I’m not surprised to find that Suunto has given the Spark protection against sweat and rain. The IP55 rating doesn’t extend to the charging case, which is relatively compact and slim enough to slip into a pocket or running belt if you need to carry it.
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Suunto offers two control methods, but neither of the types I like to see in earbuds designed for exercise. There are touch panels mounted on the outside of both buds, which I find difficult to use while running or with sweaty hands. Even Suunto says that the one-touch controls can be easily activated by accident. Fortunately, the controls are well spread throughout the speaker units, and accidental triggers were rare. These touch controls can be tapped or held to skip back and forward a song. They can also adjust the volume or play and pause the sound. You can also use them to turn on metronome tracks and exercises. That’s all great, but I wish they’d also switch between EQ modes.
Head signal controls failed. This uses the standard motion sensors found in many smartwatches to register head movements or shakes to answer or reject a call or skip a song. I’ve used these on Suunto headsets before, and my experience hasn’t been great. Whether you are walking or sitting on a bicycle, it is perfectly fine. When you run, your head usually rotates a lot, and that causes you to accidentally turn off the controls. It gets annoying quickly.
Stellar Open-Ear Sound
Photo: Michael Sawh
Basically, the Suunto Spark sounds great. I’ve tried a lot of open-back earbuds and headphones, and I’d put the Spark right up there with the best, including Shokz, Anker and Bose.
Whether it’s the overall depth of the sound or the diversity of the fit, I was impressed. They are even better at not letting the wind cut off the podcast or the phone. Much of that robust functionality is in the available EQ modes, which (as mentioned) must be activated from the Suunto mobile app. This is the software used to configure Suunto watches. It’s not the best, but the headphone jack is easy to move around.
There are four EQ settings with an additional custom option, giving you greater control over the sound profile compared to Suunto headphones. Air conditioning is what makes this possible. Air-conditioning works by placing the speakers close to your ears and works more like traditional headphones. One of the main advantages over bone conduction is the ability to provide greater customization of sound.
