It leaves your ears open and weighs just 78 grams: Shox is showing an office headset at CES in Las Vegas that promises comfort, especially for long periods of wear. The manufacturer has also refreshed its open-ear headphones.
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For the OpenMate headset, Shokz combines sound transmission through bone conduction with traditional air-conduction drivers, such as those used in open-ear headphones that hang in the front of the ear canal. Like its sister model, the OpenRun Pro 2, Bone Sound transducers are responsible for reproducing highs and mids, while conventional drivers provide the bass. Its purpose is to overcome the weakness of bone sound transmission at low frequencies.
The sound conductors rest on the cheekbone in front of the ear, leaving the ear completely free. During a phone call, two microphones in the microphone arm ensure that as little ambient noise as possible is transmitted to the other person. OpenMeet connects via Bluetooth or alternatively via a pre-coupled dongle in the UC version (Unified Communication). Shokz advertises the headset as having up to 15 hours of battery life. Five minutes of charging should provide an additional two hours of battery life. Showcase has not yet provided any information on German prices; The standard edition will be priced at US$219 and the UC edition at US$249 in the United States.
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At the same time, Shokz introduced the successor to the OpenFit open-ear headphones. This debut was one of the first examples of the new style of open-ear headphones that celebrated their success at CES 2024. Like bone conduction headphones, the ear remains free, but sound is transmitted through conventional air conduction drivers that hang in front of the ear canal. The main innovation of the new model: Above all, Shoxz wants to improve the bass. OpenFit 2 also comes with low frequencies through vibration. The first version of the OpenRun Bone Conduction headphones vibrated even when playing bass, which we found quite annoying in testing.
Unlike the debut, physical buttons control telephone calls and media playback, intended to reduce misoperation compared to touch surfaces. The OpenFit 2 is not waterproof, but is protected against splashes of water as per IP55. Shokz will sell the OpenFit 2 from the summer for 190 euros.
Heise Median is the Official Media Partner of CES 2025.
(RBR)
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