SND RAY: the "best HiFi bone conduction sunglasses" are now on Indiegogo

Sunglasses that integrate speakers are an alternative to headphones or earbuds developed by companies such as Bose. They may be great for consumers who dislike wearing conventional personal audio devices, especially for long periods of time, but may also be affected by reduced audio quality compared to products that do go on or in the ear.

SND RAY purports to address this by making their "smart sunglasses" those of the bone conduction variety, which sends sound as vibrations through the ear canal via the skull around it.

The new glasses deliver their audio via 4 speakers of these type, whereas their pre-existing counterparts the Zungle Vipers have 2 each. Therefore, the newer options are rated for "authentic and outstanding 360° sound".

SND RAY has made their sunglasses - based on Ray-Ban's Wayfarer design - from nylon to refine their weight (46 grams (g)), although their hinges are titanium. Their lenses are described as polarized, capable of excluding UV radiation and scratch-resistant. They also come in several different color options, and the company will also apparently support prescriptions as users prefer.

They are also rated for IP55-level water resistance and support Bluetooth 5.0, albeit with no mention of codecs such as aptX. SND RAY estimates that its glasses can support playback for up to 6 hours, and can last on standby for up to 1 week.

However, there is a drawback here: the battery in question is charged using microUSB, rather than a newer standard or the handy near-field system by which the Huawei x Gentle Monster audio-shades power up in their own case.

Then again, it is claimed that charging the SND RAYs takes only about 30 minutes using their aging cable type. Despite a campaign that all but tries to negate the existence of its competitors and could have come from the 90s besides, SND RAY has accumulated approximately US$400,000 in backing at the time of writing. The sunglasses themselves start at $119 at present.