Suunto Spark Review: The Perfect Pair for Runs and Rides

Suunto Spark 评测：跑步与骑行的完美搭档

You may not have heard of the brand, but Suunto is no stranger to audio. Despite having started as a navigation company, the Suunto Spark is its fifth audio launch in just under five years. This time around, the Suunto Spark adopts the newer open-ear form factor in place of bone conduction, which turns out to be a perfect fit for runners, bikers, and hikers.

你可能还没听说过这个品牌，但 Suunto 在音频领域并不陌生。尽管最初是一家导航公司，但 Suunto Spark 是其在不到五年内推出的第五款音频产品。这一次，Suunto Spark 采用了较新的开放式耳挂设计，取代了骨传导技术，事实证明，这非常适合跑步者、骑行者和徒步旅行者。

These are earbuds made for people who will gladly swap pavement for trails and could be lured by the prospect that what’s on your ears could replace what’s tracking your movements on your wrist or in your pocket. The Suunto Spark open earbuds have quickly become my favorite pair of buds to work out with.

这款耳机专为那些乐于从城市道路转向越野小径的人群打造，它吸引人的地方在于：戴在耳朵上的设备或许能取代你手腕上或口袋里用于追踪运动数据的设备。Suunto Spark 开放式耳机已迅速成为我最喜欢的运动耳机。

When it comes to earbuds, fit is everything. That’s even more important for those designed for runs or long weekend rides. The first thing Suunto gets right is the weight. Each earbud weighs 0.3 ounces (9 grams), so while they’re not the lightest earbuds available, the mix of titanium and silicone is distributed well from the speaker unit to the flexible ear hook. I’d describe the fit as reassuring without ever feeling like they’re clamped to the outside of your ear. I wore them with caps, regular glasses, and sunglasses, and those added accessories didn’t see the Spark struggling to compete for space.

对于耳机而言，佩戴舒适度就是一切。对于专为跑步或周末长途骑行设计的耳机来说，这一点尤为重要。Suunto 做对的第一件事就是重量控制。每只耳机重 0.3 盎司（9 克），虽然不是市面上最轻的，但钛金属和硅胶的材质组合在扬声器单元和柔性耳挂之间分布得非常均匀。我觉得这种佩戴感非常稳固，且完全不会有那种紧紧夹在耳朵外侧的压迫感。我戴着帽子、普通眼镜和太阳镜测试过，这些配件并没有让 Spark 显得拥挤。

I’m not surprised to discover that Suunto has given the Spark some protection against sweat and rain. The IP55 rating doesn’t extend to the charging case, which is reasonably compact and slim enough to slip into a pocket or running belt if you need to carry it with you.

Suunto 为 Spark 提供了防汗防水保护，这并不让我感到意外。IP55 防护等级并不适用于充电盒，但充电盒本身足够小巧轻薄，如果你需要随身携带，完全可以轻松塞进裤兜或跑步腰带里。

Suunto provides two control methods, but neither are the type I like to see on earbuds built for exercise. There are touch panels placed on the outside of both buds, which I usually find to be fiddly to use when running or with sweaty hands. Even Suunto states that single-tap controls can be easily triggered by accident. Fortunately, the controls are well spread across the speaker units, and accidental triggers were rare. These touch controls can be tapped or held to skip back and forward a track. They can also adjust volume or play and pause audio. You can additionally use them to turn on metronome and workout tracking modes. That’s all great, but I would have liked them to also switch between EQ modes.

Suunto 提供了两种控制方式，但都不是我希望在运动耳机上看到的那种。耳机外侧设有触控面板，我通常觉得在跑步或手上有汗时使用起来比较麻烦。甚至 Suunto 自己也承认，单次点击控制很容易被误触。幸运的是，控制区域在扬声器单元上分布合理，误触的情况并不多见。这些触控操作可以通过点击或长按来切换曲目，也可以调节音量或播放/暂停音频。你还可以用它们开启节拍器和运动追踪模式。这些功能都很棒，但我更希望它们能支持切换 EQ（均衡器）模式。

The head gesture controls aren’t as successful. This uses some pretty standard motion sensors found inside most smartwatches to register head nods or shakes to answer or reject a call or skip a track. I’ve used these on Suunto headphones previously, and my experience hasn’t been great. If you’re walking or sitting on a bike, they’re absolutely fine. When you run, your head naturally moves around a lot, and that does lead to accidentally setting off the controls. It quickly gets annoying.

头部手势控制的效果则不尽如人意。它利用大多数智能手表中常见的标准运动传感器，通过识别点头或摇头来接听/拒接电话或切换曲目。我之前在 Suunto 的耳机上使用过这些功能，体验并不好。如果你是在走路或骑行时，它们完全没问题。但当你跑步时，头部会自然地大幅晃动，这会导致误触发控制功能，很快就会让人感到烦躁。

Bottom line, the Suunto Spark sound great. I’ve tested a lot of open-ear earbuds and headphones, and I’d put the Spark alongside the very best, including Shokz, Anker, and Bose. Whether it’s the overall depth of the sound or versatility of the fit, I was impressed. They’re even great at not letting the wind cut through and drown out podcasts or calls. A big part of that strong performance lies with the available EQ modes, which (as mentioned) have to be enabled from the Suunto phone app. This is the same app used to set up Suunto’s watches. It’s not the prettiest, but the headphone section is pretty straightforward to get around.

总而言之，Suunto Spark 的音质非常出色。我测试过很多开放式耳机，我会将 Spark 与 Shokz、Anker 和 Bose 等顶级产品相提并论。无论是声音的整体深度还是佩戴的灵活性，都让我印象深刻。它们在抗风噪方面表现也很棒，不会让风声盖过播客或通话内容。这种强劲表现很大程度上归功于可用的 EQ 模式，正如前面提到的，这些模式必须通过 Suunto 手机 App 开启。这是与设置 Suunto 手表相同的 App，虽然界面不算最美观，但耳机设置部分的操作非常直观。

There’s four EQ presets with an additional custom option, giving you greater control over the sound profile compared to other Suunto headphones. The switch to air conduction is what makes this possible. Air conduction works by placing speakers close to your ears and behaves a lot more like traditional earbuds. One of the chief benefits over bone conduction is the ability to offer much greater sound customization.

它提供了四种 EQ 预设外加一个自定义选项，相比其他 Suunto 耳机，这让你对声音配置拥有了更大的掌控权。转向空气传导技术是实现这一点的关键。空气传导通过将扬声器放置在耳边工作，表现更接近传统耳机。相比骨传导，其主要优势之一就是能够提供更丰富的音质定制能力。

Suunto also includes a spatial audio mode designed to provide more immersive sound. Combining the most balanced EQ preset with this spatial audio mode yielded the most pleasing results. They sound bright and energetic, and the bass isn’t overbearing. Regardless of what I was listening to, it was enjoyable.

Suunto 还加入了一种旨在提供更沉浸式音效的空间音频模式。将最均衡的 EQ 预设与此空间音频模式结合使用，效果最为理想。声音听起来明亮且充满活力，低音也不会过于沉重。无论听什么内容，体验都很愉悦。

You’ll also find features in that Suunto app that have nothing to do with how they sound. That includes a run tracking mode that can capture some aspects of a run. There’s also advanced running metrics like cadence and average vertical oscillation. It tracks steps instead of distance covered, so you’ll need something else to track routes or pace.

你还会在 Suunto App 中发现一些与音质无关的功能。其中包括可以捕捉跑步某些数据的跑步追踪模式，以及步频和平均垂直振幅等高级跑步指标。它追踪的是步数而非距离，因此你仍需要其他设备来追踪路线或配速。

I compared that data to a Garmin watch and heart rate monitor that dish out the very same metrics. The numbers didn’t always match up. They did at least tell roughly the same story, such as with running cadence, where it dropped as I tired or slowed up during a run. The presentation of the data and deciphering in the Suunto app needs some work.

我将这些数据与 Garmin 手表和心率监测器提供的数据进行了对比。数值并不总是完全吻合，但至少反映的情况大致相同，例如跑步步频，当我在跑步中感到疲劳或减速时，步频确实会下降。Suunto App 对数据的呈现和解读方式还有待改进。

You can also turn on the metronome, which produces a clicking sound to encourage you to stick to a preferred running cadence or tempo. This felt like a feature that would be useful for a lot more runners than those added metrics.

你还可以开启节拍器，它会发出滴答声，鼓励你保持理想的跑步步频或节奏。我觉得相比那些额外的数据指标，这个功能对更多的跑步者来说会更有用。

There’s features clearly aimed at cyclists too. Like turning on neck fatigue alerts to remind you to straighten up and maintain a good posture. That’s joined by a neck mobility assessment, which uses motion sensors to analyze whether you’re taking good care of your neck muscles.

此外，还有一些功能显然是针对骑行者设计的。例如开启颈部疲劳提醒，提醒你挺直腰背并保持良好的姿势。此外还有颈部灵活性评估功能，利用运动传感器来分析你是否在运动中保护好了颈部肌肉。