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by InGoodFaith 1512 days ago
I'm not the person you replied to but just dropping this here for others interested:

There are some 'open-back' and 'open-ear' headphones that let you hear your environment passively.

Others that have more active environment passthrough such as Ambient Sound from Samsung, also exist.

This might be a useful gift for a cyclist or jogger that needs situational awareness.

1 comments

Bone conduction?

(Am fairly certain they aren't great if you are going for audiophile level reproduction - but from a safety perspective, they let you hear your environment - note, I have personally never tried them)

Quality isn't amazing, but it's acceptable and it isn't like you'd be enjoying a high quality audio experience with wind rushing past your ears using normal headphones, anyway.

Also beats getting hit by a car that you didn't hear.

I'm a runner not a cyclist, but I use AfterShokz headphones. The sound quality is suprisingly good, more than adequate for listening to music and podcasts when out :)

For personal safety though, they win hands down. I can hear cars and people easily and I'm much more aware of surroundings. Downside is though that if you are running down a busy road, the sound of cars can override the sound of your audio but for me, that's an acceptable trade off.