I’m looking for some new ear buds for running and other purposes, but finding anything suited for a mediocre active lifestyle seems hard.
Now I have a pair of Sennheiser sport true wireless. What works is the audio quality and reliable charging. What doesn’t work is the very clunky charging case, and any trace of rain will adjust the volume, change the song or pause the track. A stable 3/5 product. Wearing a hood just amplifies the problem as a tiny amount of moisture will interfere.
I’m not trusting Sennheiser for a new pair right now as their Momentum True Wireless 3 buds had a faulty charging tech. Both me and my partner had to send them in and receive new ones. Bad for us, bad for the environment.
Any recommendations for a pair with a nice balanced sound quality, good case, and reliable controls in all conditions?
I got Shokz Openrun Pro after dealing with a couple of shit pairs: everything falls out of my weirdly shaped earholes. I was worried about the band around the back, but I don’t even notice it. Because they’re bone conduction, they leave my ears open and I can hear cars or bike bells. My favourite bit is that I can wear them with earplugs when I mow the lawn and still hear music.
These has me curious. The safety of an open solution is smart. I’ve read elsewhere they had some quality issues regarding durability.
My impression is that we need 5 or more years more to actually figure stuff out. The adoption of wireless earbuds came fast. The option is truly great for work outs. But unnecessary for stationary work and travel. We never got the good notice cancelling wired ear buds we needed.
I wear a set of these every day, for hours at a time. I started writing what I thought would be a concise comment that turned out to be not concise. I tried to break it up because no one likes a wall of text.
Shokz customer service and hardware quality:
I got my first headset, the Trekz Titanium model, from them in 2016 before they rebranded to ‘Shokz’. The company replaced them twice under warranty. The third pair held up until I broke them in 2022, and I ordered the new OpenRun Pro model.
This new headset is significantly lighter, and lasts longer than the original version I had. Obviously they’ll only get better in five years, but I’d say there’s no need to wait. The quality is there. Honestly, I’m surprised they don’t charge more for them.
My usage and experience:
They focus a lot of their marketing on athleticism, which is probably the number one use case for most people. That said, I use them both when I drive and when I work to take calls, as it’s clearer both for me and the person I’m speaking to than other, single ear, headsets I’ve used before.
As far as music quality, it is a Bluetooth headset so audiophile fidelity can’t be expected, but I like them since at mid volume they won’t bleed sound to other people yet I can still exchange a few words with someone without having to pause anything and slow down a brief chat.
If you’re a podcast listener, these things are fantastic. I listen to about two hours of spoken word content each day, and I couldn’t wear in ear or over ear headphones for that long. That’s just preference though.
Charging:
A change Shokz made at some point was to move from a micro usb charger to a magnetic one. It’s fantastic. I have a cable affixed in place on my dresser and my desk, and it’s as simply as Apple’s Magsafe charging system if you’re familiar with that. I just put the headset down and it’s charging - don’t even need to turn it off.
It also recharges in maybe twenty minutes, which for something that lasts me all day every day, is pretty great.
To sum up, I’ll be buying another pair when my current ones kick the bucket, and another after that.
I think im gonna give them a try in the near future. They cost under half as much as the new Sennheiser momentum sport too.
I recommend going with the OpenRun Pro if you’re going to buy some. I have both the OpenRun Pro and the less expensive OpenMove, and the OpenRun is more comfortable and has better sound quality.
If you are considering them, then I would mention that they have regular and “mini” versions, with the only difference being the size of the headband. I’ve tried both and personally prefer the smaller size since it doesn’t protrude so far in the back, despite not having a particularly small head.
Tbh, this is a time when sound quality takes a back seat to design.
Now, a caveat, I’m not a runner, I’m disabled. So I do strength training upper body work, and water based exercise. There’s not as much impact, so I can’t promise that won’t be a factor.
But I’ve tried a handful of Bluetooth buds because of the sweating and pool use. JBL makes or made a model called “reflect flow”.
The controls are built so that it takes a firm push to activate them, so no issues with sweat or other water triggering them. They’re even functional with a device in a protective baggie, and my head under water a good bit. Not deep, but submerged, or while swimming. It’s one of those ymmv things though, as Bluetooth in general isn’t great at penetrating water of any depth.
Sound is what I’d call acceptable. Not great, but vocals are clear enough to pick out words with no issues while moving through water, or in a gym full of people clanking weights. Can’t match wired IEMs, but I doubt that’s the goal. They run a tad bass heavy, and the highs can get dampened more than I’d like, but not unexpectedly so.
But the controls have never, ever triggered unless I pushed them. The case is solid, and keeps a charge well even after about five years of use (iirc, could be off by a year either way since I was borrowing before buying, and can’t recall which brands I tried when). They aren’t expensive either, which considering that Bluetooth earbuds are essentially unrepairable is a good thing.
I’d give them an overall 7/10 for sound, 10/10 for waterproofing, and 10/10 for both battery lives. My standard for a 10/10 sound is my beyerdynamic 770s though, which isn’t everyone’s preference. Tin t2s are a solid 9/10 for sound to my ears. Just for a sense of how I judge sound on fairly common budget choices in wired audio.
Have you looked at bone conduction ear buds? I don’t run anymore and never had a pair, but when I was in the community they seemed like the only type worth getting
They seem safer as well. I stumbled across a few reviews while I was researching proper studio headphones and they seem ideal.
This video is a little commercial-like and I usually watch his music production videos, but it’s good enough for what we are discussing: https://youtu.be/0VOWmbFkFzs?si=FDUmN3lAa7SEtr9x
I find there’s a trade-off in quality for my bone conduction vs in ear pods, especially if I’m moving a lot, but not blocking my hearing as much is often worth that trade-off. Plus it’s more secure on my head, which is important when running/biking/swimming where it is not trivial to find a missing earbud in the grass however far back it fell.
Highly recommend for exercise, but I would never fully replace my earbuds with them because, frankly, they sound worse and look worse.
Whelp. I definitely don’t need a new kind of headphones, but now I definitely want a new kind of headphones. How have I never seen this technology before?
I don’t think it’s great for music. Or last I looked into it it wasn’t. Fine for podcasts and such though.
In my experience, they are fine for music on the go. I’m not wowed but it’s fine.
If I really want to enjoy an album I care about, or hear something new, I use my cans
I have Jabra elite 85s I think it’s the model. They’re great
The Jabra Active models have all been great for running, but they officially discontinued the entire consumer audio line to focus on hearing aids three seconds before Apple announced AirPods are now hearing aids so…
Wait really? I hadn’t heard about that.
Pun not intended
Well shit. Let’s hope I can keep from losing this set lol
I mean, what they’ve produced will still exist and there are several generations past the 85s, but yeah they probably won’t support them or anything.
I wear Sony Linkbuds while running or cycling. They have a hole in the middle which means they have basically no sound isolation at all, making them very safe to use if you’re running on the road or footpath where motor vehicles or cyclists might come up behind you. The open design also allows you to hear your breathing properly and it you won’t get that annoying heartbeat/pulse effect where the sound ducks in and out like you do with closed in-ear earphones. They don’t go into your ear canal, but rather sit outside like the classic Apple earphones or Galaxy Buds Live. They have an IPX4 rating which means:
Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect, utilizing either:
a) an oscillating fixture, or b) A spray nozzle with no shield. Test a) is conducted for 10 minutes. b) is conducted (without shield) for 5 minutes minimum.
They also have a feature called wide area tap, which (when enabled) extends the touch controls out along your cheek bones. Instead of tapping the earphones themselves, you can tap on your face instead to control them. I find this extremely useful while running or cycling, because it requires far less precision and works reliably in any weather conditions without dislodging the earphones.
I don’t use them for serious listening too often, so I haven’t paid great attention to the audio quality, but to me they sound fairly balanced for consumer earphones with a nice level of detail and a slightly wider soundstage because of the open design. The battery life for both the earphones and the case is also good. The only major problem with them is the fit - you will need to experiment with the wings to find a combination that fits your ear shape and some people have reported that they just won’t stay in their ears. The wings can also make them uncomfortable after longer periods (several hours) though I rarely wear them for over an hour at a time so this doesn’t bother me too much.
Overall I’d say they’re much more a competitor to bone conduction headphones than typical earphones. They have a significantly smaller profile than bone conduction models and better sound, plus they don’t look as cringe. Here are a couple of runners reviewing them if you’re interested. I bought mine refurbished from the official Sony eBay store for a significant discount, so it might be worth checking for that too.
I just bought my second pair of Soundcore Sport X-series. I have a pair of X10’s that I’ve used for several years, but decides to buy a new pair of X20’s. The quality is great, the mic is good, you can use the phone app to adjust levels and they have a small ear loop to go over/behind to help keep them in place when moving around.
Maaaan. I’ve tried both the X10’s and the X20’s, and I really liked that they have soft, flexible ear hooks and physical buttons. Some of the other ones I’ve tried had stiffer hooks that would hurt my ears after a while, and/or the controls were via touch, not an actual, clickable button.
But both the X10’s and the X20’s had this weird skipping/stuttering issue whenever I was out and about (walking, running, etc.), but were just fine if I was stationary. I think it must’ve been some sort of interference issue, but I just don’t understand. I have some older bluetooth Soundcore earbuds that don’t have that issue, but they’re on their last legs, so I’ve been trying to find a replacement.
i’ve just switched to a wired usb-c option. it’s a fraction of the cost, water- and dust-resistant by it’s very nature, and i don’t have to worry about forgetting to recharge their “batteries”.
just tuck the cable into the neck hole and dangle it through the bottom of the t-shirt to the phone and bob’s your uncle.
i got them after a set of airpods and two sets of bose earbuds crapped out on me and i haven’t regretted the decision yet.
I always wear bone conducting headphones when running. Need to hear alle the electrical scooters that try to kill me.
I opted for Shokz Openrun instead of the pro model. Mainly because of the higher IP rating. Sweath, rain and snow no worries anymore. I han a set of Shokz Openmove earlier, that eventually died from water. But Openrun is fantastic.
I find the sound quality pretty good, but a bit lacking in bass. Be aware that the wind noise makes them less fitting for riding a bike, unless you cover your ears with a helmet cap or something similar.
Thanks. Im going gmto give the open air model a try in the near future as soon as a nice offer comes up. Safety is more important than bass. On the treadmill I can opt for more closed ones.
As a decade long, all season all weather bike commuter, I can attest that the Plantronics line of sport headphones have worked well for me. They are designed to be waterproof, and allow for background noise to be very noticeable (specifically NOT noise cancelling which is incredibly important when you’re out in traffic). They have a line that are individual buds, or a wrap around version (both have the same in-ear design that hook around your earlobe). I have and use both versions and have no complaints. There are probably better headphones out there but these fit that use case perfectly in my mind.
The Beats Fit Pros are nice. I don’t do a ton of exercise in them but think they’d handle all the issues you mentioned pretty well.
They don’t handle exercise very well. They slip right out of your ear and aren’t waterproof.
