The differences between air and bone conduction for audio
The significant difference when looking at air conduction vs. bone conduction is that bone conduction doesn’t rely on the eardrums, whereas air conduction sends vibrations to the ear canal. One negative is they deliver a weak bassline for music. Higher-pitched sounds and voices are especially clear, so bone-conduction headphones are great for listening to podcasts and taking phone calls if it isn’t too noisy outside. Air conduction headphones provide a much higher quality of overall sound. Bone conduction testing has also found that bone conduction headphones have a limited ability to perceive the sound of multiple voices in a surrounding environment.
The benefits of air conduction
Air conduction is the preferred method of sound delivery for earbuds. The sound provided by air conduction headphones is familiar and comfortable and doesn’t take you out of your listening experience. In contrast, the vibrations you feel with bone conduction headphones might initially be surprising or even unsettling.
Audio quality of air conduction
Air conduction is far superior to bone conduction for sound quality, especially if you want to enjoy a thumping bass with your music. With this audio transmission method of spatial audio earbuds, you can experience the richness of a wide range of sounds, from deep baritones to high pure tone falsettos on the upper hearing threshold. Studies measuring hearing have even found that air conduction is superior to bone conduction for speech intelligibility.
Air conduction’s premium comfort
Air-conduction-powered open-ear headphones are ideal for all-day comfortable wear, especially for active people and runners. In fact, some competitive races don’t allow you to wear anything in your ears, so this type of earbud could work to listen to music while maintaining awareness of your surroundings.
Sound clarity of air conduction
The clarity of air conduction sound is far superior to bone conduction, as you can hear all the subtle flourishes that the music producer meant you to hear when creating the music in the studio. There’s a much more comprehensive range of sound frequencies and crisp quality.
Ultra Open Earbuds’ minimal sound leakage
Through research and testing, Bose has created a design that prevents the sound leakage issues experienced with other open earbuds. These breakthrough buds are as stylish as they are functional, allowing quality sound immersion and awareness of the world around you. They give a comfy hug to the edge of your ear, which is so unobstructive you may forget you have them on. Bose Ultra Open Earbuds also have the best-in-class ANC transparency mode, allowing for impact listening combined with full natural awareness.