After reviewing the Sony Link Buds, Oladance reached out and wanted me to try out their over the ear “speakers”. On paper…they look like they would be great for riding. It’s an over the ear design that sits off your ear and allows for ambient sound in a natural way.
The Oladance Wearable Stereo Specs
Wearable Stereo?
First let’s talk about the design of these headphones and how they are different than others on the market. While these look like in ear headphones from the outside…they aren’t. The best way to think of it is having two speakers on the outside of your ears. The speaker is really close to your ear for volume and sound quality but it also allows for ambient sound from around you to be heard because your are not plugging the ear canal. I really think of these as a combination of in ear design mixed with bone conduction fit and feel.
That is why they choose to market these headphones as “wearable stereo” instead of headphones.
What did I like about the Oladance “Wearable Stereo”?
So let’s get into what I liked about these for my use in daily listening, running and riding. As we go through the pros and cons, I will be comparing them to ear buds and bone conduction headphones as these will be the primary competition for headphones for these purposes.
Ambient Sound While Riding and Running
I have always found that when you have earbuds pumping in ambient sound to your ears…it is never full proof. There are often times where they hit you with sound that isn’t from the outside. Especially with running, I will get loud thumps from time to time which is really annoying. Bone conduction headphones provide the most ambient sound but don’t come without their own drawbacks due to sound quality, vibration and fit.
I found these headphones from Oladance to be a nice compromise between the two. You don’t get as much sound from the outside…depending on listening level…as the bone conduction but it is a lot better than using microphones in ear buds. I was able to hear cars coming up behind me, riders around me on the trail and other essential sounds while out doing activities. This makes it a lot safer to listen to music or podcasts while riding and running. You also don’t have change any settings to accomplish this.
Comfort and Sound Quality
These headphones from Oladance really are great for long listening sessions. They sit nicely over each ear individually so you don’t have any cords or a band around the back of your neck attaching them. You also don’t have a bud that is stuck in your ear for long periods of time. They sit nicely on your ear counterweighted by the bottom of the earphone and they do not move even in technical mountain biking situations. I also noticed that they also do not move when you sweat. I have issues with both the bone conduction headphones moving and the ear buds wanting to come out of my ears on really hot days. The design of these headphones made it so they were great for my excessive sweating when it gets above 70 degrees.
These will also be great if you have ears that traditionally do not fit well with ear buds. The over the ear design and balance of the individual units make them very comfortable to wear regardless of ear shape or size. There is also the added bonus that you are not damaging your ear with the over ear design. I like to listen to my music pretty loud and I know that can not be very good for my ears.
The 16.5mm drivers do a good job of replicating both music and podcasts. The bass was better than I thought it would be for over the ear headphones that are not sealed thank to a cushion. The quality was much better than bone conduction headphones…especially considering you don’t get those annoying vibrations…but not as good as you are going to get from a quality set of ear buds. This was to be expected though especially if you want really booming bass.
Battery Life and Waterproofing
These are great to take with you on a run or on the trail due to the IPX4 rating. You will not have to worry about getting caught in the rain or sweating a lot. When you combine that with a battery that lasts up to 16 hours, that makes for less to worry about.
What did I not like about the Oladanace “Wearable Stereo”?
There are some drawbacks when it comes to this design so let’s get into what I didn’t like about these headphones.
The Over the Ear Design
There really isn’t any way to accomplish what Oladance is with these headphones without using an over the ear design. In most cases, that doesn’t affect anything. However there are a few drawbacks.
If you are wearing glasses while you ride that require your ear to be secure, you do have a band going over the top of your ear that is going to interfere with that fit. Even if you are wearing glasses that are more of a straight, pressure fit design…they are going to sit a little bit higher due to the headphones.
Second, you are going to have to deal with wind noise. I don’t notice this as much when I am on a jog or climbing while riding…but during fast descents or REALLY windy days on the road/gravel…you are going to get wind noise that makes it harder to hear what you are listening to. There really is no way around this with an open ear design.
When you don’t need ambient sound…
These headphones provide superior sound quality when compared to bone conduction headphones. However, when it comes to comparing them to ear buds, you are not going to get that same quality if you are comparing them to a set in this similar price point. You just can’t control the listening experience in the same way. Ear buds with ambient sound options are going to sound better when you just want to sit and listen and not worry about the sound around you.
To a similar point. These are going to be hard to use in situations like an airplane where you need to cancel out ambient sounds to be able to listen at all. These really are more of a purpose built activity set of headphones vs. a set that can be used in a wide variety of situations.
Overall Thoughts on the Oladance Wearable Stereo
I have come to find that I like these more than I liked the Sony Link Buds for riding and running. They are more comfortable due to the outside of the ear design and I feel like they would fit a wide variety of ears unlike the Sony’s. They come with an app that is easy to use and can customize the listening experience. At the current price of $150, they are about the middle of the road for a quality set of compact headphones.
What I like most about these headphones is that you get a lot of the pluses that you would get from bone conduction without the major drawbacks of sound quality and that annoying vibration you get with every bass hit on the side of your head. If you are looking for a dedicated set of headphones for activity use (riding, running, etc)…these might be the perfect set that combines the best of outside and inside of your ear features. Just know that you are getting a set of headphones that are purposely built for that and have a second set for travel or concentrated listening sessions.
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