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points by paxy 2 days ago | 0 comments

Online reviews fall into two categories:

- I just received this product and tried it out. Here's what I like or dislike about it.

- I've been using this product for a while and have this big problem with it.

Set 1 will give you a decent set of opinions, but they won't be about reliability, because no one has had it for long enough.

Set 2 will be overwhelmingly negative, because people who are happy with a product aren't posting about it online long after they bought it.

[–] tsxng 20 hours ago

Yes, that's the split we see. Set 2 is always more negative, so the interesting part isn't how negative it is, it's what the complaints are about. That varies a lot between categories.

[–] coryrc 2 days ago

I tried to make a "unicorn" review on AliExpress. IIRC you can only write a review in the first 30 or 90 days. Too bad because I was going to sell the praises of the thing.

[–] ericpruitt 2 days ago

What was the item?

[–] rendaw 2 days ago

I think there should be a separate dimension who are people who have used similar products before and have strict requirements, and people who don't (just bought it to review it, have surface level use cases, etc).

[–] eddythompson80 2 days ago

Honestly, the first set is the replacement for department stores where you could go and experience the product for yourself. They try to solve the problem of the first impression you might get. For example, I have been in the market for an over-ear bluetooth headphone, and as a result started checking online reviews. There are a ton of audio review sites now that do lab acoustic testing, mic samples, write articles with details about dimensions, weight, build quality, materials used, head comfort, cup depth, clamping force, ANC performance, etc.

Extremely detailed and generally great testing. Though tbh, if you were in a department store with all the options in front of you, you would give them all a try and pick the one that you like the most. You can evaluate half of these variables for yourself in a moment by holding and trying it out. If you're an audiophile, then you would can have your music and give each a listen in the store and decide better than a curve graph.

I spent a ton of times reading all the reviews and narrowing down the options, but was still between 3 or 4. Ended up driving 45 minutes to the nearest bestbuy and they had a decent selection. It was amazing how quickly I eliminated options and ended up picking one I liked.

[–] bradknowles 1 day ago

I’ve bought dozens and dozens of Bluetooth over-the-ear headphones over the years. None of them are perfect. Almost all of them are complete rubbish.

The biggest problem is Bluetooth itself. It’s just the worst wireless communications protocol ever invented. To go into the details here would involve writing an entire dissertation.

Outside of that, only one model from one brand has had proper head clamping pressure for me. That’s the Bose QC series. The QC 35 is the gold standard here, but sometimes it almost falls off my head. The QC 40 didn’t fall off my head as easily, but was more painful. Everything else is like putting your head into a steel vise. Sadly, where the Bose QC line has always faltered is on the audio side, even when used as wired headphones.

Good headphones also need to be able to be charged while they are also being used, if they have a battery. That has only now started to be solved by some models. Most still get this wrong.

IMO, don’t waste your money. Almost all of them are a complete waste of time and money, so do yourself a favor and just avoid the entire category. Go back to wired headphones. If you need a microphone, then try one of the wired gaming headsets that includes a mic. Find something that doesn’t break your skull with weight or head clamping force.

For me, one of the best solutions in this space is the HyperX Cloud II wired headphones. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than 99.9999% of the Bluetooth headphones I’ve tried, with regards to comfort and the ability to use it long term without too much pain or exhaustion. And since it’s wired, you don’t have any of that stupid Bluetooth wireless crap that ruins your day/week/month/year/life. And there’s no battery, so you don’t have to worry about charging them.

[–] eddythompson80 1 day ago

Unfortunately ANC for plane rides is the most important feature for me. I always get out of plane rides tires and with a headache. Good ANC headphones reduce that significantly for me. I don't think any wired-only headphones have decent ANC. Nothing like the current bluetooth headphones at least.

Plenty of recent Bluetooth headphones support wired audio and wired charging while listening. Newer ones have replaceable batteries too (with some screws, though the process could be made simpler).