Sa, 08:09 Rewind son A good two weeks ago, the local press agency of the Chinese manufacturer Shokz contacted me and invited me and other journalists to Hamburg to a product premiere. Exact details were not revealed at the time, but it should be about new types of earphones for music and communication. Hmm… That didn’t sound so exciting at first, because music and telephony or conferences with in-ears are nothing really new. But my contact promised that this should be a really unusual and successful product. So off to Hamburg.View over the roofs of Hamburg. The Shokz event took place in a small group near the exhibition halls.
Compact
Art BT earbuds wirelessAvailable from July 6, 2023The Company Shokz was founded in Shenzhen in 2011 and operated under the name AfterShokz for several years. The manufacturer also became known in this country for its core competence, namely so-called Bone Conducted Earphones. The sound is transmitted to the skull bones. As a result, the vibrations can also be heard. I recently presented a product of this type, which is particularly suitable for use in sports, here in the TechTicker.Shokz Sales Manager Thomas Zhang, who speaks excellent German, and colleague Koko, as well as other employees and the PR agency answered all questions about the product.
Shokz differs from a large number of other Chinese (and active elsewhere in the world) manufacturers because the company develops its driver technology and many other core components completely itself, for which – according to its own statements – more than 300 developers are now working in the company. Shokz now has over 20,000 dealers and more than 7,000,000 customers worldwide.
What happened so far – The common in-ear principle illuminated
When it comes to earphones without a headband or neckband, there are almost exclusively in-ears these days. In other words, headphones that are plugged more or less directly into the external auditory canal. Apple’s AirPods are one of the few exceptions, as they only fit in the area of the concha and tragus (see Wikipedia) clamped and not inserted into the ear canal. But they also close the ear relatively strongly.
The advantage of such constructions lies in the relatively direct input of sound into the ear, which enables good sound and a very compact design without an extra bracket. In addition, due to this method of carrying and due to the mostly closed construction of the housing, the external noise is relatively strongly dampened. This in turn has advantages and disadvantages. Shielding from noisy surroundings is often cited as a selling point – often maximized by the use of active noise compensation.
Typical “lard drills”However, this shielding from the outside world also has a very unpleasant effect in the long run because it is unnatural. And important noises such as warning signals, the perception of traffic for safe movement in the city, as well as person-to-person conversations are made more difficult or impossible. That is why many modern in-ears (and closed BT over-ears) also offer a function with which external noise can be transmitted to the ear via an external microphone.
Another huge downside that many users complain about in-ears (including me) is the limitations in wearing comfort. Having such plugs in your ears for several hours is perceived as uncomfortable. It also prevents air circulation, which leads to sweat accumulation in the ear, especially during sporting activities. In addition, it is not very hygienic.
I only speak for myself here, but despite many years and countless in-ears for test reports, I have never been able to get used to this principle. I can deal with it, but I don’t really like it. And I’m definitely not alone in this.
A colleague during the first hearing test. Incidentally, in contrast to in-ears, the OpenFit can also be tested at dealers and electronics stores at any time, because no ear tips have to be exchanged here.
In principle, there are also approaches that leave the ear free and transmit the sound either at a small distance from the ear or through bone conduction. But they are usually at a disadvantage in terms of sound compared to in-ears. The new OpenFit principle should perform significantly better in this respect and set new standards in terms of wearing comfort. At the presentation, the manufacturer also cited an independent study according to which users now consider wearing comfort to be the most important feature, ahead of price and sound. If you consider the fact that many users have their headphones in their ears for several hours a day, this is understandable.
Next Page: Shokz OpenFit – What’s Special?