﻿Hi I’m Gidon from thetechnologyman.com. The OpenRun Pro sit at the top of the Shokz range
of open ear headphones. They have improved sound quality, faster charging and there’s a new app to
control them. Just to avoid any confusion Shockz changed their name from Aftershokz just recently.
These bone conduction headphones leave your ears open delivering sound through your cheekbones to
your inner ear, so you can still hear what’s going on around you. Which should make them perfect for
running and cycling or anything else where being able to hear your surroundings is important.
I’ve reviewed their predecessors the Aeropex around 2 years ago, and they’ve been my main
running headphones since. Those headphones have just been replaced by the OpenRun with the only
upgrade being faster charging. I’ll cover them in a separate video, as part of a long term review of
the Aeropex that I’ve used for hundreds of runs. The OpenRun Pro are £160 or $180,
around £30 or $50 more expensive than the non-Pro version. I’ll run through their features and
compare how they sound to see whether it's worth paying the extra. I’ll also compare them to the
now entry level OpenMove I reviewed last year which are half the price of the OpenRun Pro.
So let’s take a closer look. Overview
In the box you get the headphones themselves, a hard case, a proprietary
USB charging cable and a user guide. The case is more bulky than the silicone
case included with the Aeropex and the soft pouch included with the OpenRun,
but offers more protection and now has somewhere to store the charging cable.
The OpenMove released last year moved across to a USB-C charging cable,
but Shokz have stuck with their proprietary magnetic charging connector for the OpenRun Pro.
It’s the same cable that came with the Aeropex. The magnetic charging cable is convenient,
but would have preferred a standard USB-C cable. You can always find a spare USB-C cable if you run
out of battery. At least with the Aeropex, Shokz were kind enough to supply a spare magnetic cable.
You only get one with the OpenRun Pro. I thought perhaps the magnetic connector
is required for waterproofing, but these headphones have the same IP55 sweatproof rating
as the OpenMove with their USB-C connector, and are a downgrade on the Aeropex and OpenRun
headphones’ IP67 waterproof rating. I’m assuming that’s due to the two vents on each transducer
which are covered in a fine mesh, compared to the mostly sealed Aeropex and OpenRun.
They’re also a couple of grams heavier than the Aeropex and OpenRun at just over 28g and
just a fraction lighter than the OpenMove. They do now support quick charge which will
provide 1.5 hours of battery life with a 5 minute charge. And a full charge only takes
an hour - around twice as fast as the Aeropex and 30 minutes quicker than the OpenRun.
One new feature of the OpenRun Pro that isn’t advertised is a new multi-function button for
controlling your music and phone calls. It’s a little bigger than the button on the OpenRun
and Aeropex. And it sits a little more proud of the surface of the left transducer with
a lighter actuation so it’s much easier to locate and use, even when running.
Despite their very slightly heavier weight compared to the OpenRun and Aeropex, they still
feel very comfortable and I barely notice them in use. The neckband and hook is made from titanium
and feels robust. The neckband is very flexible but always returns back to its original shape.
I haven’t been particularly careful with my Aeroepex and they’re still going strong.
I’m testing the blue version but they also come in black, pink and beige.
The power button which doubles as the volume up button sits closest to your right ear.
The volume down button is just behind. If you press either button with the headphones turned on
and music paused you’ll get a battery level audio prompt. You can press both buttons together for 3
seconds to change EQ mode from Standard mode to Vocal Booster mode which is more suited to
podcasts and audiobooks. And you should also use this mode with earplugs. Shokz used to supply
some earplugs, but they don’t any more. I find using bone conduction headphones with earplugs
very useful when operating loud machinery. Like all the Shokz range, with the headphones
turned off you press and hold the power button for 5 seconds to pair them to your smartphone.
They also pair to my Apple Watch when I occasionally leave my phone behind on a run.
A single press of the multi function button will play or pause your music or answer and end a
phone call. A double press will skip to the next track and a triple press will skip back a track.
Shokz have just released an app on iOS and Android to configure these headphones.
Unfortunately it doesn’t work with any of the other Shokz headphones.
This makes it far easier to change EQ mode and you can also turn on
multipoint pairing which allows you to connect to two devices simultaneously.
You can do this with the various button presses as described in the downloadable user manual,
but the process is a little convoluted. In the app you can also switch between EQ modes,
check battery life and change the audio prompt language. Although you can’t turn the prompts off.
And you can’t configure the multi-function button which might have been useful.
I’d also like to see an auto-power off setting. Currently these headphones will remain on in
standby mode until they run out of batteries. There’s also the option here to upgrade
firmware down the line. Audio quality and performance
The OpenRun Pro use Shokz’s TurboPitch™ technology. This is their 9th generation
bone conduction technology, compared to 8th gen in their OpenRun and Aeropex headphones and 7th gen
in their OpenMove. They still don’t sound as good as even inexpensive in-ear or over-ear headphones,
but Shokz have managed to improve their overall range, in particular bass and the
difference isn’t quite so noticeable, compared to more conventional headphones.
It does depend on what you’re listening to, but generally they sound more full-bodied compared
to the Aeropex or OpenRun and probably more importantly for me they sound a little louder too
for most music I listened to. Shokz’s entry level OpenMove headphones sound tinny in
comparison, but the difference between the OpenRun and OpenRun Pro is more subtle.
For some tracks I actually found better clarity in the mids with the OpenRun. It’s disappointing
the accompanying app doesn’t provide more EQ profiles or custom EQ configuration.
I listen to a lot of podcasts and I’d still like them a little louder out on the bike,
but for music they’re ok and for running there’s enough volume for both music and podcasts. At
higher volumes especially with tracks with lots of bass, the vibration can be a little uncomfortable.
They feel like they’re tickling your ear which is an odd sensation. You don’t notice it so
much with the movement of running and cycling but if you’re sat still you could try turning
on Vocal Booster mode although you’ll most likely just want to turn the volume down.
Which you’ll need to do anyway if you share an office or are using public transport
since they have major sound leakage at anything above around 60% of full volume.
Like the Aeropex and OpenRun the OpenRun Pro have dual noise canceling microphones but calls sound
much clearer with these headphones, even with background noise. You can hear the difference
yourselves compared to the OpenRun and my AirPods Pro that have the best call quality out of the
earbuds and headphones I’ve tested so far. This is a mic test with the OpenRun Pro with no
background noise. And this is how they sound with the noise of a coffee shop in the background.
This is a mic test with the OpenRun with no background noise. And this is how they sound with
the noise of a coffee shop in the background. This is a mic test with the AirPods Pro with no
background noise. And this is how they sound with the noise of a coffee shop in the background.
Shokz quotes 10 hours of battery life thanks to their larger 160mAh battery,
which is two hours more than the OpenRun and Aeropex and 4 hours more than the OpenMove.
They don’t say at what playback volume that’s at, but listening at between 60%
and 100% of full volume I didn’t get far off those times. My biggest issue with battery life
is forgetting to turn them off. They remain in standby mode for up to 10 days, but there’s no LED
to warn you they’re still on and as I mentioned before there’s no auto power off setting.
Hopefully that’s something that can be added via a firmware update.
The OpenRun Pro use Bluetooth 5.1 like the OpenMove and the OpenRun versus Bluetooth 5.0
with the Aeropex, and I found the Bluetooth connection reliable and the range good.
And there’s no perceivable lip sync delay watching YouTube videos or Netflix.
They don’t have any support for higher quality codecs like AAC, or aptX - just the standard
SBC codec. But even with the improvements in audio quality, I’m still not sure you’d be able to hear
any difference anyway. Conclusions
The improved audio quality, extra battery life, new multi-function button, phone call quality
and the accompanying app, do help to justify the extra price of the OpenRun Pro
over the OpenRun. Overall these are the best bone conduction headphones I’ve tested so far.
They are already my headphones of choice for running, and their slight extra volume also
means I’ll be using them more for cycling. They fit quite nicely underneath my helmet
straps and sunglasses and I can still hear music playing with wind and traffic noise.
But they are a lot of money and I’m a little concerned over their drop in water resistance
rating longer term. I’ll provide an update in 6 months or so to see how they fare.
The OpenMove don’t sound as good, but they’re half the price and have the standard USB-C connector
which will be a major benefit for many. If it was between the OpenRun and OpenRun Pro,
the OpenRun which are just the Aeropex with fast charging, still sound pretty good,
have a better IP67 waterproof rating and are a couple of grams lighter too. And I’m sure most
people would be more than happy with them. But I’d love to hear your thoughts. If
you’ve tried bone conduction headphones what do you think of them? Will you be
upgrading to these? Let me know down below! And as always, if you have any questions,
please ask - I read every comment and will do my best to respond.
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