One sort-of semi solution is to use a bluetooth dongle with wired headphones. Usually still not easily replaceable batteries, but at least when the thing dies or becomes outdated due to codecs changing, you’re not wasting as much money and material as you are when you need to replace a whole headset.
There are a lot of decent dongles nowadays. When last I checked I think the Qudelix-5K was the one to beat.
I love mine, and the battery management on the qudelix is phenomenal. Built in 80% mode, doesn’t pull from battery while plugged in. And it looks like it could be opened with a screwdriver though I haven’t tried.
So these probably aren’t audiophile grade audio, but I have the Steelseries Nova Pro Wireless, which come with two hot-swappable and replaceable batteries. Always charging one while the other is in use, so I never have to worry.
Main reason I got it was the dual/simultaneous USB and Bluetooth. I’m on Discord or calls on my phone a lot for personal, but want to stay connected to PC via USB for audio (either Teams for the work pc or gaming on my desktop).
I’ve heard the newer version is slightly better, but probably still below audiophile standards. Either way my ears are pretty wrecked and I can’t really pick up fine notes. They’re fine by me!
Audio gear with non-replaceable batteries bothers me so much
My old Sony xm3, while not having officially yser-replaceable battery, is somewhat easy to open and replace batteries.
Anyone found any decent wireless ones with replaceable batteries? I was interested in the Fairbuds XL but it’s not well reviewed.
For a while I had a pair of Sennheiser TV headphones that took AAAs, but they required a dedicated transmitter and weren’t great for music anyway.
One sort-of semi solution is to use a bluetooth dongle with wired headphones. Usually still not easily replaceable batteries, but at least when the thing dies or becomes outdated due to codecs changing, you’re not wasting as much money and material as you are when you need to replace a whole headset.
There are a lot of decent dongles nowadays. When last I checked I think the Qudelix-5K was the one to beat.
I love mine, and the battery management on the qudelix is phenomenal. Built in 80% mode, doesn’t pull from battery while plugged in. And it looks like it could be opened with a screwdriver though I haven’t tried.
So these probably aren’t audiophile grade audio, but I have the Steelseries Nova Pro Wireless, which come with two hot-swappable and replaceable batteries. Always charging one while the other is in use, so I never have to worry.
Main reason I got it was the dual/simultaneous USB and Bluetooth. I’m on Discord or calls on my phone a lot for personal, but want to stay connected to PC via USB for audio (either Teams for the work pc or gaming on my desktop).
I’ve heard the newer version is slightly better, but probably still below audiophile standards. Either way my ears are pretty wrecked and I can’t really pick up fine notes. They’re fine by me!
If I search for Fairbuds XL reviews most of them seem very positive and hardly point out any major flaws. What are some of the negative aspects?