AfterShokz Aeropex Bone Conduction Headphones Review

The AfterShokz Aeropex have a unique style that looks similar to other models by the company but are unlike most other headphones on the market. Unlike traditional earbuds, these headphones don't go into your ear, but instead sit on top of your temples. They have a headband that goes around the back of your head, and ear-hooks to help keep the headphones on your ears.

The AfterShokz Aeropex are very lightweight and are quite comfortable. Due to their design, they're far less noticeable on your ears than traditional over-ear or on-ear headphones. They apply a bit of pressure where your ears meet your head, though they're better than previous versions, which feels similar to wearing a pair of glasses. The headband sticks out less on the back of the head than the AfterShokz Trekz Air, but it still may get snagged on hoods or sweaters. Since you feel audio through vibrations, bass-heavy genres like dubstep may get irritating after long listening sessions, though this likely won't be an issue with other genres or podcasts.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's controls are great, and a big improvement over the AfterShokz Trekz Air. Two small buttons are positioned just behind your right ear that are used for volume up/down, power on/off, pairing, and to check your battery level when not listening to music. There's also a button on the left earbud for play/pause, track skip, and access the voice assistant. Overall, the buttons are easy-to-use and provide good feedback, and the volume control gives you audio cues.

The AfterShokz Aeropex don't sit inside, on, or around your ears, so there's no trapped heat. In our tests, the recorded temperature difference was so low that it was below the margin of error for our testing rig. This makes these a good choice for sports, as they won't cause you to sweat more than usual.

The AfterShokz Aeropex are decently portable. They aren't that bulky, though their rigid headband means they can't be folded into a more compact format. They're portable enough to slide into a bag or larger pockets in sports pants or shorts, but won't fit in most jean pockets. On the upside, they come with a small soft case to protect them and to help with traveling, but it does add a bit of bulk.

They come with a small soft case to give your headphones a bit of extra protection. Unfortunately, it doesn't zip shut so it likely won't protect your headphones much from water, and its soft design won't help much against physical damage.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's build quality is good, and they don't feel like they'd get too damaged from a few accidental drops or bumps. They're made of a silicone material and are rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, though we don't currently test for this. Unfortunately, the headband is thin and is likely the weakest point, though it's quite flexible.

The AfterShokz Aeropex are decently stable thanks to their ear-hook design. They should be good enough for most sports and should only fall off during very strenuous workouts. Unfortunately, the headband sticks out a bit from the head and may get caught on hoods or sweaters.

• AfterShokz Aeropex headphones
• Soft carrying pouch
• 2x Proprietary charging cable
• Foam earplugs
• Manuals

Since the AfterShokz Aeropex have no speakers and use vibration to produce sound, our testing rig is unable to accurately record these results. Therefore, our frequency response graph doesn't portray the actual sound as it would be perceived by your ear. Overall, the sound produced by these headphones is better suited for most vocal-centric content, like podcasts or audiobooks. However, they'll still likely be decent for most genres of music, and provide surprisingly decent bass response, though they won't give you the same kind of thumping bass as traditional headphones.

Due to these headphones' unique design, their frequency response consistency is poor and different users may experience different sound profiles depending on how the headphones fit on the head. You'll probably have to adjust the headphones on your head to get the best possible sound reproduction.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's bass isn't very accurate. However, these bone conduction headphones produce sound via vibrations, which is why they have such a low score in our measurements. They do transmit an average amount of tactile bass through the temples, but even their tactile bass isn't very extended, and won't produce low-bass accurately. Overall, they should be able to provide a decent amount of kick for instruments but are lacking in very low-bass that you'd hear in dubstep or EDM.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's mid-range accuracy isn't at all accurate. Unlike the AfterShokz Trekz Air, which used speakers to produce mid and treble ranges, the Aeropex rely on vibration for all frequency ranges, making them difficult to accurately measure with our current testing rig. Therefore, these results likely won't match what you'd hear in real-world usage. In quiet environments, you should get decent performance from the mid-range and be able to hear leads and vocals in good detail. Unfortunately, in louder situations like on a subway, the mid-range tends to get lost and you'll likely only 'hear' the tactile bass vibrations, and some harsher and sharp treble frequencies.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's treble-range accuracy isn't at all accurate. Unlike the AfterShokz Trekz Air, which used speakers to produce mid and treble ranges, the Aeropex rely on vibration for all frequency ranges, making them difficult to accurately measure with our current testing rig. Therefore, these results likely won't match what you'd hear in real-world usage. In actual listening, their treble range is decently well-balanced, though it may sound slightly sharp and piercing on sibilants (S and T sounds) at higher volumes.

Since these headphones produce sound via vibrations and don't have any speakers, our testing rig is unable to properly measure their frequency response. That being said, in real-world usage, there's a peak in high-treble that causes cymbals and sibilants (S and T sounds) to sound sharp and piercing.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's imaging is bad. It's worth noting that since these headphones have no speakers and use vibration to produce sound, our testing rig is unable to accurately record these results. Therefore, our results here likely won't correlate to real-world situations.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's measured soundstage is inadequate. It's worth noting, however, that since these headphones produce their sound via vibrations and not speakers, our testing rig is unable to accurately measure them. In real-world usage, the headphones are very open since they sit outside of the ear.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's measured weighted harmonic distortion is bad. It's worth noting, however, that since these headphones produce their sound via vibrations and don't have speakers, our testing rig is unable to accurately measure them.

By design, the AfterShokz Aeropex's noise isolation performance is very bad. This's because these headphones don't sit in or cover your ears, and instead provide audio while still allowing all outside sounds in. This makes them great if you want to hear background music while still carrying on conversations or staying aware of your surroundings, like during a jog outside.

Note: AfterShokz includes a pair of foam earplugs designed to use with these headphones while on planes or commuting. While we haven't tested with them in, this will undoubtedly improve the isolation performance and help create a somewhat more typical headphone listening experience.

While the recorded level of leakage on the AfterShokz Aeropex is disappointing, in the real world it depends on your usage. If you listen to your music at a quiet enough volume to still carry on conversations with people, they likely won't be able to hear what you're listening to. On the other hand, if you want to listen to music loud to block out background noises, they leak quite a bit and may bother those around you.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's overall microphone performance is mediocre. Speech recorded or transmitted may sound slightly muffled, though it sounds quite a bit better than the AfterShokz Trekz Air. Noise handling isn't very good, and the person on the other end of the line likely won't be able to hear you in even moderately loud environments.

Recorded or transmitted speech from the AfterShokz Aeropex is decent. While the person you're speaking to on the phone should be able to understand you, your voice may sound fairly muffled and lacking in brightness and detail.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's noise handling is mediocre and it'll be hard for the person on the other end of the line to hear you in moderately loud environments. In very loud situations, like in a subway station, your voice gets lost entirely.

The AfterShokz Aeropex's battery is decent at just under 13 hours from a single charge. This is a lot longer than the 8 hours that is advertised and should likely last you a few days without needing to be charged. Unfortunately, unlike previous models, they no longer charge via micro-USB and now use a proprietary charging cable, which means you can't borrow a cable from a friend if your headphones die. Luckily, they provide you with two charging cables in the box.

These headphones don't have a dedicated companion app for customization options.

The AfterShokz Aeropex are Bluetooth wireless headphones. They support multi-device pairing, meaning you can connect them to both your phone and laptop at the same time to easily switch between the two, which is nice. Unfortunately, like most Bluetooth headphones, they have rather high latency, so they aren't recommended for watching videos, though this may not be noticeable to everyone.

These headphones are Bluetooth-only.

These headphones are Bluetooth-only and can't be used wired. They charge via a proprietary magnetic charging cable, two of which are included.

These are Bluetooth-only wireless headphones that aren't compatible with PS4. They're able to connect to a Bluetooth-enabled PC, but aren't recommended for gaming due to their high latency.

These are Bluetooth-only wireless headphones that aren't compatible with Xbox One.

The AfterShokz Aeropex don't have a base or dock.