I have tried several kinds of earbuds, and probably the best ones for me have been the Apple AirPods Pro that Robin gave me several years ago. The sound quality is great, they are easy to fit in my ears, and they don’t take up much room if I am traveling or taking them long somewhere. However, I really do not like having the earbuds poking into my ears, and they get uncomfortable fairly quickly for me, so I much prefer regular over the ear headphones. About 11-12 years ago, Robin gave me a set of Bose headphones, and I have used them almost every day since then until the ear pieces are coming apart and there is some little wire inside that kicks in and out, so I lose sound every now and then. Still, the sound quality is wonderful, they fit my head, and I can charge them up easily; so I hated the idea of having to try and find a replacement for the Bose headphones. Today, we went over to Robin’s house, where my son and his wife are now living since Robin is working in the Netherlands, and she surprised me with a pair of Apple AirPod Max headphones. They cost about $550 when they came out; which is pretty expensive; and I hadn’t really heard much about Apple making a regular headphone before. These have the new Spacial Audio, which means they somehow customize themself to your head, and even how you are holding your head or if you turn your head. I don’t know how that works, but it definitely gives you the most wonderful sound experience that i have ever had, and I am in love with these headphones after only wearing them for a few minutes to try them out. Just like the AirPods, they automatically work with whichever Apple device you are using, so you do not have to pair them for each time you want to connect to a different device. There is no on and off switch, they shut off when you take them off of your head and turn on when you put them on your head. Here is the Apple demo video so you can see what they look like and how they work differently than other headphones.
I've never had a set of cordless headphones, although I had some corded ones back in the day. I bought a $20 set of earbuds at Walmart when I took a friend into the big city hospital for some extended tests and knew I was gonna be there all day. I installed the Sirius XM App on my phone and listened to talk radio & music for the better part of 6 hours. Even the cheap earbuds sounds good. The only downside was that folks would sit next to me and start a conversation without realizing that I was listening to stuff, because earbuds are not obvious. But they were easy enough to mute (you just tap them once.) I take it you listen to these when you work out? If you don't have to pair them, how do they know which signal to pick up if there are others around transmitting? (No, I didn't watch the vid. I got slowish metered country internets.)
I don’t listen to music when we are at the fitness center, because i swim, and I just enjoy the quiet time to let my mind wander wherever it chooses to go. I usually listen to music if I am just at home relaxing and maybe knitting or crocheting, and with the headphones, it does not disturb Bobby. Since you live by yourself, @John Brunner , and in the country besides, you do not have to be concerned about the neighbors or disturbing anyone, so there is probably no reason for you to wear headphones or earbuds, except for times like you mentioned, when you are in a public place and want to listen to something. As long as the headphones are paired with my iPhone or iPad, they would not pick up a signal from anyone else. You do pair them initially, but once you do that, they can switch between your Apple devices with no problem.
It's funny, but for all the bike riding and general exercise hours I've logged, I have never liked wearing headphones. As you said, it's kind of time to clear the head and let thoughts flow. I get that way sometimes when I'm driving...turn off the tunes and just "be." I've wondered sometimes if I'm ADD...I don't like constant cacophony. I don't have my stereo set up right now, but when I did I would always have tunes on when doing housework & such...everything from rock to jazz to fast-paced classical. I bet those headphones are incredibly light, making the sound even more miraculous. These are the $20 earbuds I bought at Walmart.
We have headphones for our built-in DVD player in our Dodge Durango. It's flip-down screen installed in the roof. We can either get sound over our radio or on wireless headphones. With my fairly new hearing aids from the VA, when my phone is on Bluetooth, the sound of my phone ringing and a person speaking can only be heard by me. IOW, very high-tech hearing aids! We also have a set of TV Ears that each of us can listen to our tv and have the sound on the tv completely turned off. All sound is adjusted on the ears. My wife has a set of Earbuds, but seldom uses them.
I don't disturb anyone around here and if I do, I just smack them and tell them I don't. I only listen to stuff when no one is around. Hubby has his own computer/tv room and I have everything else. It worries me when I am driving and I see people with wires to their ears or just looking down at their phones. People get too involved in their own heads and don't realize the danger around them or even things that require attention.
Oh, Mary, I think they realize the danger, but most don't care. Many in today's Generation think exactly that way..........unfortunately, but so, so true. Unfortunately, the "I don't care" attitude is the highest it's ever been. When I drove an ambulance, I had to keep repeating my sirens, because of those running their A/C and/or radio and can't hear. Even those that could hear, would ignore my sirens, and not pull over. Just ask Ken about that. Now, that A/C and radio was back in the mid/late 70's, before things got worse with cell phones and ear buds.
I have to think that if you're doing any kind of exercise, earbuds are gonna pop out, so headphones are then the better choice...although I think I see folks jogging with tiny earplugs installed. So what do I know?
If I had to guess how those spacial designs work, I would say they use a very tiny mercury switch that is active and has movement to change with the head change to control the sound. It closes or connects an electronic path for the circuitry. We're talking about small electronics ;0)