What is The Difference Between Wireless Bluetooth Bone Conduction Headsets and Common Headphones
Apr 10,2023 | David
In the last 2 years, wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are becoming more and more popular. Whether you go out for running, cycling, or going to the gym, you can see someone wearing them. As a star technology product, they are very different from common headphones. Undoubtedly they are not another headphones, but another kind of headphones.
What is the difference between wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets and common headphones
Their biggest difference is the way to transmit sound. wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets use bones to transmit sound, while common headphones are air conduction headphones that use air to transmit sound. To understand this difference, I did a test. First put on wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets, and then plugged my ears with my fingers, at this time I found that the sound became louder rather, which is amazing! But when I wear the common headphones, when I do the same action, I find the sound becomes smaller.This is the secret of bone conduction transmitting sound!
The difference in sound transmission mode makes that you do not need to stuff the wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets into the ear and only need to attach the vibrating unit to the temple to allow the ear to hear the sound. This feature also gives more design space for the headphones, and designers design them as hanging-ear type or clip-on-ear type so that they are more comfortable to wear. And because wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets do not need to transmit sound through the air, their body do not need to leave holes for sound waves to enter and exit, which also allows them to have a better waterproof level.
Wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets have a lot of advantages.
Advantages of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets:
Bone conduction uses bone vibration transmission principle. The headphones are not inserted into the ear, do not need to transmit sound through the eardrum, but directly conduct sound to the internal nerves of the ear through the skull. So they can minimize the impact of headphones on ear hearing. In addition, the non-in-ear wearing method of them is very helpful for maintaining the internal hygiene of the ear. It will not accumulate a lot of bacteria due to prolonged sweating during exercise to block the ear canal, which makes the ear more hygienic. Because they are healthier to wear than common headphones, many doctors in the field of otology also recommend them.
Wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are not inserted in the ear. Whether when running, cycling, walking or commuting, etc., you can wear headphones to listen to songs and still can hear the surrounding sounds and communicate with others normally. Thus you avoid the risk of accidents caused by not hearing external sounds, which greatly improves the safety of outdoor sports. And wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are generally fixed to the head by hanging ears, generally have a anti-shake design and are not easy to fall off. So in the field of sports, many people use them.
Of course, it must be honestly said that just as a coin has two sides, wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets also have their disadvantages.
Disadvantages of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets:
Because sound is transmitted to the ear ossicles through the skin and the skull, the audio restoration is definitely worse a little than that of the traditional in-ear type. But from the perspective of sports headphones, in addition to the sound quality, it is more important that the headphones are not easy to fall off, light and convenient. The sound quality of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets is slightly poor only when they are compared to in-ear headphones of the same price.That doesn't mean their sound quality is bad and hard to hear. The sound quality of most current wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets have been improved to varying degrees.
Another disadvantage is that they leak sound when used. This is unavoidable for all of them on the market. But with the rising of technical level, sound leakage of excellent wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets on the market have been greatly reduced currently.
All of the advantages and disadvantages are determined by their working principles.
How wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets work?
How can you hear the sound without putting headphones in your ears? Many people have such questions. To understand how wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets work, let's first understand how humans recognize the sound.
You may think that humans hear sounds with their eardrums, but this is not accurate. The sound we normally hear is vibrations in the air entering the ear and hitting the eardrum causing it to vibrate. Humans perceive the vibration of the eardrum through the cochlea located deep in the ear and transmit this information in the form of sound to the brain to perceive sound. In other words, humans perceive sound through the cochlea. From this perspective, humans hear sound through the cochlea.
Wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets make good use of the above-mentioned mechanism of the cochlea to perceive sound. They apply vibration directly to the facial bones, and the facial bones transmit the vibrations to the cochlea, where the sound is perceived by the cochlea.
We can compare the difference between bone conduction and traditional sound transmission paths to understand more deeply how wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets work.
Bone conduction path: sound wave,cranium,bone labyrinth,inner ear lymph,Spiral organ,auditory nerve,cerebral cortex auditory center.
Traditional sound transmission path (i.e. air conduction path): sound wave,auricle,external auditory canal,eardrum,auditory ossicles,vestibular window,internal and external lymphatics,spiral organs,auditory nerve,cerebral cortex auditory center.
We can see that the sound transmission process of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets does not need to pass through the eardrum, its sound transmission path is shorter, and it will not damage the eardrum.
Next, I will recommend several bone conduction headsets. Among them, wissonly and aftershokz have good performance in terms of sound quality and sound leakage reduction, By the way, wissonly has better product parameters and higher cost performance.
1, Wissonly Hi Runner wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Reason for recommendation:
Wissonly wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets 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 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets 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 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets, and the Wissonly Hi Runner has currently the best sound leakage reduction solution in wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets.
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 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Reason for recommendation:
The A6606 uses a titanium alloy frame. It is very stable to wear during running and has less shifting, helping you to exercise without feeling weight. The unique way of transmitting sound of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets bypasses the air, reduces noises, but is most afraid of having stethoscope effect. The A6606 is designed so that the frame of the headphones does not touch the back of the head, avoiding the "stethoscope effect" during exercise, so you can hear more precise and clear sound details.
3.AfterShokz OPENRUN PRO wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Reason for recommendation:
Openrun Pro is the flagship product of Aftershokz, which is equipped with PremiumPitch 2.0+ technology, with good overall sound quality, rich low frequency sound, delicate intermediate frequency sound and strong high frequency sound penetration! It's IP67 waterproof, and it's basically enough to sweat during daily exercise. It's fine to get caught in the rain for a short time, but it's not suitable for swimming! In addition, it has no built memory, so it can't be used as MP3, that is to say, it can't be used where there is no Bluetooth signal.
4.earsopen SS900 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Reason for recommendation:
It adopts the 5.2 Bluetooth protocol, which can start automatic connection when the charging compartment cover is opened. It is low latency during use, and the anti-interference ability is also strengthened. In terms of sound quality, BoCo's miniature bone conduction vibrator is adopted, which has good performance at low frequencies, but which has harsh noise and serious sound leakage at high frequencies. The 8G single-earphone body is basically comfortable during the whole wearing process.
5.vidonn F3 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Reason for recommendation:
Vidonn F3 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets weigh only 29g and are very comfortable to wear. All aspects of performance are good. For entry-level headphones, its sound quality is acceptable for daily use. After all, it is difficult for you to ask an entry-level wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets to have too good sound quality. It is worth mentioning that its exterior design is sporty and fashionable in color, which is very suitable for young people.
It should be noted that the prices and functions of the above products are different. You can choose them according to your needs. I prefer the products of Wissonly and Aftershokz. Their sound quality and sound leakage reduction are excellent. I have been using Wissonly recently. It has a very high cost performance ratio. I like it very much.