I wanted to try out bone conduction headphones before splurging on Shokz headphones, so I recently bought this cheap knockoff: https://www.amazon.com/LAKKA-Conduction-Headphones-Waterproof-Lightweight/dp/B0BQMLSHY3. While it works if you just want to "hear" music, the sound quality is pretty bad. I know that bass is something you can't get from bone conduction, but cymbals just sound awful with the Lakka. How much better is Shokz in that regard?

Try these:

AfterShokz Aeropex - Open-Ear Bluetooth Bone Conduction Sport Headphones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RRQ59JR

They don't block your ears and you can still hear around you, so technically they're safety compliant according to the words of Amazon's own policy. They're even safer than the available earplugs because your ears aren't blocked. If anyone asks or tells you to lose the headphones, tell them they're bone conductors, not (typical) headphones. If they press, show that they don't block the ear canal and you can hear them talking to you just fine. You can also show the inside of the "speaker" part. It has no holes for sound because it uses vibration.

If your site has really tight security on phone usage, there's one that stores audio files, so you can use it without your phone. AfterShokz storefront: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Aftershokz/page/DDA095D8-56B7-47CA-8032-D9461EE393CF

Feel free to look up other bone conduction tech, I just bought these and really liked them. Mine last more than 10 hours listening to music and yours might too even though they usually just say 8 hours.

P.S. If you want more bass response, wear the earplugs and you're golden. Plus, safety and managers will see you're using the earplugs and get confused on what the heck you're wearing.