Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>
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So, a couple of weeks ago, inspired by some of the snake oil products shown off at CES, I made a purchase.
I purchased a set of bone conduction headphones, and i want to review them now.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KTXMKRI
Now, I did a fair bit of research before i made the purchase, including figuring out if the headphones are the right size to fit my head. Aftershockz was the highest reviewed brand among all the reputable bone conduction brands, and the Trekz Titanium is their premium offering, despite their apparently fascination with swapping zeds for esses warez style..
Now, the specs quoted promise increased situational awareness, vibrant mids and highs, and solid bass, and six hours of playback time.
Well, that's an interesting set of specs.... Let's take a look at them all.
Situational awareness is unparalleled, they don't cover the ear cannal at all so unless you are using the included ear plugs there is no noise isolation. They're perfect for using in the office so you can listen to music without being unable to hear the conversations around you. so i can't fault them at all there. The inclusion of the ear plugs and plastic carry case for them is a nice touch as sometimes you just want to make the world go away and rock out to deathmetal while you code.
Now for the sound quality. That's not quite as good as they say, but it's still pretty impressive. Bass is somewhat muted, but it's no worse than you would expect for decent earbuds with their tiny drivers. Mids and highs are pretty good actually. they distort a bit at high volumes, but at normal listening volumes is clear as crystal. At least so long as you don't flex your cheek muscles. Flexing those muscles, either by smiling, talking, or chewing, alters the distance between the transducers and the bone and so affects the sound quality. The headphones deal with this pretty well and the most of the effect is a variable volume. It's nothing that one wouldn't expect knowing the technology. To improve matters one would need an implant so i'm giving this one a pass.
As for the playback time, i was worried at the shortness of it. But it seems i had nothing to fear. that measurement was for at full volume (and thus maximum draw on the battery) Most people listen somewhat lower in volume and so the life is expanded significantly. I'll often get ten hours of listening in the day and the headphones won't have started asking for charge. Not to mention that the charge port is positioned such that you can plug them in while wearing them comfortably. They will turn off when plugged in to improve charge time, but if you turn them back on after they'll work and charge the battery at the same time giving effectively unlimited play time if you have a decent battery pack.
And for comfort of wear.... I have no complaints. they are about the most comfortable headphones i have ever used. They stay in place even during strenuous "exercise" ( ) without shifting or needing adjustment.
Overall I give these 9/10. and would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a good pair of headphones and is willing to experiment with bone conduction.
and yes, i got them in pink. what other colour could i have gotten?
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Interesting. Are they Bluetooth? I somehow managed to misplace my set of Motorola Buds I picked up dirt-cheap on Amazon a while back and could use a new set of something to use with my phone, and I wonder if these would be a decent thing to consider on a "replacement list" should I be arsed to actually get something else.
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@e4tmyl33t said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
Are they Bluetooth?
.... Yes....
Why wouldn't they be?
..... oh. i never actually said that in the review.....
Yes. bluetooth 4.1 with multipoint pairing.
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
six hours of playback time
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
The inclusion of the ear plugs
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
They will turn off when plugged in to improve charge time
Ugh, well, those three points put me off. I can easily get 20+ with my current Bluetooth headset, I hate in-ear headphones so plugs count as an annoyance as well, and the "turn off when plugged in to charge" was the main complaint I had with my previous set. It's annoying since your computer will switch to a different source immediately regardless of OS, you have to wait for it to reconnect, and some applications hate that shit and basically need to be restarted in order to get them to output to the right device again.
It's an interesting tech, but I think I'd prefer my current headphones given all this...
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
bluetooth 4.1 with multipoint pairing
Do they do a wired version? I'm always within touching distance of my listening source, so all Bluetooth means to me is more expensive, pairing hassle and another thing to charge
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@Onyx said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
six hours of playback time
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
The inclusion of the ear plugs
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
They will turn off when plugged in to improve charge time
Ugh, well, those three points put me off. I can easily get 20+ with my current Bluetooth headset, I hate in-ear headphones so plugs count as an annoyance as well, and the "turn off when plugged in to charge" was the main complaint I had with my previous set. It's annoying since your computer will switch to a different source immediately regardless of OS, you have to wait for it to reconnect, and some applications hate that shit and basically need to be restarted in order to get them to output to the right device again.
It's an interesting tech, but I think I'd prefer my current headphones given all this...
well, they're not for everyone true. but as i said i get 10+ hours on mine even though they are rated for 6, and if you know you're going all day i suppose you could plug them into the battery pack first and then just have the wire to the battery pack all day. it's actually pretty comfortable to me.
And even though they totally are optional, the whole earplugs thing though makes it seem like you want the noise isolation of circumaural headphones, in which case these probably aren't for your use case anyway. :-)
@Jaloopa said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
Do they do a wired version?
No, they do not.
@Jaloopa said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
Bluetooth means to me is more expensive, pairing hassle and another thing to charge
understood there, though honestly the pairing on these was straightforward and painless, and even if there was a wired version they would have to be charged as the sound transducers require more power than a standard headphone jack provides.
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@Jaloopa
Obviously, these headphones have courage.Edit: Also, having recently switched to BT earbuds myself, I can say that I much prefer not having the cord down to my phone. Much less in the way during the sort-of-exercise I manage to make myself do.
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@accalia Thanks for that. In terms of sounds quality what would you compare them to? I find the in-ear bud style to be terrible quality sound, so they'd have to be better than that for me. Maybe as good as the old fashioned over-ear walkman style?
Is there any sound leakage that would limit use in a quiet office?
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@Boner said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia Thanks for that. In terms of sounds quality what would you compare them to? I find the in-ear bud style to be terrible quality sound, so they'd have to be better than that for me. Maybe as good as the old fashioned over-ear walkman style?
As far as sound quality they are better than any earbud i've ever used, including a very nice pair of Klipsh brand earbud headphones, but they are worse than my Razer Kraken circumaural headphones, but not by much and only really in the bass. (unless the volume is cranked to the nines)
(N.B. I'm not an audiophile. Just an interested and enthusiastic listener)
@Boner said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
Is there any sound leakage that would limit use in a quiet office?
NONE! i can't even hear them the instant i pull them off my cheeks where they are still less than an inch from my ears.
there is a bit more sound leakage from phone calls, but ist's no worse than your voice would be if you take the call at your desk. a lot less actually. :-)
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
even if there was a wired version they would have to be charged as the sound transducers require more power than a standard headphone jack provides
Fair enough.
I assume a USB C version would work, though
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@Jaloopa said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I assume a USB C version would work, though
should someone make one, yeah almost certainly.
it'll probably be a while before USB-C becomes mainstream enough for that... but yeah....
i looked and coundn't find much in the way of USB-C headphones. In fact most of the lists of "headphones to use when you don't have a headphone jack" started with a USBC/firebolt(or whatever) to 1/8" headphone adaptors, and were mostly bluetoothe from then on with a couple of USB-C and firewirte headphones thrown in.
see the thing about bluetooth and 1/8" jacks is..... both sides of the mobile war support them (or supported them until the apple fucktards decided to fuck over all their users by removing the port) lightpipe, and USB-C aren't supported on both sides of the fence and most phones on the android side are still microUSB
i look forward to the days og USBC headphones..... but they're not mainstream yet. :-(
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
i look forward to the days og USBC headphones..... but they're not mainstream yet
Is USB-C used for anything apart from phone chargers and MacBooks yet? I've not seen them on anything else.
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
NONE! i can't even hear them the instant i pull them off my cheeks where they are still less than an inch from my ears.
I would hope so, given they're bone-conducting.
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@RaceProUK said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
i look forward to the days og USBC headphones..... but they're not mainstream yet
Is USB-C used for anything apart from phone chargers and MacBooks yet? I've not seen them on anything else.
harddrive and OTG usb sticks have them.
there are some other neat tech coming out with the standard, but as i said, none of it's mainstream yet.
though to be fair usb3 was released in 2008 and it's still common to have usb2 ports on new computer hardware
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@accalia reviews a BonerPhoner?
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@ben_lubar said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia reviews a BonerPhoner?
that's coming next month. i just placed the order for the insertable cell phone.
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@accalia Let me guess: the vibration function has the options 'Gentle', 'Firm', 'Vigorous', and 'Intense'?
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@RaceProUK said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia Let me guess: the vibration function has the options 'Gentle', 'Firm', 'Vigorous', and 'Intense'?
They're targeting Ferengi?
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Ooh. I've always wondered what these are like. I already have 2 pairs of headphones though, so maybe I'll pick these up once my other pair stops working
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@JazzyJosh said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
Meanwhile in THE BONE ZONE
Again with the Dota logos!
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@ben_lubar said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia reviews a BonerPhoner?
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@LaoC said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@ben_lubar said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia reviews a BonerPhoner?
You know, I thought penis-in-ear was a joke until now. Thanks for that.
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
OTG usb sticks have them.
And blazing fast OTG sticks at that. Not that you're gonna be copying gigs to and from your phone on a regular basis, but holy crap those things are zippy!
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
So, a couple of weeks ago, inspired by some of the snake oil products shown off at CES, I made a purchase.
I purchased a set of bone conduction headphones, and i want to review them now.
Now, I did a fair bit of research before i made the purchase, including figuring out if the headphones are the right size to fit my head. Aftershockz was the highest reviewed brand among all the reputable bone conduction brands, and the Trekz Titanium is their premium offering, despite their apparently fascination with swapping zeds for esses warez style..
Now, the specs quoted promise increased situational awareness, vibrant mids and highs, and solid bass, and six hours of playback time.
Well, that's an interesting set of specs.... Let's take a look at them all.
Situational awareness is unparalleled, they don't cover the ear cannal at all so unless you are using the included ear plugs there is no noise isolation. They're perfect for using in the office so you can listen to music without being unable to hear the conversations around you. so i can't fault them at all there. The inclusion of the ear plugs and plastic carry case for them is a nice touch as sometimes you just want to make the world go away and rock out to deathmetal while you code.
Now for the sound quality. That's not quite as good as they say, but it's still pretty impressive. Bass is somewhat muted, but it's no worse than you would expect for decent earbuds with their tiny drivers. Mids and highs are pretty good actually. they distort a bit at high volumes, but at normal listening volumes is clear as crystal. At least so long as you don't flex your cheek muscles. Flexing those muscles, either by smiling, talking, or chewing, alters the distance between the transducers and the bone and so affects the sound quality. The headphones deal with this pretty well and the most of the effect is a variable volume. It's nothing that one wouldn't expect knowing the technology. To improve matters one would need an implant so i'm giving this one a pass.
As for the playback time, i was worried at the shortness of it. But it seems i had nothing to fear. that measurement was for at full volume (and thus maximum draw on the battery) Most people listen somewhat lower in volume and so the life is expanded significantly. I'll often get ten hours of listening in the day and the headphones won't have started asking for charge. Not to mention that the charge port is positioned such that you can plug them in while wearing them comfortably. They will turn off when plugged in to improve charge time, but if you turn them back on after they'll work and charge the battery at the same time giving effectively unlimited play time if you have a decent battery pack.
And for comfort of wear.... I have no complaints. they are about the most comfortable headphones i have ever used. They stay in place even during strenuous "exercise" ( ) without shifting or needing adjustment.
Overall I give these 9/10. and would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a good pair of headphones and is willing to experiment with bone conduction.
and yes, i got them in pink. what other colour could i have gotten?
Okay so time for an update on these headphones after another two weeks of use.
- they remain fucking awesome
- OMG so worth it!
- battery life concerns..... at my usual listening levels (about 25-30% volume) i'm getting 10-12 hours of playback. so no worries there.
- They continue to work fucking phenominally, even when you have plugged up ears from a sinus infection that's trying to migrate to an ear infection. I've currently got effectively zero hearing on my left and about 30% on my right, yet the music is coming in loud and clear on both sides. I also have an appointment to get some anitbiotics later today because i'm not working without my ears in working order one second longer than absolutely necessary.
so yeah. 9/10 an holding steady. If you're in the market for bluetooth headphones and want situational awareness for office situations then these are the headphones for you!
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Have you tried wearing them with (sun)glasses? I’ve been thinking of getting bone induction headphones for a few years now, since most of the time I wear a headphone, I’m also riding a bicycle, and that often enough also gives a need to wear sunglasses.
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@Gurth said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
Have you tried wearing them with (sun)glasses?
sunglasses, no.
safety glasses, yes.
no issues with tye safety glasses, i assume unless you have massive temples on those sunglasses you'll be fine.
:-)
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
no issues with tye safety glasses, i assume unless you have massive temples on those sunglasses you'll be fine.
My sunglasses are safety glasses anyway:
But I guess this means I’ll look into those Aftershokz — thanks :)
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@Gurth said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
My sunglasses are safety glasses anyway:
oh. the same brand i use....
or not.... they look flipping identical to the 3M branded ones i use. you should be absolutely fine!
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I've currently got effectively zero hearing on my left and about 30% on my right, yet the music is coming in loud and clear on both sides
Hook up the computer mic?
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@Mikael_Svahnberg said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I've currently got effectively zero hearing on my left and about 30% on my right, yet the music is coming in loud and clear on both sides
Hook up the computer mic?
actually i just called my cellphone the headphones are attached to from my desk phone, put it on speaker and turned the volume way down to avoid echo.
it's working surprisingly well.
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
safety glasses, yes.
aka Porn Goggles
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@Luhmann said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
safety glasses, yes.
aka Porn Goggles
Full contact porn?
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
If you're in the market for bluetooth headphones and want situational awareness for office situations
You take headphones to the office exactly so that you can get rid of the situational awareness.
Anyway, I fail to see what actually makes them better than similarly-priced on-ear headphones. I guess... you can listen to them when temporarily half-deaf and it lets people at the office bother you?
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@Maciejasjmj said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
You take headphones to the office exactly so that you can get rid of the situational awareness.
@Maciejasjmj said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
and it lets people at the office bother you?
I'd pay extra for the opposite.
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@Maciejasjmj said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I guess... you can listen to them when temporarily half-deaf and it lets people at the office bother you?
basically this.
i have a pair of wired on ear cans for when i want to tell the office to piss off. these are for when i want tunes while the office is quiet but also not cutting off noise so i can tell if a conversation strikes up that i need to attend to (or that i think is more interesting than work)
of course that might not be a benefit to you if you hate your cow-orkers. :-P
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I'm interesting in trying these out, but the $130 price is a bit much. Is there a deal on these somewhere?
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@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I'm interesting in trying these out, but the $130 price is a bit much. Is there a deal on these somewhere?
there are other options on amazon but i havent used them myself so all I can say is I love my afterShockz and some of the other ones on sale on Amazon are customer reviewed pretty well and can be much cheaper so you might like them too..
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I'm interesting in trying these out, but the $130 price is a bit much. Is there a deal on these somewhere?
there are other options on amazon but i havent used them myself so all I can say is I love my afterShockz and some of the other ones on sale on Amazon are customer reviewed pretty well and can be much cheaper so you might like them too..
Thanks.
Also if I wanted to use these in addition to lets say a regular pair off the same android device at the same time, I guess I would need some kind of bluetooth splitter?
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@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I'm interesting in trying these out, but the $130 price is a bit much. Is there a deal on these somewhere?
there are other options on amazon but i havent used them myself so all I can say is I love my afterShockz and some of the other ones on sale on Amazon are customer reviewed pretty well and can be much cheaper so you might like them too..
Thanks.
Also if I wanted to use these in addition to lets say a regular pair off the same android device at the same time, I guess I would need some kind of bluetooth splitter?
two headphones at the same time? or two headphones that you switch between?
just to confirm because two headphones at the same time is..... unusual.
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I'm interesting in trying these out, but the $130 price is a bit much. Is there a deal on these somewhere?
there are other options on amazon but i havent used them myself so all I can say is I love my afterShockz and some of the other ones on sale on Amazon are customer reviewed pretty well and can be much cheaper so you might like them too..
Thanks.
Also if I wanted to use these in addition to lets say a regular pair off the same android device at the same time, I guess I would need some kind of bluetooth splitter?
two headphones at the same time? or two headphones that you switch between?
just to confirm because two headphones at the same time is..... unusual.
4 channel surround sound.
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
just to confirm because two headphones at the same time is..... unusual.
Sharing music while walking (old fashioned wire splitter)
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
I'm interesting in trying these out, but the $130 price is a bit much. Is there a deal on these somewhere?
there are other options on amazon but i havent used them myself so all I can say is I love my afterShockz and some of the other ones on sale on Amazon are customer reviewed pretty well and can be much cheaper so you might like them too..
Thanks.
Also if I wanted to use these in addition to lets say a regular pair off the same android device at the same time, I guess I would need some kind of bluetooth splitter?
two headphones at the same time? or two headphones that you switch between?
just to confirm because two headphones at the same time is..... unusual.
two at the same time. For TV watching on the bus with the SO.
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@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
two at the same time. For TV watching on the bus with the SO.
oh. Nice idea.
also no idea. probably some kind of splitter arrangement will be required..... i have no idea though. sorry.
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
oh. the same brand i use....
or not.... they look flipping identical to the 3M branded ones i use. you should be absolutely fine!
These?
At least mine are bulletproof, these only keep frogs out of your eyes …
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
two headphones at the same time
is what you'd do if you had a million dollars?
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I bought a pair of these a couple years back and have been generally satisfied with them. My main complaint is that the microphone is hit-or-miss, but I mostly use them for music, not calls, anyway, and I can't really fault a microphone for not being able to catch my voice when it's behind my mouth, a goodly distance away, and partially covered by my beard, too.
faux-edit-to-add:
https://smile.amazon.com/KSCAT-Conduction-Headphones-Sweatproof-Smartphones/dp/B01HPQ9PZC/
Here's one that actually is currently for sale.I haven't had the opportunity to compare audio quality to the more expensive ones, but they're among the best headphones I've had for audio quality. (though that's not saying much since I usually buy cheap earbuds or use the ones that come with new phones)
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@Fox said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
use the ones that come with new phones
You monster!
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
@dangeRuss said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
two at the same time. For TV watching on the bus with the SO.
oh. Nice idea.
also no idea. probably some kind of splitter arrangement will be required..... i have no idea though. sorry.
I've got a pair of bluetooth headphones with a 3.5mm socket that can be used either as an input (making them regular wired headphones), or as an output when connected wirelessly, which lets you share whatever you're listening to.
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@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
hey will turn off when plugged in to improve charge time
If only we had the technology to connect headphones by a cable to allow them to draw power from the device during play...
@accalia said in Accalia Reviews A <del>Headphone</del><ins>BonePhone</ins>:
if you turn them back on after they'll work and charge the battery at the same time
:P