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| Headphones cradled on the charging cradle |
Most hardware seems to have been created in a “will this do?” mind set. They have a bit of technology, and they have some economic restraints, and then they rush it to market. It makes perfect sense, and I can’t envision that it’ll ever change, but it’s somewhat depressing.
The hardware in question this week are the Sennheiser HDR 180 wireless headphones. They use Klear wireless technology, and they sound really good. There are no drop-outs, there is no buzzing — they just work, even if I walk to the far side of the apartment. They’re, technically speaking, what you would call “ace”.
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| Cradle on/off button |
But then there’s the User Experience details.
The headphones usually rest on the charger thingie you see up there. It’s nice. So when I start watching something on the “TV” and I want to use the headphones, I pick up the headphones and put them on my head?
Nope.
I pick up the headphones. Then I hit the “on” button on the base station. Then I hit the “on” button on the headphones themselves. Then I put them on my head.
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| Headphone UX |
Because, I mean, why would you assume that just because I’m picking them off the charging station, I want to use them? Perhaps I want to do something completely different. Perhaps I picked them off the charging station to hang them out to dry on the balcony? Or perhaps I wanted to dance around with them, fondling them inappropriately? I mean, that’s so much more likely than wanting to use them.
This is why I hate all hardware. Hardware never works the way it should.
And I didn’t even want to go into the UX of the headphones themselves. You see those five buttons on the headphones? Yes, there’s volume up, on/off, and volume down buttons. Fine. But then, next to them, there’s two balance buttons. So when I have the headphones on my head, which is usually where they are when I’m using them, I have to feel around, tentatively, for the volume buttons, because once you hit the balance buttons, you’ll never get the right balance back again. There’s no “return the balance to the, er, balanced position” button. It’s like FAIL!!!1! And who the fuck wants to change the balance, anyway?
Oh, by Emacs. I hate hardware.
Crap. I'm glad I ended up with the HD280. It has an extendable curly 3m cable which is enough for most everyday uses (haven't tried dancing around though).
What about audio quality? Are there any problems due to the whole wireless thing?
The audio quality is fine. It's just the UI that's annoying.
Sorry to bump this old post, but if you hold both balance buttons for a few seconds it will reset the balance. I agree though, too many fiddly buttons.