If you’re like me and you’re not keen on conventional earbuds that have to stick in your ears, these might be your new favourite bit of tech.
They’re a new launch by Shokz, part of the OpenFit series, and they’re some of the best open-ear earbuds I’ve tested.
Open-ear buds often come with hooks that sit comfortably over your earlobe, letting the main part of the unit rest just in front of your ear, rather than in it. That’s better for staying aware of things going on around you, and a more secure, more comfortable fit.
There are plenty of options if this is how you prefer to wear a set of headphones, but these new OpenFit 2 buds have really caught me by surprise.
Shokz is a brand I’ve been aware of for a while, they have some superb bone conduction headphones for sports use, but this is the first pair of open-ear buds I’ve tested.
Cards on the table, they’re not cheap. At around £169, they’re not quite in the territory of a pair of Beats Powerbeats Pros, but they’re more expensive than all of the Anker Soundcore range.
They do bring a lot to the party though. Shokz has kitted them out with their latest DualBoost technology, which uses two speakers in each bud to deepen the bass and crispen out the high notes.
A pay-off of using over-ear buds can be a loss of detail and depth from the sound, but this really does seem to sharpen things up.
They feel powerful from the outset, losing a bit of definition with the volume right up, as can be expected, but the distortion can be tamed somewhat in the accompanying app.
There’s an 11-hour battery life for the buds, and the charging case is good for 48 hours, and they feel well made without having any unreasonable weight. They honestly are just about the most comfortable wireless ear buds I’ve ever used.
There’s a physical button and a touch-sensitive button on each bud, and these can be programmed in the app, and the charging case is nice and light – easy to slip in a pocket.
There are two models in the OpenFit 2 series, the standard OpenFit 2 at £169, and the OpenFit 2+ at £179. The latter adds the option of Dolby Audio, which is a nice touch if you listen to TV through them, or you like a bit of gaming. It does no favours to music tracks, but I’d say it’s only worth the extra tenner if you’re going to watch content on a Dolby-enabled device.
Having said that, the extra £10 also gets you wireless charging capability on the case, and that’s well worth doing. Spending £10 extra on top of your £169 investment just for wireless charging in the OpenFit 2+ is a bit of a no-brainer, the Dolby Audio is just a bonus after that.
For me, the OpenFit 2+ earphones are something of a game changer. I’ve lived with air conduction buds like these before, and the limitations in sound quality just wasn’t worth the pay-off for more comfortable kit.
These, however, bring sound quality that strictly shouldn’t be possible through air conduction, and a host of clever features thrown in as part of the package.
They’re basically an absolute triumph, and an obvious option for anyone looking to move away from in-ear buds and into something more comfortable and secure.