Gear: Suunto Sonic bone conduction headphones

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1. v4 2026-09-15 07:04 Post: a research assistant that keeps nothing; Suunto figure rebuilt on tokens Joshua Anderton with Claude Opus 5 +6 −0 words

   A transducer on the skull gives close to none. The skull couples both cochleae, so the signal arrives at both at once.

   {% include fig-bone-vs-air.html %}

   This is what bone conduction is, not a fault in the product.

   Commit 926c580 on GitHub →

2. v3 2026-09-12 07:54 posts: inline source cards, and every post cut to the point Joshua Anderton with Claude Opus 5 +86 −179 words

   ---

   FirstGear entry in a gear category. The format is deliberate: **specificationsSpecifications, then what the physics of the delivery path allows, then a personalan impression kept separate from both.**

   ## Specifications

   | Stated frequency range | 20 Hz – 20 kHz |

   | Microphones | Dual, with cVc echo cancelling and noise suppression |

   | Battery | 140 mAh, 10 h playtime; 5 min charge ≈ 90 min use; full charge ≈ 1 h |

   | Weight | 30.6 g |

   | Materials | Titanium alloy and, silicone |

   | Ingress | IP55 |

   | Price | $149 USD at launch; $79 on the Suunto US store when checked |

   One correction worth making, because it is easy to repeat. **"Dual" refers tois the microphones, not the transducers.** Every listing I checked says "Built-in Dual Mics.". Two bone transducers, one per side, is the standard arrangement for any stereo bone-conduction headset and is not a distinguishing feature.

   ## The property that decides everythingthe elserest

   A sealed transducer at one ear gives roughly 40–60 dB of interaural attenuation. That separation is what makes two ears independent.

   A sealed transducer at one ear gives roughly 40–60 dB of **interaural attenuation** — the signal arriving at the far ear is far quieter than at the near one, which is what makes two ears independent. A transducer on the skull gives close to none. The skull couples both cochleae, so a bone-conductedthe signal arrives at both at once.

   This is not a shortcoming of this product. It is what bone conduction is.

   This is what bone conduction is, not a fault in the product.

   It has a hard consequenceConsequence for protocol selection: the work I do. My rulebase returns a laterality of `undefined` — not "left", not "bilateral-ish" — for any delivery path with under 15 dB of interaural attenuation. A path that cannot deliver a left-ear stimulus mustgets not haveno downstream per-ear predictions made as though it did.

   So, for this device:

   | protocol | usable |

   | Anything reporting a per-ear result | **no** |

   Two further limits, neither disqualifying:

   Two further limits, neither disqualifying. The- 20 Hz – 20 kHz figure is an air-conduction-style specification. and I have notNot verified it as *delivered* through bone on a head. — forFor evoked-potential work the delivered envelope is what matters, and it is unmeasured. And the nearest measured air-versus-bone separation I have is 22 dB, from tuning-fork work on a different transducer for a different purpose.

   - Nearest measured air-versus-bone separation on hand is 22 dB, from tuning-fork work on a different transducer for a different purpose.

   ## First impression

   Mine, oneOne person, one session, unblinded. Not evidence, and; the tier on this post reflects that.

   > The headphones were extremely easy to get set up, and this is the first time > that I've used bone conduction headphones, so it truly blew my mind experiencing > them. I couldn't believe how high resolution they were, even though it's not > even sound directly through the ears. Still trying to wrap my head around it. > But regardless, this is a great buy. > > Also, just as a side note, it's a really great way to have audio-evoked > potentials or something like Brain.fm running during family time so that my ears > aren't covered, and I'm more aware and more present, but can still be running a > therapeutic music solution.

   ThatThe lastdefensible pointpart isof the one I would actually defend, and itthat is about compliance, rather thannot acoustics: **a protocol that can runruns while you are present with your family is a protocol that gets run.** Nothing here measures whether the delivered signal is adequate for the purpose — only that the barrier to wearing it is much lower.

   Commit fb7ef7b on GitHub →

3. v2 2026-09-04 12:40 site: product image on the Suunto post Joshua Anderton with Claude Opus 5 +41 −45 words

   citations:

   image: /assets/posts/bonesuunto-vs-air-conductionsonic.svgjpg

   image_alt: >-

   Two heads compared. Left, a sealed transducer at one ear: roughly 40 to 60 decibels

   The Suunto Sonic, a bone-conduction headset: a wraparound neckband with two

   transducer pads that sit on the cheekbones rather than over the ear canals.

   image_credit: >-

   ofManufacturer interauralproduct attenuationimage, two independent earsSuunto. Right,Reproduced to illustrate a transducerreview onof the skull:

   roughly 0 to 10 decibels, because the skull couples both cochleae.

   image_credit: product. "Diagram drawnDesaturated for this postsite."

   ---

   Commit f09d01f on GitHub →

4. v1 2026-09-02 09:29 gear review: Suunto Sonic, and a gear-review category Joshua Anderton with Claude Opus 5 first version

   v1: the original version, as first committed. Read it on GitHub →

   Commit e432559 on GitHub →