NANK Runner Diver2 PRO Bone Conduction Earphones Review – Triathlon Support by Naenka
Nank Runner Diver2 PRO by Naenka is a $150 USD pair of headphones / earphones with an open ear design, water and sweat resistance, and with a long battery life, plus a good internal memory and microSD slot for a card to play music locally.
Introduction
Nank is a new company in our review collection. I have not yet had the chance to review a different product from them, but Runner Diver2 PRO is a unique little earphone with an interesting design and idea. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Nank for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Highest level of ingress protection rating, fairly comfortable while in usage, they do not fall off. Soundstage is wide but scattered. Voices sound fairly natural.
Cons – Strong roll-off at both ends, you mainly hear the midrange, detail is low.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4gCQMV7
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okm7Pl1
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
The idea of the Nank Runner Diver 2 PRO is to create a contained Bluetooth headset / necklace / necband type of earphone that can be used both when running a triathlon and also when swimming. You really won’t have to take those off your head regardless what you’re doing, and you can even have a microSD ard inside, so you will not require any kind of smartphone to use the Runner Diver2 PRO.
We have noise canceling for both wind noise and ambient noise, and also we have an open-ear mode to get a good comfort even when you’re drenched in sweat or literally swimming. We have IP69, the highest commercially available IP rating. With a battery life of up to 10 hours, Runner Dirver2 PRO should last you long enough for most marathons. It takes around 60 minutes to fully charge the NANK Runner Diver 2 pro, but they also need their special charger, as a Type-C USB port would not have underwater ingress protection and generally cannot get an IP69 rating.
Now that I get to dive a bit deeper in the world of the NANKO, the idea of switching between open ear, bone conduction and noise canceling is more about how close they stand to your ear canal, than any kind of ANC or Active Noise Canceling. The wearing comfort is ok, there is no ear canal contact, and the headband is very stable. Sadly, there is no seal either, so there’s no passive noise isolation, sound comes through. I also strongly dislike the vibration feature, they vibrate when connecting and when turning on and off.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – There is only mid in the sound of the Runner Diver 2, with no bass, no treble, just midrange from about 200 Hz to about 6000 Hz or 6 kHz, so you can expect to hear voices, some instruments, but that is all. Nank does try to emulate bass using bone conduction and actual vibration but it does not replace the missing bass and sub-bass. The Open Ear mode sounds rather natural, but music is very distant with no resolution, while if you put the transmitting parts inside your ears, the sound is more detailed and cleaner, but the effect of missing bass and limited treble is quite obvious. You can use both a DAP like iBasso DX320 or a smartphone like Samsung S3 Ultra, but the sound is pretty much the same.
Bass – Bass starts around 200 Hz, it does not climb any lower, so there is only some upper bass. It is not forced or too much, but the low-end extension is missing entirely.
Midrange – Midrange is the only sonic audible part that Nank Runner Diver 2 pro has. Voices are rather natural, with a fairly lush presentation, and most foreground instruments are audible, they handle blow instruments nicely, and pianos too, but the sound has very little detail and feels smooth and lacks texture, so most background instruments are absent, and there is not a lot of information in general presented to the listener.
Treble – The sound starts rolling off at 2000 Hz with a complete roll-off at 6000 Hz, but a significant part of the sound is gone by 4000 Hz, so there is no treble extension.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – The maximum achievable volume with the Runner Driver2 PRO is around 85 dB, safe for long-term listening, but low for noisy environments like gyms, marathons and pool parties. Control is good up to the maximum volume with no extra distortion even at max achievable volume. The sound does not change much regardless of the volume.
Soundstage – There is no instrument separation, and everything is fully blended together, but the soundstage is on the wide side, as there is no isolation and sound kind of spreads everywhere, it can be distant and wide in general.
Value and Conclusion
While it would be easy to say that Runner Diver 2 pro is poor value, but it is part of a market that’s very limited, namely the Earphones made for sports and even diving, so while they are not as detailed or sound as good as the traditional IEM / Earphone counterparts, they are still good to explore for those fringe users who really need that high level of IPX Rating.
At the end of the day, if you want a sound that is all mids, if you need an earphone that will survive swimming, and if you need the highest grade of IP rating, or Ingress Protection Rating, Nank Runner Diver2 PRO is a good option with an interesting design.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4gCQMV7
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okm7Pl1
--- Please remember to stay safe, and always have fun while listening to music!---
- If you have a dime to spare, please donate, and help us! It would make the day brighter for me and my wife-
Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
--- Contact Us ---
