The SUUNTO Sonic was just announced on March 7, 2024 as the lighter, less featured, and less expensive sibling of the SUUNTO Wing. The Sonic weighs in at 31g versus the Wing’s 33g. That is likely due to the absence of the LED safety lights and motion control accelerometers.
Because safety is the primary feature for which athletes choose bone conducting headphones, I won’t compare the SUUNTO Sonic against typical headphones. These do not feature Active Noise Cancelation (ANC) or passive isolation. The point is to be able to hear what’s going on around you, such as traffic or passing bicyclists on a trail.
I had the opportunity to review the OpenRock S by OneOdio last year and while they aren’t true bone conducting headphones, they are similar in that they leave your ears somewhat open to hearing noises around you.
Read on if you want to know if these are worth the $150 asking price.
Included in the box
- Headphones
- Charging cable
- Cloth carry case
- Paper: Getting started, warranty, and safety disclosure
Design
The SUUNTO Sonic is made of titanium and silicone. They feature a soft rubbery feel all around. They are available in fluorescent yellow or black. Physical buttons are limited to a multifunction button on the left side “speaker” and a volume rocker that sits behind your right ear. They also feature a microphone so you can use your headphones to talk as well as listen. Unlike the IP67 rating of the SUUNTO Wing, the Sonic is limited to IP55 (limited water and dust resistance).
Set-up and Usage
Press and hold volume (+) for 3 seconds and the SUUNTO Sonic come alive with a series of beeps. The headphones enter pairing mode the first time they are powered on. Unlike most recent Bluetooth headphones, the SUUNTO Sonic does not have simplified step-by-step set-up. That means you must open Bluetooth settings and discover the device.
Once you are connected to your device, you can control volume, play/pause, replay, skip, answer/hang-up calls from the headphones themselves. This is nice if you are like me and carry your phone inside a pouch or pocket while running or exercising.
The volume buttons control volume up and down as well as turning on and off the headphones. One of the few gripes I have with these headphones is adjusting the volume up or down requires multiple clicks rather than pressing and holding. Of course, if you press and hold the (+) button, it turns the device off.
The multifunction button does the following based on the number of taps.
- 1 – Answer/hang-up call
- 1 – Play/pause music
- 2 – Skip track forward
- 3 – Skip track backward
In practice, I can never get the number of clicks down correctly when trying to skip or replay tracks while running. Fortunately, I don’t have to do this frequently.
Audio quality
My most recent audio addiction is “103” by The Kills. This track features a front forward kick drum, pulsing bass and synthesizer track and haunting guitar riffs, framing Allison Mosshart’s mezzo-soprano vocals. Since I’ve been enjoying this song recently through different speakers and headphones, I was able to tell immediately how well I would like the sound quality of the SUUNTO Sonic headphones. I wasn’t blown away, but I wasn’t disappointed either. It was lacking in bass but overall clear.
My next track needed to test bass performance, so I went to deep into my catalog and played Public Enemy’s “Bring Tha Noise.” The lower notes were absent, but the headphones weren’t straining to produce low frequencies either. It took me back to my childhood listening through a cheap Magnavox portable mini cassette player. It wasn’t until the late 80’s and early 90’s that I would appreciate feeling and hearing deep bass through 12” subwoofers.
For my first run, I decided to listen to a podcast and found the SUUNTO Sonic’s sweet spot. The audio was clear, every word was clear and sounded as though I was sitting in the recording studio. Being outside, I also was able to appreciate the openness of bone conducting headphones. Unlike other headphones that fail to make a tight seal, wind noise wasn’t ever an issue. I strained to hear my surroundings with audio playing but the point was I could still hear.
Later, I took a conference call which was just as clear as the podcast. I noticed that volume control did not seem to change much between fully off and fully on. I assume that because your skull is essentially the speaker, it is difficult to manage volume and would vary widely from one user to the next. This got me thinking if a bigger or smaller head would produce better audio or wider differential between volume steps.
Comfort
Since moving to in-ear monitor type earbuds, I have not found any over the ear or behind the neck type headphones to be comfortable. They are generally more uncomfortable when wearing glasses or a hat. The SUUNTO Sonics, on the other hand were always comfortable.
Even while running, the headphones maintained proper contact with my temples, and I never had the need to adjust. I logged just under 15 miles while wearing the headphones and I could certainly see these being great for marathons or distance bike rides.
Battery life
The battery is rated for 10 hours and fully charges in less than one hour. A 15-minute charge claims three hours of audio. During my testing, I logged about two hours of use, and the battery level fell to 79%. This seems to support their 10-hour claim.
Unlike the SUUNTO Wing, the Sonic does not ship with a charging dock. Unless you want to use a separate battery charger, you are limited to the onboard battery. Not a significant issue in my opinion.
App
There isn’t a separate SUUNTO app for its audio headphones. Instead, the audio preferences are buried in the settings of their primary activities application and is very limited in functionality for the Sonic.
Sound Mode: allows you to switch between “normal” and “outdoor” sound profiles. In my testing, I didn’t notice a significant different when using one mode or the other.
Dual Device Connection: This allows you to pair the SUUNTO Sonic to two devices simultaneously. I can see myself connecting this to both my laptop and phone to take meetings between steps on the treadmill and vice versa.
Awarded to products with an average rating of 3.75 stars or higher, the AndroidGuys Smart Pick recognizes a balance of quality, performance, and value.
Products with this distinction deserve to be on your short list of purchase candidates.
Overall impressions
If you are an avid runner, biker, or adventurer; you should consider the SUUNTO Sonic bone conducting headphones. There are not a lot of choices that cater to this niche. Shokz offers a wider range of bone conducting headphones but current users of SUUNTO’s watches may appreciate the SUUNTO app integration.
The only gripes that I have with the SUUNTO Sonic headphones are the proprietary charging cable and lack of color options. Otherwise, they are comfortable to wear during rigorous activities and are excellent for podcasts and audiobooks.
