Shaoyin OpenSwim Pro swimming triathlon headphones review: No regrets this time

At the beginning of 2019, Xiaolei accepted the invitation and visited Shokz Shaoyin’s Shenzhen headquarters. During the visit to the durability test of Shaoyin products, Shaoyin showed us a headset that can be heard in a two-meter deep water column. There is no mistake, this headset is Shaoyin Xtrainerz, which is also the rebranded OpenSwim. Backed by Shaoyin’s bone conduction technology, OpenSwim’s overall performance is remarkable.

However, in a sense, OpenSwim is not a true "headphone" - since the Bluetooth signal cannot pass through water, OpenSwim must use built-in storage Space's ear-worn player solution, and the single-mode working method also brings some imperfections to this excellent "player" and Shaoyin's sports-centered product layout.

Four years have passed by in a blink of an eye. At CES 2024, Shaoyin finally made up for the last shortcoming in the bone conduction product line-the new OpenSwim Pro is not only With the upgrade of hardware and solutions, the Bluetooth headset working mode has finally been added, becoming a "dual-mode Bluetooth headset player" that can be used above and below water.

Picture source: Lei Technology

But in the past four years , the bone conduction headset market has also undergone many changes: Although Shaoyin is still the dominant player in the bone conduction industry (Sullivan's latest report, in 2023, Shaoyin will rank first in the world in sales in both sports headphones and open headphones. ), but the emergence of a large number of low-priced bone conduction headphones has brought considerable challenges to the promotion of Shaoyin's entry-level products. Can this dual-mode bone conduction headphones priced at 1,298 yuan maintain its "swimming lane"?

An excellent bone conduction headset

In terms of parameters, Shaoyin OpenSwim Pro uses " The new generation of PremiumPitch 2.0 bone conduction technology. The upgrade of the technology makes OpenSwim Pro feel better to me when I experience it in actual scenarios.

Picture source: ShokzShaoyin

Due to time constraints, Xiaolei was unable to use OpenSwim Pro after a long period of use Will there be any loosening to give a conclusion? However, considering that Xiaolei’s other Shaoyin sports headphones - Aeropex (the upgraded model on sale is OpenRun Air) have not deformed after use, I believe everyone can rest assured in terms of durability: OpenSwim Pro uses the Shaoyin logo The skin-friendly plastic-coated memory titanium wire back hanger has no risk of breakage as long as you don’t bend it too much to “challenge” it.

We learned from Shaoyin’s relevant technical personnel that OpenSwim Pro has zinc alloy die-casting inner glue-sealed structural parts in weak waterproofing areas, and an outer layer of silica gel to wrap the inner and outer double-layer seals. Waterproof protection, finally achieved IP68 waterproof effect, and can be used safely for more than 2 hours underwater at a depth of 2 meters.

In terms of sound performance, I think it needs to be discussed in two situations, above and below water. When used underwater, OpenSwim Pro still sounds better than most air conduction products. Since the density and resistance of water are different from those of air, general air conduction players will have extremely obvious sound distortion and high-frequency loss underwater, but OpenSwim Pro, which uses bone conduction solutions, does not have this problem.

Image source: Lei Technology

In addition, OpenSwim Pro internal storage The space has been increased from the original 4GB to 32GB, and the charging interface has also changed from the original clip-on charger to a magnetic charger, which is similar to other Shaoyin bone conduction products. However, because the magnetic interface of OpenSwim Pro can also be used to transmit data, it has two more contacts than OpenRun Pro. The charging cables are not universal between them, so pay attention to the distinction when using them.

Dual-mode broadens the usage scenarios of headphones

Of course, other bone conduction players play underwater The effect is not bad, but in Bluetooth headset mode, the gap between Shaoyin OpenSwim Pro and other bone conduction products is reflected. Not to mention that most bone conduction products only have a single-mode working mode, so you need to choose between a Bluetooth player and a bone conduction headset.

But even compared with other TWS Bluetooth headsets, OpenSwim Pro is not inferior: although it uses a bone conduction solution, the performance of the headphones at low frequencies is quite familiar— —On dubstep tracks that focus on rhythmic impact, OpenSwim Pro performs very well.

As a swimming headset, in addition to the common standard sound effects and vocal sound effects, OpenSwim Pro even adds swimming sound effects, which is indeed remarkable.

Picture source: Lei Technology

After a period of experience, I feel that Shaoyin seems to have "prescribed the right medicine". When listening to some calm or vocal-based music types, the sound quality of OpenSwim Pro is better than previous products. Especially once you switch to a music type with a strong sense of rhythm and dense background drum beats, you can feel the impact it brings. Perhaps Shaoyin himself knows that consumers prefer to listen to songs with a stronger rhythm when exercising, and he knows the preferences of users quite well.

Generally speaking, the sound quality of OpenSwim Pro gives me the feeling that it is "much better than expected". This is also something that cannot be helped. The sound production method of bone conduction This determines its upper limit, but it can solve the shortcomings of "no loud noise, no stuffy", and it is already considered a leader among bone conduction headphones. What is also particularly important is that OpenSwim Pro is used in harsh underwater or outdoor environments such as swimming or triathlon. In this case, sound quality may not be the first priority during sports.

Speaking of this, we must also mention the "2023 Audio Product Usage Research Report" released by Qualcomm in Q4 last year. The report pointed out that for the first time, the wearing comfort of headphones exceeded Price has become the biggest driving factor for consumers to purchase audio equipment.

As for the sound leakage problem that everyone is concerned about, in fact, after Shaoyin launched an improved sound unit in 2019, Shaoyin bone conduction has almost no sound leakage problem. Taking OpenSwim Pro as an example, only the sound of "airflow disturbance" can be felt within a distance of 20 cm, and there is no sound at all at a farther distance.

Finally completed the last piece of the puzzle?

Regarding the staged summary of OpenSwim Pro, I think it should be discussed separately from the two perspectives of hardware and industry. Compared with OpenSwim, OpenSwim Pro has improved in both hardware and audio solutions. Not only does the storage space increase from 4GB to 32GB, but the product is lighter in weight, allows for longer playback time, and has the ability to charge for 10 minutes and use 3 hours of fast charging.

If you look at it from an industry perspective, OpenSwim Pro is undoubtedly a landmark product. Take a friend of Xiaolei's who bought OpenSwim as an example. He said that he was extremely confused when placing the order: the running earphones cannot be used for swimming, and the swimming player cannot be used as Bluetooth earphones. Buying both seems a bit wasteful.

Picture source: Shokz Shaoyin

And OpenSwim Pro really solves the problem By solving this problem, OpenSwim Pro is no longer a sports player that only comes to mind when swimming: when connected to a mobile phone, OpenSwim Pro is an industry-leading bone conduction Bluetooth headset; after disconnecting from Bluetooth, OpenSwim Pro is A player for listening to music while swimming. Although OpenSwim Pro still needs to use a USB magnetic cable to transfer songs, the addition of dual-mode still allows OpenSwim Pro to break the limitations of the previous "dedicated headphones" and become a true "triathlon headset."

To be honest, from a "nit-picking" perspective, there is still room for improvement in OpenSwim Pro. For example, OpenSwim Pro should be like OpenRun Pro, with “mini” styles for different head sizes to accommodate people with small head sizes. In addition, the ear hooks of OpenSwim Pro will overlap with wider goggle straps in some cases, causing additional pressure. Of course, this is also a common problem with all neck-mounted headphones.

It must be admitted that from a long-term perspective, multi-mode bone conduction equipment such as OpenSwim Pro actually has many "possibilities", such as depending on the water pressure. Different, use device-side AI to automatically adjust the low-frequency compensation for underwater playback; or add richer sensors to the headphones to provide rich health indicators and sports data monitoring.

Picture source: Lei Technology

But then again, As far as the performance of OpenSwim Pro is concerned, whether it is a professional sports headset or a bone conduction player, it seems to me that it has done a good enough job. If you have the habit of swimming, or you are an off-road enthusiast who loves the outdoors and is not afraid of harsh environments, and needs a bone conduction headset that can listen to music while exercising, then OpenSwim Pro may be your only choice.

The last thing that needs to be pointed out is that at the same time as the release of OpenSwim Pro, Shokz Shaoyin also cooperated with the China Institute of Standardization to release China's first "Bone Conduction Headphones" "Ergonomic Technical Requirements and Evaluation Methods" group standard, the sports earphone and open earphone industries will now have standards to follow.

Finally, let’s summarize the core selling points of this product:

1. Dual-mode design, water on water Universal for underwater use;

2. The sound is specially optimized for the underwater environment;

3. 32GB large storage.

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