Audio-Technica’s new cartilage conduction headphones boost comfort and quality

Audio-Technica has revealed the second-generation of its breakthrough headphones that use cartilage conduction to transmit audio to users.

The ATH-CC500BT2 headphones, which also eschew the traditional method of bone conduction to deliver sound while keeping the ear canal open, offer “significant upgrades in comfort, sound quality, and call performance”.

All this while enabling you to hear what’s going on around you, like conversations and, well, doorbells. However, this style of earphones is also preferred by runners and athletes looking to stay safer and for races that prohibit in ear buds. AT promises water resistance at IPX4.

The headphones, which feature a rear neckband, sit against the tragus (that sticky-outy bit at the entrance to the ear canal)

AT says cartilage conduction is preferable to the bone conduction tech used by Shokz and Suunto because it ensures less pressure and pain, as well as the advantage of stereo sound.

“Sound can reach the left and right ears separately through cartilage construction, creating a stereo effect when listening to audio,” AT says. “With bone conduction the sound is fused together in the cranial cavity making it difficult to differentiate between left and right sound.”

Battery life is pretty substantial too, with AT promising 20 hours of continuous playback from a single charge. And a ten minute charge will get you a further two hours of playback. Full charging takes approximately two hours. There’s multipoint Bluetooth support too, via the Bluetooth 5.3 standard.

The ATH-CC500BT2 headphones are on sale now for £119 from Audio-Technica’s website.