Shokz OpenRun review (formerly AfterShokz Aeropex)
Our Verdict
If yous've been wary of os-conduction headphones, the Shokz OpenRun'southward workout-friendly design and meliorate-than-expected sound might just change your mind.
For
- Comfortable, secure fit
- Long battery life
- Fully waterproof
- Respectable audio
Against
- Not adjustable
- Conventional earbuds audio better
Tom'south Guide Verdict
If you've been wary of bone-conduction headphones, the Shokz OpenRun's workout-friendly blueprint and meliorate-than-expected sound might just change your mind.
Pros
- +
Comfortable, secure fit
- +
Long battery life
- +
Fully waterproof
- +
Respectable audio
Cons
- -
Non adjustable
- -
Conventional earbuds sound ameliorate
Shokz OpenRun: Specs
Toll: $159
Colors: Blue, Black, Grey, Carmine
Battery life (rated): 8 hours
Connectivity: Bluetooth v.0
Processor: Qualcomm QCC3024
Size: 1.7 x 4.3 x five.1 inches
Weight: 0.9 ounces
The Shokz OpenRun, orginially called AfterShokz Aeropex, is peachy pair of os-conduction headphones. For those unfamiliar with the concept, bone-conduction headphones play audio past sending vibrations into your cheekbones, intentionally leaving your ears open so you tin accept conversations or listen out for sounds like traffic. As such, they're well suited to runners and gym-goers, also every bit to people with hearing loss.
The biggest drawback of the bone-conduction approach is that audio quality is no match for the best wireless earbuds. Still, not merely does the Shokz sound surprisingly decent, simply its secure fit, waterproofing and long battery life could be enough to make fitness fans catechumen.
- Read our total Samsung Milky way Buds 2 review
- All the best cheap wireless earbuds
Keep reading our Shokz OpenRun review to find out why it's i of the best sport headphones you can buy. And be certain to check out our Shokz OpenRun Pro review for the depression-down on a newer bone conduction option with 10 hours of bombardment life and additional bass.
Shokz OpenRun review: Price and availability
The Shokz OpenRun is a specialized pair of headphones, but non an overly expensive one: It costs $159, about the same as the cheapest Apple AirPods model.
It comes in iv colors — Blue Eclipse, Cosmic Black, Lunar Grey and Solar Red — and is sold through Amazon, All-time Buy and B&H, among other retailers.
Shokz OpenRun review: Design and comfort
The design is broadly similar to that of the AfterShokz Air, with the vibration drivers on the ends of over-ear hooks that connect to each other via a thin merely rigid yoke. However, the Aeropex is a little more compact than the Air, particularly around the drivers and the electronics-housing modules at the base of each hook. Equally a result, the Aeropex is also nearly 0.2 ounces lighter.
Thank you in part to this barely-there weight, the Aeropex lands perfectly between comfort and the kind of secure fit you lot'd want from a set of sport headphones. I couldn't milk shake the Aeropex off, or even loose, but it never felt like the drivers were clamping downwards on my caput. I could wear these for hours without complaint — and I have.
Still, it's worth noting that you tin can't adapt the Aeropex in any way. You tin can go a smaller "Mini" version for the aforementioned price, which AfterShokz recommends if the distance between the backs of your ears is less than 9.iii inches, though with both this and the standard model you lot're relying solely on the flexibility of the yoke.
Not that the Aeropex is shoddily made. If annihilation, the opposite is true: The whole affair has a pleasant soft-touch finish, and it'south IP67-rated for both dustproofing and waterproofing. Although AfterShokz says you shouldn't accept the Aeropex swimming, it will survive full submersion in upwardly to 1 metre of fresh water for up to xxx minutes.
Shokz OpenRun review: Controls and digital assistant
The Aeropex uses concrete buttons, which makes sense; bear upon sensors rarely play well with sweat and water. A unmarried multifunction button sits on the left driver housing, while a volume rocker (which integrates the power button) is on the underside of the rectangular section behind the right ear claw.
The selection of controls is bones but functional. Also the cocky-axiomatic book adjustment, the MF button can pause or play with a unmarried tap, or skip ahead with a double tap. While that might audio underwhelming to earbud owners who can triple-tap and swipe to perform additional inputs, it is enough for normal playback, and I never had to repeatedly endeavour an input as if the buttons were finicky tough sensors.
Besides, there's one more than use for the MF push button. Holding it downwardly will activate Google Assistant or Siri, depending on your phone, and the onboard microphone has no trouble picking up voice commands. Information technology all works effortlessly and seamlessly.
Shokz OpenRun review: Audio quality
If you've never tried a pair of bone-conduction headphones before, we wouldn't blame you lot if yous found the Aeropex flat and muted. Compared to even the all-time cheap earbuds, there's a definite lack of definition that earbuds and headphones tin can easily avoid by pipage music direct into your eardrums.
However, that's pretty much an intrinsic limitation of bone-conduction tech. And when because how the Aeropex sounds within those limitations, and next to similar bone-conduction headphones, it really exceeds expectations.
Electronic parts seem particularly uniform with beingness shot through a skeleton. The chief synth riff in The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" wasn't diminished at all, and La Roux's "Bulletproof" was pleasantly punchy. Vocals are commonly prissy and clear as well, and delivered with enough detail that it's possible to option out all the layers of "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Guitar-heavy tracks can be hit or miss; there'southward enough low-end for enjoyable renditions of Biffy Clyro's epic "Mountains" or the dynamic, swaying "Rope" by Foo Fighters. Sure furnishings can sound scratchy, though, and the bass never goes truly, powerfully deep.
Whether all this is a dealbreaker depends on what exactly you lot want from your headphones. If you want something general-purpose, with some fettle capability on the side, there are dozens of improve-sounding alternatives. If, however, you lot demand a pair that won't injure your spatial sensation when out on runs or bike rides, the Aeropex sounds practiced enough to seriously compete with halfway-there models like the Bose Sport Open Earbuds.
Shokz OpenRun review: Features
There's no companion app for the Aeropex, and in truth it doesn't actually have any bonus features beyond the waterproofing and digital assistant back up.
All the same, information technology's worth restating the efficacy of its water, sweat and dust protection. Even expensive earbuds struggle to match the Aeropex's IP67 rating; the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro comes close with IPX7, simply that means information technology lacks any form of certifiable protection against dust, dirt and sand. AfterShokz's effort is a much hardier, outdoor-ready alternative in that sense.
The Aeropex as well provides a "Wet Detected Alarm": When continued to the charging cable, the Aeropex can sense if there'south any wet around the cablevision connectors. If you haven't stale it properly, the Aeropex will simultaneously beep, flash a red and blue alert LED and continuously vibrate. It'southward a thoughtful bear on, and could help prevent adventitious impairment downwardly the line.
Shokz OpenRun review: Bombardment life
AfterShokz rates the Aeropex for 8 hours of music and calls, just I got nearly xiv hours of pure music playback on a unmarried accuse.
There's no charging case, so you'll always need to recharge using the included USB cablevision, simply this longevity batters most true wireless earbuds on a per-accuse footing. Even the JLab Epic Air Sport ANC, ane of the longest-lasting we've tested, tin can't match up — though in fairness that has the added drain of active racket cancellation.
Shokz OpenRun review: Call quality and connectivity
Call quality is a rare stumble for the Aeropex. I patently sounded somewhat fuzzy in comparison to both my handset and the conventional headphones I usually use for calls, and loud background noise was a mutual complaint also.
On the brilliant side, the Bluetooth five.0 connection was always rock-steady. There were no dropouts or deposition around or even beyond the "official" 33-pes range; this might come in handy if you're at the gym and want to leave your phone safety in a locker.
Shokz OpenRun review: Verdict
The AfterShokz Aeropex is, admittedly, an unusual kind of Editor'southward Selection award winner — unless you want an open-ear pair of headphones specifically, it's non something we'd recommend. It's but too easy to get meliorate sound quality from a pair of wireless earbuds.
But if you lot practise want to keep your ability to listen for ambient sounds, there aren't many better options. Remember that by the standards of bone-conduction headphones specifically, the Aeropex actually sounds practiced, and its durability and fit are practically perfect for running and workouts. Check it out if you want something more than specialized to stand in for your everyday headphones during fettle sessions.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/aftershokz-aeropex
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