So I had a $50 burning a whole in my pocket after a week of my ears being particularly sore after wearing my earbuds while working. Ive seen some reviews and looked into a few sets on Amazon, so I was aware there were different styles and such.

But during a stoned Walmart trip I saw the title product on the shelf and said fuck it.

Spent all day doing house projects with them on. The little bone conducting bits sit just in front of your tiny inner ear flap and the band kind of just floats behind your head? I have long hair currently so this was mitigated by throwing a ponytail on, but also didn’t seem too uncomfrtable when my hair was down. Running would be a problem with them if your longer hair was down, to give an idea of the stability.

Bass from music was lacking, and above like 80% volume they still get louder, but you can also hear the vibration motor working overtime lol. I knew this going in so it isn’t a dealbreaker for me, I want to primarily use these for audiobooks and podcasts.

Would love to hear some thoughts on the tech in general if you don’t have any on these specifics ones!

  • pacmondo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    5·
    6 months ago

    I’ve been using a pair from shokz for cycling and while they offer better quality sound than your average sub $80 pair, the technology generally has similar gripes for me. I find they’re really good for anything dialogue heavy (like the aforementioned audiobooks and podcasts) or music you already like and have listened to before. The plus side though is it leaves my ears open so I’m far more situationally aware on my commute to work.

    • TheBestOPEnglish
      2·
      6 months ago

      Good to hear! Agree on the commute situation. Went biking a few times today and they worked well for dialogue content. Lost a lot of the soundstage at higher speeds, but generally okay for what I want.

      Im nervous of others around me hearing my content though 😬

      • pacmondo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        6 months ago

        I’ve found that unless you’re getting to the point that you’re feeling them buzz on your temples you’re usually pretty good, but YMMV.

    • invertedspear@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      6 months ago

      Just want to second all of these points. I’ve been using aftershokz for a couple years now, mainly for podcasts. They really do work great for dialog, but the audio isn’t “rich” at all. The number one feature is open ears. You may not hear what someone says to you over your audio, but you’ll at least know someone said something.

      • TheBestOPEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        Exactly, its the awareness factor I’m most excited about.

        I have the latest gen LG Earpods and the transparency mode works decently, its just majorly funky. Maybe higher end earbuds have better implementations, but nothing can beat just literally nit obstructing your ear canal.

    • TheBestOPEnglish
      1·
      6 months ago

      Holy shit that’s crazy. I guess with all tech, progress is iterative. Instead of my whole jelly torso mass jiggling to produce sound its just my fatass skull doing the heavy lifting.

      What a blast from the past.