Philips TAA6606 sports headphone: For runners only

The science behind bone conduction headphones is fascinating, but this one doesn't deliver great audio quality.

-  JAMES BARBER

The Philips TAA6606 bone conduction Bluetooth sports headphone make it easy to listen to music while you're running or engaging in other types of exercise, but audio performance takes a backseat to two other goals: Ensuring a secure but comfortable fit even while you're moving around, and maintaining situational awareness while you're outdoors.

Unlike conventional on-ear, over-ear, or in-ear headphones, you wear the Philips TAA6606 like a laurel around the back of your head, wrapping hooks over the tops of your ears. Rather than positioning speakers outside or inside your ear canal, a bone conduction headphone such as this rests its speakers in front of each ear and transmits sound through the bones in your skull.

This design leaves your ears completely unimpeded from hearing sounds in your environment, which is great for hearing what's going on around you, but doesn't deliver great audio reproduction.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

The TAA6606 feature a lightweight titanium frame wrapped in rubber. A weatherization rating of IP67 means that the headphone is entirely protected from dust and that it can be immersed in up to 1 meter of water for as long as 30 minutes. You probably wouldn't want to go swimming with it, but sweat, rain, and a cleanup session under the faucet shouldn't cause problems.

The right-hand arm of the TAA6606 has a USB-C charging port, a power button on the bottom, and volume controls (plus sign [+] and minus sign [-]) on the top. Long presses of the volume controls moves you up and down your playlist. LED safety lights adorn the backs of both the left- and right-hand arms to make you visible from behind. These can be set to a glow steadily or they can blink, fast or slowly. The lights aren't bright enough to replace reflective gear, but they can help alert a driver or bicyclist approaching you from behind and they might keep you from getting run over.