Bose Soundwear Review. Wearable Speakers!
By Steve Huff
Hey guys another tech/audio review for those of you who love gadgets and audio gear. Today I received the Bose Soundwear speakers. These are speakers that you wear, as an alternative to headphones. Why would one need such a thing? Well, I will be using them every day on my bike rides, as an alternative to headphones as we know blocking out traffic noises while riding a bike is a big no no! With these around my neck, I can hear my tunes or audio books or even take phone calls while riding my bike. I can also use them while I work on this website, or hanging out in the backyard.
These connect via bluetooth and run for 12 hours on a charge. They come with the Soundwear speaker device, a cover and a USB cable to charge them up. The speakers are sort of aimed up towards your ear which give you an illusion of the music floating about 10 inches in front of you. Very cool and they go pretty loud but not to deafening levels.
See my video review below. These are new, just released by Bose and available at Amazon right now HERE. $299.
Video shot on the GoPro 4 Black and Sony A9
Well i’m In the UK and don’t ride a moped but I just might give these a go.
Hi Steve
How do these stay on? Are they flexible? Can you bend them to get a better fit around your neck?
It looked like they didn’t do much for the collar on the shirt you were wearing in the video. They look interesting, but look like they would fall off very easily, riding a bike or a motorcycle, or just running around the city dealing with stairs Etc.
They flex but are not “stretchable” or anything like that. They loop around your neck, and are weighted at the ends, sort of. I never had an issue with them even feeling as if they would fall off. I have been riding all over town, never even nudges from my neck or where I place them.
If I lived in a rural place with no other bikers in proximity they might work, but here in NL its so crowded that at any traffic light I stop I will be in the middle of a ten bike or larger crowd, and I do not think I would get any nice looks if I was playing open air music…
For home usage, they might work!
Welcome back to 1979: The Bone Fone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_Fone
The new bose toy is still more social than running a full-size speaker system in your appartment at night, all doors and windows open. Starting from that, it is more social to listen to nearfield monitors at only 1m distance behind closed doors and windows, compared to main speakers at 4m distance (which require 16x times higher volume at source, for the same volume at your ears). Of course, conventional headphones leak less or no noise, but at times are uncomfortable to wear.
As alternative I prefer the Sony PFR-V1 “Personal Field Speaker System” (discntinued, unfortunately). The drivers “hover” 3cm away from your ears. Very nice outside in hot weather. Yes, they leak noise, but hardly more than a conventional, open headphone. I do not use them in public transport.
Great product to use while on my treadmill in my house.
What a spectacularly antisocial product.
Here in the UK we occasionally (very ocassionally, thankfully) get some idiot riding around on a moped with music blaring out rather than wearing headphones. Thoughtless, antisocial muppets!
Bin ’em! …. Unless you live in a desert miles from your nearest neighbour maybe
It’s barely audible unless someone is within 1-3 feet and you have it up loud. No one in my neighborhood would even hear it while on. So you are mistaken on your thoughts on these. Headphones are dangerous as all get out when riding a bike, as you can not hear traffic or cars or whatever. With these you can. Keep the volume 1/3 up, and you can hear it yet no one else will. Great product.
I totally agree with you Bruce!
Go to India Bruce. Every shop blasts its own tune but you can hardly call indian people antisocial!
I agree.
These are fine for using in private but would be deeply, deeply annoying in public. Simple fact of the matter is these days, in a public or urban environment, you are going to get a lot of looks and disapproval from people. It is bad enough when people use the speaker on their cellphone to play music or such like in public , this will bring a similar response IMO.
I love my Bose QC35’s. But this – to me – is a product which answers a question most people aren’t asking. I reckon it will sink without trace.