What Are Real Bone Conduction Headsets and Do They Leak Sound?
Bone conduction headsets are a new type of headphones, because they have many advantages that traditional headphones cannot match, so they are gaining the favor of a large number of users. But at the same time, some merchants sell fake bone conduction headsets in pursuit of short-term profits. So what are real bone conduction headsets? How should we tell the difference? let me tell you in the article.
What Are Real Bone Conduction Headsets?
Bone conduction headset is a type of headphone that uses human bones as a sound transmission medium. They are generally ear-mounted, and the vibration unit is attached to the temple, and the vibration is transmitted to the inner ear through the skull, so that people can hear the sound. The fake bone conduction headsets are actually a kind of air conduction headphones that look like bone conduction headsets. They rely on two external speakers attached to the temples to produce sound, and then transmit the sound to the eardrum through the air, causing the eardrum to vibrate, and then to the eardrum, and the inner ear.
For real bone conduction headsets, their body has no openings and is generally an integrated body with a relatively high waterproof level. Since they rely on bone conduction sound, you can try to plug your ears after wearing them, and you will find that the sound of the real bone conduction headsets will be louder, while the sound of the fake ones will be significantly smaller. This is the easiest and most convenient way to distinguish between real and fake bone conduction headsets.
Do bone conduction headsets leak sound?
bone conduction headsets will leak sound, but now some mature brands have found a solution to the problem of sound leakage, such as wissonly and Aftershokz have done a good job in reducing sound leakage.
The sound leakage problem of bone conduction headsets is mainly due to the fact that they convert sound into mechanical vibration through the sound unit, and vibrate the bone to transmit sound. When the headphone is working, the shell of the headphone will be vibrated together by the sound unit, and the shell will vibrate the surrounding air, so sound leakage will occur. In other words, the shell of the bone conduction headset becomes the "amplified speaker" of the headphone, spreading the sound to the surroundings.
From the principle of the sound leakage phenomenon, we can easily see that all bone conduction headsets have sound leakage problems. Those headphones that claim to have no sound leakage at all are basically fake.
It's just that some bone conduction headsets may have made more efforts to reduce sound leakage. For example, some headphones use anti-phase sound waves to offset the sound waves of sound leakage, or through the integrated design of the body without holes, reduce the air vibration caused by the vibration unit, thereby reducing sound leakage. There are also some brands that optimize the structural design and increase the shock absorption function of the body to reduce sound leakage. It should be said that with the efforts of the entire industry, the sound leakage of bone conduction headsets has also been greatly improved.
Although bone conduction headsets have the problem of sound leakage, it has to be said that they have several outstanding advantages
Safer: Wear them without blocking your ears, which allows you to maintain awareness of your surroundings and make outdoor sports safer;
Healthier: They use bones to transmit sound and do not need to use the eardrum, which avoids damage to the eardrum and can protect hearing well;
More hygienic: bone conduction headsets do not need to be worn in the ear, even if worn for a long time, they can keep the ear canal clean and avoid the growth of bacteria;
More comfortable: They are very light, there is no feeling of weight when wearing them, and the wearing comfort is very high.
These advantages also make them popular among young people.So how to choose the right headset? I think there are three key points to consider: sound quality, sound leakage reduction and comfort.Next, I will recommend some excellent headsets to you.
1. Wissonly Hi Runner bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
When Wissonly bone conduction headsets started crowdfunding online , I started to pay attention to them. Later, I saw on some online forums that all otologists were recommending them, so I bought it. This Wissonly Hi Runner is their flagship product, and its overall function is the most perfect. This headphone uses the latest research results of wissonly Lab. It effectively increases the vibration area of the vibrator by 35%, while optimizing the sound transmission direction, making the sound range wider and the music more spatial. The brand claims to reach the HI-FI sound quality. My own actual test shows that the sound quality is very close to the HI-FI level, but it doesn't reach this level indeed. Of course, the current sound quality is satisfactory enough.
Wissonly Hi Runner bone conduction headsets are also equipped with a new Bluetooth 5.0 chip, which has stronger anti-interference ability, and can easily cope with various outdoor complex scenes, so as to ensure that the good mood during exercise will not be disturbed by disconnection. The stable connection also brings ultra-low delay performance. Listening to songs, chasing dramas and playing games meet all the daily demands for headphones. What's more, it has 32G of built-in memory, which can store 5,000 songs, which allows you to enjoy music without your mobile phone when you are outdoors.
Wissonly performs well in terms of comfort. It's very light, less than 30g, and you don't even feel like you're carrying it when you wear it. The headphone body is made of titanium alloy, which makes it fit well. You don't need to worry about falling off during exercise.
The waterproof of Wissonly Hi Runner needs special mention. It reaches IPX8 grade, which means that you can carry it under water for 20 meters and still use it normally. This is crazy!
2. Philips 7607 bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
They use a 17mm large-scale sound unit that makes their low-frequency sound more delicate, and that makes middle and high frequency sound clearer and not harsh. IP67 waterproof performance allows them to have a waterproof and sweatproof function in daily wear, and to be no problem in the face of sudden rain in a short time. When you wear them at night, LED night running lights make passing vehicles perceive your own location, so the safety factor is higher.
3.AfterShokz OPENRUN PRO bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
Openrun PRO gives people the first impression that it is very light and almost forgets the feeling of existence. In terms of battery life,its continuous playing time can exceed 8 hours, which can be said to be a very strong bone conduction. AfterShokz brand is mainly developed for sports, but the only drawback is that the sounding unit is very slim, and it will feel a little oppressive when worn for a long time.
The function has IP67 waterproof coefficient, daily outdoor exercise, no fear of sweat, and normal washing.
4.earsopen SS900 bone conduction headsets
** Recommended reason:**
It adopts the 5.2 Bluetooth protocol, which can start automatic connection when the charging compartment cover is opened. It is low latency during use, and the anti-interference ability is also strengthened. In terms of sound quality, BoCo's miniature bone conduction vibrator is adopted, which has good performance at low frequencies, but which has harsh noise and serious sound leakage at high frequencies. The 8G single-earphone body is basically comfortable during the whole wearing process.
5 Nank Runner CC3 bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
Runner CC3 are equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.3 chip. They can achieve stable connection during exercise, and even when you are running in the mountains with poor signal, there will be no disconnection with them.
They are also equipped with MP3 mode with 4G built-in memory, which helps you to enjoy music when the phone is not with you. The Runner CC3 weight 28g, and is compact and very comfortable to wear.
Among the several bone conduction headphones recommended above, wissonly and aftershokz are my favorite brands. Compared with them, Wissonly is more cost-effective and worth buying.