I replaced my Bose with the Nothing Ear Open – and it was the right decision

Key points of ZDNET

• Nothing Ear Open is the London technology brand’s first open-back headphone with an advanced design for $150 and is very special.
• The earbuds are great for working out thanks to their comfortable design and great loud sound, but they’ll also work well for anyone looking for an alternative to noise cancellation
• Multipoint Bluetooth doesn’t always work, but other than that, these headphones are nearly perfect

Headphones work best when you forget they exist, even when they’re in your ears or wrapped around your head. In fact, a good pair of headphones is a bridge to other things, like a good workout session with bone conduction headphones or eight hours of uninterrupted work at a noisy desk job. your noise with noise canceling headphones.

Also: I traded in my favorite $300 Bose headphones for a $50 pair. Here’s how the two compare

So when I was sent Nothing opens the ears headphones, the latest product from one of my favorite design-forward tech companies, I’m excited to see what a difference it will make on my runs and walks my afternoon. The short answer? The Nothing Ear Open headphones are a runner’s new best friend and come with a price tag that exceeds the $150 price tag. For the long answer, keep reading.

This is Nothing’s first pair of open-back headphones, designed not for noise cancellation and quiet listening, but for situational and people-awareness on the move. If you don’t like the way noise-canceling headphones create pressure in your ears and take you out of your surroundings, open-back headphones may be a better choice.

First of all, open-back headphones are great for working out, but the best open-back headphones will work in many situations if they have a loud enough sound and a comfortable design.

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Nothing Ear Open checks both boxes. Let’s start with comfort, an essential element of open-back headphones. These are the lightest and most comfortable open-back headphones I’ve tried, and much of this is thanks to the flexible and lightweight ear hooks, which are covered in a layer of sticky silicone. The headphones hang on your ears in an unnoticeable way, which bodes well for all-day wear.

The speakers are placed directly above your ears without completely covering them, keeping your ears open to let nearby sounds pass through. There is absolutely nothing annoying about these, especially when I run or during mat workouts, as they stay around my ears and make a pleasant sound.

These headphones are magically loud, while still keeping situational awareness at the forefront. You can turn up the volume by half and hear everything clearly while running down a busy street or working out at a crowded gym. The highest volume may be too loud for me when listening in a quiet room, but it’s fine when I’m out running on a busy street.

You might think that because these don’t fully enter your ears, the Nothing Ear Open creates a lot of sound leakage. On the contrary: at mid-range volumes, the volume at which most people will listen to these headphones, my roommate couldn’t hear my music. However, a foot away from him and at a loud volume, he began to hear music. This is thanks to Nothing’s Sound Seal technology that minimizes leakage through its directional speakers.

Also: Best headphones for exercise

The soundstage is wide, clear and crisp on the headphones, and the headphones deliver detailed, bass-forward sound. Turning the volume all the way up promises an immersive experience while maintaining environmental awareness. As I type this article, the volume of the headphones is turned up to maximum but I can still hear the clicking and tapping sounds of the keyboard.

I had no problems with the headphones’ 8-hour battery life nor the 30 hours of battery stored in the case. They got me through several days of desk work and park runs without a single flashlight going off. Multipoint Bluetooth also works well (most of the time) and connection, like for the rest of the Nothing headphones I’ve tried, is easy.

ZDNET Buying Tips

I honestly can’t think of anything bad about it Nothing opens the earsespecially considering the $150 price tag. The quality of these open-back headphones exceeds the asking price by several miles. I would recommend these products to active people looking for a smart headphone that will power them during long distance workouts and stay comfortable in their ears all day.

I think people outside of that demographic also like to wear these on walks, on calls (it delivers clear audio, by the way), and to spend the day with music and podcasts in the office, where you may not want to be completely isolated from the work conversations around you. You can chat, clearly hear what’s going on around you, and listen to your favorite songs.