Previously posted in mildly interesting a year ago, doesn’t qualify anymore: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/18714104

Probably disintegrating, I don’t know. But now I’ll finally have to buy new ones. Currently there’s 6 oozing points in total. 3 are minor, one is now inactive (the 2024 pimple), one I taped over, but it’s starting to overflow, and one near the jack is major.

I now cannot plug them in without getting sticky residue everywhere. Also the rubber on the outside is starting to crumble a bit.
I am a cheapskate, but this may be their end.

    • Psythik@lemmy.worldEnglish
      613·
      2 days ago

      Hot take: They’re IEMs, so they’re garbage nonetheless. For a proper soundstage, over ear open- or semi-open-backs are the only way to go.

      That said, I understand the need for a smaller headphone if you just need something playing in your ears during exercise or at work, which is perfectly fine so long as you’re not making them your primary pair of headphones.

      Few things trigger me more than seeing a game streamer using earbuds. You’re bypassing your pinna—so you’re not getting proper 3D audio—which is critical for competitive games these days!

        • Psythik@lemmy.worldEnglish
          514·
          2 days ago

          Don’t toss your articles at me; I may not have phrased my comment the way you wanted me to (due to ADHD), but I know what I’m about, son.

          If your pinna is being bypassed, you can’t get proper 3D audio without faking it in software. Plain and simple. That’s the point I’m making. Nothing more.

          • KingOfSuede@lemmy.worldEnglish
            8·
            2 days ago

            Doesn’t matter if the pinna is bypassed or not. 3d audio (soundstage) requires both ears to receive signal from the same point source. The time delay between the two ears receiving the signal is the crux of the entire premise. Headphones inherently defeat that entirely by having the entire ear subjected to one side of the audio.

            Ergo, headphones do not provide any 3d audio or soundstage.

            • AnyOldName3@lemmy.worldEnglish
              4·
              1 day ago

              That’s not entirely true anymore. Sound engineers did lots of experiments with microphones placed in the ears of plastic heads, and as a result, we know the modifications that need to be made to a sound to make it seem like it’s coming from so specific point when played through headphones. It works with both over-ear and in-ear ones and works well (despite what the other poster said) as pinna squiggles are accounted for and it turns out that humans don’t need their own personal pinna shape for it to work.

              You can find impressive demos by searching for binaural sound, both from microphones in a plastic head or with simulated HRTF.