Shokz continues to surge ahead with its bone conduction technology, giving users enjoying the outdoors, a chance to listen to their media while maintaining awareness of their surroundings. We’ve recently reviewed the OpenRun and OpenRun Pro, today we’ve got the brand new OpenRun Pro 2 to talk about.
Like the previous units, the OpenRun Pro 2 is a bone conduction unit that sits in front of your ear. I was highly skeptical of this until we tried the previous review unit with my son (who is deaf without his cochlear and bone attached hearing aid) and he immediately began to sing and dance to the playing music. As you can see, the same happened when he tried the OpenRun Pro 2.
The OpenRun Pro 2 is a significant level up from the previous generation, with better audio delivery and awareness.
What’s new?
The OpenRun Pro 2 blurs the lines between bone and air conduction with their new DualPitch technology; broadening the audio response range and giving a better listening experience. Before I get into the other factors too far, the audio is a lot better than the previous units we’ve reviewed but it’s certainly not audiophile level. What you’re going to get here is a listening experience that’s really clean and more importantly, useful if you’re outdoors and need to maintain some spatial and situational awareness.
The design, fit and comfort have all been massaged this time round too so the wearer gets an overall better experience. Being a sports focused device, you’re also getting IP55 resistance rating to protect your $319.00 investment from the weather and, your sweat.
Connectivity and battery life
I like wearing headphones around the house, the problem is (well… for my wife at least) that I can’t hear everything that’s going on. With a couple of kids crashing around, that’s not necessarily a good thing. So having something like these that, through the app, I’m able to connect to multiple devices is a blessing.
I can still enjoy my music, podcasts or other streaming media around the house but without losing that awareness of my family’s needs.
There are several areas of design and, in particular battery use and management, that I’m really happy about. Let’s start with my favorite complaint; well, now resolved complaint – there’s no more proprietary magnetic charger, this will charge from USB-C.
Then you get to the battery life with a full charge offering up to 12 hours listening time, and a 5 minute top up being more than enough (2.5 hours of listening) to cover your commute to work or home.
Comfort and Audio Quality: A generational leap
I didn’t really have any major issues with the original OpenRun in terms of comfort, but I did notice the fit of the OpenRun Pro 2 being significantly nicer. There was less squeeze on my head, the earpieces sat more in-line with my ears which helped with comfort as a glasses wearer.
Playback is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to different environments. If you’re outdoors and away from high level noise, it’s no problem and the same can be said for a home or office environment. But having tried to use these at my kids Scouts group; they just weren’t loud enough to combat the anarchy of 28 kids between the ages of 8 and 11.
With the update in playback hardware, you’re — comparatively speaking — in for a treat. The mid-range audio in particular is so much cleaner, and the highs are far better defined. This is balanced well with the DualPitch technology, providing some reasonable (but far from ground shaking) bass.
Calls, even while I was riding my bike were clear; for both me and the caller. One of them asked if I was at the gym because I sounded a little puffed and they were stunned to learn I was riding through one of the local bike paths because of the lack of noise.
It’s a generational upgrade, should you buy them?
For me, this is a question of use and budget. If I had a pair of OpenRun or OpenRun Pro (1st Gen) that were functional, I probably wouldn’t bother with an upgrade. If you’re looking for a way to improve your vibe while you’re exercising outdoors, without losing awareness of your surroundings; this is pretty close to a must have.
There’s extra versatility now with the capability to connect to multiple devices at the same time. The battery life is more than enough for a full day of use without charging, even if you get caught short – 5 minutes of charging will buy you 2.5 hours of listening.
Work in the improved comfort and audio quality, Shokz are on a winner here for the outdoor enthusiasts. You can get yours in Black or Orange from Shokz online, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Amazon and 99 Bikes for $319.00 from September the 5th.
