MIXX contacted me asking if I was willing to test their new Resonate Pro Waterproof Bone Conduction Headphones. After confirming that I am not "the sports type" that these headphones clearly target in much of the promotional materials, I accepted and received them a week later.
Disclosure: MIXX provided a free sample without any editorial input or review pre-approval.
As I said with the previous hands-on, I"m no audio buff, but I do know the difference between good and bad-sounding speakers and headphones. I currently own the Edifier 360DB speakers paired to my PC through a Toslink, which was an upgrade from the very much older Creative MegaWorks 250D-THX after they stopped working.
My headphones are the absolutely awesome (in my opinion) Odido Focus A5, which I reviewed last year. I use them with my computer when I don"t want to disturb my neighbors late at night. However, those are over-ear cans, so we can"t really compare here.
The environmentally friendly packaging contains little to no plastic. Instead, the headphones sit inside a cardboard sleeve that also contains the USB charging lead, which is wound together with a plastic loop, and user documentation. However, MIXX says that any plastics that are used are from recyclable sources.
What"s in the box
- 1 x MIXX Resonate Pro
- 1 x USB-A to 4-Pin Magnetic Charging Connector
- User Manual
With that out of the way, here are the specs:
| MIXX Resonate Pro | |
|---|---|
| Driver: | 10 mm |
| Bluetooth Version: | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth Profile: | HFP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| Impedance: | 32 Ohm |
| THD: | <5% |
| Transmission Range: | >10 m |
| Storage: | 32 GB (for MP3 mode) |
| Battery: | 7 hours on a single charge |
| Charging Port: | 4-Pin Magnetic Charging Pins |
| Charging Time: | 15 minutes for 2 hours of play time |
| Playing Time: | 7 h on a full charge |
| Durability: | IP68 rated (Fully dustproof and waterproof) |
| Weight: | 26 g (0,91 oz) |
| MSRP: | £60 |
I have never tried bone conducting headphones before, which was one of the motivations for me to do this hands on, and I can see the "transparency mode" of having them sit just in front of your earholes rather than over them really means that you can continue to go about your day and not be blocked out of sounds not coming from the MIXX Resonate Pro headphones.
If you are not familiar with the technology, this is how MIXX describes it:
Open ear bone conduction headphones rest on your cheekbones, converting sound waves into vibrations that travel directly to your inner ear. Unlike conventional earbuds, bone conduction headphones leave your ears open, providing a safer listening experience - ideal for cycling, running and gym workouts and perfect for swimming (even if you use earplugs in the water)
I used a combo of Spotify and Tidal for my testing since they both offer high-quality formats. However, it must be noted that MIXX does not supply full specifications of the audio formats the Resonate Pro supports other than an impedance of 32 Ohm, which I discovered on Amazon (mind the fact that Amazon listings could sometimes contain incorrect information). I also used them with YouTube playback, with the latter returning an expected acceptable quality.
All of the controls are on the right side, and you access them from the bottom and behind your ear. It takes a while to get used to, but it"s relatively easy to access the volume controls at the top, which also double as prev/next track when double pressing down the volume up (next) or volume down (prev), which, by the way, track navigation in my testing was immediate too.
In between the volume controls, there is a Multi Function Button (MFB), which is also the power button; tapping once pauses or plays tracks, holding the button down for longer than three seconds powers the Resonate Pro headphones on or off.
If you have linked the headphones to your phone, the MFC also acts as a call answer on pressing once, or when a call is coming in, and the MFC button is held down for two seconds, it will reject the call.
Full instructions on button use can be found here
Controls verdict: Great
Comfort
After wearing and listening to music for over two hours while I am working, I wouldn"t say that I "forget" I am wearing them at all, but perhaps more importantly, they don"t bother me. The headset does not feel tight on my fat head at all, so I can safely say this is a one-size-fits-all solution. The only downside I experienced was when I had a track on I really liked, and while attempting to get "full fidelity" by turning the volume up, they kind of vibrated on my cheekbones. They certainly do get loud!
Comfort verdict: Great!
tl;dr highlights:
- Waterproof (can be used while swimming)
- 32 GB storage for MP3 files
- 7 Hour Battery Life
- Fast Charging: 15-Minute Charge, 2-Hour Playtime
Storage
For completeness, I also tested the MP3 storage mode. To use, simply connect the headphones to a PC using the USB charge lead while connected to the Resonate Pro. I transferred a pretty awesome album that I own digitally, as well as on Vinyl: "DeWolff - Love, Death & In Between" of which is 160 MB in size, and was surprised to see that it took around five minutes to transfer the folder of 12 tracks, averaging around 13 MB each. This suggests the USB mode is USB 2.0; this is not clarified in the product description, but the transfer was pretty slow.
Listening to the tracks "on-board" works the same way as over Bluetooth, although in my opinion at a lower volume than I got over my PC.
Overall verdict: Great!
If you"re a sporty type of person, these headphones are far safer than over-ear ones, allowing you to hear what"s going on around you as well as the music. Of course, you will never get the full immersive high fidelity of over-ear headphones, so these also have a clear use case, such as listening to bangin" tunes while you"re swimming, running, cycling, or whatever else activity where you prefer to know if someone is trying to get your attention or when you cannot take your phone with you.
Right now these headphones can be picked up at Amazon for £60, or on the official website.
- MIXX Resonate Pro for £60 on Amazon U.K. or on the MIXX website.
Yes, unfortunately, these are not available to buy in the U.S.
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