I’m not sure if you’re asking what’s going on technically but as I understand it, instead of delivering you two glorious channels of PCM sound Atmos instead sends you every channel that would have fed into the master mix along with some information about gain and, crucially, 3D position. This means that the final mix happens in the room you’re listening in, with the information about where the speakers you’re listening with are. Headphones are a special, easy case.

Also! They can do the up/down with something called the Head-related Transfer Function. This is a bit of numerical magic: turns out we figure out where things are in 3D space using subtle phasing and tone differences. I’m not sure how individual they are to each person, but I bet they can run a quick training phase. I think some of the fancier apple headphones use accelerometers to keep the sounds in the same position relative to the space you’re in rather than you’re head, even.

Why would I sit around actively draining battery and getting worse sound when I'm not on - the - go? TWS excel at being portable but if you don't actively need that portability their flaws are apparent.

No. Wired is almost all I use.

How many high-end audiophile headphones are actually wireless? ... And how many wireless headphones also provide a wired port?

I'd say wired is going to be around for a while yet.

Ultimately its up to consumers to tell companies what they want through their purchases. Regardless, even if it turns into a market niche, as long as there is a profit to be made, companies will continue to provide the goods.

Remember the the introduction of the CD? Many said vinyl records would disappear within a few years but look at them now...

Now on the topic of convenience, even if you only own bluetooth sources you can continue to use a portable dac/amp with bluetooth capabilities along with your wired audiophile headsets...

Edit: clarity

Definitely don't use my wired IEMs anymore when I'm out but no way are these disposable techs replacing my headphones at my desk.

>the convenience of lack of wires and ability to move freely while listening wins over any other argument

This is why I have a 10' cable, ha!

Thank you

mics that have sticks coming out of it to get closer to your mouth tend to have better audio quality than headphones that have an integrated mic that you can't obviously see

I’m hoping they have the closed backs at CanJam NYC in a little over a month.

Typically a headphone with a boom mic is called a headset. Designed for long use as a communication device. The mic is on the arm so you can move it to a comfortable position and talk clearly.

Headphones (Typically Bluetooth) that have the mic built into the side of the cup are more intended to be used for phone calls or short conferences, but not meant to be a dedicated communication device

Thanks !

The separate mic is probably going to be better, but the model matters. My daughter got a pair of Audio-Technica headphones with a mic in the earphones, and she says people can hear her fine.

That's a good question and I have no idea what you talkin about

Might have to check that out.

On your ear sorry

On your eat?

I'm actually somewhat puzzled by the fact that I still see loads of people using wired earbuds in the street or on the subway, given that pretty good quality tws have become quite affordable. I'd estimate that it's about even between wired and wireless, though I haven't tried counting.

Myself, I use tws exclusively on the go, and either a wireless headphone or a wired iem when at home, depending on what better suits the music I want to listen to.

EDIT: what I mainly meant to say is that I'm surprised there's still a market for cheap low quality wired earbuds, which are most of those I see people using on the go. It's very rare to see someone using what looks like a premium iem outdoors. I'm not addressing the issue of the hifi market segment.

No need to spend so much for TWS. Some good quality ones are only $50 USD and they last 2 years or so.

I have spent close to $3000 on my wired headphones, but not using them despite their superior SQ.😬

I've tried a few wireless headphones in stores. I could never get over the HISS they produce, when you turn em on and listen quietly. If they don't hiss, which is rare, they are still a disposable product. As soon as the battery starts failing, like with smartphones, they are done for. Depending on usage this can happen very soon, like after maybe two years or so. What then? Am I expected to spend another 200-300 Euros to buy a new pair, just because the battery on my old one failed and the manufacturer is not offering replacement kits?

Nah thx. I also do not see the convenience to be honest. Another device I have to keep charged aint convenient to me. Especially since a wire hase never gotten in my way. I just route it beneath my t-shirt and that is good enough for me.

And if one is using headphones at home, the situation gets even worse for wireless, in my opinion, since at home portability and isolation are a non issue (most of the time). Sony XM 5 for 340€ that will last 2-4 years, or an HD 600 for 320€ that can last 20 years, if not longer? Heck, I'd even prefer a 150€ HD 560S over the XM4 and I think they will easily last a decade as well.

Convenience of TWS for traveling, commuting or just taking them in your pocket anywhere is unmatched.

But if you're sitting down at you computer, it doesn't make sense to use wireless buds for hours and be wearing out your battery. For this a nice pair of comfortable studio headphones is really nice.

Maybe innovation has slowed down, but I don't think it's necessarily dead.

Besides, my wired headphones will continue playing long after the TWS's end up in a landfill.

It really matters what you mean by “dead.”

Are wired headphones disappearing from the “mainstream consumer” market. Yes. Most people, when given the choice between buying AirPods or a wired headphone/iem for a similar price, would pick the AirPods 9 times out of 10.

But are we going to see wired headphones being completely phased out. Not yet. Most hifi headphones are still wired, and the hifi market isn’t going anywhere (it’s growing if anything else).

I my opinion, wired headphones are being replaced in the mainstream consumer space, but the market for wired headphones is still there.

I’d say for commuting, out and about listening, and frankly what most people use headphones, iems, earphones, etc. for, probably.

For the upper end of the hobby that involves sitting down and solely listening to music and giving it most, or all, of your attention, most definitely not.

My headphone collection is a confusing array of both wired and wireless, but I probably won't ever stop using wired altogether. I'd love to find a wireless gaming headset that really matches the quality of studio headphones, but so far I haven't. At my desk, I have ATH-M50X hooked up to my mixer to monitor everything. I prefer this because it has no latency and I can monitor a lot of devices. There's aptX-Ll for low-latency audio, but its more trouble than it's worth most of the time. On the phone, Apple has done a really good job of making the new AirPods Pro feel as seamless as possible, but Bluetooth still limits them. Call quality is worse, and there's still a tiny bit of latency. So I still regularly use the EarPods instead. I think we're close to the point where wireless tech will catch up, but we're not quite there yet.

I will admit that even with my wired collection, 99% of the time I'm using tws buds or Bluetooth headphones for the convenience, and also so I don't have to use adapters if my phone is charging.

Removing the 3.5 jack from phones, and now tablets and laptops is really harming the convenience factor, but I hope it will come around and the 3.5 jack will be brought back

Not great but yes the convenience and how far done wireless data have come in terms of tuning makes them more suitable for mobile usage. Wired stuff still has its place