My saga for good earbuds / headsets / headphones continues! I think I found a good one for day-to-day use now. Note: I am not an “audiophile” – so this is a report for regular people just wanting to wear something around while taking walks. Plus some interesting history.

The preview image for this post is a Vintage Acousticon Hearing Aid By Dictograph Products Company, Made in the US, Circa 1934.

Bone conduction headphones relies on sending vibrations through your cheekbone to your inner ear. There are no tiny speakers. And nothing goes directly in your ear. Bone conduction has a fascinating history that I just recently learned about. The technology goes back… get this… to the 1400s! You can read more about the history of bone conduction here. Beethoven used the technology as his hearing deteriorated in the 1820s. Really fascinating.

Previously I reported on my SoundPEATS Air4 Pro Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds. I still carry them around with me, and there are pros and cons to using them. They are quite inexpensive compared to the Apple AirPods Pro 2, they are more comfortable than some others I’ve tried, the noise canceling is quite good, the battery life is good, they charge quickly, and the music sound quality and microphone quality for calls are also quite good I think.

There are downsides for me that I found after using them for a while though. One problem is that at the end of the day I don’t really like sticking things in my ears. You can get used to them, but it’s not the most comfortable feeling. The most annoying problem though is that I can’t manage to get them to stay in for a long time, with stability, while taking long walks. They become loose. A couple of times they’ve fallen out. And because they are designed to save power and stop automatically when removed from your ears, they will frequently get loose enough to stop the music. This happens over time, or if moving your jaw too much.

Still, I can see using them in certain situations. For example, on a noisy train they’re nice, because the ANC (adaptive noise cancelation) works quite well. And if you’re just sitting on a train you’re not moving around, so they are likely to be more stable. And they charge very quickly, so I can even see using them on long plane flights. I intend to keep them and use them sometimes. They’re also quite lightweight and portable in the included charging case. You don’t even notice them in your trouser pocket.

But I missed my old Shokz Aeropex bone conducting headphones. They broke a few months after the two year warranty expired, which is what set me into a hunt for something new. After trying and returning multiple headsets, I finally decided to try the newer Shokz OpenRun bone conducting headphones.

They seem quite nice. The sound quality is quite good, though admittedly not as good as earbuds in your ear. The lightweight, wraparound titanium frame rests around your ears like glasses (with the rim behind your head) so they really can’t fall out. They are designed for active sports, like running. The weight is only 26 g, so they are barely noticeable. There is no noise cancelation of course (because they are not in your ears), but that’s one good point for me. I’m using them when walking around the city. I wasn’t using noise cancelation on my SoundPeats earbuds anyway, because it’s unsafe to block out noise when walking around in a city. So that’s not a downside to me. The controls are quite easy to use. And I tested the microphone quality by calling and leaving myself a phone message. The playback sound was perfectly ok, and the voicemail system was easily able to generate a transcript from it.

The battery life is also quite good, with quick charging, and they are waterproof. The controls are actually easier to use than with the SoundPeats earbuds.

Another thing I like about them is that unlike the SoundPeats, and the more expensive AirPods Pro 2, there is no weird stem sticking out. That always looked odd to me. These look more natural when wearing them.

They come with a proprietary charging cable, a hairband (which I haven’t opened up yet), and a carry pouch. Since they are not as tiny as earbuds, you can’t stick them into your jeans pocket. But if you carry any sort of backpack or pouch you should be just fine.

Of course in addition to earbuds in your ear, and bone conducting headphones sending vibrations through your skull to your inner ear, there are completely over the ear headphones like the SoundPEATS Space Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones. They are inexpensive, comfortable, good sound quality, very long battery life (over 120 hour playback time!), and great noise cancelation. I used those on my trip to the U.S. in April. The plane flights were 14 hours each way, so not having to worry about battery life at all – or the sound of plane engines – is nice. They are too heavy to casually carry around all day, and a bit too much for daily walks. But they are nice to have for certain situations, like when you already have heavy carry-on bags for example. You can also plug them in and use them as headsets for online meetings.

Anyway, the history of bone conduction technology – going back 600 years – grabbed my interest. There are apparently some animals who hear sound that way naturally.

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