Audio-Technica has introduced a brand new model of its open-ear cartilage conduction headphones the corporate says ship improved sound and higher battery life. The headphones use a know-how that’s just like bone conduction headphones from firms like Shokz and Suunto however as a substitute ship sound by the softer cartilage round your ears. The method nonetheless leaves the ear canal open so you may hear what’s occurring round you, however the headphones are extra comfy to put on and supply higher sound separation.
The Audio-Technica ATH-CC500BT2 are at present accessible within the UK for £119.00 and the remainder of Europe for €139. That’s about $145 to $150, however the firm hasn’t stated if or after they is perhaps accessible within the US.
The know-how behind the headphones is predicated on analysis first shared in 2004 by Professor Hiroshi Hosoi, who’s now the president of the Nara Medical University in Japan. Instead of sending sound to the eardrum as vibrations passing by the bones within the cranium, vibrations from the ATH-CC500BT2 journey by cartilage inflicting the wall of the ear canal to vibrate and generate sound waves that ultimately attain the cochlea.
Cartilage conduction headphones require much less strain towards the top than bone conducting headphones to successfully transmit sound, probably making them extra comfy to put on for longer intervals. The know-how can also be higher at producing stereo sound, Audio-Technica claims, as a result of bone conduction headphones are inclined to merge left and proper alerts within the cranial cavity.
The most compelling purpose to decide on the Audio-Technica ATH-CC500BT2 may very well be battery life. The firm says you may hearken to music or podcasts for as much as 20 hours between fees or use them to make requires round 10 hours. For comparability, the bone conducting Shokz OpenRun Pro (which don’t function a further air conduction speaker just like the newer OpenRun Pro 2) solely supply as much as 10 hours. However, the OpenRun Pro function smaller battery modules on their headband and weigh 29 grams — in comparison with 32 grams for Audio-Technica’s headphones.
The ATH-CC500BT2 are charged utilizing an ordinary USB-C cable and plugging them in for simply 10 minutes after they’re useless will get you about two hours of use. There’s no ANC, however they do embody AI-powered noise discount know-how designed to filter out undesirable background noise, together with wind, picked up by the microphone whilst you’re making a name.
The headphones are IPX4 water resistant so you may put on them out within the rain or throughout particularly sweaty exercises, embody Bluetooth multipoint connectivity so you may simply swap between utilizing them with two totally different gadgets, and help each Siri and Google Assistant for voice instructions and receiving audible notifications.
