I have a pair of Bose Sound sport that I have been using for a few years, and while the audio quality is fine there is an absolute insane amount of wind-noise when using them outside. If there’s anything more that a light breeze, I have to crank the volume to hear my podcasts or music…and forget about using them on the bike!
What are some good alternatives that retain the audio quality, but reduce the wind noise and resist weather impact? On/over-ear headphones are not a solution for me, they’re all way too bulky for running. Bone conducting ones like Shockz seem flat when listening to them
I recommend any bone conduction headphones. I have got some cheap 30e from lenovo and they are great.
I use the first-gen Sony Linkbuds. Sony Australia sells refurbished models of their headphones for very good prices on eBay, which is why I tried them out.
Since they are essentially open-back, they don’t have that problem poorly sealed in-ears have with the wind tunnel effect drowning everything out. However they have no seal by design so you will hear the noise from your surroundings. Personally I don’t mind at all and being completely aware of what is happening around me and the sound of my breathing is actually one of my favourite things about them, but I know some people just like to block out everything and only hear their music.
Another good thing about Linkbuds is you can’t hear your heartbeat. That used to drive me absolutely crazy when I was wearing in-ears, to the point that I just gave up and didn’t listen to anything while running.
I love my Sony WF -1000XM4 buds. Great wind noise cancellation and great sound quality with the LDAC bluetooth codec on Android phones.
They’re only IPX4, they will undoubtedly break way too fast since I will be using them in all kinds of weather (a lot of running in rain and snow) and I sweat like a pig when running.
JBL endurance peak 3s are pretty great
I’m using an older jabra elite set and am very happy.
