Posted by AndrewDucker 11 hours ago
Here’s the repo (to save everyone a click):
Now I need to setup to check if my headphones are still vulnerable...
... though I wouldn't be surprised if we see a burst of similar disclosures for other manufacturers in the next year or so
Funny that there were always some people here pushing bt audio as "the future", whom I can only assume were the technically shallow but very opinionated people that would die on the smallest technical hills
Transition period was definitely rough, but nowadays bluetooth headphones are substantially better than they were in the past, and it's quite freeing to not have to deal with wires.
There are definitely benefits to wired headphones, such as better audio quality and no battery life to worry about, but for those cases there are USB-C DACs.
https://biggaybunny.tumblr.com/post/166787080920/tech-enthus...
You don't really own a wireless headphone. You can see it as a rent, or an ownership that loose its capability when in use.
I really wish the debate was more than jack vs Bluetooth, and more wired fans would consider supporting devices with multiple USB-C ports. Yeah, Sony still puts a jack on Xperias, but most audiophiles note that it's driven by Snapdragon's mediocre integrated DAC, possibly because Sony doesn't want it to compete with Walkmans. Yeah, Valve puts a jack on the Steam Deck, but SD OLED's jack has interference issues that users need to fix with electrical tape or loosening screws. If these devices had two USB ports, then it would be easy to use a better DAC with no interference issues (while also charging with a cable attached to the other port). Having a second USB port would increase device life, and tie wired earbuds/headphones to a more durable standard that's actively developed and backed by legislation. We know this is possible for phones because ASUS ROG Phone has 2 USB ports.
I switched to USB-C soundcard cables which are dirt cheap and survive much much more plug-unplug-cycles. They easily can be replaced.
When you speak to someone in person, you'd adjust the volume of your voice to the room and the recipient without thinking about doing it. The engineers who built the analogue phone system were aware of this effect, and made it so that you heard yourself in the handset's speaker. The engineers who designed the cell phone standards decided to ignore this so they could do more echo-cancellation.
It is not a big problem when people are speaking into a slate-shaped cell phone, but when people wear headphones that attenuates their own voice, they hear themselves less and speak extra loudly to compensate.