Bluetooth headphones

[mecheng89]

1 hour ago, Holmsie said:

Had mine for about 4 months. No issues with them so far. Happy. Bought mine at Sportsman's Warehouse.

I've read in some places that the conduction earphones can sound "tinny". I won't call myself a bass freak, but I like a little oomph. How is the bass with these?

[Holmsie]

2 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

I've read in some places that the conduction earphones can sound "tinny". I won't call myself a bass freak, but I like a little oomph. How is the bass with these?

I'm clueless to be honest:-). If I can hear my podcasts them I'm happy. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[droo]

6 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

I've read in some places that the conduction earphones can sound "tinny". I won't call myself a bass freak, but I like a little oomph. How is the bass with these?

Poo. These aren't even bone conduction, they're air conduction.

I use mine for phone calls in the workshop and they're great for that, but for music I'd rather look at an in-ear option. That said, I'm a 3rd generation audiophile so YMMV.

[mecheng89]

1 hour ago, droo said:

Poo. These aren't even bone conduction, they're air conduction.

I use mine for phone calls in the workshop and they're great for that, but for music I'd rather look at an in-ear option. That said, I'm a 3rd generation audiophile so YMMV.

You've just convinced me to stay away from these, LOL.

[droo]

I feel I should qualify my last post - if you're listening to music while riding, they make a great budget alternative to Shokz and the like - none of the bone conduction headsets I've tried have any useful bass response IMO. 

But I don't run or ride with headphones on, so I don't need that combination of sound quality and the ability to hear what's going on.

[Jewbacca]

7 minutes ago, droo said:

I feel I should qualify my last post - if you're listening to music while riding, they make a great budget alternative to Shokz and the like - none of the bone conduction headsets I've tried have any useful bass response IMO. 

But I don't run or ride with headphones on, so I don't need that combination of sound quality and the ability to hear what's going on.

For people like me, with grossly misshapen ear canals and some very limited hearing, the open ear bone conductor ones are amazing.

I can't wear in ear buds and on ear headphones hurt after 25 minutes. Over ear noise cancelling ones make my eyes water.

So it's SHOKZ (or similar) or super old school ear phones that rest in the little outer ear pocket, most of which are junk anyway.

I don't do music while exercising either, but used to wear them when I lived in busy cities abroad and used noisy public transport and walked around

[Hairy]

Been forwards and backwards with a few options over the last year or two.

Started with the R500 ranges (Volcano, etc) and they are fine, but long term did not last.

Moved up to a set of JBL Flex Waves (Nice 12mm driver with good battery life) that were fine, I just had issues where it lost connection with the Laptop intermittently. On my android devices it was rock solid. The JBL app is rather decent to fine tune the sound experience.  These got me more into the JBL eco system and bought a pair of over ear JBL NC 770's that have been really good. I work with these between 10-14 hours a day and the battery lasts 50hrs ... noise cancelling (NC) is so good that I am now calling it the WNC (Wife Noise Cancelling) headphones.

So I tried out another set of JBL in ears (to replace the Flex Waves that I sent back) something or other Beams ... now this cost more than the previous set of JBL in ears, so I made a spur of the moment purchase decision thinking it would be better. It certainly was more comfortable with a more secure fit, BUT the sound sucks, even after fiddling with the app. If I did a bit of research I would have seen that the Beams only have a 8mm driver. These were donated to my eldest.

Looked around a bit after this, and more and more got pulled towards the Anker Soundcore range. My final decision was on a set of Liberty 4NC (They were on sale for R1700.00 when I purchased them).
https://www.takealot.com/anker-soundcore-liberty-4-nc-wireless-noise-cancelling-earbuds/PLID93971840
The Liberty 4NC have a 1mm driver, an assortment of silicone tips to fine tune the fit, which is essential to get a good seal. What is really brilliant though is the app it comes with. You first do a test where it checks for the seal of the earphones in your ears (Using it's one built in mics) and then you run through a custom equalizer where you select "A" or "B" type sounds as if you were at the optomotrist.

The end result is a really good sounding in ear sound, good custom setup of the touch of the buds, they sit tight in your ears no matter how much jumping around you do, the noise cancelling is really good, and the list goes on.

Stand out features

• multi point connectivity
• 10hrs play time with a total of 50hrs inc. the case
• ANC 2.0
• Hi Res LDAC 
• IPX4 water resistant ... so essentially sweat
• can be wirelessly charged
• "find my bus" if lost
• I speak under correction, but it is Bluetooth 5.3

After owning these I am seriously impressed and would be looking to a high end over ear with NC in the future if the JBL NC 770's do not last the test of time.

 

[Hairy]

This pair may also tick the boxes you require at a lower price point

https://www.takealot.com/anker-soundcore-a20i-true-wireless-earbuds/PLID94060694

 

EDIT: They are also IPX5, so even better given you are intending sweating away on a stationary bike.

Edited April 25 by Hairy
Additional info added

[alleyne]

I've had the huawei 4i for the last 2 years that have been great, awesome noise cancellation as well. I see the 5i model is on sale for R1000 - https://consumer.huawei.com/za/headphones/freebuds5i/buy/ 

[sirmoun10goat]

Anything IPx7 or lower I kill off in a matter of months. These are not designed for continual water exposure, let alone salty corroding sweat. If you are on a trainer or doing endurance sport, small amounts of daily ingress will be the end of the earphones. IPx8 is designed for continual water exposure (just not forced/pressure). 

[Mamil]

Samsung earbuds pro. About 2.5k. adequate sound if you used to high end hifi and struggle with anything that isn't halfway decent.

Wouldn't use them outside but for the trainer they are immersive, substantial bass response, good mids and sweet treble. 

 

[CraigCCW]

18 hours ago, NicholasT said:

I normally BLAST music when Zwifting, but on the odd occasion where I’ll do a 4 or 5am session and I’m not in the mood to have divorce proceedings instituted against me, I use these https://www.takealot.com/jabra-elite-4-active-true-wireless-in-ear-active-noise-cancellin/PLID73897192?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw26KxBhBDEiwAu6KXt0jj4myDj2CqwRd6rKxOiP8qVakMHPgcqLzDDw-lYihxtY2DyO5uoxoCSFMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds (they can be found cheaper). 
 

They really do pack a punch. They also review quite favourably. 

Also have a pair of those Jabra's, they are great. ANC works really well to drown out the sound of the trainer, and the sweat resistnce is a bonus.

Edited April 25 by CraigCCW

[cadenceblur]

50 minutes ago, sirmoun10goat said:

Anything IPx7 or lower I kill off in a matter of months. These are not designed for continual water exposure, let alone salty corroding sweat. If you are on a trainer or doing endurance sport, small amounts of daily ingress will be the end of the earphones. IPx8 is designed for continual water exposure (just not forced/pressure). 

Guess it depends on how much you sweat, i have a set that’s rated IPX4 which I’ve been using on my trainer sessions for close on 18 months without issue . A go old fan therefore help as well. 

[Kom]

4 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

For people like me, with grossly misshapen ear canals and some very limited hearing, the open ear bone conductor ones are amazing.

I can't wear in ear buds and on ear headphones hurt after 25 minutes. Over ear noise cancelling ones make my eyes water.

So it's SHOKZ (or similar) or super old school ear phones that rest in the little outer ear pocket, most of which are junk anyway.

I don't do music while exercising either, but used to wear them when I lived in busy cities abroad and used noisy public transport and walked around

Same here - the SHOKZ are defs my favorite - my ear canals keep ejecting in-ear types of devices.

Ive moved from the OpenRun to the OpenFit recently and am very impressed at the sound quality.

 

[justinafrika]

I've had/tried a few of options previously mentioned, whether bone conduction or over-ear hook or in-ear versions.  For riding out my preference is for in-ear without noise cancelling and without paying too much.  No inhibiting of ambient sounds.  These have been a great choice for me:

https://www.jbl.com/earbuds/TUNE125BT-.html

Just R675 at Incredible Connection.  Made by Harman.  3 bud fitting sizes, and with the light around-the-neck wiring they don't dislodge and fall on gnarlier trails.  Mostly used for podcasts but good for music as well, 20Hz - 20kHz.  I've ridden with them several hours almost every day for about a year, including in driving rain, and they haven't skipped a proverbial beat wrt connectivity or run time.

Edited April 29 by justinafrika