Oakely Thump 2 MP3 Sunglasses

Reviews: Multimedia

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Mike McCormick
Brian
Oakley
Nov. 23, 2005

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Testing

The style

There are definitely two different styles that separate the Thump from the Thump 2. The original Thump is similar to the traditional style Oakley sunglasses with thicker bulges on the bows for the controls. Conversely, the Thump 2 style seems to go the Terminator route. The styling looks a lot like the shades Arnold Schwartzenegar wore in Terminator and T2. T2 and Thump 2! coincidence? I'll let you be the judge, jury, and executioner. My personal choice is with the styling of the original Thump; however, the Thump 2 is growing on me. Currently, the original Thump is offered in five styles and two storage sizes, giving a grand total of 7 Thump models. The Thump 2 is offered in four styles and three storage sized giving a grand total of 5 models to chose from.

The fit

I really liked the fit of these glasses. The most important fit for these glasses is with the earbuds. Since you have three links that can pivot, I found that I could achieve very comfortable positions for the earbuds. In fact, when placed the earbuds out of the way to use the Thump 2 as strictly sunglasses, the frames bounced on my face while running. However, when I placed the earpieces in my ears, the bounce immediately went away. When it was too dark to wear sunglasses on the return run home, I was able to put the sunglasses on the back of my head and still listen to the MP3 player. The earbuds are that flexible. Even though the sunglasses were worn improperly, they were still secured to my head with the earbuds. It looks like Oakley improved quite a bit with the earbud positioning.

File Transfer

There is not a lot I can add to the file transfer section that I didn't state in my first review. Either my computer is lacking when it comes to a USB 2.0 port or file transfer is slow. It took me 19 minutes 35 seconds to transfer 996 Mb of data. That comes out to me about 0.84 Mb per second. This is just slightly faster than what I reported for the original, which was clocked at 0.82 Mb per second. This is not all bad though. Since the Thump 2's battery charges from the USB port, a little extra charge time is a bonus.

Sound quality

As far as I can tell, the Thump and Thump 2 have similar sound quality. Despite the limitations of earbuds, you still get a bit of bass when playing your favorite booty tunes. The midrange and higher tones come through nice and clear. There may be a bit of distortion at max volume, but it's hard to tell. I can only sacrifice my hearing so much for my bosses at TheTechLounge. Too much loud music and I may wind up sounding like Lil' John (What?!?). As with the equalizer, I still have difficulty in telling if it is actually working or not, so I still find it to be of little value.

Battery Life

The battery life for Thump 2 is better than the original. I got a good 7 hours 20 minutes of music out before Thump 2 ran out of juice. That about an hour better than the original Thump. This should allow you plenty of time to finish that marathon or cycling century, but the ultra-marathoners and my fellow Ironman® triathletes may run out of juice before you get to the finish line.

Endurance testing

Running

I took the Thump 2 out for a little 2 hour run. Initially, the frames were bouncing on my face, but I was able to secure them to my head with the earbuds. The glasses were comfortable for the duration of the run. If you are the type of runner that enjoys music while you work out, there is no better system than the Thump and Thump 2. The Thump 2 has no cords that you have to worry about being tangled in. The controls are easy to use, and you can use them with gloved fingers. Since I did this testing in cold weather, I found that I could wear a hat along with the Thump 2. While wearing the hat, I could listen to the Thump 2 while it was over the hat or under the hat. I found it a bit more comfortable over the hat, since my hat put a bit of pressure on the earpieces and pressed them into my ear. Good luck in placing your conventional earbuds outside a hat. Lens fogging was not a problem during the run testing.

Bicycling

My bicycle testing with the Thump 2 did not involve any long rides. However, I did use them during my daily 3-mile bicycle commute for a few weeks. The Thump 2 works nicely with a helmet, since it doesn't get tangled in the helmet straps. I did have some fogging but not during biking, but when I stopped to pick up coffee from the local coffee shop. But hey, who's glasses wouldn't fog up in a similar situation? The advantage that the original Thump has in this fogging scenario is that you can flip the lenses up to see without taking the glasses off. Also during bike testing was wind whistle. In my original testing of the Thump, I thought the earbuds caused wind whistle. However, I do not think this is the case after testing Thump 2. With Thump 2's massively adjustable earpieces, I was able to move them out of the way to test my hypothesis. I experienced the same amount of background wind noise with the earpieces in my ear as I did with the earpieces fully out of the way. My cycling background is that I am a purist roadie, with mountain bike tendencies, so I don't endorse cycling while listening to music. However, if you are one to crank the tunes while turning the cranks this is the safest system for you.

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Page 1: Introduction / First Impressions
Page 2: Taking a Closer Look
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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