Philips TAA6606 sports headphone review: For runners only

The Philips TAA6606 bone conduction Bluetooth sports activities headphone make it straightforward to take heed to music when you’re working or participating in different kinds of train, however audio efficiency takes a backseat to 2 different objectives: Guaranteeing a safe however snug match even when you’re transferring round, and sustaining situational consciousness whereas outside.

Not like standard on-ear, over-ear, or in-ear headphones, you put on the Philips TAA6606 like a laurel across the again of your head, wrapping hooks over the tops of your ears. Quite than positioning audio system outdoors or inside your ear canal, a bone conduction headphone equivalent to this rests its audio system in entrance of every ear and transmits sound by way of the bones in your cranium.

This design leaves your ears fully unimpeded from listening to sounds in your atmosphere, which is nice for listening to what’s occurring round you, however it doesn’t ship nice audio replica.

Philips TAA6606 industrial design

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The TAA6606 function a light-weight titanium body wrapped in rubber. A weatherization score of IP67 means the headphone is solely protected against mud and that it may be immersed in as much as 1 meter of water for so long as half-hour. You in all probability wouldn’t need to go swimming with it, however sweat, rain, and a cleanup session below the tap gained’t trigger issues.

This evaluation is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the very best headphones.

The best-hand arm of the TAA6606 has a USB-C charging port, an influence button on the underside, and quantity controls (“+” and “-“) on the highest. Lengthy presses of the amount controls strikes up and down your playlist. LED security lights adorn the backs of each the left- and right-hand arms that will help you be seen from behind. These will be set to a glow steadily or they will blink, quick or slowly. The lights aren’t vibrant sufficient to switch reflective gear, however they can assist alert a driver or bicyclist approaching you from behind they usually may hold you from getting run over.

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The headphone’s audio system relaxation in your cranium, simply in entrance of your ears and above your jawbone. A multifunction button on the left-hand speaker controls play and pause with a brief press. This identical button solutions cellphone calls with a brief press, rejects them with a protracted press, and switches between calls with a double press. This button has a satisfying click on and could be very straightforward to make use of.

The ability and quantity controls, alternatively, are tiny and tough to make use of. Regardless that “+” and “–“ are embossed on these buttons, the indications are so small that it’s nearly inconceivable to really feel the distinction between the 2.

The Philips TAA6606 comes with a material carry pouch, a USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable, foam earplugs, and an instruction guide with footage however no phrases (a extra full consumer guide is out there on-line).

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Bone conduction headphones improve situational consciousness

The largest benefit of a bone conduction headphone is the best way wherein they improve the wearer’s situational consciousness. They don’t block your ears, so you need to be capable to hear site visitors and react shortly to any hazard. They are often disconcerting at first, particularly if you happen to’re accustomed to carrying earbuds. The music is enjoying in your head, however you can even hear every little thing round you, as if the supply of the music was a speaker throughout the room.

Bone conduction headphones provide one other security function: They gained’t injury your listening to. There’s nothing aimed instantly at your eardrums, and also you gained’t undergo ear fatigue throughout lengthy listening periods.

Philips

The Philips A6606 headphone rests in your face, and the extra they vibrate, the extra sound leaks out. There’s no approach you can hope to put on them in an workplace atmosphere, and also you may even annoy somebody sitting subsequent to you on an airplane, subway, or bus. These are for solo use solely.

Philips TAA6606 audio efficiency

That is the place now we have to throw out a lot of the standards we use when evaluating earbuds and headphones. The Philips TAA6606 solely assist the fundamental SBC Bluetooth codec, however due to the best way their audio system work, it wouldn’t matter in the event that they supported a higher-resolution codec equivalent to LDAC or aptX HD.

Let’s simply say you possibly can hear the music when utilizing this headphone. It’s tinny and never a lot better than what you’d get from a pair of $19.99 wi-fi earbuds you’d choose up at a comfort retailer. These go in your ears, after all, and don’t use the bone conduction know-how that differentiates these headphones.

James Barber/Foundry

That every one modifications if you happen to’re listening to audiobooks, podcasts, or streaming information radio. And since that’s my most popular leisure after I’m working, I got here to understand the strengths of the Philips TAA6606 and was not distracted by the less-than-stellar music expertise.

Philips included a pair of froth earplugs within the field and the expertise is vastly improved when utilizing them. The soundstage fills out and the devices sound like themselves. The science behind bone conduction audio begins to essentially impress. How can music sound this good if you happen to’re not utilizing your eardrums?

Plugging your ears, nevertheless, defeats a lot of the protection benefit {that a} bone conduction headphone offers. In the event you’re path working and don’t want to fret about site visitors, use the earplugs and benefit from the upgraded audio.

Cellphone name high quality on the Philips TAA6606

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The Philips TAA6606 is outfitted with two microphones, which makes it potential to take or make cellphone calls. Everybody wants to sometimes take a fast name whereas outside, and the TAA6606 is okay in a pinch. Simply don’t plan on prolonged conversations, because it’s been reported that I seemed like I used to be talking from the underside of a nicely whereas utilizing them.

Philips has a cell app (Android and iOS) for its headphones. It’s very fundamental for this mannequin, exhibiting the battery degree on the house display. You may choose from enhanced bass or voice within the Sound Impact panel, management the working lights, play or pause, and regulate the amount.

The Philips TAA6606 aren’t nice headphones for music

Earbuds might show to have been a horrible invention if total generations find yourself struggling long-term listening to loss from blasting music straight into their eardrums. In the event you’re somebody who worries about this, a bone conduction headphone just like the Philips A6606 headphone is a technique to have audio with none direct danger to your ears.

Any such headphone additionally help you be totally conscious of your environment, as a result of they block zero noise. If a truck rumbles by throughout your stroll or run, your music will in all probability be drowned out and there’s no approach you’ll hear the narrator of your audiobook. On the upside, it’s extraordinarily unlikely that you just gained’t hear the truck earlier than you will get out of its approach.

Runners love bone conduction headphones, and there are lengthy threads dedicated to the subject on their message boards. What they’re not is an effective technique to take pleasure in music if you happen to’re an individual who cares about audio. Personally, I’ll keep on with an excellent pair of earbuds in transparency mode at an acceptable quantity, however I can see the enchantment of bone conduction headphones if you happen to take your train outside.