Bone conduction headphones make noise without hurting your ears

• Appearing a few years ago, bone conduction headphones are growing on the market.

• Not obstructing the ears, they diffuse the sound thanks to the principle of osteophony: through the bones of the skull.

• Practical for work or sport, their audio quality, devoid of bass, can still be improved.

Sport, office, telecommuting: bone conduction headphones offer an interesting alternative to traditional headphones or earphones.

They leave the ears totally free, able to hear surrounding noises and conversations.

Reassuring for doing sports in the city, except for cycling, for which their use is prohibited (*), they are also user-friendly at work and do not cut us off from conversations with colleagues.

Without risk for the eardrums, we find more and more of them on the market.

While their strengths are numerous, bone conduction headphones still have one weakness: their audio quality.

This is where the bone is, alas… Because with these headphones, listening is almost completely devoid of bass.

They do not therefore replace classic headphones and earphones, but they are of real interest in specific circumstances, as evidenced by the selection offered by

.

The Swimmer: OpenSwim by Shokz

Certified IP68 (the highest humidity protection standard), the Shokz Titanium Openswim helmet was first designed for swimmers.

It can withstand complete immersion, up to 2 meters deep, for one hour.

Enough to encourage us to cut a few lengths… Moreover, this model is equipped with an MP3 player.

This makes it possible to remedy the technical impossibility of Bluetooth to "pass" under water (and to listen to music with your smartphone left at the edge of the pool!).

Thus, the memory of this 4 GB headset will allow it to carry up to 1,200 songs.

The autonomy of the Openswim is 8 hours.

Our opinion:

Who can do more, can do less: perfectly suited to sport and what's more for swimming (wearing goggles and a swimming cap is not a problem with this helmet), the OpenSwim does not is not Bluetooth.

It can therefore only be used to listen to music stored in its internal memory.

Impossible, therefore, to communicate with a smartphone, to take a call, etc.

The worker: X-Vibes, from Crosscall

The French manufacturer of resistant smartphones and tablets Crosscall is developing its line of products with sound, X-Vibes, its first bone conduction headphones.

Titanium headband covered inside with an antiperspirant grip, battery life of up to 14 hours, remote microphone with ambient noise reduction for optimized conversations: the X-Vibes, which benefits from IP67 certification, is versatile and can be recommended for sport as well as for work.

Our opinion:

Crosscall first praises the merits of its headset for professional use, such as on construction sites or in the office.

This may explain why the manufacturer did not see fit to associate internal memory with it.

To listen to music during a sports session, you will have to keep your smartphone on you.

Be careful, the headband of this helmet, a little thick, can get in the way if you wear glasses.

The runner: A7607, from Philips

With the IP66 standard and suitable for sports, the new A7607 headset from Philips can also be used for communication.

Bluetooth 5.2, with two microphones (including a micro-bone to better pick up the voice and eliminate wind noise), its autonomy flirts with 9 hours of use, which allows it to be worn during a full working day.

15 minutes of charging gives it an additional hour of autonomy (practical for overtime!).

Allow 2 hours for a full charge.

Our opinion:

Well inspired, Philips combines the neckband of these headphones with an LED strip which, illuminated in red when desired (from the Philips Headphones application or a button), signals the user at night.

Runners will appreciate.

This headset also has an equalizer which allows it, as much as possible on this type of product, to refine the quality of musical listening.

The extreme: Bluetooth E Music, from Ekoï

The brand of clothing and sports accessories Ekoï had the good idea to combine bone conduction headphones with glasses for training.

Bluetooth 5.0, allowing 7 hours of autonomy, with a large easy-access button for taking calls, the headset is riveted to a 100% anti-UV glass (14 cm x 7 cm), which has six perforations for perfect ventilation (and avoid fogging).

Our opinion:

Weighing 56 g (barely 30 g more than a simple bone conduction headset), this set really makes sense for any sporting activity, such as running or mountain activities.

Cyclists, abstain: wearing these glasses is not authorized in France, on public roads (*).

The junior: K4607, from Philips

With the K4607 ("K", for "Kids"!) Philips has the good idea to dedicate a bone conduction headset to the youngest.

The idea here is to preserve the ears of our cherubs while allowing them to listen to music, but also to communicate, this model with an autonomy of only 5 hours having a microphone.

Philips has also provided a sound limitation system (duration and volume of listening) through an application.

With the IPX5 standard, the device simply resists a few splashes of water.

Our opinion:

Philips' idea is commendable, but not new.

Shokz and its OpenRun Mini also offers bone conduction headphones for the little ones, but goes further with a model with the IP67 standard and an 8-hour battery life.

Higher benefits which also have a cost: 139 euros, or 40 euros more than for the Philips K4607.

(*) A decree of 2017 restricts their use, as for conventional audio headsets, the legislator considering that on board any type of vehicle, "a device emitting sound worn in the ear is prohibited, even when 'it does not obstruct the auditory canal but ensures the transmission of sound by bone conduction through the cranial wall'.

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Osteophony, how does it work?

Do you know the cochlea?

Spiral-shaped, this is the auditory part of the inner ear.

It is with her that the bone conduction helmets will communicate!

Incorporating transducers, these neckband headsets do not have speakers like conventional headphones or True Wireless earphones.

Instead, they are transducers which, placed in front of the ear, transmit the sound by vibrations propagated to the cochlea using the bones of the skull.

This is the principle of osteophony!

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