles are checked, and only those that are supported by the phone and the headphones at the same time are used. It is for this reason that you can notice the difference in music playback with headphones alone that you connect to different phones - it all depends on the profile. For today, the aptX profile is considered to be of the highest quality. Remember that both your phone and headphones must support it. Unfortunately, not all phones use it, even modern flagships may not know about it. The Google Pixel is a sad example.

Solution 1: take a close look at the supported phone and headphone profiles

Before buying wireless headphones or a phone, read the reviews on the websites or the instructions for the device which wireless profiles they support. If you want the best possible quality, make sure both devices support the aptX profile.

Solution 2: check the battery level

Occasionally, wireless headphones may not perform well when the battery level is low. Fully charge your earbuds and phone for the best sound quality.

Solution 3: always update your phone

We live in a complex world, and electronics manufacturing is twice the complexity for any manufacturer. Sometimes, after the release of a new phone, not all software bugs are fixed. Therefore, check regularly if there is a software update for your phone. In some cases, timely updates can fix wireless errors and the quality of music streaming can improve significantly.

Where is the bass?

Quite often I am asked the same question: "why did I buy expensive headphones, but they play badly?"

I have an answer to this question, but you may not like it.

So, let's start with the fact that each person hears sound in his own way. It depends both on the physical structure and shape of your auricle, the ear canal and the sensitivity of the eardrum, as well as on what sound you are used to listening to and what kind of sound you would like to hear.

Professional and expensive headphones manufacturers try to make them, whenever possible, all audible sound frequencies played with the same volume. But even if the manufacturer succeeds, your hearing is not so clear. Each person perceives different frequencies at different volumes. And even more so, men and women have different sensitivity to different frequencies of sound, for example, in women, hearing perceives high frequencies much better, tk. evolutionarily they are predisposed to hear the cry of a child. Men, on the other hand, perceive the midrange better.

It is for this reason that there are so many headphone manufacturers on the market today, and each manufacturer has a large lineup of a wide variety of headphones, both in form factor and in adjusting their sound. And here I can only advise you one thing - you need to listen to the headphones yourself before buying.

Therefore, even expensive professional headphones may seem bad to you if you are used to music with a lot of bass, or mids, or high frequencies. You want and are used to listening to embellished music, and there is nothing wrong with that. You just need to take this into account when buying new headphones. Remember, you do not need expensive headphones, but the ones that you like the most in terms of sound and this does not always correlate with the price.

Solution 1: read a lot of reviews

If you decide to buy some headphones - look not one or two reviews on them, but more. Anything you find is desirable. Because the whole point of the review is how the headphones are assessed by a specific person. I think you have already noticed that on one site a journalist or blogger praises the headphones, but on the other, on the contrary, they write that they are bad. And you probably think that those who praise have sold out? But in reality, everything is more complicated - journalists are also people and their hearing is different. Therefore, one person may like the sound of the headphones, while the other may not. That is why you need to read all available reviews, and build on the opinion of the majority. This way you minimize the risk of buying bad headphones.

Solution 2: use an equalizer

This is simple advice, however, in many cases it can solve your problem. If you use your phone as a sound source, use the equalizer if you don't like the sound in headphones without it. But remember to adjust the equalizer carefully. Try to slightly boost or cut the sound of those frequencies as you like best. But do it gradually. Listen to music for at least a few minutes after each change. Listen to different songs, different artists, different genres. If the settings worked well overall, continue tweaking. And so every time. This is the only way you can tune the music to your ear and your headphones so as not to spoil its sound, but to improve it. And remember that when you change headphones, you will have to adjust the equalizer from the very beginning.

By the way, what is good about expensive headphones is a smoother frequency response. This means that it will be easier for you to customize the equalizer for yourself. But this rule also does not always work, and before buying even expensive headphones, try to find their frequency response graph in order to roughly imagine how they will sound.

Despite the ease of operation, sometimes we still encounter certain problems, such as extraneous sounds similar to hiss and wheezing, due to which the overall sound quality is significantly degraded. To fix this problem, you need to know the possible causes of its occurrence.

It is important to know that, despite all the elementary nature of this device, a person who has never had to deal with problems in its operation and eliminate them before, this problem may seem very serious.

In order to understand where the hiss in headphones comes from, you need to understand at least a little how they work. Pay attention to whether you hear hissing sounds all the time or only intermittently.

One of the reasons why this problem may occur is the incorrect connection of the headphones, or rather, the choice of the wrong settings. Also, if the earbuds are not new, check to see if the pins with which you connect them are working.

Recommendations: How to properly warm up the headphones and whether it is necessary to do it
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Do-it-yourself headphone repair

Headphone noises caused by malfunctioning sound card

A detail such as a sound card has the most direct impact on how well the melody is reproduced by the equipment. If a part is faulty, the personal computer cannot accurately transmit sound signals, which is why normal sound is complemented by hiss, crackling, and the sound seems to "break" and "jump". In this situation, only the replacement of the defective part will help, and then the sound will no longer be accompanied by extraneous noise.

Faulty wires

The manufacturer of the model is often responsible for the correct operation of the headphones and the correct transmission of sounds.

You should be aware that there are two types of headphones: wireless and with a wire. Extraneous sounds, as a rule, appear in models operating through a cable that connects with a plug. If the copper core of the cable is damaged or stretched, noise interference and intermittent sound interruptions occur.

A damaged wire often leads to noise in the headphones on the iPhone. This is because the cable material is thin and flexible and tears easily. A damaged conductor sends the wrong signal characteristics to the sound card, and this is reflected in the sound. How to eliminate the wheezing of headphones? This can be done by removing the torn or bare section of the wire; in extreme cases, you will have to buy new fittings.

Broken USB input

Incorrect sound may occur after connecting other gadgets to the USB connector. A mouse or a faulty keyboard may be causing the problem. In this case, when you press the key, you will hear clicks. There are quite objective reasons why this is happening.

When information is transferred, the load on the PC increases. To reduce it, you need to do the following:

1. Switch the plug to a different port.

2. You can also purchase a splitter and repair old connectors.

3. Start using wireless devices.

The problem is that very often users do not pay due attention to the computer, do not immediately fix the problems that have appeared. As a result, the USB connectors one after the other become unusable, and there is only one left, into which the splitter is connected and it is on it that the entire load falls, which becomes the reason for its increase.

How to wear in-ear headphones correctly

Mouse noise

When you scroll through the page with your mouse, sometimes you may notice noises as well, sometimes they are just unbearable. The solution to the problem is to replace the mouse, switch the mouse to an adjacent USB port, or install an external sound card.

Lack of grounding of outlets

This problem is not common, but it still occurs, interfering with the normal operation of the headphones. Lack of grounding can also cause pops, pops and other noises in the headphones. If you have already checked the headphones and found no problems, also check the outlets to which the computer is connected.

This nuance applies only to stationary computers, laptop boards are usually grounded at the stage of their production.

When you use headphones connected to a laptop, incorrect sounds are most likely caused by an internal device malfunction. Do not delay contacting a service center, where your device will be diagnosed for problems.

The sound source itself does not work correctly

Violation of the rules for using headphones often leads to disruption of their operation, and in particular to sound. Also, problems arise in the operation of the main sound source. Rarely, but still there are driver errors. Software errors and operating system malfunctions cause noise and crackling noise.

The problem can be detected by testing the device using different headsets. If their work is equally unacceptable - unpleasant sounds will be heard in all headphones, then the problem is hidden in the device driver.

If you are used to listening to music at very high volumes, you may also notice hiss and crackling sounds. This is usually the case if you are purchasing inexpensive headphones.

Insufficient power supply is another reason for extraneous noise in the sound of headphones (this problem sometimes occurs with laptop owners who have not yet figured out all of its features). The fix for this problem is simple using the following tips.

On your laptop, go to Control Panel, then to System and Security, and finally to Power Options, and select the High Performance mode. After completing the setup, check the sound quality on the headphones.

Despite the technological advancements, Bluetooth headphones still suffer from some nasty issues.

We've looked at the most common Bluetooth headphone problems and found several solutions.

My smartphone cannot find the bluetooth headphones

Do you want to connect headphones to your smartphone, but for some reason the headphones do not appear in the list of Bluetooth devices? Here is a list of how to fix the problem:

• Check if you have actually turned on the Bluetooth connection on your phone. Surprisingly easy to miss.
• Check if your headphones are compatible with your device and OS. If you are using an iPhone, it must run at least iOS 7, which natively supports "Bluetooth Smart Ready". If you're on Android, make sure it runs at least Android 4.3.
• Make sure your smartphone and headphones are close enough to each other when you want to connect them. The best way to ensure a good connection is to bring the devices at least 50 cm apart from each other.
• Check the manufacturer's recommended connection process. Not all Bluetooth headphones will connect to your phone in the same way; sometimes it's as easy as just plugging in your headphones, other times it's a little more complicated. To avoid connection problems with your device, please read carefully all the detailed steps on what you should do.
• Try turning them off and on again. This is an old method, but let's face it - sometimes it does work.
• Turn off or remove all interference. Perhaps for some reason, your headphones are trying to connect to a device other than your smartphone.
• Move away from your Wi-Fi router. Your Wi-Fi router may be using the same spectrum as your headphones and thus causing some interference.

My Bluetooth headphones turn off periodically

There is nothing more frustrating than listening to music when all of a sudden your Bluetooth headphones just go off. Sometimes the Bluetooth connection disconnects completely and forces you to reconnect, other times it will disappear for a few seconds before it reconnects. These problems are easy to solve:

• Keep within the range of your headphones and smartphone. It is very easy to move away from the smartphone and the bluetooth will not work.
• Delete any unnecessary Bluetooth connections. It is possible that your smartphone is "overloaded" with the number of attempts to connect to it.
• Make sure your Bluetooth headset is well charged. Bluetooth headphones have a tendency to intermittently unplug when the battery is low.
• Try unplugging the headphones and then pairing them with your smartphone again.

The connection between my headphones and my smartphone is unstable

It also often happens that when you try to pair your headphones and smartphone together, you will either get an error message or the pairing process will be unstable - without actually pairing. The simplest solution is here:

• Remove any unused or unnecessary Bluetooth connections. Some devices start to freeze when there are too many devices in the Bluetooth connection list.

If that doesn't work, you can try any of the other methods we have already indicated.

I hear noise in the Bluetooth headphones

Despite the long journey, Bluetooth technology is still susceptible to interference such as static or crackling noises when listening to music.

• First, you must disable or turn off other unused Bluetooth devices in the area.
• If the static persists, try restarting your headphones (you can easily figure this out by referring to the manufacturer's website).
• Turn on the media player, then unplug the headphones for 30 seconds and then reconnect them.
• Reduce the distance between your smartphone and the earbuds, as this also helps reduce (or even fix) any noise issues.

These are all proven methods for solving some of the more annoying Bluetooth problems, but this list is far from complete. If none of these troubleshooting methods work, it's best to contact the manufacturer directly.

Have you tried any of these methods to fix problems with your own Bluetooth devices?