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Wifi Headphones: Are they considered off limits to audiophiles?

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I see a ton of high end and mid line phones in the drops, but unless I am missing something, I have not seen a single set of headphones with Wi Fi. Is the cord considered essential to the finest listening experience?
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Phasmainmachina
38
Jul 20, 2021
Yes. AFAIK, there aren’t any headphones using wifi, because there aren’t any open standards for audio playback over Wi-fi. There are at least two incompatible protocols, Apple AirPlay and Android Cast along with several others. Also, setup requirements of connecting to a Wi-fi network can be complicated making portable use a bit of a hassle. Power consumption is also a lot higher, so battery drain is significant. Having said that, Wi-fi is used for some home audio setups, where it’s easier to set up once then leave it, but Wi-fi usually requires complicated passwords, not easy to input on a device without a screen. Bluetooth just cannot handle the bandwidth needed for higher resolution audio like Lossless or especially High Resolution; however it’s also a fact that the greater majority of people really cannot hear any significant difference between something being played at 256Kb/s and Lossless, which I’ve proved for myself by playing music files downloaded at 256Kb, ripped at 320Kb, and ripped at full CD resolution or Lossless, using a pair of Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Studio IEM’s, about £300 worth of earphones, and while I could quite clearly hear significant differences in the mastering quality of the recordings, I couldn’t detect any real audible loss of quality between the different files. I mostly download from Apple Music now, listening mostly via cabled earphones with Lightning connectivity, either Apple EarPods, MeeAudio Pinnacle P1 canalphones with a third-party MMCX to Lightning cable, or a pair of Taotronics SoundSurge headphones with a 3.5mm to Lightning cable. I do have another pair of Pinnacle P1’s with a Bluetooth wireless adapter from MeeAudio, and I also use the Taotronics wirelessly as well, but I keep forgetting to charge them up, so I just use the cable. I also use my UE TripleFi 10’s, but with a 3.5mm to Lightning adapter, but I’ve discovered that the people I bought the cable for my Pinnacles from also do a 2-Pin to Lightning cable, so I’ll be able to use those plugged directly into my phone without using the adapter, and the cable does make a noticeable difference to the sound as well. Honestly, don’t worry about using Wi-fi, use BT or cables and just enjoy the music, I’m listening through my EarPods up to ten hours a day, the quality is remarkable for ‘phones costing £/$19, and I don’t have to worry about having to stop using them and charge them up! They’re less easy to lose, too… Hope this all helps.
snydfu
0
Apr 6, 2021
The Drop THX Panda's - lots of reviews saying they better than the AirPod Max for $150 less, & top 5 under $500. They also just had a Sony HP for around $200 a few weeks back
dcime
5
Jan 21, 2019
I will be trying Chromecast Audio to input Jack on higher end headphones. Should work great, in theory. WiFi transmission is much better than bluetooth.
kimdeug
430
Oct 16, 2018
Blue tooth 5 is not ready for hi end transmission, The limitation is still there.
rob-okray
185
Oct 18, 2018
kimdeugAre they close yet?
snydfu
0
Apr 6, 2021
rob-okrayThe Drop THX Panda's - lots of reviews saying they better than the AirPod Max for $150 less, & top 5 under $500.
Rhamnetin
172
Jun 20, 2018
All I know is they are off limits for me.
snydfu
0
Apr 6, 2021
RhamnetinYou need to try The Drop THX Panda's - lots of reviews saying they better than the AirPod Max for $150 less, & top 5 under $500.
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