Asklemmy

I was gifted a phone without a headphone jack after my last one died a few years back. I miss it all the time, remembering to charge bluetooth headphones and not losing bluetooth buds is tricky for me. So a lot of the time I just dont play music anymore. Very annoying.

I found an ideal solution for this (in my opinion). A Bluetooth DAC. The specific one I have is the FiiO BTR5, but there are others.

For mine specifically, it has the standard 3.5mm output (TRS), as well as a TRRS balanced connection (I believe it's 2.5mm), and it can receive a signal from either Bluetooth or over USB from is USB C port.

The best feature of it is that I can charge it, while I'm using it. Which is something that most all-in-one Bluetooth headphones miss entirely. Even if they can be worn while plugged into a charger, many don't operate while they're being charged. All the true wireless (aka airpod style) by headphones, can't even be plugged into power directly, nor would it be possible to use them while they're charging in their case.

I can pick any headphones I want to use with it, provided they can operate from a 3.5mm connection (or something that can be adapted to 3.5) or by a balanced headphone connection.... Basically any ear-mounted sound generating devices that use a wire, can be used with a few exceptions.

I'm naturally very cautious, so I also have a charging dongle that has a 3.5mm audio jack on it as a backup. It can literally charge my phone and play sound at the same time... I'm tethered to my phone, which IMO, isn't ideal. With the BTR5, I can thread the wire through my shirt or something, and clip the unit to me or stuff it in a pocket and not worry about it. If I need my phone, I'm not fighting with how long (or short) my headphone cable is. The BTR also supports LDAC as well as aptX and related codecs, so it generally sounds excellent. It's a bit of a bear to get it set up, so I generally pull it out for long walk/work sessions away from my desk, or if I'm in a situation where I'm waiting for something to happen for a long time. I also have a handful of Bluetooth headphones, all of which have their (dis) advantages, and I flip between what I have as the need arises. I prefer the BTR5, but it's not always the best or most feasible given the situation.

IMO the BTR5 is better than just having a headphone plug on my phone, since the DAC and AMP in the device is known-good (many reviewers of audio stuff give it great ratings all around), and I can be untethered from my phone, so typing/scrolling/whatever is the same as normal; I'm not having to position my hand funny to avoid a bulky cable/adapter.

I had benchmarks that led me to the BTR5, and between it and the dongle, I have all my benchmarks covered.

I use the same wired earbuds on my desktop PC and on the go, so yes.

I have excellent Bluetooth headphones that last multiple days on a single charge. You would think that makes the headphone jack just not important anymore. But I live in a neighborhood with a very satured frequency band which is so bad sometimes that the thing I'm listening to cuts out every few seconds.

Every time this happens I am so happy that I can just plug in a cable and I'm making sure this option will be available to me in future devices. Wireless is not always great.

Wireless are more convenient for most use cases. I like the compactness of wireless earbuds, no tangled wires, and the charging case. I can even use just one bud at a time.

However, wired headphones have some advantages in rare use cases that wireless can't handle yet:

• connecting two headsets at once so 2 people han watch a movie on a plane. Bluetooth can stream sound to only one device at a time (at least on android). With Jack you can just use a splitter
• switching between devices easily. Just unplug and plug where you want it. With Bluetooth you have disconnect and reconnect.
• you can easily plug it into aux without any pairing process, just plug and play. With rental cars i noticed the device memory is often full and i have to remove a device before pairing. Not as seamless as audio jack for once off uses.

I don't mind missing audio jack, but at least make usb c dongles interchangeable. Iirc you can't use the same dongles on samsung and Pixel device. I ordered one that did not work.

I don't get it. This poll is largely in favor of jacks. I love my Bluetooth buds so much more. No more with I have to deal with broken wires. No more do I have to deal with moving my hand and accidentally snagging the cord, forcing my phone to the floor. No more do I have to deal with the cord creating noise as it rubs against the zipper of my jacket...

I use a headphone jack when I'm looking for a particular listening experience, which I have amp / DAC / etc for. If I'm using my phone to listen, I'm both not worried about sound quality, and don't want to be tethered to it by a cord.

I suppose if I were really arsed about it, I'd just get a USBC dongle. That said, I can see where that would be a hassle for people that prefer wired, and I think I've held only a couple of phones in my life that couldn't have just accommodated a headphone jack instead of saving the 1.5 cents it probably costs to leave it out.

I'll admit, my initial decision to just use wireless was more from seeing the writing on the wall; airpods sales would need to basically evaporate to get most of the manufacturers to course change at this point. Hell, the phone I'm currently using is the first I've had in years that even came with a charging brick in the box, so I'm assuming ditching the cable is next, followed by microtransactions to use various built in apps and services... like the phone dialer. Need to keep them margins infinitely expanding to appease shareholders.

I keep my bluetooth and location off so it easier and faster to just plug in headphones. For now I'm trying to get a phone with a jack. Hope they will keep making some.

I'm somewhat surprised by the result if I'm honest. I have switched to wireless and won't go back at all. I do understand the use case for those who want them too but I did not realise it was such a popular request in modern phones!

I use a Samsung galaxy note 9 which has a Jack because i want a Jack. I replaced the screen twice after it broke just not to buy a diff phone. Fyi note 10 comes without a Jack

No. Not at all.

Honestly, I hated the wire part of my wired headphones for years. I tend to listen to things while I'm doing chores around the house and I can't tell you the amount of times the cable caught on something and sent my earbuds or my phone careening to the floor. Or was forced to untangle myself from a door knob. Or forgot I had earbuds on and stood up from my desk only to throw my phone to the ground.

I went on a bit of a journey with bt headphones but eventually got a pair of Sony Linkbuds and a $30 Bluetooth thingy for my car that plugs into the aux jack, and never looked back. Every other day I plug the case in on my nightstand along with my phone. Nbd. Linkbuds don't have the best sound quality I've ever experienced in BT buds, but the comfort wins over all others.

I also recently got a pair of PineBuds Pro for $70 and man that battery case is legit. I only have to charge that beast once a week. Just waiting on someone to release a better sound profile for those things because they are BAASSSY. But beyond the bass, the potential sound quality is actually quite good. I'm looking forward to what the pine64 community does with these.

I'll also say that I have audiophile hearing (I've been tested) and I absolutely hear the difference in sound quality using BT and a good set of cans - when it comes to earbuds, the difference is negligible between wired and wireless. Given that 1. I'm more often listening to words than music from my phone and 2. The convenience, I'll go for wireless more often than not if given the option. Plus, outside of niche phones and defunct LG phones, I never saw a headphone jack that could properly drive a good set of cans. There are way more output devices I would choose over a phone to drive high quality audio.

That all said, do I think manufacturers should remove the headphone jack? No. Apple did it to sell more airpods. Everyone else did it to save a nickle on their costs. Just because I don't use it doesn't mean it should go away. If anything, there's an accessibility element. BT buds are expensive. USB-C / Lightning buds are expensive. Aux buds are cheap. And wired buds are the easiest and cheapest way for someone to get audio out of a phone or talk on the phobe without fucking holding it in the air to broadcast their conversation to the world. And for that reason, I think the jack should ABSOLUTELY come back.

Bluetooth has barely improved since it came out, wired audio is a solved problem.

It felt like a practical joke at first, but fr gimme my jack back.

Yes, it goes well with my bluetooth/wired headphones, so even if the headphone's battery is low, I can still use it to listen to music.

I hate Bluetooth and refuse to use it whenever possible.

One plus nord CE 2 lite, 250 bucks, headphone jack And memory card.

I've never had a need for the headphone jack, so I didn't care one way or another when they started dissappearing. But, I can definitely see how removing such a simple and cheap port from phones would be such an issue for a lot of people. No one should be forced into replacing accessories that work perfectly for no reason, just adds to all the damned e-waste already generated.

I use it, all the time.

Phones that lack a headphone jack or a microSD slot are worthless to me.

Prefer headphone jack so I don't have to charge my headphones. Current phone doesn't have one and is sad.

Had to sacrifice it to ne able to use grapheneos

i wish it had a headphone jack. bluetooth quality is not for me. i need direct connection

I only buy phones with headphone jack. But the way things are going,these greedy manufacturers will sooner or later make it obsolete. Just like the new shitty trend of selling phone without charger in the box.

I use wireless headphones for everything, I have a Bluetooth to aux adapter for my car, and I still won't give up my headphone jack. It's so useful when the batteries in those things die, or when you hop in a friend's car and want to play something without fiddling with Bluetooth pairing.

I'm still mad that all these major manufacturers just blindly followed Apple and took it out.

Yes, it just works. I use it daily.

I feel like every comment I'm reading assumes there's only two options - either headphone jack + wired headphones, or no headphone jack + Bluetooth.

I just use a USB-C dongle with a headphone jack on it. It'd be nice to have it built-in, sure, but the dongle is only a few bucks, small, doesn't really add a lot of extra stuff to carry if I'm already carrying headphones.

It's not a deal-breaker for my if a phone doesn't have a headphone jack because if it doesn't I can easily add one.

I ended up getting Bluetooth headphones when I upgraded my Pixel. I deliberated over it for AGES.

Charging them is less annoying than I thought it would be (I bought my headphones in January and have only had to charge them about 4 times??) but it annoys me that you can't just plug them in and they work. Talking to anyone on the phone using them is terrible. Bluetooth cuts out sometimes, randomly. I miss my wired headphones :(

I have once owned wireless earbuds. It was cool to have free head, but I was too lazy to keep recharging them like every week or so. They finally died. Or at least the case did. I have replaced the charging chip in it, but it only extended the lifespan by a few weeks. It's now unable to charge both earbuds at once. Still, better than self-heating short-circuited case.

I just don't like them overall. Battery, latency, audio cuts after a bit of silence (power saving), and at the end, more waste.

I still use Bluetooth audio, but differently. With my laptop. When working on laptop, I have my earphones connected to it. But it is more convenient to play music on my phone, so I connect my phone to laptop for audio as well. In fact, I feel like the sound card in my laptop sounds a bit better than my phone, and with laptop I can use aptX HD.

I'm fine with the dongle because all I ever use the headphone jack for is for listening in my car (no bluetooth), so the dongle just stays on the end of the aux cord in my car.

No dongle would obviously be better, but it's a very minor inconvenience for me,

I'm in the minority that basically never needs one and is okay with using a USB-C dongle in those cases. But I don't mind phones having one, and perfectly understand the argument for keeping it. Form over function is definitely a factor in modern phone design.

I strongly prefer there to be a port. I mostly use Bluetooth headsets, but sometimes your battery runs out, or you really want to use your super nice plug-in noise canceling headphones. It's better to have the option.

No, but I do use a VPN which that site doesn't allow.

I've managed to avoid giving up the headphone jack, using a Pixel 5a right now. Although when I eventually have to get my next phone I have a feeling there might not be many choices left with the headphone jack.

Wish it did. My Airpods I was gifted died (I am not an Apple user and only used them because they were free), and I bought an inexpensive amazon replacement but it turns out they're so sensitive that the slightest adjustment of the earbud in my ear turns the sound off but very firm tapping does not turn it back on. It's so annoying and I have great wired headphones.

I don't even want one. I was initially mad that big comoanies have such power to decide what I want for me. People always say "let the market decide" but the decisions really do come from the top and are often cynical as fuck. But no, I don't really want one.