Opinion

Headphones or earphones for sports?

9.9.2020

Translation: machine translated

I don't understand those who opt for a helmet. And I often see them. Why do they do this to themselves, and voluntarily too?

Sport and music go hand in hand. But sport and music with headphones don't play at all. At the gym or while jogging: music motivates me to exercise. And sometimes distracts me, it's true. But that's not the point. The question is: headphones or earphones? You have three guesses as to my answer.

A test that isn't a test

For the past two years, the SoundSport Free from Bose have accompanied me in my sporting activities. The sound matches, the fit anyway and, on the whole, I'm happy with them. In recent months I've been able to test sports headphones from Sony and from Beats. And now I should have tried the new headphones from Philips. This product has a special feature: its pads are ventilated and filled with cooling gel.

Headphones

Philips TASH402BK/00

ANC, 20 h, Wireless

Please note the subjunctive: "would have". Because I would have loved to have given Philips the chance to convince me that it's possible to do sport with headphones on. After two one-hour workouts in the gym, I'm swimming. I put the headphones away and put my Bose back in my ears. I don't want to say that I knew. But I've always known: headphones and sport don't mix.

The earpads are filled with cooling gel.

Warum, why, why?

And yet I keep seeing people running or lifting weights with helmets over their ears. Why? I just can't figure it out. When I try, the helmet is soaked after ten minutes max. Even the cooling gel doesn't help. Quite the opposite, in fact. Sweat is disgusting, and cold sweat is even worse. Once the pads are soaked in sweat, they start to slip.

It goes something like this: bench press with short dumbbells. I lie down. I start doing the exercise, the helmet is already slipping. The right pad has gone behind my ear and is at the back of my head, the left pad is only halfway over my ear. On the left I can still hear something like music, mainly bass, on the right I can't hear anything. I'm not concentrating at all and I have to be careful not to hit my face with the dumbbells. I sit down, put the headphones back on and start the exercise again. And again. And that goes for every exercise I do lying down. The compassionate looks on the faces of the other athletes reassure me; they're thinking the same thing as me.

Thanks, but no thanks

It's said that some people can't stand in-ear headphones. They don't fit properly in their ears and sometimes even hurt them. They also hear their own footsteps in their head. Who knows, maybe it's because of my ears that I don't like headphones... I don't know why, but when it comes to sport, I only use headphones. And preferably wireless ones. They fit perfectly in my ears, they don't get in the way while I'm working out and they generally sound good.

Just so we understand each other: this is my own opinion. I haven't done a test as such. And to be honest, I have to say that I really like the sound of the Philips TASH402BK. It's quite low-pitched and therefore goes well with my playlist, which contains quite a few old-school hip-hop tracks. Bluetooth pairing works without a hitch with all sorts of devices. The control system isn't complicated, the design is simple and the price is quite attractive. No negative points so far. From there to use it for sports? Thanks, but no thanks.

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Patrick Bardelli

Senior Editor

Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.ch

From radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.

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Headphones or earphones for sports?

A test that isn't a test

Warum, why, why?

Thanks, but no thanks

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