There are a lot of different types of headphones out there that suit different needs and it’s not uncommon for someone to have more than one pair. Over-ear headphones for their better audio quality and earbuds for their convenient size and portability.
The EB03 is a pair of bone conduction earphones, which means they don’t go in or over your ear like traditional headphones, but rather sit on your cheekbones and play music by vibrating sound waves through your bones. I’ve been using the EB03 for the past week and while I don’t think they will fully replace your headphones or earbuds, there still might be a reason to add these to your lineup.
The EB03 is made of flexible plastic and can easily bend to fit different head shapes and sizes. They are 5 inches from front to back, weigh 28 grams, and are available in two colors: red and grey. They’re one of the most compact pairs of bone conduction earphones I’ve seen as they fit both the battery and the speaker into the same piece.
In terms of sound quality, out of all the bone conduction earphones I’ve tried, I’ve never found a pair that beats earbuds or over-ear headphones, and the EB03 is no exception.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re pleasant to listen to, the volume is loud enough, and I find them quite good for bone conduction earphones, much better than the Music Lens we tried last year, but the range just doesn’t compare to earbuds or headphones, especially in the lower frequencies. And you never get that sense of being immersed in the music like you would with a good pair of headphones.
But that may just be the point of these earphones.
The tradeoff of using bone conduction earphones is sound quality for situational awareness. Because of the EB03’s open-ear design, you can simultaneously hear your music and all of the sound around you. Now, this is great if you need to be aware of your environment, the EB03 are amazing to wear when biking because you can hear cars and be aware of traffic. But on the other hand, though, these would be terrible to wear in the subway.
As for usability, the EB03 is just as easy to use as any earbuds. They connect to your phone via Bluetooth and have buttons on each side that can adjust volume, skip tracks, and evoke your smart assistant. I think they really excel when exercising outside because they rest above your ears, there’s that added peace of mind that they won’t fall off, which I can’t say about wireless earbuds.
One area where the EB03 really falls short compared to wireless earbuds is battery life. The EB03 only gets about 4 hours of battery life per charge, that’s crazy low compared to the nearly all-day battery life you get out of wireless earbuds with their charging cases.
I found call quality to be a bit quiet, but better than expected on the EB03. In my video review, you can hear an audio comparison to my Samsung Galaxy Buds+.
Like I said at the beginning of this review, the EB03 isn’t going to replace your headphones or earbuds, but depending on your needs they could make a great addition to your lineup. The open ear design is great for times when you need to be aware of your surroundings and especially exercising outside, I mean I’d much rather sweat in these than a pair of $250 AirPods Pro.
So if you’re looking for a pair of bone conduction earphones I think the EB03 is worth your consideration. They’re smaller than other bone conduction earphones, have good enough sound quality, and an affordable price at $29.99
The EB03 are available on WearMe.
Editor: Adam Skov
