The headphone market keeps on innovating with new tech that powers new ideas. Open-ear headphones are of the latest that have caught traction in recent years.
Some of us like to be isolated from the noisiness of the world, while others prefer to be as in tune with their surroundings as they are with what they’re listening to. Open-ear headphones provide the benefit of that immersion, though it comes at a cost, as we’ll explain.
We’ll sum up what they are, the advantages and disadvantages of this type of headphone, and whether you should consider getting one for yourself.
What are open-ear headphones?
Open-ear headphones are headphones that don’t sit inside the ear canal like normal true wireless earphones. Arguably the Apple AirPods were the first to bring this design to the market, though it has developed since then.
Open-ear headphones can sit on the earlobe, or clip to the ear, or have a speaker placed in front of the ear; but all types fire audio towards the ear, and as they’re not tucked into the ear canal, it also means that sounds around you can pass-through freely into the ear. That offers the wearer more awareness of what’s around them.
There are different types of open-ear headphones. Bone conduction is a popular one used by the likes of Shokz whereby the headphones drivers pass audio towards your ears by vibrating the bones in your head, and that translates to what you hear. When you think about it, that’s rather wild.
Air conduction is another type, and this was popularised by the AirPods and has since been taken on by the likes of Sony, Bose, and many more. They sit a short distance from the ear, which allows external sounds to pass through, with audio directed towards the ear from the speakers.
What are the advantages of open-ear headphones?
One advantage of open-ear headphones is comfort. Some people just don’t like the feeling of something inside their ear. It could be the pressure caused by the in-ear, or the materials used, or maybe your ear is too big (or too small) for an in-earphone, but discomfort tends to be a reason why people opt for open-ear headphones.
Another is awareness of what’s around you. While we could say that you could just look up and use your eyes, there are some people who are so immersed in what they’re listening to that they forget to pay attention to what’s around them. If you’re running on roads or walking in a busy a city, having open-ear headphones will ensure you’re not caught by surprise.
What are disadvantages of open-ear headphones?
The biggest detrimental factor in wearing open-ear headphones is the lack of noise isolation. While some would prefer to be aware of their surroundings, open-ear headphones do not protect from loud noises. Wearing them on the train or other loud environments is essentially pointless – you will not be able to hear anything. They don’t especially protect your ears from damage either.
Another disadvantage is that they don’t sound as good as an in-ear. By not sitting in the ear they can’t create a seal. A seal is good for protecting against outside noises as well as keeping them in. A tight seal helps a headphone reproduce low frequencies better, the most notable issue with open-ears is that bass is often the weakest area of the performance.
Should you buy open-ear headphones?
This really depends on your taste and what you want out of your listening experience.
If you’re not fussed about sound (perhaps you like listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or anything that doesn’t feature lots of bass); then it’s worth getting an open-ear pair. If you exercise a lot outside then that’s another reason, though based on our own experiences, we wouldn’t want to use open-ear headphones in indoor areas. And comfort is always an important factor as is awareness of what, as well as who, is around you.
But if music is important to you, we’d suggest you go down in-ear route. Noise isolation is vastly better, you’re protected against loud sounds, and a number of true wireless earphones have a transparency mode that passes sound through. So if you want to know what’s around you, you can do so at the tap of a button.
