[Shop-talk] BT headphones

[Jimmie Mayfield]

A couple recommendations in no particular order:

1. I have a pair of Etymotic ER4P earphones.  They're wired but you can 
plug them into a $15 BT dongle that you can pair to your phone, answer 
calls, etc.  They don't have active noise cancelling.  They rely on deep 
insertion into your ear canal and some people don't like that.  With 
memory foam tips, they'll give you a level of isolation that I'd 
categorize as "dangerous".  You simply won't hear things around you.  
Even my lawn mower is reduced to a distant hum.  Definitely don't wear 
these while jogging or riding a bicycle.

2. I have a pair of Sony WF-1000xm4 BT earphones.  They pair fine with 
my Android phone.  Active noise-cancellation but they also have an 
"ambient sound" mode where they simply replay the sounds picked up by 
the mic so you can hear conversations around you without removing them.  
With noise-cancellation enabled, I'd still rate them a notch below the 
Etymotics in terms of isolation but they're not bad.  I use these when 
mowing the lawn.  Main complaint is the battery in my left earbud lasts 
about an hour less than the right earbud and, judging from YouTube 
videos, replacing a battery isn't trivial.

J