Shokz Openrun Pro Review – The Best Bone Conduction Headphones Ever

Sharing is caring!

I am impressed Shokz Openrun When I reviewed them at the beginning of the year.now, during Mobile World Congress 2022Shokz Openrun Pro has been launched in the UK.

These new headphones have improved sound quality, but they cost more and aren’t as water-resistant.

Specification

• Battery life: 10 hours
• Charging time: 1 hour
• Charger: Magnetic induction line
• Compatible Codec: SBC
• Frequency response: 20Hz~20KHz
• Microphone: Dual Noise Cancelling Microphone
• Microphone Sensitivity: -38dB±3dB
• multi-point pairing
• Sensitivity: 105±3dB
• Full wraparound titanium strap and frame
• Bluetooth 5.1
• IP55 waterproof (water resistant)
• Weight: 29 grams

Openrun Pro and Openrun

From the official spec sheet on the Shokz website, the difference is:

• Openrun Pro uses 9th generation bone conduction technology with 8th generation
• Pro weighs 29g and 26g
• Pro only IP55 (waterproof) and IP67 (waterproof)
• Come to sin in one size instead of two
• Priced at $180/$159.95 vs $130/£129.95

Basically, these sound better, but as a result, they are slightly less water resistant

Design and Fit

These have visible speaker grills, with the grill pointing directly at your ear, and the one on the other side pointing directly at your ear. I suspect the driver is facing your ear, so you’re getting more than just bone conduction. The outward-facing grille should allow for driver ventilation, which may help with bass reflex.

While this grill design will improve the overall audio quality, that’s likely why they only have an IP55 rating instead of the IP67 rating achieved by the standard OpenRun. Since these are specific to athletes, it is important to consider this. In my own experience, in the years I’ve reviewed TWS earbuds, I haven’t had any IP rated earbuds fail due to water ingress, regardless of IP rating. I’m by far the sweatiest person I know, run marathons a lot, and live in the north of England, so my earbuds are exposed to a lot of sweat and rain.

In terms of comfort and fit, these are excellent. They are super light and sit comfortably in the right position without adjustment. I’ve recently been frustrated with in-ear TWS earphones falling out during weightlifting, but thanks to these designs, you’ll never let them fall out during any exercise.

Sound quality – how’s the bass? how do you feel?

These are easily the best in-ear alternatives I’ve ever used.

Bone conduction headphones tend to give them a relatively unpleasant feeling due to the vibrations they produce. This is especially true at higher volumes and bass starts.

When my Pixel 6 volume was turned up to about 70 percent, there was no vibration or head-feeling on any music dominated by the mids and highs. When the bass kicks in, there is only the slightest vibration.

The bass itself is good, but it’s never quite as good as an in-ear option. There is slight distortion at higher volumes or the lowest lows.Bass heads may not want to use them as everyday headphones, but

The mids and highs are great.The vocals in particular are very clear and I’d say the overall performance is on par with the in-ear option

Price and Alternatives

Shokz Openrun Pro £159.95 as standard OpenRun £129.99. If audio quality is important to you, I’d say £30 is worth it, but they’re both top-notch bone conduction headphones.

I just came across the Philips Audio TAA6606BK Bone Conduction Headphones, which have an RRP of £130 and are currently selling for a little over £100, and I think this may be the first time I’ve seen a big brand try to compete with the Shokz Bone Conduction Headphones.

Shokz has no competing bone conduction headphones other than Philips headphones, and the only viable alternative is Shokz themselves.

Older Aftershockz branded models are still widely available on Amazon. If you are on a budget, you can choose Trekz or OpenMove. I like OpenMove because they are affordable but their sound quality is on a different level.

comprehensive

Shokz Openrun is great, and it’s no surprise that these are better.

For me, the sound quality is good enough that I can happily use these over the in-ear option in many scenarios. While they will never be as good as in-ear options, these are excellent for any form of fitness, you have all the benefits of environmental awareness and the safety of a surround design, but you don’t sacrifice audio quality too much .

Last updated on February 28, 2022 / Affiliate Links / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API