The Suunto Sonic are Suunto’s second pair of open-ear, bone conduction headphones that are firmly aimed at runners.
The Sonic comes in cheaper than Suunto’s Wing headphones and strips back features, moving to a slimmer design with new bone conduction technology added to improve overall sound performance.
Testers Mike and Tom have been long-term testing the Sonic to tell you if it’s a good fit for runners and a strong if not better alternative to Shokz’ collection of bone conduction headphones.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro, price and key features
00:43 – Price, features and what’s different from Suunto Wing
01:47 – Design, fit and controls
05:14 – Sound quality
11:10 – Battery life
13:50 – Verdict and comparisons
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Hey this is M for the Run testers these Are the sunto Sonic sunto second pair of Open air bone conduction headphones now Myself and Tom have both been long Testing the Sonic which are the Follow-up to the sunto wing which we Reviewed on the channel last year now With the Sonic there definitely are some Changes it definitely has paired down Slim down those features and the design As well I'm going to take you through What you need to know about the Sonic How it Compares and how it differs to The wing get you into those important Running thoughts and then let you know Whether you should buy the sunto Sonic Whether these are a good option for Runners and whether these are a good Alternative to shock's extensive bone Conduction open a Range so here's your load down on those Key cnos Sonic stats it's priced at £129 In the UK or $149 in the US but can Currently be found for £85 in the UK From cino's own website that launch Price put sit up against other bone Conduction headphones like the shocks Open run which is also dropped below its £130 launch price these are neckband Style headphones with an IP 55 water Resistant rating and weighing just Slightly lighter than the pricier sunto Wing you've got a set of physical Buttons and dual microphones to handle
Calls with a mode to help combat windier Outdoor conditions they use bone Conduction with CTO adding in a new Transducer to boost base and reduce Sound leakage overall there's two sound Modes available from the companion C app Which also lets you enable pairing to Two Bluetooth devices at the same time Battery life is up to 10 hours at 60% Volume with a quick charge mode included Though lacks the portable charging setup Featured on the sunto Wing so there's definitely going to be a Lot of similarities with the shocks bone Conduction headphones in this review the Uh sunto Sonic very very similar to the Design of most of the shocks headphones Um I as a result I really like it I'm a Big fan of the shocks Design This is Almost identical to the shocks design The feel of them on the head the shape Of them the way it fits against the ears And everything the design is very very Comparable uh and is a good design it's A very it's a very nice design for Mo Conduction headphones I've not had any Issues with the fit or anything like That found to be very comfortable um so No issues at all I think it's very very Good and if you're used to wearing Shocks you'll you won't be surprised by The Des design of these the controls Equally very very similar to what you'd Expect from the shocks almost identical
Uh you've got this multifunction button On the left hand side which is works Really really well I like it as it's Just the right size it's very easy to Find when you're running um click it Once to pause it click a couple of times To skip the track works very well no Problems at all with that control the Other controls on the other side they Sit underneath um they're quite easy to Find I quite like the uh the shape and The design of these buttons so you can Turn it off quite easily and turn it on Quite easily easily so for me controls Are absolutely perfect for what you want From me it's very simple but you can Actually use this um button on the left To do a lot more if you want to learn How to do it um but really for most People you can stick them on it's very Very easy to work out how to use these Headphones so in terms of design fit What it's like to wear the sunto Sonic I Think it's been very good for me overall No major issues to report these are kind Of neckband style design headphones Which are you know typically what we see From bone conduction phones in general It's kind of that wraparound style it's Got titanium in terms of that build and Then you've got some silicone to kind of Make sure it sits comfortably and not Putting metal against the sides of your Head you've got some buttons here
Physical buttons there's some on the Underside of the arms you've got ones For kind of a volume rocker and the kind Of onoff and pairing button and then You've got a multi-function button here So very similar to what we see on Shock's headphones in terms of his Controls and I think from a shock's Point of view it's very similar in terms Of experience of using those buttons Slower and faster runs they're well Position and I think they're easy to Kind of use Overall they are pretty light and Comfortable I think the weight is very Similar to what we got or get on the Shocks open run they're a little bit Lighter than the sunto wing headphones There are some changes from the sunto Wing from a design point of view you are Getting a downgrade in terms of the kind Of overall durability so they're dust And sweat resistant you can't kind of Run them under a tap like you could with The cin wing and they get a bit sweaty You are I think probably more Importantly or a little bit more Disappointingly I would say is that You're losing out on the kind of Portable charger that we got with the Sun wing which just made it a little bit Easier to kind of charge it was still Obviously a proprietary kind of charging Setup but just nice to kind of drop them
In with the c wing and charge them and You can charge them on the go it's a Propriety charging cable but similar to What we see on um a lot of shock's Headphones so you know you're going to Have to have a carrier cable around to Charge these but from a design point of View been absolutely fine I think I said Very much keeping with other kind of Open a bone conduction neck band style Design headphones you're just going to See a downgrade and durability and Losing out on that charger or that kind Of portable charger that you get with The c Wing okay so the sound quality of these The sound quality of bone conduction Headphones recently has got a bit better And louder um it's not necessarily got Better in terms of the the sound being Significantly uh more enjoyable when You're out the run but they have got l With the shocks open run Pro I found That I can actually listen to podcasts And things on those um with those Headphones now and it's fine unless I'm On a ridiculously busy road uh so they Do uh these are comparable with the Shocks open run Pro when it comes to Sound levels I can listen to podcast With these absolutely fine no issues at All uh I don't think the sound quality Is as good as the open run Pro open run Pro is more expensive so you would
Expect that it's not not miles away I Think it is pretty comparable with the Open runs um but to be honest when it Comes to things like bass and stuff like That I don't think it's got particularly Impressively wide range of sounds on the Sonic but it's absolutely fine if you're Looking at this level of headphone uh You're going to get you're not going to Be disappointed by the sound quality That you're getting from the sunto Sonic I think it's very good um and definitely A lot louder than I was expecting from Um from the headphones the other thing I Say as well is that because I'm always Listening to these at top volume because I'm whether I'm listening to music or if I'm listening to um audio books or Podcasts uh I do get a lot of tickle and I don't get a tickle from the the recent Open run Pros uh which it's a bit Annoying when you start off for the First uh maybe five minutes it's a bit Annoying and you're sort of scratching Your ear a little bit because it's Tingling uh it stops after a bit I Didn't notice it after on a longer run But you do get a little bit more tickle On these than you get on the shocks Equivalents into that all important Sound quality now these are bone Conduction headphones so you're not Going to get the best Sound Performance That you would get from a you know an
Inair set of headphones or a kind of Closed a set of headphones you know Where you're really going to be able to Neutralize that sound you know going to Be battling with exterior sounds as much As you would do with a pair of bone Conduction headphones this is about Giving you a balance keeping you aware Of your surroundings and you know that's What the sunto Sonic like a lot of bone Conduction headphones want to Achieve now I think it's fair to say With the cin Wing we were a little bit Disappointed with the Sound Performance Particularly considering how much those Headphones cost now the cnto Sonic is a Bit more competitively priced against Other bone conduction headphones there Are some changes here in terms of how it Delives that bone conduction sounds There is a change in terms of the Transducers that sunto is using here That is integral to the process of Delivering that bone conduction and how That bone conduction technology works You know TR translating vibrations up That go up towards your cheekbones up Towards your ears and you know Delivering or converting that into sound So with that new transducer cnto is Promising enhanced base performance and Also reduced uh kind of noise leakage as Well compared to the sunto wing they Also get into different sound modes
Which was similar to what we had on the Wing so you've got a normal mode which Is generally for that kind of everyday Scenario mainly for using them indoors If you're going to use them indoors then You've got an outdoor mode which is Pretty self-explanatory what that does Is kind of elevate the overall loudness And you should see a little bit more in Of That Bass Performance as well well Now in terms of the sound quality here On the sunto Sonic I would say that it Has been better for me than the sunto Wing I think it's a bit more in keeping With headphones like the shocks open run There's a few other cheaper Brands like Halo which I've used and I think it's Very much in keeping with that sound is It as good as those headphones in terms Of over sound quality I wouldn't say That I would say that it definitely is a Little bit more balanced than the cinto Wing I definitely think when you are Outside you need to to use that outdoor Mode it does give you that kind of Notable kind of uptake in terms of Volume I think there is a little bit of A better kind of Base performance as Well there is a little bit more of that Rumble terms of that base you're getting That bone conduction kind of vibration And kind of tickle that you do get a Louder volumes but it's you know not as Severe as I've experienced on other
Headphones so that's that's a good thing As well here I think in terms of the you Know I you know I listen to a range of Things I run kind of more Tempo stuff I Do listen to podcast as well and I think In terms of handling those Kind of things they've been absolutely Fine for me would I say there has the Same level of clarity and finesse as Things like the shocks open run pro pro Two the Bose Ultra open possibly not but I think it's not too far off probably Just below that for me but overall it's Been very enjoyable to use these I felt Like the have felt more balanced and Overall just delivering a slightly Better sound than the sunto wing Definitely much in keeping with Headphones that sit around the price of The cinto wing I think talk about Connectivity you are getting some U Multipoint um connectivities you can Pair them to two devices at the same Time you got to enable that in the app I Think connectivity across devices have Been fine for me I've used it with an IPhone I've used it with an Android Phone I've used it paired to a Garmin Watch an Apple Watch and connectivity Across the board has been very good for Me so you know no kind of issues for me On that side of things in terms of Things like that reduced noise leakage You are still going to get some at Le
Leakage here with these headphones you Know whether it is you know better I Think it's there's a small amount in it But you know these are ultimately going To be headphones that you know are going To leak some sound I think the other Thing to talk about here is the kind of Vibrations you get all that kind of we Know it as bone conduction tickle so When you kind of listen at louder Volumes you kind of see the vibration of The technology and I do think you still Get that a little bit louder volumes It's not too severe or wasn't severe in The sense that I you know it felt Uncomfortable to use them but that's Something to keep in mind with these Headphones I think in bone conduction Headphones in general but it you know it Wasn't too bad but there definitely is Some of that vibration tickle to contain With here on the cinto Sonic battery life I have had a problem With with these so um I've been using These for quite a long time now probably About two or three months um and I've Used them for a lot of runs recently I've been training for Valencia Marathon So I've been doing a lot of long runs uh And the last one I did was a three-hour Long run um and what I found is even Though these were fully charged they ran Out at about 2 and 1 half hours uh which Goes quite far against the 10hour
Battery life that I was expecting um Previously when I've been out for the Run uh they haven't run out um but what I've heard is this uh it gives you a Notification saying the battery's going Low and I have heard that a few times When I've been out the Run even though I've charged it um so I'm presuming that The reason for that or partly the reason For that is that I've been listening at Full volume the whole time but that does Seem like a pretty big drop from that 10 Hours that you'd be expecting from these Because when it comes to the shocks ones I always listen to to those at full Volume as well and they're much closer To the full battery life that they Stayed so battery life on the sunto Sonic has been pretty good for me hasn't Been outstanding hasn't been you know Hasn't been groundbreaking in terms of Pushing the boundaries of what we can Expect from bone conduction headphones Now CTO promises up to 10 hours and that Is with you know when you're listing at Kind of 60% volume so not at your full Volume and why that is crucial is that When you are list at louder volumes and This is kind of applicable to all bone Conduction headphones is that you know You will see a more severe drop in Battery life now when you are listening At kind of 60% volume which is not very Loud and when I've done that for kind of
An hour's worth of running the drop has Been about 10% so that kind of does add Up but you know a lot of the times I Would listen at much louder volume Particularly when you are using them Outside for Runs and it's definitely going to see That battery life or overall battery Life drop to probably kind of 6 to 7 Hours so that is a bit further off that Kind of 10 hours and that's something to Keep in mind here I think if you are Running throughout the week then you Know it's probably going to be fine if You're doing you know 30 minutes to an Hour and maybe you know a few times a Week it's probably going to be Absolutely fine but yeah you know when You are listening at louder volumes the Battery life drop is going to be more Severe crucially you do have a fast Charge mode which does help in terms of You know when you are seeing that kind Of um kind of more severe battery drop You have a very good effective f Charging mode here as I said you don't Get that kind of charging portable Charger that you do get with the sunto Wing but if you can live with that and You can use that and happy to use that Kind of propriety charging cable you are Going to get a fast charging mode which Means and if you do forget to charge Them it's not going to take long to kind
Of power them up and give you enough for A few hours of Running so my verdict on the sunto Sonic I think they're very good I think if You're comparing these with the more Premium um bone conduction headphones Are out the moment which would be the Shocks open run the shocks open run Pros A lot more expensive than these so there It's more expensive level of of quality And sound and everything that you're Getting but if you're comparing them With the open runs very similar uh I Think if you're a big fan of uh sunto And you like the design of these the the Green they do come in a couple of other Colors as well I don't think there's a Lot you're missing out on by getting These over the shocks open runs but the Problem is that is that battery life and And I I I don't even use these for my Long runs now because I'm having that Problem with with the battery life um I Had a pretty boring run when I was out Doing that three-hour run CU I had half An hour of just running listening to my Own thoughts so um I would say that Apart from that battery life These are Comparable with shocks open run and I'd Be happy with getting either of those But because of the battery life it's a It's a bit of a loss for me on these so Um it might be an issue with my ones um I'm not sure if Mike's had the same
Problem but because of that I'm not a Big fan of using these for any run over Like an hour and a half so my view on The sunto Sonic on whether these are a Good option for runners is that I would Say these are a better option for Runners than the sunto wing which I Think with the sunto wing sunto got the Price pretty wrong I think they were too Expensive and they didn't deliver enough In terms of the Sound Performance and Everything else and all those kind of Extra features that you got now with the Sunto Sonic it stripped things back but I think in return you are getting a Lighter more comfortable you know set of Bon uction headphones I think the sound Quality is a lot better and More in Keeping with the Competition now are these better than Shock's headphones things like the Bose Ultra open which are obviously more Expensive than the sunto Sonic from a Sound Performance I don't think they are I think they're just below things like The shocks open run Pro open run open Run Pro two and the Bose Ultra open if You want Balan kind of clear very Versatile sound and I think those other Headphones are going to get you there I Think these sit just below below those Headphones but my experience has been Very good overall with them and as I Said I do think it is a Improvement on
What we got on the cin Wing the key Thing for me here is the price now I've Seen these drop to £85 I think they're Kind of sitting there £85 at the moment If you can pick them up for below £1 Then I think they're well worth picking Up particularly if you didn't want to Spend as much money on a pair of shocks Headphones as I tell I think they're Probably closest to things like these Shocks open run but if you can't get Those for less than1 and you looking for An alternative I think absolutely go for These from a design comfort point of View the sound quality the battery life Connectivity side of things you're Getting a lot that's very good here on The cinto Sonic so I do think these are A good option for runners if you can get Them for Less than100 where they are sat Out of the moment absolutely a good Option are they better than the best Here in this category possibly not but I Think they are much better kind of Alternative to those headphones Particularly when you see what we got With the sunto win so there you have it That is our multitester take on the Sunto Sonic now if you got any questions About these headphones or any other Running headphones that we've tested on The channel maybe want to see how this Compares to another pair do let us know In the comments as always like And
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