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The story
A thread popped up on 5ch’s “Nanide Jikkyo G” board about Sony releasing a new wired earbud model, of all things, at this point in time. With wireless earbuds having been the mainstream choice for a long while now, wired-earbud loyalists piled on with complaints about wireless — “charging is a pain,” “too easy to lose.” At the same time, posters pointed out the practical wall of “my phone doesn’t even have a jack,” and others praised the convenience of noise-canceling and touch controls, leaving opinions split on which is actually better. There was also a reply asking for ASMR-listening recommendations, showing that the right pick really depends on what you’re using it for.
What people said
Sad.
I mean, I keep a pair of wireless ones around too, but normally you'd only buy the disposable-tier ones under ¥10,000.
Charging them every single time is such a pain.
They're so easy to lose.
I genuinely can't see the value in wireless earbuds.
The whole wireless feature is clearly pointless.
Oh right! Wired ones don't need power.
But my phone doesn't even have a jack.
Personally, I think the perks are no touch noise, and not having the cable snag and go "boing" on you.
I hate noise-canceling so I don't use it, but some people count that as a plus too.
But for those perks, the downsides are just way too many and way too big.
Wear those overseas and you won't have enough lives to spare.
What makes you think they're only popular in Japan?
Guess losing them really is common.
If one pops out of your ear on a packed train, that's game over.
Same with gutters and drains.
Chinese earbuds "greedy bundle" set for ¥20,000 ("イヤンホホ" is a cutesy, playful way of saying "イヤホン," earbuds)
And about how much should I spend?
I love ear-licking ASMR, but wired is the only way to go for me.
Though I won't name names, I bought both wired and wireless from a maker that markets itself as "ASMR-specific" and they were garbage.
Be careful of anything sold as "made specifically for ASMR."
The recording environment on the creator's end matters way more than your gear, so just get whatever you like.
For sleeping I use the ZE500; when I'm not going to sleep, Sony's XM6 wireless earbuds.
For wired, I'd say the Winter Ultra.
Anyone here bought their phone-slash-audio-player thing?
My impression of Moondrop is that ever since Kato left, they've just been churning out crap 💩.
Seems like a lot of their users also have high-end phones, so if it runs sluggish that's a dealbreaker, no?
Know-it-all: "Why not just use the SE215 — basically earplug earbuds?"
Idiot: "But then I can't hear outside sound!"
Know-it-all: "Do you even need that?"
Idiot: "Sometimes I want to hear what's going on around me!"
Know-it-all: "Then just take them out?"
Idiot: "Too much hassle! I want to do it with one touch!"
Know-it-all: "One-touch is fine, but taking them out is too much hassle…?"
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Fully wireless earbuds spread rapidly after AirPods hit the market, and they’re now the mainstay product on store shelves. At the same time, the hassle of charging and how easy they are to lose have been weak points pointed out since they first appeared, and this thread saw those same complaints repeated. Wired earbuds don’t need power and are harder to lose, but it’s easy to overlook the physical constraint that many modern smartphones have dropped the headphone jack entirely, meaning you can’t even plug them in in the first place. There was also a reply asking for ASMR-listening recommendations, which drew comments noting that the reputation of certain enthusiast-oriented brands has shifted — a sign that the right choice really depends on use case and personal taste. Note that the latter half of the thread veers off into arguments between posters, so this article focuses on and excerpts the parts relevant to choosing earbuds.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanide Jikkyo G) thread “Sony’s putting out new wired earbuds only now lol“.
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