How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work and Best Headphones with Bone Conduction in 2023

I believe you also have the common experience that when we eat cookies, even if we cover our ears, we can hear the cracking sound of cookies. Or when we scratch our head, we hear the sound of fingers rubbing against our head. This is actually the most common example of bone conduction.The vibration of a cookie or the friction of the head is transmitted through the skull to our inner ear, which helps us to hear sound. This sound transmission method has also been cleverly applied by scientists to bone conduction headphones, and in the past 2 years, they have become the most popular digital product.

So, what are bone conduction headphones?

Bone conduction headphones are headphones that are worn differently from traditional headphones. And their don’t need to tuck earbuds into ears like that common headphones to help sound transmit to the eardrum through the air in the ear canal. They are generally hung on the pinna, so that the sound unit is placed against the temple. And the mechanical vibration signal of the sound unit is transmitted to the auditory nerve of the inner ear through the skull, and finally the sound is heard.

Bone conduction headphones are actually a new application of mature technology. Because of its high technical maturity, its performance is very stable, and its reliability has been widely recognized. This is also the reason why bone conduction headphones can become popular so quickly and are recommended by many professionals.

How do bone conduction headphones work?

Bone conduction headphones are a kind of headphones that uses bone conduction technology, they are placed close to the bones, and sound waves are directly transmitted to the auditory nerve of brain through bones.

To understand how do bone conduction headphones work, we must mainly understand the sound transmission method and path. We can first look at the working principle of traditional headphones, and then make a comparison. Then it is clear.

Under normal circumstances, traditional headphones are essentially "air conduction headphones" that use the air in the external ear canal as the main sound transmission medium. In the air conduction process, the micro-horn of the headphones vibrates. Then sound waves are transmitted through the air in the external auditory canal to the eardrum, the ossicle, the labyrinth of inner ear and other parts. The vibration of the internal and external lymphatic fluid in the inner ear helps the spiral organ to complete the perception of sound, and then transmit to the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve produces nerve impulses and presents signals to the auditory center, and the cerebral cortex help us to "hear" the sound after comprehensive analysis.

The biggest unique feature of bone conduction headphones is that sound waves do not pass through the air in the external auditory canal and eardrum, but directly use the human bone as the sound transmission medium. When using, we need to put the sound source of the headphones against the skull behind the ear. And when the sound source vibrates, it will drive the skull to vibrate together, so that the sound wave is transmitted into the skull. And then the sound wave is directly transmitted to the ossicles through the skull bypassing the external auditory canal and the ossicles. And then the ossicles transmit sound waves into the bone labyrinth, so that the sound information is transmitted to the cochlea and auditory nerve etc..

More and more people are interested in bone conduction headphones, and more and more earphone manufacturers are joining this market. Then, how to choose the right bone conduction headphone is a problem. In the following, I recommend five headphones with bone conduction, all of which are of good quality and cost-effective.

Best headphones with bone conduction in 2023

1. Wissonly Hi Runner headphones （with bone conduction）

Reason for recommendation:

Wissonly bone conduction headphones are the first brand I started to contact. When they recommended it on the online crowdfunding platform, I noticed it, after saw that many people were recommending, and I bought it. This Hi runner I used for a few months, and the overall performance was better than I expected.

Some bone conduction headphones leak sound, and you know that I take privacy very seriously, so I'm very concerned about anti-sound-leakage technology. Wissonly Hi Runner does a very good job in the field. Its body is sealed, and through structural optimization and algorithm adjustment, its sound leakage is minimized. The official claim they can eliminate 90% of sound leakage. I do not have professional equipment to test, but I have tried and found that at 60%-70% volume, the sound is completely inaudible at a distance of 1.5 meters, which makes me very satisfied. I have actually compared it with other bone conduction headphones, and the Wissonly Hi Runner has currently the best sound leakage reduction solution in bone conduction headphones.

The Wissonly Hi Runner is also particularly comfortable in the wearing experience. Because the material of the whole machine is high-tech hypoallergenic silicone, and it is coupled with the ergonomic design that conforms to the structure of the human ear, so that users will not bring any burden to the ear under long-term wear.

Sound quality as the core performance is undoubtedly worth mentioning. Wissonly Hi Runner uses a large-sized vibration unit, the sound range is wider, the sound is more three-dimensional and deeper, so the sound quality is undoubtedly very good. And it is also equipped with a Bluetooth 5.0 chip, the connection is more stable. And it will not be disconnected when used, which is a good experience. The Wissonly Hi Runner also comes with 32GB of built-in storage that can store 5,000 songs, so you can use it completely as an MP3 player to enjoy music without your phone when you go out for a run.

2. Philips A6606 bone conduction headphones

Reason for recommendation:

This Philips A6606 headphones, with bone conduction technology,with an ergonomic design, will not fall off no matter how you move. The surface of its body is made by soft silicone, which greatly improves the comfort of wearing. It has reached the IP67 waterproof rating, and sweating profusely during daily sports is not a problem to it. The headphones are also equipped with night running lights, and the brightness is strong enough that the cyclists or vehicles behind you can notice you when you are running at night. The headphones are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 technology which has a faster transmission distance and lower power consumption than 5.0, but this one cannot be used in swimming.

3.AfterShokz OPENRUN PRO bone conduction headphones

Reason for recommendation:

The body of the Openrun Pro weighs only 26g, and it adopts Qualcomm QCC3024 low-energy chip +PremiumPitch 2.0 improved double suspension vibration transmission system and suspension damping technology, CVC call noise reduction algorithm and double silicon microphone. The battery life lasts for 8 hours, and the charging method is magnetic charging. The charging interface has a liquid residue detection function to ensure that it has a good waterproof performance. Its waterproof grade is IP67, and there is no problem with normal sweat. A short period of rain can be used, but it can't be used for swimming.

4.Earsopen peace tw-1 bone conduction headphones

Reason for recommendation:

The wearing style of Peace TW-1 headphones with bone conduction technology is very unique. It adopts a clip-on wearing method, has a certain stability in wearing, even if in strenuous exercise it can be stably clamped on the auricle. The weight of the body is 9g, during the wearing process, it will not feel heavy. IP67 waterproof rating helps it to be worn outdoors in rainy days easily, and daily sweating is not a problem at all to it, but it can not be used in swimming.

The disadvantage is that its clip-on wearing method may cause discomfort after wearing it for a long time.

5.Moing bone conduction headphones

Reason for recommendation:

It weighs only 30g, so it can be worn for a long time without burden. Streamlined sinking design is adopted, which fits the ear shape when wearing. Its body is made of memory alloy material, so you don't have to worry about deformation after bending for many times. The overall configuration of Moing is good, Bluetooth 5.0. Titanium alloy frame, built-in power capacity of 200mAh, and it supports 6 hours of battery life.

Each of the above products has its own characteristics. You can choose according to your own needs. Wissonly and Aftershokz are my favorite brands. Their technology is relatively mature and the overall performance of their products is relatively good. Between the two brands, Wissonly will be more cost-effective.