Preface
In the long history of human civilization, swimming has not only been a basic survival skill throughout history, but also developed into a popular sport because of its far-reaching fitness effect. From the stone monuments of ancient Egypt to the education systems of ancient Greece and Rome to the competitive arenas of the modern Olympic Games, swimming has always played an important role.
As a whole-body coordinated exercise, swimming has irreplaceable fitness benefits. Not only does it work every muscle group in the body, but it also improves cardiorespiratory fitness, promotes blood circulation, and reduces stress on the joints. In modern society, swimming has become a part of people's comprehensive health management.
At present, the number of swimming pools in the country is increasing every year, and as of 2023, there are 40,200 swimming venues in the country. With the improvement of living standards and the enhancement of health awareness, more and more people are beginning to contact swimming, and this trend has promoted the growth of professional and personalized demand for swimming.
This trend is also reflected in the development of specialized equipment. Goggles and caps have become standard equipment for swimmers, and wearable devices such as wristbands can record swimming data such as laps, strokes, swimming speed and calories burned, helping swimmers better monitor the effectiveness of their training.
In addition, as a new type of swimming equipment, bone conduction sports headphones allow swimmers to listen to music or receive training instructions in the water, and have gradually become the choice of more and more swimming enthusiasts.
Why are bone conduction headphones better for swimming?
Bone conduction headphones are distinguished from conventional air conduction headphones by virtue of their unique sound transmission principle, which uses skull vibration to transmit sound waves directly to the inner ear, avoiding the traditional way of ear canal sound transmission. This design not only keeps the pinna transparent and reduces the interference of external noise, but also ensures that swimmers can still perceive the ambient sound in the water while enjoying the music, which greatly improves the safety factor when using it.
Bone conduction headphones are also outstanding in terms of sports stability, waterproof performance and underwater sound quality. The skull-fitting design minimizes the risk of loosening during exercise, while the targeted waterproof design ensures that the headphones maintain excellent performance even when submerged under water for long periods of time. In water, bone conduction headphones use the sound transmission properties of bones to provide a clearer and more stable listening experience than air conduction headphones.
As a leading brand in the global bone conduction headphone industry, Shokz launched the Xtrainerz bone conduction headphones (later renamed OpenSwim) designed for swimmers in 2019. The product adopts an innovative MP3 playback mode and provides excellent sound quality performance underwater, which has won the favor of many swimming enthusiasts and quickly became a sales leader in the swimming headset market at home and abroad.
In April 2024, Shokz once again led the industry trend with the release of a new and upgraded version of OpenSwim Pro (Shokz S710, the same below). Inheriting the excellent features of its predecessor, the new OpenSwim Pro not only adds Bluetooth connectivity, greatly expanding its application scenarios, but also significantly increases the built-in storage capacity, allowing users to store hundreds of their favorite songs. In addition, Shokin has also achieved major breakthroughs and improvements in bone conduction technology and call quality, and comprehensively optimized the user experience. In the next review, let's take a look at today's swimming companion, the Shokin OpenSwim Pro.
Bone conduction domestic standard setter-Shaoyin
At the same time as the release of the two new products of OpenSwim Pro and OpenFit Air, Shokz also cooperated with the China Institute of Standardization to release China's first group standard of "Ergonomic Technical Requirements and Evaluation Methods for Bone Conduction Headphones", which has been a standard for the sports headphones and open-back earphone industry since then.
OpenSwim Pro Unboxing丨Appearance丨Comfort Experience
According to the usual practice, let's unpack the box first, OpenSwim Pro adopts a beautiful color box outer packaging, the front is printed with the real pattern of the product, and the words "Shokin Swimming Earphones" are prominently marked, showing the attributes of the product at a glance.
The back of the box comes with some key attributes and parameters of the product, including IP68 waterproof and dustproof, Bluetooth MP3 dual mode, bone conduction Premiumpitch 2.0+ technology, and 9 hours of battery life and fast charging, allowing users to have a quick and intuitive understanding of the product.
Open the inner package and remove the accessories and the main body of the earphones. The Shokin brand has shown great thought in the details of the user, especially for swimmers to provide professional-grade waterproof earplugs, as well as a convenient storage bag. In addition, a magnetic adsorption data charging cable and a detailed instruction manual are included in the package.
The pouch is made of silicone and has a hole on one side for easy drainage.
To see the main body of the headphones, the color we got this time is "Coral Sea", this color scheme uses a combination of bright orange red and deep sea blue, presenting a visual effect that is both vibrant and deep and steady, and the bright orange red can also be clearly seen underwater, which is highly recognizable when swimming. In addition, there are more restrained and simple shale peak color options.
Its sleek silhouette snugs snugly around the head, and the ergonomic over-ear attachment and behind-the-ear mounting method ensures a snug fit without over-clamping.
In terms of material selection, the contact part between the earphones and the skin is covered with a layer of soft and delicate silicone to ensure the comfort of wearing. The back-of-ear mounting part is cleverly applied with high-toughness metal materials, which not only ensures the durability of the earphones, but also gives them a certain elasticity and adaptability, maintaining a relaxed experience of "tight before loosening" when exercising.
In terms of weight, the OpenSwim Pro is only about 27g, which makes it almost insensible to wear, and there is no discomfort of pressing the ears at all.
In terms of actual wearing experience, in a calm state, such as when driving or working, the presence of the headphones is extremely low, and there is only a slight grip feeling. In the case of outdoor sports, such as jogging or cycling, the headphones can be held firmly in place even when the body or bicycle is bumpy, without friction or foreign body sensation, ensuring excellent stability. There is also no great discomfort during prolonged wear, but it is recommended to take off the earphones briefly for about ten minutes after 1 to 2 hours of continuous use to allow the ear skin to be properly relaxed and breathed.
Underwater, the stability of the headphones is further increased when the goggles and cap are worn, and the cap and headset work together to form a tighter fit, reducing the impact of water flow on the position of the headphones. Even in the intense breaststroke or freestyle, the headphones are always close to the ear and will not come loose. At the same time, the back hanging part is relatively delayed, and will not pull or entangle the hair, swimming cap, etc., even if you dive for a long time or turn around frequently, it will not cause discomfort.
OpenSwim Pro waterproof performance丨Subjective experience of sound quality
As a sports headphone with a swimming bias, OpenSwim Pro achieves IP68 protection, and the first number "6" indicates that the device is completely dust-proof, able to prevent any dust from entering, ensuring that the interior is completely free from dust. The second number "8" indicates that the device can be used in a water depth of 2 meters, and can be rinsed and soaked at will.
In the actual swimming experience, I swam back and forth in the pool for 5 hours, and during the long experience, the waterproofness of the earphones was also well verified, and there was no need to worry about the parts getting into the water at all.
In terms of sound quality, OpenSwim Pro also continues the fine tradition of good sound quality of Shokin bone conduction headphones, using PremiumPitch™ 2.0+ technology, which we have experienced on OpenRun and OpenMove, in short, PremiumPitch™ 2.0 optimizes the output of sound through a triple composite vibration system of voice coils, reeds and earhooks. This design results in a balanced distribution of sound in the low, mid and high frequencies, greatly improving the sound quality.
PremiumPitch™ 2.0+, on the other hand, is an upgrade and improvement over version 2.0. By adjusting the angle of vibration of the bone conduction speaker relative to the user's face, shock vibration perpendicular to the face is reduced. This method of rubbing the face at a certain angle effectively reduces the intensity of vibration felt by the user, and greatly optimizes the experience when wearing it for a long time while maintaining the three-frequency balanced sound quality.
In the actual experience, we prioritized the high-end part of the OpenSwim Pro, especially when it came to maintaining sound clarity and detail. Because bone conduction headphones do not transmit sound through the air, but directly through the skull to the inner ear, this transmission reduces the high-frequency weakening in air conduction and sometimes even provides a clearer treble experience.
Taking Mozart's "Serenade" as an example, in the treble section, the violin's rapid vibrato and bow jumping part can be felt through OpenSwim Pro to jump and smooth each note, although it lacks some of the resonance caused by air vibration, but the clarity is surprisingly high, and the details are quite intact.
In the case of Zhou Shen's "The Wind Rises", in the climax of this song, Zhou Shen's treble is strong and powerful, and through OpenSwim Pro, you can clearly feel every subtle tremor and emotional outburst in her voice, and at the same time, you can also identify the details of some other instruments in the background and vocal parts.
Due to the principle of bone conduction headphones, for the bass of the long sound wave characteristic, its transmission efficiency is definitely not as good as that of air conduction headphones, and the vibration efficiency of bones is better in the high frequency band than in the low frequency band. Low-frequency sound waves require more energy to be efficiently conducted through the bones. However, on OpenSwim Pro, Shokin has also made up for this defect as much as possible through special optimization.
Take Calvin Harris' "Summer," for example, where the synthesizer and bass line in the electronic music have a strong bass rhythm. In the actual listening sense, the rhythm of these mid-bass parts is still obvious, although there is less vibration in the air, but the rhythm and compactness of the bass can still bring motivation, especially listening to such music during sports, which can well improve the rhythm of sports.
When exercising, due to the open design of bone conduction headphones, the sound needs to be turned on slightly louder than usual, which also strengthens the bass performance to a certain extent, although you will still feel a slight vibration of the sound generator in the bass, but in the state of movement, this feeling is negligible. The Lightweight and comfortable fit, combined with its excellent mid to high sound quality, the OpenSwim Pro can play rhythmic electronic, DJ or rock music that not only greatly enhances the movement of the workout, but also effectively reduces fatigue.
In the underwater environment, the air cavity in the ear canal becomes an additional channel for sound transmission, which is equivalent to a "bone conduction + air conduction hybrid mode". This confined space effect, combined with the advanced bone conduction technology of the OpenSwim Pro headphones, adds layers of sound to life. The bass is more powerful and deep due to the confined environment underwater, and the volume naturally increases, creating a sound environment that is exclusive to the underwater.
Due to the author's poor water nature, I specially in the pool, sink my head into the water to hold my breath to feel, after blocking the ears, I can obviously feel that the sound effect of the bone conduction headphones in the water is amplified, the performance of the low-frequency sound is more full and intense, and the drum beat of the bass feels like an echo from the body, which is very wonderful.
At this time, the sound quality performance is very good, it is a kind of atmosphere that can not be felt on the "shore", because I have never tried to listen to a song in the water, this first feeling still amazed me, this feeling is as if wrapped in a musical bubble, the whole head is surrounded by the source of music, the bass forms a thick wrapping layer, and the treble is every water column that shoots to the brain, penetrating powerfully.
If you want to experience this, you can also plug your ears with sponges and earplugs on the shore, and then wear bone conduction headphones to listen to songs, you can feel 60% of this wonderful experience.
OpenSwim Pro Connectivity丨MP3 Mode Experience丨Calls丨Battery Life
In terms of connectivity, OpenSwim has upgraded to Bluetooth + MP3 dual mode compared to the previous generation that only supports MP3 mode, which greatly expands the potential use scenarios of OpenSwim Pro. In order to improve its connectivity capabilities, the Shokin team equipped it with the latest Bluetooth 5.4 technology to ensure compatibility with mainstream devices and stable connection performance. In the pool, as long as the mobile phone is placed on the shore, even if it swims to the other end of the pool, it can maintain a seamless connection with the mobile phone, which greatly facilitates the communication needs in the venue.
OpenSwim Pro is designed with three operation buttons to simplify the user's interactive experience. The multi-function button on the front of the device not only controls playback and pause, but also takes calls and switches songs. In addition, the volume adjustment button incorporates the power on and off function, and can switch between MP3 and Bluetooth mode freely.
OpenSwim Pro has 32GB of built-in storage. After the actual computer is connected, the net space available to the user is 29.1GB. With a standard network MP3 format music (128kbps) of about 3MB, OpenSwim Pro can store about 10,000 songs, which can fully meet the music playback needs of daily activities such as running and swimming.
In addition, OpenSwim Pro also supports a variety of audio formats such as FLAC, AAC, WAV, APE, etc., providing an excellent listening experience for users who pursue high-fidelity sound quality. The operation is simple and intuitive, and users can quickly switch and pause songs with just a touch of the function keys on the front, even when underwater.
In addition, users can also use the Shokin APP to control and adjust the sound quality of the earphones, the APP interface UI is concise and clear, and the operation logic is smooth and fluent.
In terms of call quality, OpenSwim Pro uses dual microphones + DNS call noise reduction + voice enhancement technology, which provides a clearer call experience than other bone conduction headphones. We did a practical test on a street with a lot of traffic, and they were able to hear me clearly. At the same time, in the swimming pool, even if the earphones are paired with the mobile phone Bluetooth at a distance, the clear call effect can be achieved.
Officially, the OpenSwim Pro can last up to 9 hours in Bluetooth mode and 6 hours in MP3 mode. Our test results show that in Bluetooth mode, after playing music continuously at medium volume for 4 hours, the remaining battery power is 50%, and the estimated battery life is about 8~9 hours when fully charged, which is consistent with the official data.
It's worth mentioning that the OpenSwim Pro charges very fast. We connect it to a regular mobile phone fast charging plug, and it can restore about 30% of the battery in 10 minutes, and it can continue to provide 2-3 hours of battery life, which is very convenient and practical.
summary
With the growing popularity of swimming, more and more swimmers are looking for professional-grade equipment to enhance their sports experience. Under this trend, bone conduction headphones are gradually becoming a must-have item in swimming sports due to their excellent waterproof performance, stable wearing experience and continuous improvement in sound quality. As an industry leader, Shokin has always been committed to meeting the needs of users through technological innovation. On the basis of the original OpenSwim, the new OpenSwim Pro swimming earphones have further upgraded the sound quality and usage scenarios, and with IP68 waterproof performance, it has undoubtedly become a benchmark product in the swimming headphone segment.
Behind this achievement is Shokin's deep insight into market segments and determination to meet consumer needs. By continuously exploring the pain points of swimming and optimizing products in a targeted manner, Shokin provides swimmers with better sports equipment. After actual testing and analysis, we believe that the Shokin OpenSwim Pro swimming earphones have reached an excellent level in terms of product performance, user experience and service guarantee, and are worth recommending to the majority of swimming enthusiasts.