Review: Suunto Spark

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.

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.

Hanging Right

Photograph: Michael Sawh

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.

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.

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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.

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.

Stellar Open-Ear Sound

Photograph: Michael Sawh

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.

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.

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 app

Suunto via Michael Sawh

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.

Garmin watch

Garmin app via Michael Sawh

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.

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.

Ride-Ready

Photograph: Michael Sawh

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. One feature I was disappointed to see missing was the customizable LED lights Suunto included on its Wing and Wing 2 headphones.

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That might have something to do with available space and battery performance, which is fine. Suunto states that you should enjoy up to seven hours of battery life from a single charge. There’s an extra 29 hours waiting for you in the case if it’s fully charged. A 10-minute charge can get you up to two hours of listening time.

The battery life you get is dictated by listening volume and the sound modes you choose to use. I found that an hour’s listening with the Legendary EQ preset and spatial audio mode enabled saw battery drop by 20 percent. Ditching the spatial audio mode for the same amount of time saw the drop closer to 15 percent. It’s good enough, and at least on par with the competition.

While I was skeptical about Suunto’s move into audio, the Spark provides validation that it was right to do so. Yes, they’re a premium at $179, and Suunto so far doesn’t get into the habit of quickly reducing the cost of its headphones through sales. If you value earbuds that fit and sound great, they deliver, along with giving you those other extras. If Shokz’ OpenFit line was considered the leader in this category, I’d say Suunto has come up with something better.