I’ve made it my personal mission to find the best pair of open-earbuds on the market. I find myself reaching for my open-earbuds almost daily, and I think everybody should have a pair in their audio gear rotation. But how do you know what to look for or how much to spend?
First, let’s address the elephant in the room — open-earbuds won’t be for everyone. They’re for a very specific person, such as office workers, runners and gym-goers who need to hear the ambient sound around them at all times.
When I first started testing open buds, I was skeptical. I was so used to in-ear buds that I wasn’t sure why anyone would want to sacrifice ANC (and indeed audio quality) in their daily listening. However, once you realize that having situational awareness and superior comfort in the office and at the gym is a game changer, I’m telling you, there’s no going back.
This style of earbud is still in its infancy, with the first pair of truly open earbuds being released by Bose in 2021. So this means that the space is still constantly improving, with brands innovating their open-ear styles and finding ways to replicate the sound quality of in-ear buds. My personal favorite style is the clip, but you can also buy hook-style earbuds that are better suited for high-intensity activities like running.
Open-earbud sound
In short, since you don’t get a seal around the ear canal, which you get with regular earbuds, sound waves escape. Open-earbuds rely on directing sound towards your eardrum, but there’s a lot of sound leakage. This means you can lose some frequencies, and with the addition of ambient sound, it can be tricky to listen to your music in detail.
Low frequencies that contribute to bass performance are often lost as they need trapped air pressure to effectively drive the sound. This means you’ll lose the low-end impact, according to Shokz.
Recently, I’ve been using the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds. Bose is known for awesome bass performance in its products from speakers to headphones — but what about open-earbuds? Well, I can tell you they do a great job. Despite the obvious hurdles, these buds deliver a bass performance I’d be pleased with from regular earbuds.
However, for their $299 price, I was disappointed by the lack of detail I got from the Bose buds. I had high expectations because of the premium price tag and the sleek look, but ultimately, I felt let down. The sound was almost unnatural, and the bass priority was making my music sound muffled in the mid and high frequencies.
So while I enjoy listening with the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, they’re far from perfect. And if I’m paying $300, I need them to be perfect.
My perfect open earbuds
But fear not. My quest to find the best open-earbuds continued. And after months of testing, I think I found them. The buds to beat all other buds. The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO.
Reaching for a lower-priced competitor after being let down by a premium flagship product felt like a bit of a Hail Mary. But after spending months wishing I could get some real balanced detail from a pair of open-earbuds, the Beyerdynamics have delivered.
They are everything I’ve been asking for from open-earbuds.
Firstly, these buds have the same clip design as the Bose, but are far more comfortable as they’re highly flexible and don’t move much during workouts. The Beyerdynamics also have a higher durability rating, with dust and splash protection, whereas the Bose are only protected from water splashes. The studio tuning of the Beyerdynamics lends itself well to crisp highs and a natural sound, whereas the Bose buds sound almost artificial and manufactured.
The Bose buds are tuned to please a large consumer base, but the detailed studio tuning of the Beyerdynamics allows you to immerse yourself in the music wherever you are.
Keeping it real
Although the sound tuning of the Beyerdynamics makes them my winner, there are some trade-offs. The Bose buds have a longer total battery life of 27 hours in comparison to the 20 hours of the Beyerdynamics, and if you care about special features like head-tracking spatial audio, the Bose will be your bag.
Also, when you look at the cases side by side, there’s not much difference, so either pair will do the job well for portability.
The takeaway here is that spending more doesn’t always get you the best sound. Sure, the Bose buds are some of the best you can buy, but for a natural, balanced sound that translates well across a wider variety of genres, I can’t recommend the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZEROs enough.
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