20260522-wired_is_op.txt

This isn't a new revelation, but IMO, wired accessories are
overpowered. I have several Bluetooth headsets I've accumulated over
the years. It's embarrassing, but back in 2015 I got a gift set of
Bluetooth headphones with a 3.5mm backup and had the worst time trying
to pair it. I think it may have been my first one, but I don't think
it was because I think I had one of those old single bud-stem ones for
phone calls... Of course back then I think they were only good for
phone audio.

Anyway, I charged it, turned it on, and...nothing. No connection,
nothing. It had never occurred to me to hold down the power button to
pair... I think that was also the way to turn it off. After just
trying to use it as a wired headset, it was still nagging at me that I
couldn't get this stupid headset to work. So out of frustration, I
just held down the power button...and it actually started pairing. I
was glad I figured it out, but I think previous ones I tried almost
immediately tried to pair on power-up if they didn't detect a paired
device. Anyway, I finally got past that miniscule hurdle and decided I
liked the BT headsets. They didn't snag on anything and you could get
up and move away without losing audio. And those are/were the only
pros over wired connections.

I have gone back to loving wired, although I do technically use BT
audio daily.  -I never have to recharge my 3.5mm buds.  -I (almost)
never have to worry about a bad connection or heavy radio channel
traffic (yes, cables can get kinks that screw up everything).  -I
don't have to worry about birds or squirrels stealing them nearly as
much as the dual-BT buds.  -I can basically always find my device if
it's attached. I have had bad luck of devices like phones falling into
crevices. It's extremely difficult to deal with them if they're on
silent or if they're only making sound through Bluetooth.

I did say I technically still use Bluetooth all the time, and I do: I
have a very small TX/RX Bluetooth brick that I plug my wired
headphones in for my main desktop. It's just so easy for me to forget
they're in my ears, stand up from my desk, and cause havoc just
because of the way my PC and monitor are set up: basically the wires
are a bit too short to sit comfortably without leaning forward.

Oh, and Bluetooth can and will glitch if the connection is bad. More
recent versions have done really well with eliminating audio latency
on videos, but it's still not 100% as it defaults to the older
device's standard. My car has an incredible BT lag, on the scale of
actual seconds, not milliseconds.

And while the above applies to wireless/wired audio, most of it also
applies to 2.4GHz accessories. It's nice that they almost always have
a dongle to plug in (don't get me started on BT keyboards and mice),
but they still have the battery and latency issues. I do not want to
lose my keyboard just because the battery ran out. The hassle of
dealing with all that mess with charging and replacing the battery
(almost none of the full-size keyboards have a charging port, just a
battery bay) is worth more than yanking the cord a few times. A
connection like USB, ethernet, or analog audio basically gives you the
same performance every time as long as you're within a reasonable
distance of the host device.

Oh, and for accessories like keyboards, you can have a USB hub with
them. The most I've ever seen from a wireless keyboard was an bundled
mouse/touchpad.

I'm not sure why I started typing this today. I guess I have gotten
back to using a wireless keyboard and the reason I stopped was mainly
because the batteries died and I didn't have replacements immediately
available. And honestly the only reason I'm using wireless is because
it's ergonomic and the wired one is just a plain-jane default USB
keyboard.