About the column:
"Fun Plaything" is a channel for the editorial department to introduce new and interesting products on the market, through popular science knowledge, editors personally experience, try to use interesting ways to restore the essence of the product.
How do people hear sounds?
In life, whether it is the whistle of a car, the sound of water flowing when washing hands, or the "Rice Shop" from the Smartisan T1 speaker, the medium of transmission is "vibration". Wireless headphones as a must-have on the street, also through the headphone diaphragm, air as the conduction, the sound through the ear canal vibration eardrum, and finally trigger the hearing, in the noisy environment to create an exclusive "music shelter".
The vibration of sound propagation is not only dependent on air, but also a way of transmission is solid sound transmission, the skull is close to the source of occurrence, the sound is transmitted to the auditory nerve, skipping the ear canal to perceive the sound through the auditory nerve, which is "bone conduction".
"Schematic diagram of bone conduction"
The earliest application of this technique dates back to the 18th century, when bone conduction helped the composer Beethoven, who was deaf in both ears, to re-hear the beautiful music, and Beethoven only needed to bite a stick connected to the piano to hear the sound from the jawbone.
"AirPod Pro Bone Conduction Application"
Applied to headphones, bone conduction technology also plays an important role, such as AirPod Pro through the earphone handle contact with the skull, the use of bone conduction upstream noise reduction technology, so that the combination of bone vibration sensor and microphone for call noise reduction, but also eliminate the earpiece effect present in the ear.
Another technical direction is to closely fit the bone conduction speaker with the skull to directly transmit sound, and enjoy music without blocking the ear canal, which is the Shaoyin OpenRun Pro bone conduction sports headphones that this article will share with you.
As the pace of life gets faster and faster, my pressure in Shenzhen is increasing day by day, and a run naturally becomes the best way to vent. When I'm running, the music is more of a catalyst that keeps me motivated.
"Source @ Xiao Miao Hai"
Rather than wired headphones that "tie hands and feet", or semi-in-ear headphones that are unstable and easy to lose, we would prefer to have a wireless headset built for sports. It fits the human ear pinna, which can not only perceive the outside world in real time, but also output the surging volume, and most importantly, how to shake it off.
Respond to the original intention of "open listening" and release the ear canal
"Inside and out" was the first keyword I got from the OpenRun Pro, and I almost had an accident because I was on the AirPods Pro I was wearing on noise cancellation on because of the Noise Cancellation in the rear vehicle. Noise-cancelling headphones can create a silent musical environment, often ignoring the sounds of the outside world when exercising.
After switching to OpenRun Pro, you can pay attention to more road conditions when riding, and you are much more secure, and safety still has to be put first.
Secondly, our ear canal will be more sensitive during exercise, although the noise reduction into the ear can isolate the outside world, but the use of a long time, it is easy to cause itching and other symptoms of the ear canal, and sweat is more likely to cause earwax accumulation, if not cleaned in time, it is easy to cause inflammation.
Placed on the OpenRun Pro, the headset does not contact the ear canal at all, so that the headset seems to have disappeared, and you can immerse yourself in the movement wholeheartedly, so naturally you don't have to worry about this problem.
When wearing the OpenRun Pro, the most obvious feedback in the ear is "release", and when you stop to communicate with people, you don't need to take off the headphones to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to hear clearly. Coupled with the headset is only 29g, sometimes even forget to wear headphones, a courier phone rings, only to realize that the original OpenRun Pro is still hanging on the head.
As a result, taking care of both the inside and outside, and releasing the experience of using the ear canal, it was my first impression of OpenRun Pro.
All titanium structure, keep comfortable, can also be so stable?
You know, the accuracy of bone conduction contact is related to sound quality, most sports headphones will use a large clamp force in exchange for stability, too much clamping force will lead to a little bit of discomfort, this discomfort comes more from the body's pressure on the ear canal.
The structure of the human ear canal varies greatly, which determines that the fixed headset shape is difficult to fit perfectly, including the in-ear type with various models of earbuds included in the package, which is convenient for users to find the right pressure.
Put it in the bone conduction headphones, and the way of support is very different. The ear-mounted OpenRun Pro bracket is made of high-strength titanium alloy, which is very strong to use, with strong elasticity, even if it is placed in a messy bag.
"Headphone Squeeze Test"
Wearing openRun Pro is subject to an outside-in clamping force and top-down gravity, and this force control is very reasonable, neither tight nor loose, perhaps for engineers to control the width of the head than the shape of the ear.
And it is not difficult for us to find that the main gravity of OpenRun Pro is concentrated in front of and behind the ears, and the gravity distribution of the whole machine is very balanced, and the headphones do not have displacement phenomenon even in strong motion.
"Wearing Firmness Test"
This stability, but also the credit of the material.
Bone conduction is a contact product, especially the facial skin is more sensitive, Baby Skin is the best choice. As its name suggests, it resembles the touch of baby skin. Skin-friendly silicone has a gentle touch and a strong anti-slip effect.
During this period of experience, turning the head hard and bouncing, the headphones almost did not flip up and down with the body, and the ear hook part was also quite close to the contour of the ear, ensuring that the contact point of the headphones did not shift.
At the same time, in the outdoor sports can not avoid the sun and rain, especially the attack of sweat and rain, once the components into the water, the possibility of headphone scrapping is extremely high. The most easily water-fed mesh position of OpenRun Pro adopts a double-layer mesh structure, the outside is a mesh, which mainly resists the entry of most of the water, and the inner layer is a gauze net, which completely blocks the remaining water.
"Double mesh structure"
And the mesh also has a nano hydrophobic coating, the effect is a bit like a tempered film with an oleophobic layer, as far as possible to reduce the accumulation of water stains. Of course, you should not wash it with water, after all, Shaoyin is marked as "water-resistant", not "waterproof".
Some small partners may think, headphones only, not to do such a high-intensity water resistance bar.
In fact, I really see that some runners insist on running on rainy days, and in some marathon races, runners who want to cool down quickly will also take mineral water to pour on their heads. No matter how little the scene is, under the premise of not affecting the structure, the water resistance level is definitely higher and better.
The sound quality of bone conduction may no longer be a sound
In the past, my impression of the sound quality of bone conduction headphones was basically to listen to a sound, and the acoustic transmission of bone conduction was very different from that of conventional headphones, especially the bass performance. When exercising, we always like to listen to some rhythmic music, so as to make ourselves more energetic, so the performance of bass is particularly important.
After getting the product, I browsed the product introduction of the official website for the first time, and the focus of Shaoyin's upgrade in this generation is the low-frequency performance.
It is said that this is the exclusive acoustic technology Shokz TurboPitch low-frequency enhanced technology, of course, as a consumer does not have to understand what it means, you can just audition it yourself.
Because the performance of sound quality is really difficult to describe by words, and it is also related to the source of the sound, the analytical power of the device, and even your ears. The reason why many people say that the sound quality is metaphysics, in fact, not only is the audition condition uncontrollable, but everyone's perception of sound is also very different, and the following is only a personal auditory experience.
Taking the Apple Music fitness classification playlist as a test playlist, the music sounds, strong enough, and the strength is directly reflected in the vibrationer's knocking on the skull, and each drumstick is like a pound on the skull. In particular, when the sound is more than 80%, the skull position will be slightly numb after a song.
Leaving aside the analytical power of other sound fields, just the upgrade of low frequencies, Shaoyin's leaflet does not exaggerate propaganda.
When wearing a run, when the surrounding noise is small, the music transmission is very complete, and many details in the song are still expressive. However, if the surrounding environment encounters a square dancing aunt, or on the subway in the morning rush hour every day, while receiving the sound of the outside world and bone conduction, the music will most likely be covered up.
The only solution is to keep the volume up, tangling between skull tingling and hearing.
In a quieter office, the use of OpenRun Pro will be slightly different, I can listen to songs normally, I don't have to worry about the embarrassment of shouting at me at the same time, and I don't have to take off my headphones to find someone to communicate work content.
In general, OpenRun Pro's low-frequency supplement makes the music more layered, and the low-frequency performance is abundant and powerful, and the advantages in this regard are more obvious in dynamic songs such as listening and singing, heavy metal and so on.
We often say that the hearing sensation of bone conduction headphones will be a bit "thin", just like the original stereo sound field is forced into a flat surface, missing a lot of information between high and low frequencies. The bass added this time makes the original flat sound field suddenly fuller, and the immersion brought by music during sports is significantly improved.
As for the sound leakage problem that many users are concerned about, depending on the volume size, the volume is less than 50%, even if others approach, they can't hear it. After more than 80%, people will be able to hear your playlist clearly, especially at 100% volume, and the sound range will be expanded to within 50cm.
However, such a problem does not have much impact on my use, usually the volume is between 60% and 70%, and the colleague next door has not cast a different look.
Speaking of volume adjustment, the interaction of the headphones is also very concerned about me, the hand is placed in the ear position, the thumb naturally touches the volume adjustment key, and the key feedback is crisp.
I personally am very disgusted that wireless headphones need blind exercises and also do touch programs, first of all, blind exercises are difficult to quickly touch the touch area, and secondly, the tapping action will have an impact on the ear canal, I think no one will like to hear the "bang bang" sound.
"Blindly operatable volume adjustment button"
In the listening part, we also mentioned shokz APP in passing, the software has a standard mode and vocal mode to choose from, the standard mode frequency band is more uniform, most of the music is suitable, and the vocal mode emphasizes the intermediate frequency performance, suitable for listening to e-books, daily calls, etc.
In addition, OpenRun Pro also supports dual-device connectivity, which can connect two commonLy used Bluetooth devices at the same time, enabling seamless switching between multiple devices. For example, I often use mobile phones and computers, when switching audio sources, I only need to select the connection directly in Bluetooth, rather than long press to re-pair.
At present, the function of SHOKZ APP is relatively single, if it is not necessary to switch the sound mode, the reason why this APP is still in the phone is only the firmware upgrade.
「SHOKZ APP」
Battery life, charging double bonus, can hold up for a long time
Compared with wireless headphones with charging compartments, the endurance of bone conduction is more important. The charging port is a dedicated magnetic contact, rather than the most common C port, if the magnetic charging port is to resist water, it is inevitable that it is a bit far-fetched, after all, the same waterproof wireless headphones can also be achieved through the rubber stopper.
At the time I wrote this article, I had lost the original line, but fortunately, the endurance of the OpenRun Pro was a bit of a thing, and it lasted until the new line arrived, intermittently for 3 days. Unfortunately, OpenRun Pro does not automatically shut down, and if you do not shut down actively after using it, the power will continue to drain, even if it has been disconnected from the device.
"Magnetic Charging"
The official said that the charge is 5 minutes, can be used for 90 minutes, charged for 30 minutes, listened to for 6 hours, the actual test, basically in line with. In terms of battery life, it is still relatively satisfactory, and both the staying power and the recharge speed can be labeled as excellent.
"Easter egg": OpenRun Pro charging port position has "liquid residue detection", if there is liquid residue in the magnetic suction port, the device will flash red and blue lights, the headphone core vibrates and emits a warning sound, dry the liquid at the charging port, and the prompt tone will be automatically released.
Near the end of the experience, my colleague asked me: If OpenRun Pro does not block the ear canal, will it not affect my hearing?
On this issue, I also specifically inquired about the information, I can tell you that bone conduction headphones can not absolutely guarantee that there is no damage to hearing, the difference between bone conduction headphones and ordinary headphones is the conduction method, and eventually the sound will enter the ear, wearing it for a long time, too large volume may damage the hearing.
Although the bone conduction headphones do not pass through the eardrum during the sound conduction process, near the cochlear structure that must be passed through during the sound transmission process, there are a large number of ear hair cells responsible for converting the vibration into nerve electrical signals, which are finally heard by us. The most direct way to output too high for a long time is to cause the death of ear hair cells and damage to hearing.
Therefore, maintaining proper usage habits is the key to protecting hearing, such as reducing long-term loud music, iPhone users can also turn on "headphone safety" to reduce the impact of high decibels on the eardrum.
Bone conduction headphones are more like a supplement to ordinary headphones
Special sound conduction method is one of the reasons for the advantages of bone conduction headphone experience, open wearing method will not be the same as in-ear headphones, so that the ear produces a pronounced foreign body feeling, coupled with the fact that many bone conduction headphones now use skin-friendly, sweat-proof materials, becoming the first choice for sports enthusiasts.
Another thing that has to be mentioned is that some users will experience a sense of vertigo when using OpenRun Pro, which is likely to be caused by the human body receiving two audio sources at the same time. If the feeling of vertigo disappears after a period of use, it means that the body can adapt to bone conduction headphones normally, and you can use them with confidence.
When active noise-canceling headphones have become the most important function at present, Shaoyin does the opposite, focusing on the needs of sports scenes, better experience in subdivided scenes, and providing users with more choices.
If you ask me, is Shaoyin OpenRun Pro worth buying? My answer is yes, even if the bone conduction sound quality is not yet able to beat the ordinary wireless headphones, but the sports scene experience is far beyond the in-ear/semi-in-ear.
At present, the application of bone conduction technology in TWS headphones is still a niche, in terms of its development space and the user experience that can be improved, bone conduction headphones will definitely have more and more manufacturers enter the field, especially in the context of the era of national fitness, sports, music, both are indispensable.