Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Review: Balancing Sound Quality With Outdoor Awareness

If you’re one of those who absolutely dislikes how earbuds feel inside of your ear canal, then I’ve got just the solution for you. They are called bone-conduction headphones. Bone-conduction headphones work by sending sound waves through your skull and directly to your inner ear. Therefore, they skip the eardrum entirely.

These types of headphones sit on your cheekbones, right in front of your ears. The vibrations travel through your skin and bones. I’ve been testing the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 and I highly recommend them if you are looking for an alternative to the traditional in-ear earphones. In fact, these OpenRun Pro 2 headphones are a combination of open-ear and bone-conduction technology and, therefore, can produce a lot more bass than other similar models from the competition.

At first, these types of headphones may look weird. They wrap around your head, with a sizable gap, and hook over your ears. The weirdest part may be the fact that no part of the ear is covered. The trick up its sleeve, though, is the hybrid design and Shokz calls this DualPitch technology. Traditionally, with bone-conduction, bass notes are hard to produce without severe vibrations and buzzing sensations against your face. Shokz does this by letting the bone-conduction handle the higher frequencies (mids and highs) while the separate air conduction driver directs the bass toward your ear. Of course, it isn’t ideal, and the bass isn’t anywhere near what you’d get from in-ear earphones or even over-the-ear headphones, but it is miles ahead of what the competition provides in this segment.

For now, these are Shokz’s flagship headsets. It’s now their 10th-gen bone conduction technology. For this generation, there is a titanium band, USB-C charging, Bluetooth 5.3, IP55, and they weigh just 30.3g.

Built For The Outdoors

You’ve got to be very careful about knowing what you’re purchasing if you’re after a bone-conduction headphone. Yes, they won’t sound as good as any traditional pair of earphones/headphones, and that’s all right. Shokz isn’t chasing any sound quality awards, nor should they. This is a relatively new category (even though it’s over a decade old) and is squarely targeted at those who run and workout and need to hear their surroundings, mostly for safety reasons.

The pitch is simple. Listen to music, podcasts, calls, and more, all while staying aware of your surroundings. Yes, I could hear the rumble of the Delhi Metro approaching from afar. Yes, it was louder than my playing podcast, and at times I had to rewind a bit and re-listen. But that’s the beauty of these headphones. I can totally switch off, and still know when the metro is coming and not miss it.

The fit is secure, though the gap between the head and the headphones will take a while to get used to.

The big downside with respect to the design is the carrying case. Yes, it’s large, and no, you can’t take it with you while you’re out and about for a run. So, you’re basically stuck with the headphones on your head at all times.

Sound Quality

One of the main downsides of bone-conduction earphones is the fact that there is a lot of wind noise. When running, this can be twice as annoying as it creates a distracting noise, especially when you’re listening to podcasts. To my surprise, the OpenRun 2 earphones solved this problem, for the most part. Wind-related interference were kept to a minimum. You can thank the AI noise-reduction algorithm for this.

But yes, for any headphone review, the crucial part is how they sound. Now, with the OpenRun 2, we aren’t aiming for a Sony or Bose or even Sennheiser-type sound quality.

For the most part, you’ll want these for podcasts or even for taking calls. There’s that kick on the bottom end, thanks to the DualPitch technology, but they can’t hold a candle to traditional headphones. Forget about instrument separation or a wide soundstage, but to my surprise, there was a lively atmosphere to pop songs. They do make workouts and runs more enjoyable than not. Overall, it’s a balanced listening experience that doesn’t suit any one genre of music in particular.

I’ll sum it up like this: Making music and podcasts enjoyable while still being connected to your surroundings. That’s the OpenRun Pro 2 for you.

Buttons And Accompanying App

The OpenRun Pro 2 has physical buttons for playback, volume and power and they worked fairly well during my testing period. You just have to get used to knowing which button is where.

There’s a companion app that works quite well. It has a number of different sound presets and a custom equaliser setting. One bonus point here is that Bluetooth multipoint is supported.

Battery Life

The company claims that the OpenRun Pro 2 can last up to 12 hours on a single charge. I mostly came close to that target before the headphones ran out of charge. The headphones charge via USB-C and a quick five-minute charge provides up to two and a half hours of playback.

Verdict

This is the open-ear headset that I’d buy in an instant. They aren’t inexpensive, so you need to be totally sure that you want a pair of bone-conduction headphones. It’s got a snug fit once you get used to the design, and audio quality is lively for a pair like this.

They come in at under ₹15,000 on Amazon (Diwali sale price), so they’re a hard sell for some. But with premium earbuds costing thousands more, these might be good for those runs and workouts you’ve been doing or are itching to start.

You’re paying for something different, and not the absolute best sound from a pair of wireless earbuds. Just remember that.