Feel the Beat of a Different Drum: Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction Headphones

Shokz (previously known as Aftershokz) have been producing bone conducting headphones for a while, their latest headphone is the OpenRun Pro. This has two sides connected by a titanium band that goes behind the head and over the ears, while each side has a "speaker" that sits in front of the ear connected to  a solid bit that connects to the loop (the right hand side has the charging connection and the on/off/volume buttons). This bit has been redesigned so the charging connection is on the angled back, which makes it impossible to even try to force the magnetic connector on the wrong way round. The left speaker has the multifunction button.

OpenRun Pro headphones

Bone conduction works by vibrating the bones which then transmit the sound to the inner ear, this does mean that if the volume is too loud, then you can feel a vibration against the skin (like being tickled) which can be annoying, but assuming the volume is at a sensible level, this doesn't happen. Being "open ear" means you still hear what's going on around you, which may not be what you want if immersing yourself into a movie or travelling on the tube, but for runners, cyclists and even working out in a gym when you want to be aware of your surroundings these definitely work well.

Though similar in design to the older Aeropex, the OpenRun Pro is slimmed down in size for a more lightweight feel and only weighs 29g.

Bottom view

Audio quality has improved markedly in the OpenRun Pro and sounds more balanced with better depth in the lower frequencies (TurboPitch). Higher frequencies have always worked better and are crisp and clear. The volume can be adjusted sufficiently to overcome wind noise without distorting. Unfortunately fidelity is unlikely ever going to match traditional headphones, the OpenRun Pro delivers pretty good sound quality (Shokz claim 20Hz - 20KHz frequency response).

Top view

On the base of the right hand there are only two buttons, volume up and down, the volume up button is also the power button, if the OpenRun Pros are off, long pressing it will turn them on (and the blue LED will turn on too), holding it down when on, will turn them off. If turning on and continuing to hold, then the LED will flash red and blue, indicating it is in pairing mode.

There's also a multifunction button on the left speaker that pressing will pause/play music, answer a call etc.

Power connection

There are dual microphones which pick up speech which means calls and video conferencing work well.

The OpenRun Pros are also IP55 allowing them to be used in sweaty environments. There is a built-in moisture detector.

Bluetooth is now version 5.1 (though 5.3 is the latest version), but that should allow more stable Bluetooth connections and supporting multipoint pairing (i.e. multiple devices). The SBC codec is supported as well as A2DP, AVRCP, HSP and HFP Bluetooth profiles.

Battery life is now 10 hours on a full charge (which takes 1 hour). A 5 minute charge will give 1.5 hours of usage. Standby is up to 10 days.

Shokz now provide an app (IOS and Android) that allows for 2 levels of EQ (equalisation) optimising for music or voice. The app also supports pairing, multipoint pairing, listening customisation, and user tips.

In the box there's also a hard shell carry case that holds the headphones and a USB-A charging cable (that can fit into the carry case under a strap).

Hard shell carry case

As an artefact of bone conduction technology, if you have slight hearing loss that is caused by something say in the ear canal or similar, sound can actually sound better (or louder) as it's directly stimulating the inner ear [NOTE this is NOT any advice re hearing loss].

Not the most expensive headphones on the market they can be directly purchased from the Shokz site or other retailers for £159 (purchasing from Shokz gives a 2 year guarantee in certain territories).

Aeropex might Shokz you (after)

Aftershokz (now Shokz) Aeropex bone conducting headphones (now discontinued, but the Shokz Openrun are similar) sit over the ear in contact with the skin and rather than sending audio into the ear canal like 'normal' headphones or earphones, they vibrate and use bones in the skull to send the audio into the ear itself.

The front portion contains the bone conducting technology and then a loop gives over the ear to another unit containing the batteries/electronics and Bluetooth and another loop goes behind the head to connect to the same setup on the other ear.

Aftershokz Aeropex

The headphones are very light weighing in at 26g, have an estimated 8 hour playback time and are rated IP67 (so good for sweat resistance, but not for swimming). There is a USB cable for charging with a magnetic connector to ensure it aligns with the 2 pin charging port (and cant be put on the wrong way around).

Charging port

Bone conducting technology is a bit of a Marmite® technology (i.e. you love it or hate it). When it works well, it can work very well, or it doesn't.

(After)Shokz are a premium brand and their headphones aren't the cheapest on the market, however they tend to work well and lot of Chinese clones that claim to offer similar technologies will disappoint. An easy test is to turn up the volume and if a buzzing is felt on the skin (like being tickled), then it's probably not a good buy. All bone conducting headphones can suffer this, but cheaper ones will do this at lower volumes

The Aeropex have titanium parts internally with a soft touch covering. There's a single multi-function button and volume control with an LED indicator (charging, Bluetooth). A full charge takes around 2 hours and they should last for about 10 days on standby. Bluetooth is version 5.0, supporting A2DP, AVRCP, HSP and HFP and up to 10 metres away from the audio source.

The claimed frequency response is 20Hz to 20KHz, however the lower frequencies don't tend to pass so well through bone conduction as they get lost on the device to skin. There are also dual microphones to pick up sound for calls etc.

The multi-function button performs the following: -

Play/pause music - click once - one beep

Next song - double click - one beep

Previous song - triple click - one beep

Answer call - click once - two beeps

End call - click once - one beep

Answer call waiting and end current call - press and hold for 2 seconds - one beep

Ignore a call - press and hold for 2 seconds - two beeps

Activate voice assistant - press and hold for 2 seconds - beeps

Redial last number - double click on standby - Redial last number

Power/Volume+/Volume- combinations: -

Power On - press and hold vol+ for 2 seconds - Welcome to Aftershokz

Power Off - press and hold vol+ for 3 seconds - Power Off

Mute - press and hold vol+/vol- for 2 seconds (on call) - mute on/off

Change EQ - press and hold vol+/vol- for 2 seconds (music playing) - EQ changed

Check battery status - click vol+ or vol- (music paused) - Battery high/medium/low/charge me

Just volume - vol- or vol- (music playing) - one beep

The LED indicates: -

Solid red - charging

Solid blue - charged

Flashes red/blue - pairing

Flashes blue - incoming call

Flashes red (every 2 minutes) - low battery

The moisture detector will indicate the headphones are wet if plugged into the charger and they should be dried. 

Bone conducting headphones do take getting used to as the audio goes straight into the back of the ear, while allowing the ears to hear normally. This can be extremely useful for things like cycling or running so you're aware of your surroundings and what's going on. Probably less useful for wearing in a busy office environment and trying to zone out. They are extremely light and as they don't sit in the ear (or cover the ears) there's no long discomfort per se.

The only slightly irritating issue is the vibration on the skin if the volume is too loud or the frequencies in that particular range, but that's really a petty issue.

Though the Aeropex have been discontinued they are still available from sports' shops, the replacement Openrun is directly available from the UK Shokz site for £129.95, they come in black/grey, blue/dark blue, dark grey/light grey and red/dark red.

There's now also the Openrun Pro and Openrun Pro mini, which are newer models supporting Bluetooth 5.1, rated IP55, 12 hours play time, larger multi-function button and enhanced base also from UK Shokz site for £159.95 though they are 3g heavier.

Shokz now also do swimming bone conduction MP3 players and UC headphones.