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I have ventured into the nifty world of Chi-Fi (hexbear.net)
submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by doublepepperoni@hexbear.net to c/technology@hexbear.net
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Got these earbuds for a little over six euros from AliExpress. They sound very nice for the price, I love the Y2K transparent skeleton aesthetic and most importantly for me, the earbuds can be detached from the cable, so if it breaks you can just get a new one for a few bucks. I've had to toss dozens upon dozens of earbuds over the years due to faulty cables so I really appreciate being able to swap them

Edit: You can also plug in Bluetooth adapters into the cable connectors, which is pretty cool. The adapters seem to be a bit expensive though so you'd probably want one of the fancier models

If you were willing to spend a bit more in the 20-30 dollar range, you'd probably be able to get really nice Chinese earbuds but I just needed something cheap for backup and these do very nicely

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[-] WashedAnus@hexbear.net 13 points 6 days ago

lemmitor If you didn't spend 200-300 on them, you're not getting the real audiophile experience

[-] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago

Got these earbuds for a little over six euros from AliExpress.

I always thought of getting some of the nice ones if my desk headphones ever died, but joker-amerikkklap the tariffs lol.

Thankfully my current headphones are still going strong

[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 8 points 6 days ago

A few months back the CEO of the company that runs Finland's largest online second-hand marketplace was saying AE, Temu, etc should be banned and there's plenty of assholes saying similar shit all over Europe

[-] Meh@hexbear.net 10 points 6 days ago

Capitalists talking about how good competition is: porky-happy

Capitalists having to compete: porky-scared-flipped

[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago

There's just so much stuff you can't get from anywhere other than China. People talk a lot about cheap, disposable crap, which is fair to some extent, I guess, but there's also a huge variety of spare parts to keep shit you already own working.

I have a pair of old Bluetooth headphones that came with thin, pathetic foam earpads that disintegrated completely years ago. I checked on AliExpress, and not only could I get a cheap 10-pack of replacements for those shitty original pads, there's also proper cushioned aftermarket pads in several different materials depending on whether you like pleather or velour

[-] kota@hexbear.net 5 points 6 days ago

Just bought a replacement part for my camera. Literally the only place you can still get them and a wonder you can.

[-] heartheartbreak@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

Lmao i have these too, the chinese voiceover is so loud when ur running out of battery

[-] uSSRI@hexbear.net 4 points 6 days ago

Is that a thing? My brother got me some Chinese speakers, and the volume for the battery/connection/etc is about 20 times louder than I would ever play the actual speakers at. Oh and it can't be turned down lmao.

[-] heartheartbreak@hexbear.net 3 points 6 days ago

Same here hahaha

[-] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 6 days ago

FYI those connectors are only rated for like a single digit number of insertions. And let me tell you, from experience they mean it. Even on "good" earbuds I've had them break quickly. So don't go unplugging them often.

[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

The tiny little prongs do look pretty flimsy. Hopefully the cable lasts so I don't need to test how durable they are

[-] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 6 days ago

Normally it’s not the prints that are the problem. It’s the receptacle wearing out and becoming loose, or it just straight up getting ripped out when you try unplugging them.

[-] RION@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

Been two years with my salnotes zeros and they've still got me pogging up, had to swap the cables a couple months ago though

[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

Those seem to be a tier or two above these, but they're still pretty inexpensive. Swappable earbud cables should have been the standard from the start owl-pissed

[-] RION@hexbear.net 4 points 6 days ago

They're my only headphones so I was willing to eat the cost. What's crazy is the quality of DACs you can get for like $7 on AliExpress, legit makes no sense to buy anything more expensive until you hit like the $80 tier

[-] TheSpectreOfGay@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

those look cool as fuck

[-] TrustedFeline@hexbear.net 5 points 6 days ago

I got Xiaomi* neckband headphones for like $10, and I'm a big fan now. If you don't know what neckbands look like: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=neckband&ia=images&iax=images&atb=v481-1

I would lose earbuds in the first week if I hand them. But over-ear headphones are so bulky, and I don't like wearing them with wet hair or with a hat. I get tangled with wired headphones. But the neckband solves all of these problems. They definitely don't sound as good as the $30 JBL overear headphones I have, but for podcasts they're great. I didn't even know neckbands were a thing until aliexpress randomly recommended them

*Likely counterfeit xiaomi

[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 4 points 6 days ago

Yeah, I have a pair of Bluetooth earbuds which sometimes have a habit of dropping out of my ears when I bend my head down. A neckband would probably help make wireless earbuds less prone to being lost.

Damn, I'm seeing neckband headphones on AE going as low as 3 euros. Not sure how well the Bluetooth connectivity is bound to work on something that cheap though

[-] TraschcanOfIdeology@hexbear.net 4 points 6 days ago

Speaking of chi-fi... Does anyone have any recommendations for over-ear headphones that you can use with a vintage amplifier, so that they can use the thick plugs?

Sometimes I want to listen to records at a time my neighbors wouldn't appreciate me doing that.

[-] HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 6 days ago

You can get a 3.5mm to quarter-inch plug adapter for a couple bucks. Older headphones had them in the box.

[-] TraschcanOfIdeology@hexbear.net 3 points 6 days ago

Yeah you're right. I guess the question is still more what are some good over-war headphones with a balanced profile?

[-] supafuzz@hexbear.net 2 points 6 days ago

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros are insane bang for the buck

this post was submitted on 27 May 2025
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