Do Wired Headphones Sound Better Than Bluetooth?
So, you are a true audiophile, you really love your music, and you want the best sound quality possible. This of course means having the best headphones in your arsenal.
However, now that it is time for you to decide on a specific pair of headphones, you might be having some second thoughts in terms of what kind of headphones to get.
Sure, wireless and Bluetooth headphones come with the advantage of not having to deal with those annoying wires, but are they better than wired headphones? Do wired headphones sound better than Bluetooth?
It’s a pretty important topic and we’re going to tackle it right now.
Yes, Wired Headphones Do Sound Better Than Bluetooth
The simple fact of the matter is that in most cases, yes, wired headphones will sound better than Bluetooth headphones. Now, do keep in mind that you do get what you pay for.
For instance, while a $100 pair of wired headphones will most likely sound much better than a $100 pair of Bluetooth headphones, some cheap $5 wired headphones from a local dollar store won’t ever sound as good as a $100 pair of Bluetooth headphones.
However, if the price of both items are the same, chances are almost 100% that the wired option is going to sound much better than the Bluetooth headphones.
Why Do Wired Headphones of Equal Price Sound Better Than Bluetooth?
Ok, so now you are probably wondering why your $100 wired headphones sound better than your $100 Bluetooth headphones. Let’s describe why this may be the case. There are actually a few different reasons for this.
1. The Range
One of the reasons why wired headphones will often end up sounding better than their Bluetooth counterparts is due to range issues.
Yes, of course, Bluetooth does not use wires, and as is the case with any sort of wireless connection, there is always range to keep in mind. For instance, a cheap pair of Bluetooth headphones may only have a range of a few feet.
When you start to take the headphones too far away from the connected device, the audio quality will degrade and eventually cut out all together.
Of course, this is not an issue which you will ever have to deal with when using wired headphones. As long as the cable on the wired headphones is of a good quality and in good condition, range is not an issue.
2. Battery Life
Something else to keep in mind here is that Bluetooth devices do of course rely on battery power in order to function properly.
Sure, a fully charged pair of Bluetooth headphones might sound just as good as a wired counterpart, but only as long as the battery is fairly full.
The lower the battery life on those Bluetooth headphones get, the worse the overall connection, and therefore the worse the sound will be.
Once again, seeing as wired headphones have no need for batteries or a separate power source, this issue is non-existent with wired headphones.
3. The Connected Device
The other thing to keep in mind here is that the quality of the Bluetooth connection is also going to depend on the quality of the device you are looking to pair your headphones with.
Some devices just don’t have the best software, firmware, and physical components. Low-quality components and firmware lead to low-quality connections, and therefore low-quality audio.
However, this is not really the case with wired headphones using that classic 3.5 mm jack. 3.5 mm audio jacks are simple, straightforward, and even the highest quality jacks are not expensive to produce.
In other words, there’s not really much that can be messed up with a simple audio jack for wired headphones.
Conclusion
When all has been said and done, the simple fact of the matter is that Bluetooth headphones will usually always have lower audio quality.
Wired headphones have a simple direct connection without any range or battery issues, problems which Bluetooth headphones often suffer from, not to mention that the device you are looking to establish the connection with also plays a large role in this equation.
Sure, Bluetooth headphones remove those pesky wires and cables from the mix, but this lack of wired connection also brings other issues to the table.
For one, with Bluetooth headphones, you always need to make sure that you have charged the batteries. For the best audio quality possible, for the lowest price, you do in all likelihood want to stick to wired headphones.
