2023-08-20 21:01:00
Recently, the site published a review of bone conduction headphones, which were positioned as the best option for sports, and especially for the pool. The concept impressed and inspired me. After all, a pool is a mandatory component of the life of any office worker who spends more than 5 hours a day at the table. The pool loads all the muscles of the body, relieving tension and clamps. The only negative is that for the effect it is important to visit the pool at least 3 times a week, swimming for 45 minutes. And what could be more boring than swimming back and forth? 25 or 50 meters, round trip. On the treadmill, at least you can listen to podcasts or even watch a movie. And in the pool there is silence and the squelching of water. It turned out that in recent years, bone conduction headphones have fallen in price, so that the cheapest models can be bought for 1500 rubles. Well, expensive models can cost more than 20 thousand rubles, such as Shokz OpenSwim. There is a large expanse of various headphones on Ozon, which is not only an excellent marketplace, but also a garbage dump that is in no way inferior to AliExpress. That’s where I went to shop. But first, I’ll tell you a little about how modern electronics are made. On one side of the market are large companies investing millions of dollars in development and creating their own unique products. On the other side are the so-called design studios. Those companies that do not have money for their own R&D come there. However, large companies also use R&D services when they do not want to spend money on development. For example, we recently had a review of the Honor Choice robot vacuum cleaner, that is, “Honor’s Choice”. This is a direct example of buying a solution from a design studio. Honor chose a vacuum cleaner that meets the company’s quality standards, ordered it, and started selling it. A similar story today with almost any electronics. From headphones and fitness bracelets to laptops. Small companies come, order, brand packaging and sell. In the case of headphones on Ozon, this is clearly visible. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of offers on the site. This is the X7 Swim model. We had an expensive branded model on the review, but in terms of shape, controls, magnetic charging, and packaging box, it is noticeable that these branded headphones are in the same line as non-branded ones. I did not dare to spend money on an expensive model, I preferred to take an analogue 2 times cheaper. One of the reasons for choosing a cheaper model was the fact that these were almost the only headphones on Ozone that were promised to be delivered the next day. And everyone else would have to wait at least 5 days. All headphones are typical: IP68 protection Up to 10 hours of battery life Magnetic charging, through which you can also upload music from a computer Bluetooth 5.3 Factory basic model is called X7 Headphones work in two modes: via Bluetooth and as MP3 -player. Some headphones have microphones and can work as a headset. Mine did not know how, but in the box there was still a rubber plug for microphones. Packaging and appearance Headphones are delivered in a surprisingly premium box made of very thick cardboard. Inside the box, the headphones are recessed into a foam cushion. Near the cable with magnetic charging. This is how the headphones look when charging. Magnetic charging is also used for data transfer. When connected to a computer, a 32 GB drive is displayed. Like expensive headphones, these were indicated that the arc was made of titanium alloy. Headphones are a combination of rubberized plastic and regular plastic. The arc is covered with rubber on top, and a metal string is felt inside. Impressions of use In the format of a short line, I will share my impressions of use: Bone conduction is really unusual. The sound is as if in your head, while the ears remain free. The landing of the basic headphones turned out to be comfortable: the headphones easily cling to the ears and fit snugly to the head, but do not press. They hold tightly and do not fall off even when jogging. However, all these beautiful pictures, where a girl in headphones on a run, are, of course, lies. Well, or a girl running in the silence of the forest. On the street in the city in such headphones it is inconvenient, as the volume will not be enough. Keep your ears open so you can hear all the city noise. Headphones look a little unusual. There were no problems connecting to the phone. Headphones were quickly identified and added. When turned on, the Chinese girl mumbles the mode. Also, bubbling occurs when switching modes (from MP3 to Bluetooth). MP3 mode is very simple. No folders, just throw all the files in a crowd into the root directory, and the headphones play them sequentially. Data transfer rate is relatively slow but stable Playback volume depends on how tightly and where the headphones fit. Experimented with position. If you bring the headphones to the tragus (this is a small ear cartilage that is located under the leg of the curl), then the sound becomes unrealistically loud. Apparently, there is the best conductivity. And we would always like such a high volume, but the headphones are designed in such a way as to be placed in front of the ear. An amazing fact, but at high volume you can hear outside how the headphones play. Even when not wearing them. The first thing I did was go to the gym wearing headphones. And in the gym, the headphones disappointed me. The volume was clearly not enough. Plus, the gym played its own music, and the ears were open, so it was not possible to listen to the podcast. You have to listen to music. But the headphones have a titanium tightness that is not bad in terms of elasticity, so I put the headphones on in such a way that they adjoin the tragus and anti-tragus. The earbuds held up well and didn’t fall off even when I did pull-ups. Of course, I didn’t enjoy it. Largely due to the fact that there was a feeling that the headphones were about to fall off. There was some kind of sliding sensation, although the headphones remained in place. Then I went to the pool. And the first thing I found out: Bluetooth is absolutely not suitable for the pool. As soon as the headphones are immersed in water, they immediately lose connection. This, of course, is a minus, since you need to prepare in advance and download music, podcasts and books to your ears. The most convenient option is to find a video on YouTube and download only the sound from there through the services. The best sound quality is achieved when the headphones are completely submerged in water. For example, this happens if you swim on your back. The sound is loud and voluminous. However, there is no bass. Or rather, they still remain flat. As if pieces of wood are knocking against each other. Accordingly, it is better to choose compositions with prevailing mids and highs. Unfortunately, when you freestyle, the sensations are less pleasant. First, the standard landing had to be abandoned. When you swim, your head is constantly above the water, then under the water. Accordingly, with a standard fit, it turns out that the sound is either loud or quiet – Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. When listening to music, this is annoying. Pressing down the headphones with a cap and swimming goggles, I managed to place the sounding elements in the same way as in the gym – at the ear cartilages, where the sound is best. Thanks to this position, the sound volume leveled off, but there was still a jumping effect: when the head is under water, you hear a voluminous and rich sound, just surfaced, and immediately a Chinese mono speaker. I had to give up listening to books and podcasts, because when you dive, the volume drops and you lose part of what was said. With music in this regard, it is simpler, since it initially sounds louder. But I recommend choosing simpler compositions, preferably without words. And definitely not rap artists. And it’s better to take the already familiar music, as the brain will complete the missed by itself. It evens out the sound a bit. This is such a fun effect. The best headphone fit for swimming duplicates the position of classic earbuds. To keep the headphones in this position, they have to be slipped under the elastic of the goggles for swimming. Unfortunately, by default, headphones are not suitable for listening to podcasts and audio books, as the sound is too quiet. But if you pre-amplify the sound through any sound editor, it becomes good. And yet it looks like too much work. That is, before you go to the pool, you need to download a podcast, then drive it into Audacity, edit it, and only then throw it on your headphones. An hour later, you begin to experience discomfort due to the fact that the earpiece is pressing on your ear. But that’s the least of the problems. All the same, you don’t splash around in the pool for more than an hour. What conclusions did the main thing in headphones with bone conduction is the quality of fit. Headphones should be pressed tightly to the head, only then high-quality sound will be provided. I definitely did not like the form factor of the X7 headphones. Headphones lack strength. Ears that cling to swimming goggles look much more promising. The elastic band of the goggles ensures a snug fit. I would tell you about them, but Ozon says about these headphones that delivery is from September 9th. So, apparently, it will be possible to make the text only by the end of September. Another relatively promising option is these headphones. Thanks to the vertical composition, the swim cap and goggles should, in theory, hold the headphones tightly against the head. The fact that such a design can be successful is also evidenced by the fact that the most expensive branded Shokz OpenSwim headphones use a similar solution. Shokz OpenSwim, by the way, does not have any Bluetooth, because the manufacturer understands that it does not work in water, and on land no one will bathe with such a lousy sound. I do not really understand why they make an arc. If I were to design these headphones, I would try a separate speaker design that would attach directly to a swimming cap. Or it would have included a pull-down headband (like those that tennis players wear from sweat), under which the headphones would be tightly attached. Well, the third version of a promising design for swimming is these ears that vibrate and bone-conduct directly into your ear. It looks curious, as it allows you to refuse earplugs. But the reviews for these headphones are bad. People complain that without a cap, the headphones fly off, and under the cap they put a lot of pressure on the ear. Despite the relatively negative experience, I am not upset with the purchase, because even with such headphones, swimming is more fun than in silence.
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