The headphone market offers quite a lot of variety from Over-head headphones to your True Wireless Earbuds and everything in between. Now if you do not want a big earcup to cover your ear or a bud inside.

There is Bone Conduction headphones solutions are great for listening to your music while being aware of your surroundings. This technology is perfect for those who enjoy running or like me have hit the gym with the mission of getting my ass beach fit for the summer and finally seeing a flat stomach (We can only hope!)

First Impressions

You might be thinking that bone conduction headphones are not great when it comes to sound quality and in most cases that is true unless you’re the market leader such as the Shokz OpenRun Pro. We have also reviewed Orange Box Bluetooth Speaker. So now Orange Amps are speaker specialists so when I told have to review the Orange Amps      O Bones I was very excited.

I have been using these for a few weeks, mainly when I have hit the gym, and they pack a large battery and can handle even the most sweat-filled gym session. The neckband is very flexible which adds to the overall comfort. What should grab your attention if not the sound is the fact these cost £79!

Design

The O Bones design is not that different from that of the Shokz OpenRun Pro in terms of the neckband they are very similar.  The headphones come with an orange-on-black colour scheme I like them they don’t scream “look at me” but are not boring either. Weight wise they are quite lightweight at only 32g I hardly noticed I had them on.

Attached to the neckband is the inward-angled drivers that keep everything in place by applying just the right amount of pressure on the face.  So using them for a long session they wont provide any discomfort.

The O Bones will also have you covered when you are sweating in the gym working out with IPX5 water resistance, but I would have liked a bit more protection, especially with the weather we have been getting light rain is one thing but when it’s hammering it down you always see a crazy runner go down the street so this request is for them.

Features

You will notice on the O Bones only one of the side buttons is the real thing.  it’s a little odd, they could have done something with the other side, but it still looks smart.

Now the button is a multifunction button controlling the power, playback and pairing with a combination of presses and double taps. They could have just used the other button instead of just looking pretty. You can also wake up Siri or Google Assistant on the same button I just feel design wise it would have made more sense to share the workload across two buttons.

The O Bones have missed a trick, you can’t skip tracks on either button. What you must do is reach behind your ear and find the second set of buttons. This allows you to adjust the volume or skip tracks forward or backward, but you need to hold the button down. It screams inconvenience instead of using the main buttons properly.

Battery Life

When it comes to charging these, you are given a USB-C charging Port with a rubber cover to protect it from the gallons of sweat am about to hit them with when am on the cross-trainer. Now as most devices in your home are USB-C you don’t need to worry about additional charger cables.

 

Charging does take a little getting used to as you are provided with a magnetic USB charging cable which is not massively on the long side.  plugging it into my kitchen side port and I had no concerns.

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Now there is a red LED that flashes when your battery is running low. This is not in the best position and you need to have a good set of eyes to spot it when you’re wearing them. Having a red-light flash you can’t see does not whole lot of sense. What would have worked better is if when you powered the O Bones up they gave you an indication of the battery life. The Shokz Openrun Pro offers this feature. It’s something to consider in the feature.

That said, battery life is decent you get about 8 hours even with the volume near max which is not too bad and is only an hour short of the more expensive Shokz OpenRun Pro with 9 hours.

Sound Quality

At 100% volume can be uncomfortable take things down to 70-80% and they are as impressive as the Orange Box Bluetooth Speaker.

I have been listening to the music from BBC The Traitors on BBC Sounds and tracks such as “Fleurie & Tommee Profitt – Smells Like Teen Spirit” This track gives you a thumping bassline and proper presence. The vocals are crisp and tend to overpower the mid a little. That said the presentation is more well-balanced than you might have expected. Listen outside and as you expect the O Bones to take a hit with background noise such as a car passing me down the street, but you want to be aware of your surroundings you can’t have everything.

 

Now did you know these Bone Conduction headphones allow classical music to sound just perfect? I was listening to Franz Schubert, Barbara Bonney & Geoffrey Parsons – SCHUBERT: AVA Maria Op.52 No.6, D 839. Which can be found in the Music from week 1 of series 3 of The Traitors. Take the volume up and close your eyes and these headphones with provide you with just a super sound but the drivers vibrate hard.

 

Now these things are loud so if you are that person who cares about people around you hearing your music while you work out this may be an issue.  This is a question you need to ask if you’re going to buy these. Would I use these in the office or on a train? The answer would be NO. The sound leakage is a big issue so turning them down loses the appeal. So, I would keep these as my gym workout headphones.

Verdict

Some could say producing a pair of Bone Conduction Headphones from a brand like this felt like a crazy idea, but they have done a fantastic job here. They are not perfect and with compromises such as being too busy on one button, can’t skip tracks with the main buttons and the charging LED is in the wrong position and the IPX5 rating just needs to be improved. That said, Orange Amps has delivered a fantastic round sound without costing the bank.

Battery Life is decent offering a solid for 8 hours so you should be fine. Now if you want to enjoy the audio at its fullest, it will get loud so anyone working out around you will hear your music so be careful what you are listening to and just get in the zone.

If it were not for the negatives I mentioned above, I have mentioned above I would be giving Orange Amps two Editor Choice Awards. After what we experienced with the Orange Box the O Bones are a solid recipient of the What Gadget Recommended Award!

 

Product Rating    

Design: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

Features: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Value For Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0

 

Overall ranking: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars – 4.6 stars

 

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