{Photograph}: Michael Sawh
Somewhat ambitiously, Shokz guarantees these sports activities headphones can ship clear highs and pure mids and that the brand new twin air conduction unit design manages to produces pure vocal sound. The air conduction definitely delivers the bass, whereas the bone conduction handles the remainder. Within the battle to compete with visitors, wind and the gymnasium stereo, there’s some winners and losers right here. The bass is a giant enchancment, with a noticeable uptick in heat and punch.
Annoyingly, nevertheless, whereas extra energy means greater bass in your buck, the readability isn’t on a par with the older OpenRun. Equally, in a sound-off with the uniquely designed Bose Ultra Open, the shortage of readability is uncovered too. After I eased off the excessive tempo drum-and bass-heavy playlists to take heed to a podcast, the backward step in readability remained noticeable. This doesn’t make the OpenRun Professional 2 a nasty headphone, they merely supply a shift to a sound that many runners will enormously take pleasure in, and one which’s a bit nearer to typical bass-heavy exercise headphones.
Winner by a Nostril
{Photograph}: Michael Sawh
You at all times should make compromises with open-ear headphones, however with the OpenRun Professional 2, the compromises are literally comparatively insignificant. In case you’re in search of working headphones with extra bass and energy, however you continue to need to concentrate on your environment, these are the very best out there.
Different choices value contemplating embrace the Suunto Sonic ($149), which provide a really balanced sound profile from a properly weighted and cozy neckband design. The premium-priced Bose Ultra Open give higher, extra detailed sound, however a doubtful match if you happen to’re working quick. The Sivga SO2 ($70) produce a extremely likable, open-ear sound and safe match.
It is not the large leap in high quality I might hoped for, however Shokz has carried out simply sufficient for me to suggest the OpenRun Professional 2. That being mentioned, you shouldn’t rule out the OpenRun Pro, which provides you just about the identical design with strong audio high quality and battery efficiency. You simply have to recollect the place you set that fiddly, archaic, proprietary charging cable.
