lymond

Best earbuds I've used

I’ve tried a lot of earbuds and headphones over the years for my iPhones, computers, and TV. I’ve owned two versions of Apple AirPods, and while their audio quality is very good, they come with drawbacks—mainly how easy they are to lose. I’ve also had some recent connectivity issues with the newer model. I already use the Shokz OpenMove bone‑conduction headphones at the gym and love them, so I’m familiar with the brand.I picked up these OpenFit earbuds on sale during Prime Day so I’d have a dedicated pair for my TV. Managing Bluetooth across multiple devices can be a pain, especially when it interferes with automatic connectivity.Without question, this is the best pair of earbuds I’ve ever used—and I’ve used a lot, from big brands to off‑brands. The sound quality is outstanding, with a balanced range of highs and lows. Most earbuds aren’t very bass‑heavy, but these deliver sufficient bass to make music enjoyable. Although I mainly use them for TV, I tested them on my iPhone and through my Apple TV as well. They’re simply superb for TV audio. I’ve never experienced this level of clarity, range, and balance in an earbud. AirPods are nice, but these are better. And thanks to the secure earhooks, you won’t lose them or have them fall off during activity.Pairing is straightforward, but you should read the manual first—it’s not intuitive without instructions. You pair them from the charging case, and once that’s done, they should automatically connect when you take them out. The six‑hour battery life is excellent and noticeably better than AirPods. It easily gets me through a long couch‑potato session.The earbuds have touch controls on both sides, and the left and right buds perform different actions, which is a great design choice. Tap the left to lower volume or pause audio; tap the right to raise volume. The controls take a little getting used to, but they’re not overly sensitive, which I appreciate.Lastly, these earbuds are very comfortable. I can't stand in-ear buds. These sit on the outside of the ear.Excellent value when on sale. You will not be disappointed.Ver más

3 personas la encontraron útil

Reasonhome

Very comfortable

Perfect for my case.I was searching for open ear headphones which I can wear while having my glasses on.Finally found one that suits my need.I am hypersensitive near my ear so I have very thin stem glasses, and I was looking for something that would be light weight.I have tried many open ear headphones from different brands but they were not comfortable.I tried Bose ultra buds they don't go over ear but stay on side, but because i am sensitive it started hurting in few minutes. I tried Soundcore c30i from Anker they also hurt. I tried NWM open ear headphones ($300 at that time) they were also not comfortable. Still have them, but not using it at all.I also got Bose quiet comfort, but can use them long time with glasses on.I don't care about noise cancellation.Pros:Comfortable and lightweightSound quality is very goodWas easy to pairCheaper than my budgetDecent battery lifeComes with carry pouchMy ear feels so nice that they get free air circulation while listening and I don't need to remove them.Seems durableUSB C charging port.Stays put, I didn't have to keep adjusting.Cons:Box was very tight to open, they tried to imitate Apple in packaging but failed.Comes with USB 3 to USB C cable and not C to CEarbuds case is bulky (I guess it has to because buds are big)No auto ear detectorCan only connect to two devices for hand off.Need to install an App in order to enable hand off feature.Case feels cheap, don't know how long it will last.No wireless charging.Forgive my writing skills please.Ver más

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William Hurt

11 de marzo de 2026

I love these things! Best I’ve ever owned!

I’ve had these things for about two years now and I still love them. I wear these things constantly. Genuinely I wear these things more than I care to admit. I wear them during the day walking around the house and I wear them to sleep at night.The sound quality is very good of course but the things I really love about them are the practicalities that make a big difference when you really use your headphones a lot. They fit great and I can wear them for hours without discomfort. They are so light on your ears that can sometimes forget that I’m still wearing them. The case soooo much better than the no name Chinese headphones. The way the ear pieces rest one over the other makes them compact, and yet if you want to take out just one or the other, you can put your thumb on one to hold it in place and pull the other out with no problem. Then when you want to put them back in you can just drop them into place and the magnets really grab them and almost force them into the correct position for charging. And the overall fit and finish is noticeably better than the cheapies. These are absolutely not the cheapest over the ear headphones you can find, but for me they’re also absolutely worth the money.The funny part is I almost never wear both of them at once. I use them during the day to do things like listen to NPR while I do my morning routine, or have a podcast going while I do my chores. I double tap to stop what I’m listening to as soon as someone wants to talk to me and then when I return to my task I just double tap again to start my podcast.At night I wear one side and sleep on the other and during the night if and when I wake up to use the bathroom or something (see how often YOU have to use the bathroom at night when your my age), I switch sides.It’s easy to do night because the case really grabs the headphones and pulls them into the right charging position.Especially if you use them one at a time like I do and charge the other when not in use, you will never have to worry about battery life.It’s been a couple years now like I said and the battery life is still great!Ver más

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Fletch

20 de julio de 2024

Comfortable and good sound. A few annoyances, too.

Quick summary:ProsComfortable for me, including when wearing glasses.Soundstage is good for an open ear headphoneCustomer service seems responsive.Long battery life.Simple controls.ConsNo way to turn these off manuallyOnly four touch functionsDoesn't seem to like FiresticksLong (TL:DR) reviewWhether it's clothes or shoes or glasses or ear/headphones, a review of anything that fits on your body is subjective. And with ears being particularly different from one individual to another, any review of a product like this is especially subjective.The same goes for sound quality in this case. A sound device that doesn't fit the same from one person to another won't be perceived the same, either. With all of that said, below is my take on the Shokz OpenFit AirsI've been using a pair of Plantronics (PLT) Backbeat 3150 open ear headphones since 2020. They've been great, but wearing/charging them daily, they are no longer holding a charge long enough for a full 2-hour run. I'd buy another pair, but they've been discontinued since 2021.I've tried my wife's Apple Airpods. Frankly, I hate them and they are even more overpriced than Bose (IMO). Not doubting quality of the product, but found them extraordinarily uncomfortable and the isolation while running was not what I'd want. I also never cared for the "I've got a plastic straw hanging out of my ears" look. But, THAT is totally subjective. :-)Excluding the Apples, the Shokz were the fourth headphones I tried. The first three were Anker Soundcore Aero Fit, Tozo Open Buds, and Baseus Eli Sport 1. Those three were all cheaper than the Shokz, but I don't think that the price was necessarily a reflection on quality.The three considerations, if you exclude price, were:Fit (Ankers would not fit my ears)Sound quality (Tozos had muddy base)Sweat/water resistance. (DId not have confidence the Baseus would hold up to sweat).The Shokz were the only ones that ticked all three boxes adequately.FitIf you wear glasses, the slim flexible over-ear piece of the Shokz is nearly ideal (maybe Bose Ultra Opens better). Not saying the Shokz will fit every ear, but if the four I tried were any indication, then these have the best chance of working for you.SoundSound was good, with adequate bass and rich immersive soundstage (Ankers sounded the best, followed by the Shokz and Baseus). Again, sound quality for open ear headphones is more down to how they fit by your ear canal than the actual quality produced. I do wish the Shokz were just a little louder, but given that the idea of an open ear headphone is to be able to hear your surroundings, then they are just fine. I have not used these for phone calls, so, sorry, nothing to tell you there.Sweat/Water resistance (fit and second rating digit are both key):I sweat...a lot. And while I didn't keep the Ankers (IPX7) or Tozos (IP67), I think they both would have been fine. The Baseus I wasn't so sure of. They seem to accumulate sweat more than the others and are only rated IPX4. Technically, the Shokz, at IP54, have the same "4" rating for water and sweat resistance, but they don't seem to hold the sweat like the Baseus did.Battery life (case and phones).Using and putting these back in the case to charge, they seem to last forever. I haven't measured actual time, but I've gone two weeks of 1-2 hour runs (8 total runs) without having to charge the case.Customer serviceI wrote customer service because of a problem (noted below) and they were helpful and responsive.Negatives/compromises:Power and chargingYou turn these off by putting them back in the charge case and closing it. And, as far as I know, that this the only way to manually accomplish this. The other way is to disconnect them from your Bluetooth device and then they will supposedly go to sleep after a few minutes. I simply wish there was a way to turn them off on the headphones themselves. First, if I'm out for a run, I'm not taking my case with me. If I want to stop at the end of a run and turn them off, then I have to manually disconnect from my watch or phone and then hope they turn off. Second, keeping any rechargable device always fully charged is bad for battery health.ControlsThe music controls work well; better (simpler) than the others I tried. But, you have exactly four control choices (defaults in parentheses):1. Touch and hold left (volume down)2. Touch and hold right (volume up)3. Double tap left (Play/Pause)4. Double tap right (Skip to next track)You can change these defaults, but I, personally, need a fifth control if I want to repeat/restart a track. The four options are the four I'd pick if left with only four, but I do wish there were more possibilities. And if you add my power off concern above, a sixth control would be nice.FiresticksOk, this is an odd one and that's why it's last among my concerns. With summer temps pushing 100 degrees (38C) where I live, I do run on a treadmill some of the time. I have a small TV with a Firestick behind my treadmill and have never had any issues with headphones, including the old PLTs or the other three headphones I tried before picking the Shokz. But with these Shokz, the sound seems to go "wonky" from time to time. Basically, it will momentarily switch from stereo to mono and then back again about once every minute or two. It's annoying. I wrote Shokz and they suggested resetting the headphones, which I did four times, but this did not fix the issue. No issues with any other devices (watch, phone, tablet, other televisions), but just the Firestick. And before you think range, the Firestick is less than three feet from the headphones. Also, I have tried with other Firesticks and the only one that seems to not have this issue is the latest 4k Max version.Final conclusions:Open ear headphones are, as a type, the most subjective of all of the different headphones/ear buds simply because of ear anatomy/size. If you're considering any open ear/on ear phones, then do what I did and try a few. And ignore reviews that rail on sound quality because your perception is tied to how well these fit around your ear canal. I said that the Ankers sounded best of the four I tried, but that was only if I manually held them against the ear opening. If I just let them "hang" on my ear, they were the worst "sounding" by far.I didn't mention the Shokz app, but it does work just fine. The Tozo app was maddening and the Baseus wanted to always monitor location. Anker's app was fine, too.So, what you've read above is admittedly subjective. You may hate these as much as I like them. Do your homework and then don't be afraid to order a few different models to try them out.

Design Fam

Replaced my seven year old Aeropex with these.

Way back in 2017, I purchased a pair of the OG Aeropex headphones before they rebranded their company and brand lines. I think today's equivalent would be the Shokz Open Run.Anyway, I absolutely loved those headphones; they were my daily driver for everything from chores and yard work to biking and even driving as my vehicles does not have BT. The battery was still lasting more than 5 hours per charge, the sound hadnt changed... just wonderful. Then why did I 1) decide to try the open air and 2) why did i need new headphones?Turns out, as good as the Aeropex are, they're no match for a 6 month old puppy (see images). RIP Aeropex.I've had these OpenFit Air's for about 12 hours now. I've used them in three different common for me situations: driving, a work call, and working in the yard.Sound quality- Better than the Aeropex. The sound quality is higher, but you dont give up any of the awareness that i loved so much with the bone induction tech.- Volume was a little mixed. One of the podcasts I was listening too was a little too low, but music/calls were fine. I think it was more their mixing than the headphones- As they are not intended to be the highest fidelity / best sound reproduction buds, I dont review them as such. They wont win anything there. That said, they're more than fine for you if you're going in with the understanding that these are for being active, for hearing the world around you AND what is playing in your ear. IF you have those expectations, they're great.Fit / Comfort- For my ear, they fit perfectly. Not loose, not snug - they dont feel like they're going to fall out at all.- They're much lighter weight and easier on my ear. I've already forgotten they're on twice. If these had a battery that lasted 12 hours, I could easily have them on my ear all day and not feel a difference. That should tell you something. For comparison, I thought the Aeropex were decent and I could wear them for 2-3 hours without fatigueControls- I'll admit, I havent yet RTFM, so this is me attempting to intuitively figure it out.- Pairing was super easy, didnt even need to long press/wacky tap or anything to enter pairing mode, it just did it out of the box.- They turn on and connect automatically, like my airpods do, nice. (I sometimes had to twiddle the Aeropex)- I have yet to figure out how to turn the volume up/down- Double tapping on the left bud seems to play/pause whatever you're listening to- There's something you can do with a long press, it makes the bud beep, but it's not intuitive- After I RTFM I'll likely understand more, but they're not the most intuitive (both the Aeorpex and Apple Air Pods are better in this reguard)Overall... I love them. I truly hope they last as long or longer than my last pair of Shokz headphones. Will update if things change!

Littlewill

10 de mayo de 2026

Pricey but solid earbuds

These are on the pricey side but they have great sound quality and spatial awareness. You do sacrifice good bass but you gain the ability to easily hear what’s around you. I’m able to go running or workout and easily be able to have a conversation with others. Unless you’re in a quiet room, you won’t hear the sound bleed out. They sit comfortably and don’t move even when running or working out.Ver más

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