After 3 years of using True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earphones, I think I’m mostly done with them. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been great companions, but like any relationship, we’ve had our ups and downs.

I’ve been quite the TWS enthusiast, owning the Bose QuietComfort, Apple AirPods, and Sony WF-1000XM4. Got them all around the same time, excited to join the wireless revolution. They sounded pretty great, especially the Bose – or maybe I just developed a case of “Bose ears” as some audiophiles jokingly call it.

But here’s the thing – they didn’t last as long as I’d hoped. The Sony gave up after just a year. The AirPods and Bose hung in there for about 3 years. How did they fail? Well, it all comes down to those pesky irreplaceable batteries. They’re just not built to last, which is a whole other conversation for another day.

I’ve always hated throwing away perfectly good devices, and this experience with TWS earphones really made me rethink my choices. The idea of tossing out otherwise functional earphones just because of a dead battery doesn’t sit well with me, both personally and environmentally.

So, I started looking for alternatives. I found myself diving into the world of professional audio offerings, thinking they might be the next step up from the consumer devices I’d been using. And that’s when I stumbled upon something that blew my mind: MMCX connectors.

Now, folks in the music industry have been using these for years, but somehow, this supposedly tech-savvy guy (that’s me) had never heard of them. MMCX connectors are game-changers – they allow you to replace the wires on your earphones. And get this: with replaceable wires, you can swap between regular cables, Bluetooth TWS connectors, or even a Bluetooth neckband!

I’m leaning towards the neckband option these days. It’s easy to take off and put on without worrying about where to store tiny earbuds. The real magic of MMCX is that I don’t have to choose between wired and wireless when I buy the earphones. I can invest in the best earphones I can afford, knowing they’ll potentially last forever (fingers crossed!).

But here’s the kicker – after rediscovering wired earphones, I realized just how much I’d been missing in terms of sound quality. It took me back to my days working part-time at a music studio some 20 years ago, where I used professional audio gear. Back then, our music collection was limited, so I didn’t fully appreciate how good those wired earphones were.

Now, having used some of the best consumer TWS earphones for years, I have to say – wow, what poor quality sound I’ve been settling for! The clarity and lack of distortion in wired earphones is immediately noticeable. It’s so much better that I’ve made it a point to use only wired earphones for music, which I enjoy for at least 3-4 hours every day.

Don’t get me wrong, I still use the wireless options sometimes. I’ll switch to TWS or the neckband for calls or when I’m just listening to podcasts or audiobooks. But for music? It’s wired all the way. I guess you just can’t hack the bandwidth when it comes to audio quality.

I’ve already picked up some Shure and Sennheiser In-Ear Monitors (IEMs), but I’m planning to get more. These MMCX-compatible earphones are going to be my next collectibles! Who would’ve thought I’d circle back to wired audio in 2024? But here I am, enjoying the best of both worlds – the convenience of wireless when I need it, and the unparalleled quality of wired when I want to really appreciate my music.

So, if you’re an audio enthusiast like me, or even just someone who appreciates good sound, you might want to look into this MMCX world. It might just change your audio game as it did mine. Happy listening!