Open audio pioneers Shokz has a couple of new pairs to keep the audio going, and to still let you hear the outside world easily.
There are plenty of headphones and earphones and earbuds in the world, but most have one thing in common: they’re designed to block the world out while you listen to your tunes, podcasts, films, and shows. Whether you’re listening to a pair of something with active noise cancellation or even something with passive cancellation, most earphones are designed for personal sound, and the outside world stays outside.
But not all.
Some earphones are designed for the total opposite, so you can hear the outside world and still listen to your tunes and everything else.
While most active noise cancelling earphones and headphones support an ambient and transparency mode to let you hear the outside world through microphones, another style of audio called “open audio” is designed to have you hear both. Open audio does this by being exactly what the name suggests — open — and it’s an area bone conduction specialist Shokz has been working in for some time.
Last year, its OpenRun Pro 2 were so good at combining the two that we gave them a Best Pick nod, and this year, the company is back with a couple of new efforts for folks looking for that combination: the outside world and a soundtrack played in their head.
To that end, the company is keeping the OpenRun Pro 2 at the flagship level, but offering a couple of newbies below it, updating its “Fit” range of truly wireless offerings, while also getting into the earbud jewellery concept we saw from Bose last year.
For the former, Shokz’s OpenFit 2+ aims to improve the truly wireless OpenFit offerings that relies on a speaker system as opposed to the company’s expertise in bone conduction.
The approach is to use two speakers acting as one, a technology Shokz calls “DualBoost” which aims to push the bass, a known issue with some of Shokz offerings.
Outside of DualBoost, the earphones fit over the ear and allow its listener to hear both the outside world and the sound from their phone or gadget, complete with supply for Dolby Audio. They don’t come with spatial audio, but the inclusion of Dolby means you may get a bigger soundstage compared with the standard OpenFit variations.
There’s also a sizeable battery life here, with up to 11 hours of battery life from a single charge and up to 48 in the case, essentially giving you roughly three full charges when in use. They’re even IP55 rated, meaning they’ll survive sweat and a small shower.
On the other side of Shokz’s offerings, the OpenDots One are a different style altogether. In fact, they’re more like the Bose Ultra Open earbuds we checked out last year, straddling that point between earphone and earring.
Similar in design, the Shokz OpenDots One roll out to clip onto the ear, resting the speaker against an aural cavity (the hole in your ear), while the rest of the hardware sits in a small barrel that clips to the back of your ear.
The approach looks a lot like an earring, but manages to include two 11.8mm drivers working together for sound, against with support for Dolby Audio to increase the soundstage.
It’s a design that won’t appeal to all, but does aim to be durable, complete with a combination of silicone and titanium alloy, not to mention a total lack of ear gels: simply throw these on your ear, rest them in place, wirelessly connect them to your device, and you’re good to go.
Interestingly, both models are priced exactly the same in Australia, with the OpenDots One and OpenFit 2+ available for a recommended retail price of $339 locally.
They’re heading to stores from July 3, where Amazon, JB HiFi, and Shokz’s online counterpart will get them first, while other Aussie retailers look set to get the duo later on from July 31.
