Shokz OpenFit Air: Shokz, the company formerly known as AfterShokz, has long been the leader in bone-conduction headphones. However, this model, like Shokz’s step-up OpenFit true-wireless earbuds, doesn’t use bone-conduction technology. They have an open design that fires sound into your ears using custom speaker drivers, which Shokz dubs “air conduction” technology. While Shokz’ flagship OpenFit 2 buds sound slightly better, have better battery life (up to 11 hours instead of 6 at moderate volume levels) and a physical control button, the Open Fit Air cost about $60 less and are a tad lighter and quite comfortable to wear. That said, it appears that they are being phased out by Shokz.
Edifier LolliClip: Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds may be the best-sounding and most comfortable clip-on earbuds but they list for $300. In contrast, Edifier’s new LolliClip buds cost $130 and their sound is pretty close to what you get with the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds — and they’re almost as comfortable to wear while fitting my ears securely. They also have some features the Bose buds don’t have, including active noise canceling (it’s not all that effective but you do sense it muffling some noise in the lower frequencies), a heart-rate monitor, blood oxygen sensor and spatial audio with head-tracking. There’s also a low-latency mode for gaming and support the LDAC for Android users.
Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2: Jabra billed these buds, which have unfortunately been discontinued, as the “world’s toughest earbuds,” and based on our tests (they survived several drops without a scratch), that may very well be true. While there are two new color options, the Gen 2 model doesn’t look any different from the original but it includes an LE Audio smart case, allowing wireless streaming from any device with USB-C or 3.5mm port (I tested it with inflight entertainment and it worked well, with no audio lag). The Elite 8 Active Gen 2 also feature enhanced spatial sound powered by Dolby Audio “for a better music experience,” enhanced Natural HearThrough for better awareness when outdoors, and improved noise-canceling performance.
Soundcore by Anker Sport X10: The Soundcore Sport X10 have an interesting design with rotating swiveling ear hooks that flip up when you’re using them and flip down when you want to set them in their charging case, which has a smaller footprint than a lot of buds with ear hooks. As long as you get a tight seal, they sound good, with powerful, punchy bass and good detail. They also have active noise canceling, which is effective but not as good as Sony’s or Bose’s noise canceling. They’re also fully waterproof with an IP rating of IPX7, which means they can be fully submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. Battery life is rated at up to eight hours with an additional three charges in the charging case.
Shokz Open Move: Shokz’ entry-level OpenMove bone-conduction headphone lists for $80, although we’ve occasionally seen it drop below $70. It replaces the older Titanium model and features some small design upgrades. I found it comfortable to wear and while it doesn’t sound great, it sounds relatively good for a bone-conduction headphone — again, keep your sound quality expectations in check or you’ll be disappointed. It’s very good for listening to podcasts, audiobooks and news broadcasts while you run.
Sennheiser Sport True Wireless: The Sport True Wireless bluetooth earbuds (about $130) are essentially Sennheiser’s CX True Wireless earbuds with sport fins — for a more secure fit — and better durability. They have an IP54 rating that makes them splash-proof and dust-resistant. The CX True Wireless, rated IPX4, don’t offer dust resistance.
Skullcandy Push Active : With their ear-hook design, they’re essentially a more affordable version of the Beats Powerbeats Pro and they actually fit my ears slightly better than the Powerbeats Pro — I’m not usually a fan of ear-hook style buds, but these are one of the better models. They also cost a lot less than the Beats.
Cleer Audio Arc 2 Sport: Cleer’s original Arc earbuds were solid sport earbuds that featured decent sound for open-style buds that sit on top of your ears and fire sound into them. The 2023 model (about $170) steps up the sound quality and offers additional refinements and feature upgrades, including a new “enhanced” charging case with UV sterilization and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3), all of which makes for a significantly improved product.
Beats Powerbeats Pro: While the Powerbeats Pro remain popular workout earbuds, they’ve been around for several years so it’s best to buy them at significant discount.
JBL Live Pro 2: Over the years, JBL headphones have put out some decent true-wireless bluetooth earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That’s finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand’s new Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 buds. Both sets of buds — the Live Pro 2 have stems while the Live Free 2 have a pill-shaped design — offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance, plus a robust set of features, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IP rating of IPX5 (splash-proof) and wireless charging.
Sony LinkBuds: The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony’s answer to Apple’s standard AirPods. While they don’t sound as good as Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 or the LinkBuds S noise-isolating Bluetooth earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as decent sound and very good voice-calling performance. Like the third-gen AirPods, their open design allows you to hear the outside world — that’s what the ring is all about. Read our Sony LinkBuds review.
