Wireless or Wired Headphones, Which is for you

Wireless headphones are becoming popular and very accessible in recent times. You are confused between choosing a wired and wireless headset because you do not understand the nature and purpose of their use.

This article will clearly show the difference between wireless headphones and traditional wired headphones, helping you make the best choice for your own needs.

HOW DIFFERENT ARE WIRED AND WIRELESS HEADPHONES?

About the definition:

– Wired headset: is a headset that connects directly to the source through wires and jacks.

– Wireless headset: is a headset that connects to a source through wireless radio waves. There may still be wires to transmit signals from the circuit board to both ears on wireless headphones.

To best understand their nature, we will start from the principle of their operation.

Wired headphones are composed of only two main components: Conductors and speakers (also known as drivers).

The headphone cord acts as a transmitter of electrically oscillating signals (Analog) from the source, a music player, phone, etc., to the driver on the headset and causes the diaphragm to vibrate. Thanks to that, we can hear the sound of the headset.

 Wireless headphones are a product that integrates a lot of modern technology, so it has a more complex structure. Since they can’t take the oscillating signal from the source, they must have their part to generate those oscillating signals. Here are the control circuit and the battery to feed the operating system.

“There are many wireless audio transmission technologies, but the most common in everyday practice is still Bluetooth technology. Therefore, we will focus mainly on the structure of these devices.

Going deeper into the control circuit: It will consist of 3 main components:

The Signal receiver circuit, specifically here, is the Bluetooth signal. After receiving the signal in digitized form, the signal will be sent to the DAC circuit for decoding.

This DAC circuit is responsible for converting digital signal 01010 into an electrical oscillator signal.

Next is the amplifier circuit to amplify the current and transmit it to the driver to vibrate the diaphragm. Only then can we hear the sound.

ARE WIRE HEADPHONES ALWAYS BETTER THAN WIRELESS?

This silly-sounding question is true in most cases. In the same price segment, this question is portrayed even more clearly. Why so?

From an economic perspective.

As we have learned above, due to the hardware structure, the operating principle of the Bluetooth headset is complicated and requires a lot of technology. Of course, when we buy the product, we will be the ones to spend money to pay for those integrated technologies. In contrast, the sound on wired headphones is determined by only two factors: conductors and drivers. You will put all your money into two dark ingredients.

From a technical perspective.

With wired headphones, you can upgrade the source, upgrade the wire for the highest possible performance. There is no limit to the sound when using a wired headset.

Meanwhile, Wireless Headphones are limited by a lot technically. Wireless headphones are a product that integrates a lot of modern technology, so it has a more complex structure. Since they can’t take the oscillating signal from the source, they must have their part to generate those oscillating signals. Here are the control circuit and the battery to feed the operating system.

“There are many wireless audio transmission technologies, but the most common in everyday practice is still Bluetooth technology. Therefore, we will focus mainly on the structure of these devices.

Going deeper into the control circuit: It will consist of 3 main components:

The Signal receiver circuit, specifically here, is the Bluetooth signal. After receiving the signal in digitized form, the signal will be sent to the DAC circuit for decoding.

This DAC circuit is responsible for converting digital signal 01010 into an electrical oscillator signal.

Next is the amplifier circuit to amplify the current and transmit it to the driver to vibrate the diaphragm. Only then can we hear the sound.

The first is the input signal. The original digital music file may be lossless. Still, when transmitted through the Bluetooth signal, it must be compressed to reduce the quality to be sent over the waves continuously without interruption. It is this that has significantly reduced the sound quality compared to the original music file. Currently, thanks to the appearance of Bluetooth 5.0 and more advanced compression codecs such as LDAC, UAT, HWA, the sound can theoretically approach the lossless standard. However, headphones that support these high-end standards are still quite expensive.

Next, the integrated DAC/AMP on the Bluetooth chipset only does the basic job. They cannot have high performance, good detail reproduction, dynamic range, and layer separation like separate DACs and AMP chips on wired sources. So no matter how high-end drivers are used, wireless headphones will still be inferior in sound quality to wired headphones that use good sources.

In the future, when technology develops more. Bandwidth and wireless connection speed are extended. It is possible to transmit lossless signals directly over Bluetooth waves. So the reality that Bluetooth headphones sound as good as wired headphones are entirely possible. Only they won’t come at a comfortable price.

WIRELESS HEADPHONES ALWAYS LOOK?

To transmit audio signals via Bluetooth wireless waves. We need one receiver and one transmitter.

Transmitter plays the role of preparing goods (compressing files, encoding files with Bluetooth codecs), packing goods (splitting packets), and sending goods via wireless waves.

Here is a Bluetooth headset, will receive the goods, rearrange the goods and send the goods to the DAC/AMP department. This unit interprets and controls the vibrating diaphragm at its discretion.

As you can see, the path of sound over Bluetooth is not simple. They go through a lot of intermediate stages, which is why Bluetooth headphones always have a delay.

Not without a way to reduce latency. What is lighter will go faster. Reducing the quality of compressed music files is a commonly used practice to reduce latency on Bluetooth devices. But that will lead to the sound quality will be reduced. Reducing the buffering time also increases the sound stutter due to the lack of signal sent to the DAC/AMP.

Meanwhile, the path of wired headphones is much shorter. The original music file is sent to the DAC/AMP and straight to the headphones. Delays are theoretically still present, but they are only a few milliseconds, so we can’t feel them. Therefore, wired headphones are still the ideal choice for jobs that require zero latency.

WIRELESS HEADPHONES ARE BEING CHOSEN MORE THAN WIRE HEADPHONES!

Convenience!

Not everyone has difficult ears; not everyone has the time to tinker with techniques, parameters, and combinations. So what’s better than a Bluetooth headset?

They never break the wire; I bet you that. There will be no more scenes of the leash entering the door lock, worrying about being scratched by the cat, having to remove the wire before listening because of tangled wires, broken jacks. All those troubles will be solved with a Bluetooth headset.

They never get in your way. You can wear headphones and work comfortably without carrying your music player or phone by your side. Recently, a new type of wireless headset called True Wireless also elevated the freedom of Bluetooth headphones to a new level. Wireless headphones are now extremely compact and without any wires anymore.

Today’s wireless headphones are not simply for listening to music; they are also integrated with many useful technologies for users. For example, active noise cancellation, water resistance, health monitoring when exercising, smart virtual assistant, automatic power on and off, voice commands, digital noise filtering.

In terms of sound, although currently, Bluetooth headsets cannot match wired headphones in detail and accuracy. However, for general users, their sound is still too full to enjoy music and relax. In addition, some headphones that support high-end codec standards, such as LDAC, HWA, UAT, with integrated DAC / AMP, still give very impressive sound quality, not too much inferior to other headphones wired listening.

WIRELESS AND WIRELESS HEADPHONES?

Today’s manufacturers understand their customers’ needs very well. Some Bluetooth headset models now allow you to plug in the cord to use it as a truly wired headset. Typically models Sony WH1000XM3, Bose QC35II, JBL BT65NC…

Others help you turn wired headphones into wireless headphones in the blink of an eye. Those are headphone models with detachable conductors like Oriolus Finschi or KZ. Just buy an extra Bluetooth receiver and attach it to the Housing of the headset; we will have a real Bluetooth headset.

With these alternatives, it seems that wired and wireless headphones are no longer fixed in the same form as before. However, the essence of the problem remains the same, wired headphones are always optimal for sound, and Bluetooth headphones are optimal for convenience.