One cable to rule them all
Remember the days when every device had its own charger? Nokia had one, Samsung had one, Motorola had one. Your nightstand had more cables than an electrician's van. It was hell, and everyone knew it.
USB-C ended that war. We chose it for all our products because we're sensible people – or at least we try to be.
Why USB-C and not Lightning?
Lightning was Apple's own invention. Technically fine, but only for Apple devices. That meant you had to carry two different cables in your pocket: one for your phone and another for everything else. Or three, if you still had some old micro-USB device haunting you from the past.
USB-C is an open standard. It's the same connector on your laptop, phone, tablet, headphones, and speakers. One cable, one life. No need to stand at the door wondering which cables to pack for your trip.
And then the funny thing happened: Apple themselves ditched Lightning. From iPhone 15 onwards, they all have USB-C. The EU forced them, Apple cried, we laughed. If Apple themselves admit defeat, there's really nothing left to discuss.
What about charging speed?
USB-C isn't just a connector – it's also faster. Valco headphones and speakers charge up quickly via USB-C, and you can use the same cable you use to charge your phone. No need to hunt for that one special cable that's always gone missing between the sofa cushions.
In practice, this means you can charge the VMK25.2 with the same cable as your laptop. Or the NL25 earbuds with the same cable as the Nordell MK3 speaker. Everything just works together.
Standards are boring – and that's a good thing
We know that writing about a USB-C port isn't exactly the sexiest content out there. Nobody has ever said at the pub "tell me more about that device's charging port." But the whole point of a good standard is that you don't need to talk about it. It just works.
At Valco, we make a lot of decisions based on what makes sense – not what looks good on marketing slides. USB-C is the sensible choice. Proprietary connectors are a way to sell accessories and lock customers into an ecosystem. We don't want to lock anyone into anything. Except in a Death Star hostage situation, but that's a different department.
If you still have devices using micro-USB or Lightning, our condolences. The good news: when you buy Valco headphones, you get yet another device that charges with the same cable as everything else. And every purchase takes us one step closer to that Death Star. Thanks for your money.
