Yesterday I went into Starbucks. I stopped in for a cream-based beverage (the coffee stuff is way too strong for me). Since I was being polite, I pulled one of the headphones out of my ear; I didn’t want to completely stop my groove, but I also didn’t want to be rude to the guy who was taking my order.
After the transaction was finished I grabbed my beverage and proceeded to leave. As I made my exit put the headphone back in my ear and what I heard next shook me to my core. I heard nothing.
Now, music to me is a big deal. I listen to music like some people smoke cigarettes, only instead of packs it’s albums. The same way some people work out every day, I can’t imagine a day without music. For me music is as important as bathing or eating. So, to have my principle music-listening device not functioning at 100% was a dreadful prospect.
I’m a particular guy when it comes to headphones. As a general rule I prefer the earbud design. First off, I don’t really dig having my ears totally covered when I’m listening to music. I used to think that DJ headphones were cool, but there are times when I really want to eavesdrop on the crazy homeless guy sitting next to me on the bus. If I removed a huge pair of DJ headphones it’d look pretty obvious, but if I’m sporting earbuds all I have to do is stop it, pretend like I’m still listening to it and eavesdrop away.
I also don’t dig the “over the head” design of most headphones. While I’m bald right now, sometimes I have hair and I don’t want it mussed by headphones. I’m also a huge fan of hats and trying to coordinate those various cranial accessories (R.I.P. Mitch Hedberg) can be a chore. The ear-bud design allows me to listen to music year round no matter my hair or hat style, free of cumbersome restraints.
And as I pointed out in the beginning, the earbud design allows me to have a conversation while still listening to music in one ear. It’s a win/win type situation.
The headphones that had just died on me were the Sony MDR-E829V. They were good headphones that lasted me for yearsâ€â€I’ve actually wanted to write this column for a while now, but I really didn’t want to jinx my longest lasting headphones ever. Right now I’m using my backup headphones, a pair of Toshiba behind the back of the head joints. And they’re cool, for now, but the first chance I get I’m going to go back to my good ol’ trusty Sony earbuds.
