Photography: Michael Sawh
Rather ambitiously, Shokz promises that these sports earphones can deliver clear highs and natural mids and that the new dual air conduction unit design manages to produce pure vocal sound. Air conduction certainly delivers the bass, while bone conduction takes care of the rest. In the battle to compete with traffic, wind and gym stereo, there are some winners and losers here. The bass is a big improvement, with a noticeable increase in warmth and punch.
However, while more power means more bass for your money, the clarity isn’t quite up to par with the older OpenRuns. Similarly, in a sound test with the uniquely designed Bose Ultra Open, the lack of clarity is also apparent. When I switched from listening to high-paced, bass-heavy playlists to listening to a podcast, the regression in clarity was still noticeable. This doesn’t make the OpenRun Pro 2 bad headphones—they simply offer a shift to a sound that many runners will thoroughly enjoy that’s a bit closer to typical bass-heavy workout headphones.
Winner by a very narrow margin
Photography: Michael Sawh
There are always compromises to be made with open-back headphones, but with the OpenRun Pro 2, the compromises are relatively negligible. If you’re looking for running headphones with more bass and power, but want to be aware of your surroundings, these are the best available.
Other options worth considering include Suunto Sonic ($149)which offer a very balanced sound profile from a comfortable, well-weighted neckband design. The higher-priced Bose Ultra Open delivers better, more detailed sound, but a iffy fit if you’re running fast. Sivga SO2 ($70) They produce a very pleasant, open-ear sound with a secure fit.
It’s not the huge leap in quality I was hoping for, but Shokz has done enough for me to recommend the OpenRun Pro 2. That said, you shouldn’t rule out the OpenRun Prowhich gives you virtually the same design with solid audio quality and battery performance. You just have to remember where you put that archaic, complicated, proprietary charging cable.