The Soundcore Aerofit Professional headphones clipped to the adjustable headband.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Anker Soundcore Aerofit Professional headphones can be found now on Amazon for $169.
- They’ve excellent sound, snug match, and lengthy battery life.
- I simply want the management buttons weren’t as difficult to handle.
For years, bone-conducting headphones have been my go-to for working. The first purpose I go for them is as a result of I sweat quite a bit and I’ve ruined quite a few makes and fashions that declare to be proof against copious quantities of pores and skin juice. I might say I’ve simply destroyed practically twenty totally different pairs of earbuds through the years, just because they had been no match for my Xenomorphic sweat.
Bone-conducting headphones do not have that drawback as a result of they are not inserted into my ears, the place sweat collects and soaks into any opening it may attain. The opposite benefit is that I can hear my environment, so I do not get plowed over by a automobile, bike owner, or something that might in any other case take me down.
Additionally: Top-of-the-line transportable audio system I’ve examined delivers wonderful sound throughout varied genres
However, bone-conducting headphones have one main flaw: Sound high quality. I might just about given up on looking for a pair of bone-conducting headphones that reside as much as my relatively unimaginable requirements. Nor do I imagine I am going to ever discover that magical pair.
Nonetheless, I used to be not too long ago despatched a pair of Soundcore AeroFit Professional headphones that outdo any pair of bone-conducting headphones I’ve tried thus far.
Anker Soundcore Aerofit Professional tech specs
- 16.2 mm titanium-coated dome drivers
- IPX5 water resistance and Sweat Guard
- 14H on a single cost, 46H with the charging case, and 5.5H on a ten minute quick cost
- Open-ear design
- 0.7mm aerospace-grade titanium wire for a bendable cosy match
- Removable, adjustable neckband
- LDAC expertise for 3X^3 extra knowledge transmission than normal Bluetooth
- 4 beamforming mics for telephone name readability
- Multipoint connectivity
- App for enhanced EQ, personalized buttons, and Spatial Audio Activation
- Worth $169.99 on Amazon
My expertise
Historically, I’ve not been an enormous fan of over-the-ear kind earbuds (though I do favor over-the-ear headphones for sound readability). The Soundcore Aerofit Professional have made a convert in me. As quickly as I clipped these into the neckband and cranked up the tunes, I knew, immediately, that these would simply outperform even my greatest bone-conducting headphones, whereas nonetheless giving me the identical degree of advantages.
Additionally: These $40 headphones haven’t any enterprise sounding this good (and so they look nice, too)
The most important shock to me was that the default EQ (Soundcore Signature) really sounded higher than the Customized choice. No matter Anker has achieved with this EQ is excellent. It took me some time, however I used to be in a position to obtain an improved sound with the Customized EQ. This, in fact, will probably be private, and, once more, I’ll reiterate that these won’t produce sound high quality that may win over an audiophile, however given their function, the sound I used to be in a position to eke out of those headphones was spectacular.
So far as soundstage is anxious (the house between devices and voices that makes it simpler to not solely discern the totally different sounds however place them), it is fairly slender. You are not going to shut your eyes and be capable of envision the place the musicians are standing as they serenade you. Even so, for an over-the-ear earbud, the Soundcore AeroFit Professional are spectacular.
I put these headphones by way of the same old check, beginning with Rush’s “Indicators” album, and located them to far outperform my go-to train headphones (the Mojawa Run Plus) by an extended shot. For the primary time, mid-run, I might discern Geddy Lee’s bass because it was meant to be heard (as a substitute of the muddy, muted sound I might grown accustomed to with bone-conducting headphones).
One of many extra fascinating items of music on my playlist is Ministry’s “TV 5/4 Chan.” This piece of music shifts between channels in an virtually violent trend and the AeroFit Professional headphones delivered it to the purpose the place I needed to skip by way of the monitor.
Additionally: This stereo amp made me really feel like I used to be listening to my favourite band for the primary time
Coal Chamber’s “Rowboat” had the deep punch it required and made me wish to bang my head as I hit the midway level of my run. Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” (from the Stay: O2 Area present) not sounded as flat because it had been with my earlier bone-conducting headphones. In different phrases, music got here to life for me on my runs, one thing I have not skilled in a while.
The one caveat
The one nit I can decide with the AeroFit Professional headphones is that the buttons are positioned in such a manner that my ears stop me from simply urgent them. This, in fact, will probably be private as a result of the form of your ear will differ from mine. However after I’m working, I want to have the ability to simply entry these buttons so I can pause, skip, or repeat a monitor. With a playlist of over 1,000 songs, there’s plenty of monitor skipping if you’re working over ten miles, so that may be an issue with these.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
If you happen to reside a really energetic life-style and produce copious quantities of sweat, the normal earbud actually is not an choice. And if you cannot get used to bone-conducting headphones (otherwise you discover the sound they produce to be sub-standard), the Anker Soundcore AeroFit Professional headphones are an incredible choice. Not solely do they match effectively, however additionally they sound nice.
