What are open earbuds? Here’s everything you need to know.

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As a professional headphone tester, the question people around me have asked me the most this year is something like: What exactly are open earbuds? That’s often followed by: Are they better than regular noise-canceling earbuds?

The (somewhat) short answer to the first part: They are one of the most popular earbud trends. If you haven’t heard of them yet, you may have seen their other names: open earbuds or open headphones. This type of earbud is unique because no part of the earbud sits in your ear. Chances are, if you’ve seen one pair, you’ve seen the Bose Ultra Open earbuds, which, while they’re great (I recommend them as one of the best open earbuds), are just one of many options on the market.

In addition to Bose’s cuff-designed earbuds that focus on the listening experience first and foremost, there are open buds that use ear hooks to stay in place, designs designed for exercise, and open headphones. So to that second question – is there any of those better options than noise canceling earbuds? As always, it depends on what you want from the earbuds. So let’s start with the basics:

What are open earbuds?

Open earbuds are any earbuds that don’t sit directly in your ear. Generally, this means they use air conduction to transmit sound to your ears. Some people also consider bone conduction headphones, like the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, as a type of open earbud, since they don’t sit in the ear and send vibrations to the bones in your head, which then transmit as sound to your inner-ear canal. However, for the purposes of this guide, I’ll be talking mostly about open-air earbuds.

Bone conduction headphones also leave the ear open, but use a different technology to transmit sound.
Credit: Shokz

A key part of the appeal of open earbuds is that they actually provide a permanent transparency mode, without any annoying hissing or weird amplification of ambient noise. Some people also find them more comfortable, great for exercise, and more than traditional earbuds (if they don’t like the feel of earbuds in their ears).

Do open earbuds offer noise cancellation?

Open earbuds sit outside the earcanal and do not cover the ear (like a regular earphone), so it is unlikely that any open earbuds will provide effective noise cancellation.

Instead, open-back earbuds rely on using music to drown out the world around you, to some extent (though they may not work as well as a pair of ANC headphones). However, this is the point of an open earbud – it’s designed for excellent sound visibility, not noise cancellation.

What does that really mean? It means that in the best pair of open earbuds, you’ll get a balance between outside sounds and the sound you’re streaming. You’ll be able to hear the barista calling your name clearly, the cars on the road next to you, or yourself singing next to you. Often, the transparency modes on traditional earbuds can amplify natural sounds to an unnatural level – because the transparency mode is built into the design, open earbuds actually give you the experience of having your own speakers. They’re the perfect solution for anyone who often finds themselves wearing one earbud or sliding one ear cup slightly off their ear with over-the-ear headphones.

Do other people hear the earbuds open?

Ideally, sound leakage from open-ear headphones is minimal to non-existent, but that’s not always true. While it may not sound like you’re using small Bluetooth speakers, some models, especially at high volumes, may play music clearly enough that someone standing within a few feet of you can make out the words to what you’re listening to.

While I don’t have a pair on hand to confirm this theory, the sound leak sounded reminiscent of what you’d hear with the earphones found in the early 2000s that used to come with portable CD players.

The main advantages of open earbuds, summarized

Open earbuds won’t appeal to everyone’s taste, but anyone who wants their earbuds to offer the following is more likely to be happy:

• Casual wear: Open earbuds don’t block your ear, and can often be much easier on the ear than regular earbuds and headphones.

• General awareness: You can still hear the world around you all the time wearing open-back earbuds, making them great for going out in public, whether you’re running or walking in the park.

• It is worth exercising: Most open earbuds have IP scores that consider them water-resistant or even waterproof, meaning they’re suitable for going indoors. Being aware of the world around you can help you when you’re walking down the street or want to stay alert in the gym. Finally, the ear hook design can help hold the earbuds in place, making them convenient for use during more movement.

Besides the lack of ANC, open earbuds have two major problems. For one thing, the sound itself will not sound strong, because it sits outside your ears – hearing fine details or round bass is very thin in the whole environment, even with the best-sounding earbuds. Some brands may be prone to more noise leakage, meaning that using them in already quiet settings (such as reading in a library) may pose a risk of disturbing others.

How to wear open earbuds

How you wear an open earbud depends on the design and brand. Ear hook designs tend to take a bit of fine tuning to get a good fit, while ear cuff buds are easier to fit.

EarFun Clip earbud cuff around the ears (can also be worn with a stack of earrings).
Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

However, with both styles, you’ll likely spend some time during your first session adjusting where the earbud sits in your ear. While this is something you’ll do to some degree with all earbuds, it’s especially important with open-back earbuds, as sound quality can be legitimately affected by the earbud’s position. Finding the right position is easy: While playing music, slightly adjust the earbuds until they sit where they sound best.

Our favorite open-back earbuds

Like regular earbuds, open-back earbuds can run you anywhere from $25 to $300 — below, I’ve included tested open-earbud models at all price points.

Check out Mashable’s full roundup of the best open-back earbuds.