- RATING
The Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 cartilage conductor headphones are unique and are designed to still offer impressive audio quality while leaving your ears alone. For the customer who is not a fan of inserting earphones in their ears but still wants to enjoy decent audio quality then the Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 are a good choice.
When are earphones not really earphones? When the audio is produced by sending vibrations through your ear cartilage – that’s what the Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 does.
The Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 are cartilage conductor headphones and offer crisp and clear audio through vibrations.
These vibrations still make it through to your ear drum so you can still hear the audio.
Audio Technica has enhanced and significantly improved its auditory technology to offer a completely open ear solution while still delivering all the features you’ve come to expect from a pair of headphones.
The Next Generation Vibration Drivers onboard ensures enhanced audio quality to hear your music, podcasts, audiobooks and phone calls clearly.
These drivers use an acoustic pure sound stabiliser which can prevent external vibrations that would degrade the sound quality.
Tech Guide received the Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 headphones for review.
These second generation cartilage conductor headphones are smaller and lighter than its predecessor.
It is made of lightweight titanium and soft silicone so they are comfortable to wear.
The headphones loop around your ears and sit behind your head with the ear hanger receiver resting on the cartilage just in front of your ears.
The are small modules that rest behind your ears which contain the battery and the electronics.
It is here where the buttons for volume and navigating your content are located.
And because there is nothing in your ear or covering your ear, you’re able to hear everything that’s going on around you.
But when you’re playing your audio that become the dominant sound you hear.
Having said that if the outside noise is too loud then it will drown out what you’re hearing through the Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 headphones.
We wore the headphones on a walk which partly along a busy main road and it did almost completely overpower what we were listening to.
And we had the headphones at full volume.
On the companion Audio Technica Connect app we had opted for the original equalizer setting which has an additional box you can tick to limit sound leakage.
Your other choices are Clear Voice which is designed for listening to audiobooks and podcasts and Dynamic which focuses on the low and high frequencies for a smoother and more realistic sound.
Without too much background noise you can really enjoy the quality of the audio which is surprisingly high considering it is travelling through your ear cartilage and not through your ear canal.
We heard crisp and detailed sound which was impressive but heard very little bass.
We put this down to the fact that bass needs move air to around be produced – something you can’t do conduction headphones.
We hoped we could have had a higher maximum volume to help cope with any loud outside noise but for the most part it was high enough when we were in a quieter space.
We even shifted to Dynamic Mode in the equalizer and while this did lift the volume slightly it also increased the intensity of the vibrations and we could feel that in front of ear to the point where it became a distraction – and slightly ticklish.
Bottom line – if there’s not too much going on around you – the Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 will provide a nice audio experience.
So why would a customer buy these?
Not everyone like having something inserted into their ear canals. For many customers it’s also a case of not being able to find the right fit with earphones.
And there are others who don’t want to be cut off from the outside world.
Some also just want some background music while they are doing something else.
In the Audio Technica app there is even a BGM mode.
Through the app you can even select Soundscapes to listen to like a stream, ocean, forest, fireplace, waterfall and rain.
You can even choose masking noises like white noise, pink noise and even the sound of a quiet office.
The Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 have a decent battery life at up to 20 hours of playback on a full charge.
And a quick 10-minute charge will give you two hours of listening time.
The Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 headphones are available now and are priced at $299.
VERDICT
The Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 cartilage conductor headphones are unique and are designed to still offer impressive audio quality while leaving your ears alone. For the customer who is not a fan of inserting earphones in their ears but still wants to enjoy decent audio quality then the Audio Technica ATH-CC500BT2 are a good choice.
