20 Best Wireless Open Back Headphones (2023 Updated)

This is in the context of currently owning the following cans: Focal Clear. Audeze LCD-X & LCD-5. Meze Elite. HEDDphone. Hifiman Arya & Ananda. Denon AH-D9200. Oppo PM-3. Sennheiser HD 600. Audio Technica ATH-ADX5000.

I am listening to CDs and SACDs on the Denon DCD-A110 into the iFi PRO iCAN Signature amp using the Utopia’s stock balanced cable. So here we go: The Utopia is my new favorite headphone. The Utopia is a more refined version of the Clear (as operated with Cardas Clear balanced cables).

The Utopia is more resolving with better separation between instruments / differentiation between notes, a sharper, more focused presentation and a deeper soundstage. Instruments (mostly listening to 50’s – 60’s jazz) sound more lifelike and weighty on the Utopia.

Two words I would use to describe the Utopia here are full and lush. Not overly sweet or with too much of anything, but just right. Overall about a 20% more enjoyable / you-are-there listening experience compared to what the Clear / Cardas Clear cables offer.

Compared to the LCD-5, again the adjective I would use is lush. Listening to the Utopia, the instruments are more full bodied, their presentation is better balanced and the soundstage is deeper, although the LCD-5 has a little wider stage than the Utopia.

The LCD-5’s clamping is uncomfortably tight relative to the Utopia. However, the Utopia is just a little too loose for my liking. That is the one and only design flaw for me. The Clear has just a tad more clamping force than the Utopia, which is just perfect for my noggin.

Overall, I prefer the Utopia. Another reasonable comparison, given the price and quality, is with the Meze Elite. The Elite (as operated with Arctic Cables Argento Series balanced cables with silver conductors to help accentuate the Elite’s treble response) lacks the top end, energy and soundstage depth of the Utopia.

In comparison, the Elite’s top to bottom presentation is a bit unbalanced, accentuating the bass in comparison to the treble, therefore making it sound a bit bloated with some songs. The Elite is an excellent headphone but, again, I would give the win to the Utopia.

I received the edition with both the TRS cable (1/8″ termination w 1/4″ adapter) and a longer balanced cable with Neutrik 4-pin plug. I will still upgrade to a Forza Audioworks Noir Hybrid HPC with dual 3-pin balanced XLR connectors to the amp.

I suggest you take a look at this Polish cable company. They are amazing. N. B. Be sure to carefully unwrap and straighten out the Utopia’s cables before use. I found the longer (balanced) cable was particularly prone to kinking right out of the package due to arriving tightly coiled.

Enjoy!.

I really wanted to upgrade my system with a new integrated amp and speakers. But between the 5 figure outlay and a disapproving spouse who complains about the volume I like to listen I decided to go all out on a headphone system.

After reading many reviews I decided in the Focal Utopias with the Focal Arche DAC/Headphone amp. The special price on the combo came to about a quarter of what I was dreaming about with a new system.

I couldn’t be happier; nor can my wife. I hear detail I didn’t know I was missing. I can stream music from ROON & Tidal that sounds incredibly rich. I can’t compare this system to any other high end headphones; all I know is they sound great.

They make my Sennheiser 650s sound like toys. The Arche DAC/amp is also top rate. I do wish it had a remote but the full smooth sound is worth getting out of my chair to adjust. I put it on a lower shelf of my rack so I couldn’t use the cool headphone stand so I built a little wooden base so I can still use it (see photo) Over all I’m delighted with my Focal Arche and Utopia headphones.

Without going to too much length, I can safely say that Utopia is my personal favorite dynamic headphone ever. The real magic to this beryllium driver is a balance of absurdly-good detail without losing a sense of intimacy from the music.

Utopia has best-in-industry ability to extract absolutely every piece of instrumentation from the recording, place those pieces in precise locations, and make you feel like you are in the room or in the crowd.

The lower-end Focal models (Clear, Elex, etc. ) don’t quite get there. They have dynamics, imaging, and detail but they feel less bound to emotion. You cannot put a comparable on this. it is inaccurate to claim that Clear is 95% of Utopia’s sound when it simply cannot convey music like Utopia.

Using the GS-X Mini plays a role in this – it matches Utopia incredibly well and you are losing nothing on the capabilities of this headphone. Both have earned my highest recommendation!.

I am going to start my review stating that what I use them for, might not be entirely what they were designed for. It shows these being used while exercising, however I use mine connected to my TV which has both my computer as well as my gaming console connected to it.

PROS 1. light weight – doesn’t cause discomfort to my ears (I cannot wear earbuds or on the ear headphones as they cause pain to my ears after about 5 minutes. I can wear these for hours without pain) 2.

The ability to wear them and also hold a conversation with those around me. I can sit and game while hearing my children or my wife (cannot do when having over other types of headphones on) 3. Battery charges fairly quickly CONS 1.

One size fits all – smaller heads (children) or larger adults (larger heads) will likely have issues with these. Try them at the store first to see if they fit. 2. Not able to adjust the back – prevents you from sitting in a recliner as that pushes them forward away from your ears and causes discomfort because the back of mine has a sharp edge from manufacturing.

3. Short battery life – they charge faster than some of my over the ear headphones, but they only seem to hold a charge for a couple hours, where some of my over the ear headphones last days. Take away: These headphones are pretty much designed for exercise or those not in a reclining position.

I have worn them driving and they work okay as I do not rest my head on the seat. So standing, exercising, sitting in the upright position (perhaps at work) they seem fine. The short battery life causes some grief as they only last around 3 hours or so while gaming.

The ability to listen to my content as well as the people around me far out weighs the cons mentioned. I can sit playing a game or watching a show, while my wife sits beside me and I do not bother her and we can still have a conversation or if a child calls for help, I know immediately.

I just wish they would come out with a product that was similar to this that you could adjust the back to fit around you skull instead of sit away so you could enjoy them while relaxing and not just on the go.

I previously had the Air headphones, and they were pretty good. I recently got these, but I have noticed an important issue that the Air headphones did not have: When a sound is played through these headphones after a minute or so of prior silence, the first half second or so of audio is cut off.

This makes these headphones unacceptable for receiving voice directions while driving, for example (and not playing anything else). There is also a noticeable delay in the audio, which makes these less than ideal for watching video of people talking (bad lip-sync) or for playing video games.

This delay seems slightly better than what the Air headphones had, though. These two issues mean that these are not general-purpose headphones. However they are very good at what I primarily use them for, which is listening to music while I work.

The sound quality is great, and I am able to hear both my music and my surroundings. P. S. , after answering “how easy are your headphones to use?”: There are a few issues I have encountered while using the buttons: -Double-pressing the multi-function button is supposed to skip to the next song.

However double-pressing too quickly acts as a single press so I have to intentionally move slowly in order to skip a song. -Holding the buttons for power on/off takes too long in my opinion. -The headphones do not say “pairing” when entering pairing mode.

The instructions for entering pairing mode do not address this. In addition to this, the headphones do say “batter [high|medium|low]” immediately after power on; this is a change from how the Air headphones work, which together with the lack of a “pairing” sound, made me think I was not getting to pairing mode.

-It would also be nice if pressing the buttons required less force.

Decided to pick up another set on black Friday on the excellent deal. My third set, I love my Aeropex headphones, absolutely love them. I mostly listen to podcasts, so for me the sound quality is perfect.

I was forced to find a different kind of headphone after I got a wicked ear infection from my earbuds. I found the Aeropex and I haven’t looked back. The battery life is fantastic, I wear these almost all day long.

I even wear them to bed to listen to sleep stories to help with my insomnia and I can hear everything without disturbing boyfriend. They are light as a feather and so comfortable, I often forget they are on my head.

I think my kids think they are going to just become permanently attached to my skull, I have them on all the time. The start and stop button control is super easy to use, the volume control is easy to use.

I’ve converted several friends to Aftershokz after I let them try my headphones. Just having the ability to hear what is going on around you while listening to music or podcasts is such an asset, especially in my job as a custodian in a very public building.

I no longer worry that I won’t hear someone in a place they shouldn’t be. If I have anything to gripe about, I wish the mini’s were in stock and came in more colors, apparently I have a dainty little head.

I suppose many people could complain about the proprietary magnetic charger, but after getting three pairs, I have six charging cables, I think I’m pretty vested in this at this point. They really just add to the ease of use, no fumbling with ports and plugs, the charger finds where it’s supposed to go on it’s own.

I got the “UC” version of this headset because I do a lot of Zoom / Teams / WebEx meetings from my laptop, which requires the USB dongle to connect, but also have to take a lot of calls on my phone, and this headset is supposed to support the ‘multipoint’ connections to PC & phone simultaneously.

It took a few tries to get the ‘multipoint’ connection set up, but eventually got it, and – for the most part – it works. And when it does, the sound is good, the other people on the call hear me clearly, the battery lasts all day, and the headset is so comfortable I forget it’s there.

And I really, REALLY like the bone-conduction feature leaving my ears un-molested an able to hear other things going on around me. BUT. my biggest complaint is the ‘multipoint’ support is pretty poor.

As long as I am only talking on the PC, I have no problem. But, if a call comes in on my phone, I can switch over, and it works fine for a minute or two, and then the connection starts to break up and I have to swap the phone over to speakerphone to continue the call.

Super annoying, as that is one of the biggest reasons I selected this headset. There are a few other things I’d prefer were a bit different – pressing the two volume button simultaneously with one hand to put it on Mute is a bit awkward, having to use their proprietary charging cord vs any standard USB-mini or USB-C cable is a bit inconvenient, and the boom mic stands out from the side of your cheek a bit farther than I’d like (far enough I sometimes accidentally catch it on things near my face), but those issues are pretty minor.

Overall, it’s a good headset, would be just about perfect if you don’t need the simultaneous connection to another device.

I’ve been a long time user of the Plantronics Voyager Legend bluetooth headset and primarly use is for voice calls/Teams/Zoom meetings. The Legend has strong/clear sound, good volume and exceptional noise cancellation so a pretty high bar (at least for me).

Due to a recent medical issue, having an earbud in my ear is painful and I needed an alternative. The Opencomm was different with bone conduction technology and after watching a lot of YouTube reviews seemed a good option.

So far. the Opencomm has exceeded my expection when compared to the Plantronics Legend. The sound/mic quality is great, extremely comfortable (they melt away and forget you have them on) and have good noise cancellation.

This is not an audiophile headset, get a good pair of headphones and a DAC if you want that quality. It plays music well and was better than I expected given some reviews. It’s a wierd sensation when first use the headset but you soon adapt to sound not in your ear canal and sound imaging is really good (again its wierd but great).

I am extremely happy with my purchase and would recommend these as an alternative to anyone who wears and uses earbuds for voice calls or video meeting. We’ll see long term how they hold up but after a month of wearing they’re my new go-to.

The Good Extremely comfortable, can wear all day Great noise cancellation Great voice call sound quality, better than the Legend Can hear ambient noise without something in your ear Solid build quality The Bad Halo tends to rub on collars of hoodies or jackets(not a deal breaker) Multi pairing limited to 2 devices and tends to lose connection on my PC during Teams/Zoom calls if the second device(cell phone) is not turned off (again not a dealbreaker).

It has been a couple of rather strange years with COVID. I now spend my time working from home mostly, which means hours and hours of conference calls. I don’t care which in-ear, circumaural, or supraaural headphones or buds you choose, you still end up with sore or sweaty ears.

The solution is here and it is awesome. I throw my Aeropex on at the start of the day, and they don’t come off till the end. Most of the time, I forget they are on. The battery life gets you through a couple days of moderate use (think 3-4 hours of use and 4 in standby), and the multipoint pairing means transitioning between devices is fairly easy.

Coworkers and customers seem to think the call quality is better than my Bose, which was a shock. Moving away from conference calls, these things are my hands free solution for driving. Having an open-ear is critical for hearing emergency vehicles or engine issues.

Again, call quality is reported as excellent, thanks to the quality mics that cut down on ambient noise. Let’s move over to working out, which is the use case for the majority of users it seems like.

Yup, love running with these, and I love feeling safer when running and not having sweaty buds fall out is a huge plus. However, to me, these things really shine in the other areas! Can’t live without them now that I have them.

Great concept but they apparently they use a really low end manufacturer. Have had two (2) of these and they never last even one year without internal parts coming loose. Seems to be the speaker since it makes the okay sound quality really bad and rattles with sound vibrations.

They are okay for outdoor use in quiet areas during the summer but if you wear a jacket, it will push the band that goes around the backside of your neck. It’s also s as major problem it you are in any type of seat with a high back that would push on the back collar of the unit.

When outfits, any wind whatsoever will affect the microphone and those on the other end will have difficulty understanding you. If you are on city sidewalks, in a parks, store, busy office, etc. with any background noise, it is extremely difficult to impossible to hear with these, even if you plug your ears from most of the ambient noise.

They work great in quiet areas to be able to use Bluetooth and still hear what’s going on around you, but impractical in With some design changes and quality manufacturing, this could be a great product.

With all the limitations, I would still like them in their limited applications.

I’ve been using Trekz Air for near 2 years, and I was very happy with those headphones and decided to upgrade them (because arc just broken recently, and after two years of usage battery become weak).

Also, I really like the technology, and was expecting that in next generation headphones sound quality would be even better that in Trekz Air (especially considering that reviews across the internet said that it actually was improved).

Or I expected that sound quality would at least be on the same level. But in fact I was a little bit disappointed. Yeah, they sound pretty loud, they have lower sound leakage, low frequencies sound better than in Trekz Air, but in my opinion mid and high freqs in this version sounds a little bit worth, and it disappointed me.

I personally like headphones and speakers with good quality mid sound. But in general I still like this headphones a lot. I really like improved ergonomics: new charging port, new slicker look, improved water resistance.

And one more little note. I don’t like new smaller “main button”, because now it’s harder to control headphones when wearing gloves.

I purchased these headphones for my boyfriend as a Birthday present after he was constantly asking to use my Skullcandy headphones. Unfortunately this package was delivered on our open front porch in the city and was stolen in broad daylight.

I reached out to Skullcandy unsure if there was anything they could do, & they were BEYOND HELPFUL. I can’t say enough great things about this company & their willingness to replace what was stolen, especially when they were not even at fault.

Also can’t say enough about the headphones themselves. THEY ARE AMAZING. My boyfriend is very happy & uses them daily. If you are looking for great noise-cancelling headphones, with incredible bass & overall sound, then look no further! These are the headphones for you.

Thanks again, Skullcandy!!.

Before I start, my unit has leather on the top headband part peeling back a little exposing the foam underneath. This isn’t a big deal for me as I baby everything I own, but I don’t know if others experience this or if this is just an isolated incident for me.

I’ll upload a picture of it when I get the chance. This is a bloody good set of headphones. In my opinion, sound quality is pretty much on par with other high quality headphones out there (Bose QC series, Sony WH-1000s, Microsoft Surface headphones, etc).

It has all those nice features present that those headphones have such as Ambient mode where the headphones pump in noise from outside through the mic, they have excellent noise cancelling, button interface (love it!), USB C charging, an AUX cable with a microphone on it, manual haptic bass control which is a blast to use, it’s incredibly comfortable and it comes with a very nice hard case.

The only things I don’t like very much is when you switch noise cancelling on or ambient mode on, this British woman tells me what mode I’m on. Now, I don’t have anything against British women or anything, but it’s a little bit annoying because it skips over maybe 3 seconds of my music.

The headphones are good enough where I can clearly tell when noise cancelling is on or off or when Ambient mode is on or off. Another little thing I have is while the AUX cable is flattened to prevent tangling, it is not braided.

However it uses a standard 3. 5mm jack, so you can just buy a braided cable for a couple dollars and they’ll work fine.

These sound great! I’ve tried other headphones and always come back to these. They charge very quickly and they hold the charge for a long time. The reason I’m giving them two stars is that I’ve had at least five pairs and they always, always, ALWAYS break at the hinges.

Skullcandy has a one year warranty and they never fail to break before then. I have to pay to ship them (around $10) to Skullcandy to take advantage of the warranty but I always get a new pair from the claim.

I really wish I could find another pair of headphones that sound like these but don’t break like them. The ear muffs fall off sometimes too but I just super glue them back on and they’re fine so that’s not a huge deal to me.

Another issue is that the Bluetooth connection gets spotty after you’ve had them for a while.

I tried multiple bone conduction headphones before I tried Openswim. All of them were a poor fit for me, and the sound was just “so-so” on the other brands. Their earphones fell off and/or moved around so much that the sound was mediocre (I have a small head).

I actually like the fact that there is NO bluetooth on the Openswim. Bluetooth doesn’t work under water, and after trying multiple other brands that did have bluetooth, it got pretty annoying having to switch modes.

Then, with the press of a wrong button one to many times, you had to start all over again to get back in mp3 mode! The button placement and configuration works very well. The buttons are easy to get to and well-spaced.

The Openswim does NOT fall off or move around and is very comfortable — even on my small head. I especially like that they can fit under a swim cap. And the sound — is nothing short of WOW—absolutely fantastic!! What a pleasure enjoying the great r tunes of your tunes while swimming laps! (And, the sound when wearing earplugs is even better! Loading songs onto the Openswim was very straightforward.

Plug the USB into your computer, open the drive with the OpenSwim, and drag and drop to copy your files from your computer to the Openswim folder. Took less that a few minutes, and I loaded at least 100 files for a first go around, and still have space to add more.

Great capacity! My only wish would have been to have a “mini” sized Openswim for those of us who are more petite-sized. But all, in all, a wonderful product!.

I purchased two pairs of the AfterShokz Xtrainer at the same time. I was impressed with the design, build quality, the sound, and the ease of use. That was a relief as AfterSholz were the third brand of swim headphone I had purchased over the last five years.

The first pair Xtrainers were used on a daily basis, 2 km open-water swim, calmish water, free-style. OK – so really-really happy wth them until. the gremlin struck. Atfter 3 months, the right-side conductor quit – no sound.

This pair were returned to Aftershokz and it must be said, their customer service were amazing. No wrangling at all – the headphones were replaced immediately. While waiting for the replacement pair to arrive, I started to use the second pair that I had purchased.

Really-really happy until you gueesed it. Again, aprox 3 months of daily 2km openwater swimming and the sound went. This time, the left conductor. These were also returned and immediately replaced. Aftershokz customer service were really great again.

It’s a pity, as I really needed these headphones to be durable. I probably should say that I never wore the headphones under a swim cap – whethet that would make a difference or not, I’m not sure. I should also say that both sets of headphones would regain sound if I fooled around moving the conductor titanium frame to different positions.

This gave me the impression of an internal loose electrical connection. It could be that the volume of my swimming was a bit much fot the headphones to cope with. For anyone doing a lighter swim load, I would say give them a shot many other reviwers seem to have had no problem whatsoever.

This may be an overstatement, but I seriously love these headphones! They are an answer to a prayer practically. I have always wanted to swim to music and these make that dream a reality. The sound from the headphones in the air is slightly diminished, but the sound is still great and perfect underwater.

The ear plug that were added to the kit were a nice touch. They are a supper comfortable fit, I can have them on my head for hours and not have them bother me. The transferring of music is also super easy, and the charge to use time is great (short charge for long use).

They are also very comfortable with a swim cap on, and still easy to access the buttons that control the music. It is also nice to not worry about a Bluetooth connection because it means I can literally take the headphones anywhere and listen to my songs without worrying about distance away from my phone and my data plan.

The only compliant I have is the shuffle mode on the headphones is not super great. I have 300+ songs downloaded (approx. 37 hours of music) and it is very common that I will hear the same song two or three times within a four hour period.

So that could be approved on. Otherwise, these are great headphones, I would hightly recommend them!.

I already have a pair of traditional wired ATH-M50X but decided to treat myself to the bluetooth version. They are basically the same headphone I already have, but without a cord. They do come with a cord, but it is quite short and isn’t coiled.

They come with a USB charging cord that is VERY short at about 14 inches. I find this a little too short, but it gets the job done. The instructions were a little TOO simple and consisted of just images and very little text.

It was enough to get me started, but there was no information for any sort of troubleshooting. As this is my first bluetooth device, a little more information would have been helpful. The problem I had was once I connected with the transmitter that connects to my ‘legacy’ equipment, that was the sole device the headphone wanted to connect to.

It took a little fiddling around to figure out how to get the headphone to connect to my laptop and cell phone. It would have been nice to have troubleshooting instructions. All that being said, the headphones sound as great as the wired version.

I haven’t had any problems with interference or a dropped signal. My house isn’t very big so I can’t really get out of range without going outside which I haven’t tried yet to see how far the signal reaches.

Great Headphones!!.

The headphones sound great, and the build quality is top notch. They’re comfortable to wear for extended periods, even for my large head. The Bluetooth connection is strong. It takes several walls between them and the source, to disrupt the connection.

I primarily use them with my TV, playing Netflix and xbox. I haven’t noticed any lag between the audio and video. I’ve only been using them for a couple of days, but so far, the battery life is excellent.

My only complaints are – that during calls, I can hear myself and ambient noises through the speakers. The calls are fine it’s just a minor annoyance. – And the lack of active noise cancelling is disappointing.

Other head phones in this price range (and cheaper) have ANC. It’s a strange omission. It’s not a deal breaker for me, but maybe for some.

If you know the pros and cons of open-backed headphones and are familiar with the Grado ethos, you know what you’re getting into here. I love them, even as I have questions about the practicality of wireless open-back headphones.

They sound great, as you’d expect from Grado, but whether or not they make sense for you is, well, up to you. I won’t be wearing them on the bus but I like the freedom of movement they provide while using them at home.

Not much to add that hasn’t been said but one thing I think is important to note: many reviews I saw before I bought these complained about the microphone, but I have used the GW100s for phone calls and everyone I’ve asked has said the voice quality is very good on their end.

Better than my Apple AirPods Pro, in fact, which tend to pick up far more extraneous sounds and amplify them (I’m told). On the down side, reviewers are correct in pointing out that they can be uncomfortable after a while for glasses-wearers, but that’s probably true of all on-ear headphones.

It’s not a dealbreaker for me, and the great audio quality and light weight more than make up for any shortcomings. As always, great service from RS.

I bought these for listening to while working at home, so background noise is not an issue. In fact I really want to hear the door bell go, or the landline ring, or the cat attacking the dog, again. For this environment these are perfect.

The sound is so much wider and more natural than closed-back headphones, so you don’t feel enclosed by them or cut off. It’s like listening to sound from a really amazing set of speakers on either side of you, that are always just the right distance away, whether you are bopping while cooking or turning from the computer back to the drawing board.

The bluetooth means that you also don’t have to worry about the cable getting in the way or catching on the hob. Everything worked as expected – simple and reliable connection by bluetooth to my Android photo, really long battery life and hardly any sound leaks out – far better than my old Sennheisers.

I’ve been looking for headphones with great quality audio (i listen to music day), bluetooth (so I can leave the computer and make a cup of coffee) and wasn’t really able to find that. I tried the Koss BT540i and they were terrible – awful audio quality, the earpads would always slip off and were difficult to get back on, etc.

Then I stumbled across these after conceding blue-tooth and looking to buy a pair of regular corded Grados. And not only do I find bluetooth but a very decent mic as well. These things are worth every penny.

The only thing that could be improved? Keep this model as the entry level but make a more expensive pair out of metal with easily replaceable parts. I would pre-order that.

To start with, this isn’t the first time I had heard Ananda. Back in 2018 I had picked up the Sundara from Hifiman office at Bengaluru, I was hosted by the great folks at Hifiman for an entire afternoon where I sat and auditioned Sundara, Ananda and Arya.

I picked up Sundara back then due to budget constraints, and I enjoyed it for some good 1. 5 years without any issues, later sold it off to move on. Fast forward a few months or an year, I was back in market looking to pickup an upgrade, runs decently off portable source but scales well with desktop setup, and wouldn’t strong-arm me to redo my entire chain.

Initially I was looking for Arya, HD800s and Auteur, to which I realized that they will definitely need me to upgrade my entire chain – build s specific chain them. So after putting a lot of thought, I started looking for something else, and narrowed down to Ananda.

As per reviews, they are decent upgrade over Sundara, pretty easy to drive, does decently with all genres and have a favorable sound signature. So I picked up the Anandas and here I am! Soundwise I have no complaints, these sounds great, lows, mids and treble sounds pretty even to me – non of them are emphasized to overshadow the other, soundstage and imaging is great with great layering.

They sound pretty intimate with lot of emotions in the presentation, energetic and to the face kind of an impactful sound. Personally this was not something I was looking for but I am getting used to it and with burnin the to the face kind of presentation is gradually taking a backstep.

I have hardly used them for 20hours or so, so I am sure things will change with ~200 hours of burn in and I feel it will only get better. Buildwise, I feel they are pretty good, they do have a bit of clamp force but then that is what keeps these huge cups on our ears so that’s fine I guess.

The cables are okay, I just didn’t like the springy characteristics. And I really dont understand the logic of providing 2 single ended cables, seems to be of mediocre quality, and only difference is length.

Hifiman should have put a little thought to this and rather provided one good quality balanced cable, I think that’s a fair ask for a headphone that costs 1000$. Find me on social media for the detailed reviews coming out in a week or two.

Background: I was in search of some good sounding headphone for a while now. I had some benchmark sound in my mind which I wanted to achieve through a headphone. I grew up listening to some good old Pioneer and Kenwood audio systems.

I also owned some headphones and IEMS which I felt were not up to my highest expectations. My favorites were my Audio Technica ATH-M50x BT which I used to use as a wired headphone at home and over BT when travelling and also my RHA T20 IEM.

Others in my collection include the Sony WH-1000XM4, Apple Airpods Pro, Anker SoundCore liberty 2 Pros etc. which are not my favorites. I also got a chance to listen to Focal Listen, Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro, Beyerdynamic Amiron wired and wireless.

The Hifiman Ananda Story: I was not feeling that with all the experiences that I had thus far was not cutting my expectations of good audio. I contacted Pritam to convey my expectations and he suggested to audition the Hifiman Ananda which I did.

I own a xDuoo XD-05 BAL DAC AMP and tried the Hifiman Ananda stealth magnet version paired with it. I finally felt like I found what I was looking for. Beautiful and effortless sound with great details.

I even went to the extent of comparing Ananda to Sundara and Arya. I could tell a substantial difference between Sundara and Ananda on my DAC AMP. Then compared Ananda to Arya and the differences were not immediately evident to me, could be a limitation from my DAC AMP or my lack of attention or experience.

Later I tried out the Ananda and Arya on the Hifiman EF-400 R2R DAC AMP. I could hear more stereo separation and more dynamic sound from the EF-400 in comparison to my xDuoo XD-05 Bal. May be some day I can consider upgrading to the EF-400.

Finally after all the comparisons, I finally settled for Hifiman Ananda and got myself a balanced cable for use with it. I must say, I am very happy with my purchase. Thanks to Pritam for his guidance.

Beyerdynamics (all 250 Ohm versions) did not sound that open sounding and enjoyable to me. Focal Listen was a decent pair, but I could feel that it was not in the same league as Ananda as it felt inferior in comparison to Ananda.

Ananda sounds wider than any other open backs that I have heard so far, may be Arya being the only exception. Ananda sounded pretty close to the Arya to my ears on my xDuoo and I could not justify the price jump which was twice the price of Ananda.

I am writing this after spending 4 hrs with the Edition XS. I am not into headphones, never was. The idea of having a heavy thing on the head to listen to music never thrilled me. I have a serious stereo setup.

Like, seriously serious and I love it. The problem is, I don’t get much time to be in that perfect listening position more than 3-4 hrs a week. For my love of music, I decided to get some portable gear.

So, I started with a mid-range Fiio triple driver earphones (don’t remember the model) and the R2R Cayin RU6 USB DAC+AMP (the RU6 is brilliant). I liked the experience very much and thought of upgrading (the problem with all audiophiles right).

After some research, I zeroed in on the Hifiman Edition XS (not the standard headphone tech) and Chord Mojo 2. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the Mojo yet as it went out of stock by the time I wrapped up my research and decided to hit the ‘add to cart’ button.

Thus, I hooked up the Edition XS with the RU6 that I have (yes…I had to change the setting to high gain and crank up the volume to 85% to drive the Edition XS) and played some of my beloved hi-rez/lossless tracks.

Now the difficult part – describe the experience. I’ll just say – It made me smile and I felt I am listening to my primary stereo system. Beautiful soundstage and excellent clarity across frequencies.

The only thing that I feel could have been better is the head band. Something like Ananda would have been more comfortable. Now I am thinking, what have I gotten myself into? What next?.

Been enjoying these since day one. Connected with my phone, turntable, and tablet without issues. Sound is warm for Grado, but still having that clarity they are famous for, so a great combination. The only negative I would give us the build quality doesn’t feel like headphones near to £200, more like something half that amount.

But that means they are light, and I have to say I don’t feel like I have them on they are so light, which is good for long listening. But 10/10 for the sound, I’m blown away at how good these sound, and now they have Bluetooth 5, and a much bigger/powerful battery, giving about 40 hours at 50% volume which I’ve never surpassed because they are quite loud.

Extremely happy with my purchase, and thoroughly recommend them to anyone considering purchasing these. Thanks to richer sounds for their excellent service, I enquired about these on the phone and they were delivered the next day, amazing.

Short Story: Purpose-driven product. If you NEED/want to be able to hear your surroundings AS you listen to music or podcasts, etc. (for safety, cycling, etc. ) then you might be interested in this product.

That’s it. Don’t get them if you want sound QUALITY while listening. Long Story: I can see the benefits of being able to “be open” to your environment (we’ve all been on a bike or jogging/walking and been surprised by something like a car or dog coming up on us) but, full disclosure, I’m an audio nerd / music lover and if I’m listening to MUSIC I’m doing it for the quality/enjoyment.

I would never listen to music to drown out my surroundings when biking, that’s just not proper safety. And if I’m out on a trail/in the woods, I prefer to hear nature around me. My tests were around the house, listening to music, raking leaves in the yard, going for a walk in a local park with both music and podcasts.

I did use them for some guided meditation audio where it’s nice to listen and be able to hear house/environmental sounds around you which is part of meditation focus for distractions, when you don’t want a speaker to disturb anyone around you and don’t want to completely block out environment around you.

SOUND QUALITY is “just not there for ME” with this product. It’s an open-air speaker driver concept which simply points little speakers at your ear canals. If you’re old enough to remember the “Walkman” foam covered headsets with the metal headband, this is it.

It’s a speaker that sits over your ear but not inside, so allows environmental sound in. The “Bone Conduction” is “hey nice try but. ” – I found if you use both hands to PRESS DOWN into your ear/mandible bone area where they sit, you can get some additional quality and a bit more bass response but.

short of strapping a velcro strap or electrical tape around your head to do so. it’s NOT bone-conduction purely, FOR CLARITY – little speaker holes sending sound to your ear PLUS the silicone pads contacting your facial bones to provide sound boost.

“it is what it is” – catch them on sale if you’re at all interested. I equate them to the same thing as having a small bluetooth speaker around your neck so the sound stays with you as you move around and can hear people/things around you.

**did not test any voice-call features; no phone calls etc. **did not keep long enough to test any kind of battery life but in my couple hours of using them it stayed at 100% PROS: ~product fits comfortably, I would use these for in the office listening to podcasts / internet radio etc.

And quickly be able to remove them/put them back on. Super light silicone headband stays put and barely noticeable – did not experience the discomfort or headaches others noted. ~no interference / good range! Unlike my main bluetooth earbuds that drop in/out when my phone is simply in my pocket and walking/biking, these kept solid connection through several rooms of my house and down to the basement while phone was upstairs in the living room ~simple pairing.

Thanks for making an easy-to-pair process! CONS: ~sound quality. “It is what it is. ” – you’re not buying these for audio quality. They’re not HORRIBLE, but be aware. For voice-focused material like podcasts or “talk radio” okay they’d be fine because that audio frequency range picks up well to the ear.

But in noisy environments/heavy traffic, you’re going to lose your audio here and there BECAUSE you’re open to your environment. ~button controls. They’re tiny. The “multifunction” button on the left side is easy to access for pause/play actions.

But the right-side volume up/down/power button set are miniscule, AND. on the BOTTOM of the headband on that side of the ear. What does that mean ergonomically? Take your right hand and cup it and place it over your right ear.

Would you want to press tiny buttons, barely raised above the surface, with your thumb? Sure you will eventually develop muscle memory for your needs but I would rather use the more tactile index finger versus thumb to press a tiny button.

Full disclosure: one cannot expect a set of “headphones” to deliver quality sound when the design is “a bunch of toothpick size holes” shooting audio out in the direction of your ear, and if you actually check out where they sit, they sit in FRONT of your ear and ‘the little speaker holes’ are pointing at/contacting the little piece of flesh in front of your ear canal and not actually pointed AT your ear canal in a straight shot.

Sure, you can place the speaker part of the headphones directly OVER your ear canal but you lose low end frequency and it just sounds “more mid rangey” and then. blocks some ambient around you as a result.

Again, if you’re in NEED of a product that A) allows you to hear environment around you and B) you still WANT to listen to audio, go for it! Grab them on sale and enjoy! If you’re any kind of “audio snob” you’re not going to like these.

These are purely marketed to cyclists/athletes/people working out because the headband stays put and is super light.

I have been a long-time user of Bluetooth headphones. In the past couple of years, as earbuds have become increasingly popular, I looked at and considered purchasing Apple Air Pods Or something similar.

Truth be known, I’m fairly confident that I would lose one of the earbuds about 15 minutes after the purchase so I’m not sure that this is a viable alternative. I have historically used neckband type Bluetooth headphones so as to ensure that the device is connected to my body in some way.

This was an important feature in deciding on these particular headphones as well as other options. I have to be honest, when I first learned of these headphones, I was not sure that this was something I would like.

I do like the fact that they clipped on and bone induction seemed like a good idea, but the price was certainly much higher than many other headphones on the market and a bit of a deterrent on the surface.

Prior to purchasing these headphones, I found some comparable bone induction headphones that had good reviews on Amazon. I tried two different pairs; both seem to be OK but I was not pleased with the sound quality.

After testing out the second pair, I actually just ran to the store and purchased the AfterShokz Air Headphones so that I can easily compare them with a similar product. I have to say that instantly I could tell the difference.

Yes, in terms of price I would say that the Aftershokz Products are more expensive than similar products available on the market. However, the technology is far superior and the sound quality Is much better than comparable products.

In the end for me, it made so much more sense to spend an additional 40 to 50 bucks to get some thing that was far better than save a few dollars and be frustrated with an inferior product. It is important to note for anyone considering bone induction headphones that the sound quality will be different than what you’ve been used to with traditional headphones.

Your Ear canals will be completely open and can hear background noise around you. This is certainly a reason why people choose these types of headphones, but it is very different than what some may be used to.

It is true the deep base will be compromised; however, I have not found this to be a huge issue. For starters, if you just put some air plugs in you’ll find that you have very deep rich bass sound coming from the headphones.

When I do find an occasion when I want to completely block out the noise, I simply put in my earplugs and it completely changes the sound quality. Still, if you are seeking Bluetooth headphones to completely block out outside noise this may not be a good solution for you.

The one thing that I truly love about these headphones is that I can wear them all day long. I can have them on my head, ready to go to take calls or listen to music and I can completely hear everything going on around me.

They are great to use when shopping or in the car as you can completely take calls and also interact with people around you without any problem. I do frequently also pull them down around my neck; the band just fits snugly around my neck and hold them in place ready to use.

This too has been great for me as again I always have my headphones around me, and I do not feel like I will easily lose them when moving about my daily routine. Another great feature that I have truly come to embrace over time, and something I did not consider at the outside, is the fact that I can sync with both my phone and computer.

I facilitate many webinars And live streaming sessions, and I have found that the headphones are fantastic as I can wear them during my sessions and listen in for questions and other things happening during my live session, but the headphones are extremely discreet and on camera does not appear that I have anything on at all.

This is great as I’m able to hear things that are going on in the room around me, and also listening to student questions without having to wear larger and sometimes obtrusive headsets or headphones.

I’m not sure that there’s any significant downside to these headphones if you consider the type of headphones themselves. Again, this is a very different type of headphones. If you review some of the reviews about bone induction headphones on Amazon and other sites, You will see some people complaining about the sound quality or perhaps the volume being too low.

Some people just don’t like the way they function. The thing to really keep in mind is that you cannot compare these headphones to traditional headphones; sort of apples to oranges comparison. Yes, they are both headphones and provide sound, but these will do it in a very different way than what most people are accustomed to.

If you understand that part of it, And this is something that you were looking for, you will be very happy with the product itself. This particular model is only Bluetooth 4; I would like to see Bluetooth 5 and I am considering upgrading to one of the new products.

The battery life has generally been pretty good; the literature indicates about six hours of battery life. I would say that I have found this to be accurate more or less; I think it’s difficult taking calls throughout the day to really assess if I’m getting a full six hours of talk time out of it.

However, for the most part, I have not found any problems getting through the day and I spent a lot of time on the phone. The connectivity in range has been good; I have not found any problems operating within 30 feet or so and it seems like I can actually set my phone down and perhaps be 40 or 50 feet away from it without any problems.

The one major gripe that Comes to mind would be with regard to Connecting with two devices. I have found that when I do this and I am in proximity to both devices everything is fine. However, if I leave the house walking away from my computer for example, the device will sometimes attempt to reconnect For a period of time making little beep tones and headset.

This is the first Bluetooth headset that I’ve owned that has that capacity and so that issue may be fairly common. However, an improvement here would be nice as I’m sure this is fairly common for people who are active and on the go.

In the end, these headphones are awesome! I have had them for about 18 months and they continue to work very well. I have noticed that the battery life may not be as good as when I first got them, but that too is to be expected but it is common that batteries will degrade over time.

I am considering purchasing the new Open Comm model in the next week or so. I am primarily considering this upgrade because of the Bloom style mic; This will be a wonderful addition for streaming. Nonetheless, awesome headphones!.

These headphones are good – glad I bought them at the recommendation of a friend. In full disclosure, I don’t really use them for their intended purpose (running). I needed to replace my headset for video conferences at work and wanted something small/discreet, lightweight, and with a decent battery life.

these fit the bill. Pros: – battery life – I’m on MS Teams calls all day long (6-7 hours/day) and these can make it through on a fresh charge. If I do have to charge during the day, they top up pretty quickly (seems to be less than 30 minutes for a full charge) – very lightweight and comfortable to wear* – the mic seems to work well according to my coworkers & clients – discreet – small enough to be barely noticeable on video calls – neat little feature is the voice that tells you “charge me” when the battery gets very low (but it can startle you the first time the voice randomly speaks to you without prompting) – relatively easy Bluetooth pairing** and controls Cons: – *comfortable.

to a point, that is. Not sure that they were intended for my extended usage but they do feel like they’re pinching right in front of your ear after several hours. I end up feeling a fatigue similar to clenching your jaw too hard or for too long and wonder if that’s the fit or a side effect of the bone conduction – **only pairs with one device at a time so you have to go through full pairing process again if, for example, you want to switch from your laptop to your phone – might be unique to my use case but these get in the way of using the headrest on my office chair.

The loop between earpieces lays right where your head meets the headrest. can be pushed down but that moves the earpieces and reduces sound quality since it’s not “bone conducting” properly (if that makes sense) – sound quality is “meh” to me (I typically use Pixel Buds II with my phone which has much better bass & depth of sound).

That being said, my wife (AirPods user) tried these out and thought the sound quality was pretty good. Overall, happy with my purchase and they make my workday more comfortable. 4 out of 5 stars, would buy again.

Maybe one day I’ll actually use them for running!.

I can’t wear ear buds, wanted something that could stay on when working out, wanted something small (easy to pack, less conspicious), and wanted something that doesn’t block out other sounds. This headphone style meets all these needs! I’m not much of a critic on music sound quality, so can’t speak to that, but these headphones are my go-to for any activity outside of work (where I use large noise-cancelling headphones), including walks around the neighborhood, going to the gym, or just doing the dishes.

While granular control is limited with just a few buttons, there is a nice large “Pause” button on the left side, which makes it easier than most other headphones I’ve used to stop the sound and fully engage with someone interrupting me (then quickly restart).

I also appreciate that if I need to stop using my headphones for a while (eg driving, long conversation), I can just leave them on instead of removing and risking losing them, as I often did with other small headphones in the past.

This is my third set of headphones over the years from Aftershokz/Shokz, and my favorite pair yet due to the option to buy the mini size – it fits my head so much better than any previous versions which were only full-sized when I bought them (Trekz Titanium, Aeropex).

It’s reduced how much they stick out from behind my head, and increased the comfort of them. In the past I’ve had to wear them for a short while at first as I acclimated to how they press on my head–with this pair, I didn’t need to do that.

I’m hoping that there’s also some increase in durability as my last pair snapped on the side (but still works, technically). I appreciate the quick charge improvement over the previous Aeropex model, and the sound range continues to be good as i run all over the house, leaving my phone in one place.

I haven’t yet used it much for calls, but the few I’ve done have been fine (held while in a quiet environment – predecessor had some challenges in noisy environment, understandably).

I currently have the OpenRun 8th Gen (when it was still called the Aeropex AfterShockz prior to the name rebranding thus I have the old logo). Overall, I am very happy with this product. Just recently I saw that a 9th Generation OpenRun PRO was just released to kickoff the 2022 New Year.

In comparison, there’s only very slight differences between the OpenRun (8th Gen) versus OpenRun PRO (9th gen), of which I will note below. So if you’re currently considering on getting the PRO like I am, consider if the differences are worth it: • 8hr charge for the OpenRun versus a 10hr charge time for the OpenRun PRO.

Okay yeah. I dig it 🙂 Any extra usage time is always a plus for me especially on days when I’m too lazy to charge. • The OpenRun weighs 26g and the PRO weighs a little heavier at 29g but not a deal breaker for me.

• Different placement in terms of the charging port (which is neither a good or bad thing, just an observation). • The OpenRun PRO has faster charge time of 1-hour versus the 1. 5 hours for OpenRun 8th Gen (but honestly an additional 30 mins is not a big deal at all that would make me jump for joy and run out to get a PRO).

I usually unconsciously leave my headphones on the charger for longer than it should anyways since I sometimes forget about it while running errands and doing other things around the house. So this additional charge feature I didn’t care much about.

• OpenRun is ‘waterproof’ (IP 67), while the OpenRun PRO is only ‘water-resistant’ (IP 55), which confuses me. Honestly my biggest beef here, obviously. IP rating weathers dust and moisture, so they are durable enough to withstand rainy runs, sweaty rides, or other gritty conditions.

So like WHY would the new generation downgrade the IP rating??? This makes no absolute sense. Typically shouldn’t new generations in anything be more advanced and not a less/downgraded version of it’s former counterpart?! So I would really like to know why???? Definitely a major turn-off.

• The PRO version has two bass enhancers, unlike it’s former counterpart. I’m very excited to find that the new OpenRun Pro has incorporated the two bass enhancers. This is pretty much the ONLY reason why I would get the PRO because I’ve aways complained about how much I like my headphones except for the lack of bass and sound quality.

Hoping the more premium sound quality of the bass enhancers is as advertised and worth the penny for music listeners like myself. So that pretty much sums up the differences in a nutshell between the OpenRun and the OpenRun PRO in terms of features.

In comparison to everything else, all the other features are exactly the same between the OpenRun and the OpenRun PRO in terms of sensitivity, wireless range, microphone, bluetooth type, command controls, frequency response, compatibility, moisture detection, frequency, etc etc etc.

I haven’t bought the PRO yet given the pricetag so I’m going to wait until my birthday this Summer to get one, and again mainly for the bass enhancers and the extra 2-hours battery life, which for me are both very important to me so hoping when I do get it, that it won’t be a disappointment.

Another thing I want to mention in terms of its size is that I would like to see a “Mini” version of the PRO. Makes no sense to have a Mini for the standard OpenRun but not have it available for the OpenRun PRO.

The “Mini” is very popular especially amongst us ladies so I’m hoping to see if there’ll be one by Summer. Guess I’ll see what happens when the time comes!.

Overall, this is a VERY worthy choice, one of the best three on the market for consumer use (calls, general listening, noise cancellation). Not up to reference level listening, though, and the battery life is fairly weak compared to competition, so be prepared for that.

Otherwise, they are well worth the purchase price and will perform superbly for most people. Compared to the Airpods Max, and the Sony WH10004, it is VERY similar. In the middle of the three for sound, more stable BT connection than the Sony, cheaper and likely more reliable than the APM, and with comparable NC and transparency modes, but it is the weakest of the three for battery life by a fair amount, getting 4-6 less hours rated, but more like 8 less under actual use.

PROS: -Excellent sound at this price point (subjective – some find them too bright) -Very stable BT connection even against strong interference -Very solid call quality and voice isolation -Very light and comfortable -Fairly solid construction SO-SO: -The app that controls features is still somewhat lacking -Not too feature dense -Relatively limited touch panel capability -MUCH more comfortable Noise Cancellation than the QC35 series, but the major competitors’ NC is just as effective – which is still excellent, I just wouldn’t use this as a decision point except against less capable headphones.

-Price is similar to major competitors (other than the Airpods Max, which are much more expensive) CONS: -Weak battery life against competitors! – rated for 18 hours from full charge, but will rarely get much more than 12 under normal use.

Although they charge quickly, this could be a significant detractor for some users, especially those who intend to use them away from home a lot where charging may not be readily available.

I absolutely love these headphones which totally proves to me you get what you pay for. I got these as cyber Monday deal 2 years ago, I was happy to be able to get them for $100 off. Not only are these great for listening to music but these are also awesome for talking on the phone.

The noise canceling technology also transfers to background noise that is removed when talking to others on the phone, so these are also perfect for any home office. The caller on the other end will not be able to hear any background noise on your end as well.

These have the sound quality that one would expect from Bose. These are also very comfortable to wear and can be paired to your TV for perfect enjoyment without disturbing others. These can also be used with Alexa, Siri, or Google Assist with the touch of a button.

It also has buttons for Bluetooth pairing and noise canceling presets. Touch technology on the right ear cup can be used to answer calls, volume control, skip ahead or back. A definite good buy for anyone who loves excellent sound quality paired with comfort and ease of use.

These are very sleek and have a good quality feel to them. Compatible with Dolby Atmos so this can be used for the current maximum sound quality available, for a perfect immersion sound quality experience.

A strong recommend if someone wants to pay extra for awesome quality. Comes with a durable zipper case which also stores the included charging and wired cables. I have only used these in Bluetooth connection mode but I would assume these would sound just as good wired.

I had a pair of Bose wireless headphones for several years that I used for work and travel. I LOVED them and replaces the earcups when they started falling apart. I noticed a few months ago they were having issues staying connected to my laptop which got really annoying when in virtual meetings.

I went to replace them with the current “45” version and the salesperson talked me into upgrading to 700s instead. I wish I would have just got the 45 as I intended. The sound on these is good but not great.

I honestly think my old ones had better quality. The volume slide usually works, but sometimes I don’t get my finger in the right spot, and it takes a moment to adjust. The noise cancelling seems to be better than my old ones but can’t compare to the 45s.

What I don’t like about the 700s is the fit. The ear cups don’t feel as comfortable as my old ones, but this may be the trade-off for the improved noise canceling. I also don’t like how the band over the head is kind of slippery and, on occasion has slid off the back of my head if I didn’t position perfectly.

Also, I’ve had a few colleague mention in meetings that the sound isn’t great where I either sound distant or cut in and out. I use these while at my desk about 1. 5 feet from my laptop, and I’m not moving around, so this shouldn’t be an issue.

Unfortunately, I bought these at Best Buy and cannot return them. Lesson learned. Hopefully it’s a software issue on my laptop and will be fixed when I upgrade my laptop in a few weeks, otherwise these headphones are a bust for me.

I’ve owned a number of headphones in this price range and have owned a number of Focal speakers (both car and home) over the past 10 – 12 years. My current favorite headphones in this price range are the NAD VISO HP50.

I find them very well balanced with excellent detail and comfortable for extended listening. The pair of Focal Listen Premium headphones I purchased from Audio Advisor are nice looking and reasonably comfortable, but they do not reproduce the lower octaves properly.

I also noticed that the vocals sound higher in frequency, but this may be as a result of the lack of bass. Before listening to them, I hooked them up to my FIIO X3 gen 2 player for 60 hours of non-stop playing at moderately high volume.

I then listened to 5 – 6 songs I always use to test new equipment. I then listened to the same songs with my NAD HP50’s and everything sound fine. Therefore, I know there wasn’t anything wrong with the other equipment.

Honestly, I was shocked at the lack of bass and I’m not a bass guy (I’ve never owned a home audio subwoofer and do not like bass heavy car systems or headphones). I would choose another option from the long list of available headphones in this price range.

Build quality is excellent. The packaging is premium. Out of the box, the clamping force is high. The ear pads are stiff. But they softened over few days and the clamping force reduced. The sound quality is just outstanding.

I wish the cable came with a remote and mic.

Focal Listen headphones won’t compete with Focal’s higher-end headphones, their Utopia, Clear and Elear offerings, but they will come ahead of anything sound of 600-700 hundred dollars. I would view these headphones as more of an EDC, they sound great with most genre’s and even sound better than headphones more than twice their price offering great dynamics, not too overpowering in the lower or upper frequencies, just a solid resolving portable headphone that suits many genres well.

But as usual your mileage may vary, though I can honestly say these are every bit worth their price and then some.

After much research I bought these bluetooth Sennheisers after wasting money first on the Jabra Elite 45Hs, which turned out to have several severe faults, not least the connection problems. These Sennheisers may not have quite the same battery life, but they are substantially better in every other respect.

They are effortless to wear, they keep their connection to phone, ipad and TV, have the right codecs for proper lip-sync with TVs, and crucially they are true hi-fi quality. Midrange and treble are clear and sweet with music.

Bass is deep but not earth-shattering, but good enough for the average DVD or pop song anyway. The headband is pure Sennheiser minimalism, an unpadded, fairly hard plastic strip, but comfortable with just the right amount of grip.

The earpads sit on the ears rather than over, and provide a good seal without being too tight. They charge quickly with any standard 5-volt USB phone charger, there’s a decent app to set levels and preferred EQ, informational pilot light, and a small voice in them announces when they’re on, off, connecting, and the battery level.

For the money they’re at the top of the pile. Excellent value and highly recommended.

Cheapest looking/feeling Sennheisers i’ve tried. Luckily they don’t disappoint in terms of sound quality though. First the BAD: cheap-as-possible plastic construction, not even any padding on the headband.

Earcups kind of rattle around when you’re not wearing the headphones. They don’t fold. Using a cord isn’t an option. The GOOD: They do sound way better than they look. They come with very neutral tuning, so if you’re used to a more in-your-face headphone sound, you’ll want to connect to the app and adjust the EQ, which works well.

The BT connection is great – connected/reconnected to 5 devices with no problems. AptX Low Latency works great for gaming/movies. Battery life is great. The upside of the cheap plastic is that they are very lightweight, and pretty comfy for on-ear headphones.

Not my fav headphones ever, but they sound good enough that i’ll put them to good use.

Bought to listen to music and watch films on my laptop. Sound is outstanding, rich and full ranged. On/pairing/off and volume controls are easy. Feel on the ears is good, external sound muffled adequately.

The pairing with my mobile phone was seamless. However, it did not initailly pair with my laptop, took a few tries. Online searches suggest this is a Windows issue. Overall, an excellent choice and would recommend.

The Shokz OpenRun Pro Headphones I received for evaluation were well built and easy to use, even without the included instructions and documentation. All I had to do was plug the charging cable into my computer and attach the magnetic plug to the headphones and wait for the charge to go to full.

My phone found the headphones with no trouble and paired even without having to download the Shokz app first, and even after downloading the app, I didn’t ever really need to use it in order to use the headphones.

The headphones themselves are comfortable and stay put. I didn’t ever have to readjust them while running, hiking, or riding bike, and the headset did not interfere with my cycling helmet. It did get a little crowded with both headphones and dark glasses above my ears, but both still functioned fine.

The good thing about an evaluation pair means that I didn’t start with any preconceptions of how I wanted to use them, which left me free to find and evaluate the headphones merits. This is good, because these bone induction headphones probably shouldn’t be evaluated in comparison to normal headphones.

They have their own strengths and uses. These won’t replace my regular headphones for everyday use. Most of the criticisms I’ve read in other reviews online seem to come from expecting that they will.

The open-ear design of these means that you get the full range of your normal hearing and all the ambient noise of your environment. On a morning run I could hear the birds in the trees and the footsteps of other runners and every car and bike that crossed my path, and each of these made it a bit harder to hear the music that was playing on my headphones.

That’s the real draw of these is the situational awareness. I was able to hike with my wife and have a normal conversation while listening to music without it bothering her or disturbing anyone else on the trail.

The noise bleed from the headphones was minimal. The music was less of a presence, but it was there as a part of the environment – just inside my head instead of coming from around me. To get that, though, you lose the sound isolation of normal headphones, so your music is going to be less audible if your environment is competing for attention.

I could not hear music at all at normal level while next to running water. The white noise drowned it out. The biggest thing to get used to was the difference in sound quality. These do not sound like regular headphones.

I’ve seen people complain that the bass was not very present and that the sound was tinny, but in my experience I found that a lot of that depends on the music you are listening to and the placement of the phones on your temples.

With most of my music I was getting a full range of clear and pleasing sound from bass to treble. It sounds more articulate and detailed than regular headphones, but with a bit less depth. With a very compressed recording where all the instruments are crowded and loud, the midrange does start to dominate the highs and lows and leave the music seeming less full, but with a more open and balanced recording, the sound and detail are all quite impressive, especially in quiet surroundings.

I sometimes hear details in them that are hard to make out in my studio headphones. I actually find myself listening to old music in them at night just to find new things to discover in familiar tunes.

Overall, I love these headphones for what they are. As a set of mobile headphones for use on the run or on bike, they are great, especially if you were trying to listen to a podcast or needed to talk on the phone while exercising (speech is very clear).

And with the ears open, you don’t have to worry if your batteries run out the way that you would with noise cancelling earphones that have a safety mode that lets in some surrounding noise. And they are also really great if you like music while on a hike, but don’t want to lose the sound of the environment and don’t want to be one of those people who ruin the solitude for everyone around them.

I would not want to use them for all listening as my only headphones, but they are excellent in their role.

These Shokz OpenRun Pro Bluetooth headphones have a lot of fantastic features, but I’d wager they’re really limited to some specific use conditions. They are not great everywhere, but do excel in certain circumstances.

Out of the box, the headphones have a nice storage case with a molded insert, they’re lightweight (29g), and quick and easy to get turned on and paired to your mobile device (Bluetooth 5. 1). To pair, just hold the volume up (+ button) for 6 second.

You’ll hear voice prompts on the headset. The charging cable is only about 2ft long, is pretty thin, and is a proprietary magnetic connection, so be sure to keep track of it otherwise you’ll struggle attempting to charge them.

While charging, the led on the side of the headset is red, once fully charged it will switch to blue. The Shokz app found and connected to the headset without issue and gave some easier ways to adjust equalizer settings if you didn’t like using the buttons on the headset.

There are 2 EQ settings in the application: Vocal and Standard. The Standard setting was pretty balanced for general audio, perfect for music. The vocal setting boosts some of the higher frequencies and is great for phone calls or podcasts.

On Standard EQ setting, music was balanced, but flat. There is more bass in this model which is an improvement over some of the previous models, but the bass is clearer on these. If you turn the volume up too much on bass heavy music, I find the headset almost tickles me and I don’t like it.

The biggest caveat: little to no privacy. Anyone with in several feet of you can hear the music you’re listening to or hear the voices on your phone call. The high frequency audio comes out of the normal speaker directed at your ear, only the lower frequencies are actually bone conduction.

While this is great for running as you can blast music while still hearing your surroundings, it’s not great if you’re looking for privacy in what you’re listening to. If you listened quiet enough and had more of a cubicle or office setup at work, you could get away with no one hearing what you’re listening to, but if you’re in a shared flex space, the noise will bother others.

Overall, from previous models, these have enhanced bass, better battery life, easier to use controls, and a quick charge feature (5 minute for 1. 5 hours of usage). They’re also IP55 rated to protect against sweat, splashes, and raindrops.

If you need a pair better suited for worse conditions than that, Shokz also makes a IP67 rated model (regular OpenRun), or even a fully submersible IP68 rated model with onboard storage for swimming (OpenSwim).

If you don’t need those features, you want the latest bone conduction technology, and you’re an avid runner or sports athlete that likes to hear your surroundings, these are a fantastic purchase.

Sonically, these are truly excellent closed-back headphones. For reference, I own and use Hifiman Sundara, Beyerdynamic DT-880, AKG K240S, AKG K361, Etymotic ER4S, and others. I absolutely love the K371.

I also own the K361 and I love those too. But the K371 are the “audiophile” choice for sure. The K361 have the same balanced and beautiful midrange, but lack sub bass presence and some top end sparkle.

They are very flat (good for mixing) and may need some EQ to sound their best. The K371 improve on the already fantastic K361s and bring incredibly impactful and musical sub-bass (<60Hz) without muddying or obscuring the mid-bass at all.

The mids on the K371 are clear, defined and balanced. Nothing sticks too far forward or is too recessed. The presentation of the sound is very musical and “meaty. ” You just want to listen to all of your favorite tracks through them again and again.

The top end of the K371 are slightly more present and defined than the K361. I would say the 371’s are a bit more resolving and upper-mid forward. Soundstaging is pretty good, but the pads are very squishy so they compress onto your ears and collapse the soundstage a bit.

I wish AKG would fit these with slightly deeper and firmer pads, maybe with velour cups. The build quality is good so far, but they do use plastic and a sort-of flimsy feeling cable that is very microphonic.

If AKG build a “K381” series with solid metal construction, higher-quality ear pads, better quality cable, slightly wider soundstaging and better isolation, while using the exact same drivers it would be a total slam dunk.

Regardless, these are fantastic, I can’t recommend them enough. They are also super easy to drive, given their high sensitivity. They have low impedance so make sure your headphone amplifier has a low output impedance.

The headband had broken after a month of delicate use. For most of us, the buy K371BT decision is based not on design but sound taking BT + closed-back. Therefore, I’d advise AKG to just copy a headband design of any 20 USD headphones that don’t break.

Also, for those who already own K371(BT), it would be great to have a kind-of add-on reinforcement that can be snapped on two weak points of the headband. Many would be glad to pay for this as the sound is terrific compared to other BT closed backs.

Also, a simple test of keeping the headphones on the head for 2 weeks and then putting headphones on/off the head (or simply expanding the distance between caps back and forth) just 500 times would easily reveal the problem before mass production cause I bet at least 20% of tested items won’t last.

The test can be run on the headband prototype even before drivers or caps are integrated. This would make the product a little more expensive. (or may be not if warranty expenses are taken into account) Anyway it is a lot less expensive to buy 200 usd headphones every 5 years instead of 150 usd every month.

These headphones are phenomenal. If you want accuracy and detail, this is what you want. This is a big step up from the competition like HD 280, DT770, and M50x. The dt770 and m50x are always recommended as the best closed back for under 200, but they are nowhere near being flat and accurate.

This might make them more “fun” to listen to, but when accuracy matters, trust me, the k371 dominates the competition. The m50x is such a scooped, v-shaped tuning, same with the 770. These are full, rich, warm, accurate, but still have enough detail and bass response for any kind of music.

I use these exclusively when I need a closed-back listening and mixing solution. The sound stage is pretty impressive for a closed-back as well. The Sennheiser hd600 and hd660s are superior for mixing and imaging/resolution, but sometimes open-back cans just aren’t an option.

At 155 bucks, you won’t get a better pair of closed-back cans until you reach about 500, almost triple the price of this one.

I got these as a new daily driver headset for the office and home office. My mind is honestly blown by how good the Shockz are. I think the price is very reasonable, considering the novelty of bone conduction sound and improved ergonomics, compared to even more expensive headsets, like various ones by Jabra, JBL etc.

Sound Quality: The Shockz surprised me with crisp, clear audio, however they don’t really have a deep sounding bass. Maybe I could improve this by fiddling with the EQ, but it doesn’t really bother me much, the default is fine.

On low to medium volume, the headset’s sound can’t really be heard from bystanders. On high volumes a bystander can hear a bit of noise, but not so much that it would bother them. I’d say it’s the same or less as other headsets.

You can definitely wear these in the office and on a train or bus without annoying people. They are really light and comfortable, sometimes I forget I am wearing them. After wearing them for a long time they put a bit of pressure on the top of my ear, but shifting them around a bit relieves this.

The slight discomfort is still better than wearing other headphones all day, in my opinion. They have a tight fit and so far I have found it impossible for them to fall off, even when running or working out, they don’t even jiggle around much.

Comfort and fit probably varies per person and depends on the shape and size of your head and haircut. They should fit most people well with short hair or long hair that is put back in a bun, however someone with a huge haircut will probably have issues wearing this headset.

Just look at the picture to decide if this might be an issue for you. Pairing and connecting my laptop, desktop and phones worked relatively easily. One thing to remember is the headset must be turned off for pairing, then you hold the ‘+’ button to pair.

It’s easy to forget that you need to turn the headset off for this to work. Pairing two devices at once is also a supported feature, but I have yet to try this out. I wonder if audio output/input then works for both? So far I simply switch devices by enabling/disabling bluetooth.

The headset then automatically connects to the device that has bluetooth on. The manual describes how everything works, it’s mostly straightforward. One slight annoyance I have is that the volume buttons don’t work during a call for me, only while playing media (music, movie or games), instead the device will tell you the battery status and to change the volume you must do so on the device that the headset is connected to.

The pause/previous/next buttonworks quite well, for example when playing videos or playlists on youtube. Overall I find the Shockz headset to be an innovative, impressive new piece of tech and I find it a relief to not have something plugged in to my ears or covering them all day.

This ergonomics reason is really what I got them for and they absolutely fulfill this usecase. I am now considering getting a second pair, the Shockz OpenRun without the mic piece for listening to music on bike rides.

Wow! What an amazing improvement! I have significant hearing loss in one ear due to Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome – I have a hole through the bone above my superior semicircular canal into the brain cavity that allows sound pressure arriving through the outer/middle ear into the inner ear to escape into the brain cavity, which significantly reduces stimulation inside the cochlea.

I tell my friends my brains are falling out, because I have holes in my head. Truth is, it’s really the other way around. Sound is escaping into my brain cavity. Physiologically my entire hearing system is fully functional, but losing too much sound to the cranial cavity.

No, the sound from the AfterShokz headset isn’t as full as the rich sounds and harmonies I could still hear up to about 10 years ago, but it’s so much better than what I have been hearing conventionally through the ear canal, which is almost nothing.

It probably has more to do with “bone-head” resonance or lack thereof than the actual sound the AfterShokz is capable of producing. I have been working almost exclusively at home since COVID19 closed offices.

Up to now I have used an over the ear – more like on the ear – Bluetooth stereo Rand McNally headset for all phone calls, on-line training, and on-line meetings. I’m on the phone and in tele-meetings 70% of the time.

Why the Rand McNally set? It was a $100 Bluetooth headset on markdown at Walmart to $40. I needed a headset I could use with my PC or Cell that made it easy to go back and forth between the two. I find the pressure to the side of the head too painful for 99% of all headsets and stereo headphones, even the $300 to $400+ headsets.

I took a chance for $40. The $40 pair, though somewhat painful, served me well for two years until the molded plastic cracked and finally fell apart. Tape just wasn’t enough anymore. Even in stereo and using the advanced sound enhancement settings on my phone, the Rand McNally set was still mostly a single-sided experience.

As a professional lyric tenor in my much younger years, just hearing music again in both ears via the AfterShokz headset was indeed an emotional experience. I had to stop singing altogether 10+ years ago, because all I could hear in my head from my voice was “metal” as my hearing slowly deteriorated.

I just figured it was old age. Only recently has my hearing deteriorated to the point that it came time to find out why. Until I bought this headset, I thought that all I would hear in my ear was “metal” after spending exorbitant amounts of money for a real hearing aid.

I thought the rich tones would be lost to my cranial cavity, so what would be the point of even trying? So what’s the verdict? I no longer have the painful pressure to the side of my head and wear reading glasses over the headset with minimal discomfort.

I now have a quality, zippered semi-rigid case molded to fit the headset that protects it in my travel backpack. I no longer have a future expectation to tape up cracked, broken rigid plastic – you won’t find any on this headset.

I can connect the charging cable without my reading glasses – the magnetic connector repels the headset if you try to put it on backwards. The headset is much smaller and lighter, and a real plus+++++ I can once again drive the 1-1/4 hours to the office listening to the radio without turning the volume up so high the people in the cars next to me can hear it better than I, and still hear everything around me with the exception of the hearing loss.

I come through clear on the other end of the connection using my PC or Cell. Even though I can pair the AfterShokz with 2 devices, I do have to disconnect one Bluetooth device to connect to the other.

My Rand McNally headset switched automatically, but got confused at times, so I still had to disconnect from one device to use the other. But by far the most valuable to me, is hearing music in both ears once again.

If you have hearing loss similar to mine, the AfterShokz headset could really make a difference, but you will need to use the enhanced audio settings on your phone to balance the sound in both ears. It even works with one of the transducers pressed against my forehead.

Without question, the AfterShokz ASC100 headset far exceeds my expectation for what I thought I would never hear again.

Pros: So I have noticed 4. 4 stars overall for this product and that fits about right. My experience with them has been rather pleasant. The occasional “shocking” feeling lets me know the volume is too high.

Being deaf in one ear is overcome by releasing audio from the source in a mono output, therefore not missing out on a dual channel signal. Sound quality is quite impressive and there are times I forget that I am wearing them.

I still forget that I do not have to remove them like other earwear and start the motion to take them off, only to realize it is not necessary. I can hear my surroundings with them on. Cons: My two minor complaints about the product, is more design improvement rather than functionality.

Not everyone’s head is the same size therefore making the collar adjustable for a better, more comfortable fit, would make them even more comfortable. Smaller heads will have the hoop protruding further than a larger head which can the angle of the conductors if too large.

I myself, am a little smaller, so wearing a hoodie or laying back against a pillow, can be a little annoying. The other flaw in design, why on earth use a proprietary charging system? I understand older systems not having Type-C available, but receiving my headset in may of 2022, Type-C has been around for a quite some time.

So you wanted a magnetic charging system, create a Type-C adapter so that any cable can be used instead of trying to keep up with a special cable. Replacement cables are $10 to $15 while the adapter could and would make needing additional cable not necessary.

Still keep the magnetic connection but be able to use any Type-C charging cable would be more accessible and less wasteful once EOL happens.

Buddy of mine recommended skullcandy, after a couple of hours comparing Bluetooth headphones, after my beats died finally. Had weighed pros and cons of mabey buying a new battery pack for them, so he reccommended them, and was searching around on Amazon and came across them, so found them and got a pair, firstly1.

Sound quality is amazing but I use a player app called jet audio, and playing around with the settings I was able to use thier skullcandy hesh hifi setting and the sound was pristine clear and bass hit where it was needed, tried even without that setting on and they were screaming, 2.

Price was reasonable for someone on a fixed income of ssdi, I paid 104 total for new pair when priced up against the jbl club anc priced 124 new, beats were ridiculously priced at 199, and I owned 2 pairs and neither one was reliable, they broke down after a few months of wear and tear, I once had a pair of the skullcandy jibs in ear, but one of the headphones went out, those I had for years.

3. Let’s talk anc for a minute, now I live in a powerchair and was once told by a spd officer that since I’m in a motorized vehicle(by their definition 😳) I need to use a hands free device to be safe.

Well I didn’t know that. So I’ve been using Bluetooth for awhile now, and lemme say this, out if the three brands, beats, jbl club, venue, I feel that the venue has the best quality when it comes to noise cancelling.

I can’t hear the traffic over the music I listen to,. I’m a metal guy. I like my music loud and proud, thank you, so the cancelling headphones that are the veneus are the best out of all three. I can’t hear the traffic over my music at all.

Drowns out background noise perfectly, 4. Charging aspect of headphones are surprisingly fast, since neither of the other 2 have that, and those were usb c cords. Where this is a micro charger, so charging them now to use tommorow, so will see how long they last So all in all I am quite pleased with this pair of headphones I got that are the venues, even the packaging was nifty, came with a really nice fabric lined padded case to put them in, and the box when I opened them had a magnetic sealSo do I reccomend these to anyone? HELL YES! BUY THESE!!!.

Let me start out with the bad; Battery life with ANC is only around 24 hours, there’s no USB-C charging or companion app and the sound isn’t world beating. But there are pros to cancel out those cons.

1)Sound quality is neutral and pretty good. It doesn’t suffer from an excess of bass that throws all sounds slightly off. 2)They can be found for under $100, and are a good value at the $80-90 price point.

3)They have the tile feature people seem to like and 4)the controls are very simple yet effective. I also found them to be comfortable. In terms of weight, they’re neither heavy nor light. I highly doubt you could use these everyday for years though; They don’t feel particularly durable so handle them with care.

Long story short, you’ll be disappointed if you somehow pay $140 for this but pretty happy with them for a little more than half that. As a comparison, the current model of the HESH-ANC is a little bit better but at a higher cost.

If you can spring for the extra $40, it’s not a bad idea but this is a nice budget option currently.

Had these for a few years and they’re still going strong. I use them every day for music, gaming and work meetings. The noise cancelling is perfect for me, gets rid of most distractions but if someone asks a question or a phone starts ringing you can still hear it.

Bluetooth is really reliable and has a decent range. They’re really comfortable and the buttons are in a good place. The battery life is also decent. I usually charge mines every other day. They charge really quickly.

Only downside is the plastic construction. They can be a bit creaky in your hands (especially after years of daily use) so don’t feel that premium. That said they are pretty hard wearing, mines have been dropped, chewed by the dog, and stuffed in a bag over and over again, and they’re still going strong.

I’d recommend these, and will probably buy another pair when mines die.