The popularity of open-ear earbuds is on the rise. One of the USP of open-ear earbuds is they do not seal the ear canal, so users can still perceive ambient sounds. This design is also more comfortable over extended periods, as it avoids the physical sensation of having a device inserted into the ear.
There are a couple of ways to implement the open-ear design: Bone Conduction and Air Conduction. Bone Conduction earbuds, as the name suggests, transmit vibrations through the skull bones to the inner ear. In contrast, Air Conduction technology uses small speakers that direct sound waves into the ear.
Speaking of air conduction, we recently got our hands on one such earbuds: the OpenRock X Open-Ear Air Conduction Sport Earbuds. If you are not familiar, OpenRock is a sub-brand of OneOdio who manufacturers high-end, studio quality headphones at a reasonable price.
These are not our first “open-ear” buds from OpenRock as we have already tried and tested their OpenRock S earbuds. They were a good pair of buds with decent sound output and excellent battery life. When we got a chance to test the newer OpenRock X earbuds, we were really excited.
This is the review of the OpenRock X Open-Ear Earbuds. We have been testing these buds for almost a week now and want to share our experiences through this review. Continue reading if you are looking to invest in a good quality air conduction earbuds and find out if the OpenRock X buds are the right choice for you.
Let us begin with the packaging. We are really impressed with the packaging efforts from OpenRock. They have given a good thought into packing the product. The quality of the material as well as the overall layout of the box is very good. If you are planning to gift these earbuds to your family or friends, we are sure they will enjoy the unboxing experience.
That said, the box contains the main charging case (with earbuds inside), a USB-C Charging Cable (looks good quality with Nylon braiding), user manual, safety information, and a carabiner ring. As these are open-ear earbuds, you don’t have to worry about ear tips at all.
As you can from the photos, we opted for the orange color but you can choose between black and gold-white as well.
First impressions, the charging case of the OpenRock X Earbuds is quite large and has a decent weight to it. We are not sure about the type, but the outer shell of the charging case made from metal. It is definitely not your regular earbuds case that you can shove inside jeans pockets. You can use the silicone loop on the case and the carabiner that came in the box to hang the unit from your backpack or belt loops of your trousers.
Pressing the side of the case will open it and you can slide it out (not completely though) to reveal the earbuds. There is an indicator LED on the side of the case where we push. While the USB-C Charging Port, which is on the long edge of case, is accessible even the case is closed, opening it will reveal a push button (for reset or multi-point connection).
Coming to the design of the actual OpenRock X earbuds, they have a “ear hook” structure. Unlike the OpenRock S, which has a unique flexible ear hook, the OpenRock X has a traditional ear hook. The earbuds and the stem of the ear hook connect through a hinge that supports 45° left-right as well as 50° up-down adjustability.
Each bud has a couple of microphones, an indicator LED, as well as a button. Overall, the design of both the case and the earbuds is eye catchy. We will talk about the comfort, controls, and performance in the coming sections.
As soon as you open the case, the indicator LED on the earbuds will flash blue which indicate pairing mode (you can pair the buds with a phone now). Before listening to music or making a call, you need to properly wear the buds by adjusting the earbuds and the ear hook as per your comfort.
The OpenRock X Earbuds support three sound modes: rock, relax, and boom. Out of the box, the buds will have rock mode and the only way to change the mode is through the app.
For controls, both the earbuds have buttons that support single press, double press,triple press, and long press (press and hold). Off these, the functions of single, double, and triple press are locked i.e., you cannot re-configure them as per your liking.
Here are the functions of the button presses of the OpenRock X Earbuds.
Button Action | Left Earbud / Right Earbud |
Single Press | 1. Play / Pause Music 2. Answer / End Call |
Double Press | 1. Next Track 2. Reject incoming call |
Tripple Press | 1. Previous Track |
Press and hold for 1s | Left Earbud – Decrease Volume Right Earbud – Increase Volume |
Additionally, you can change the action of the “Press and hold for 1s” in the app either to activate voice assistant or turn the microphone on/off (during phone calls). You can also use these buttons to power the earbuds on/off.
The multi-color indicator LED on the earbuds will flash twice every 5min (along with a voice message) if it detects a low battery (about 15 minutes of life left).
You can pair the earbuds with a second device after pairing with the first one. Just place the buds in the case, and press and hold the case button for two seconds. The case LED will flash blue.
So, how was the performance of the OpenRock X Earbuds? Let us start with the wear and comfort. To our surprise, wearing and adjusting the earbuds was very easy, thanks to the multi-directional movements of the hinge.
When you first look at the OpenRock X earbuds (without holding them in your hands), you will assume they will be heavy. Even though they look slightly bigger than your average in-ear earbuds, once you place them around the ear, you won’t feel a thing. While testing, we tried the earbuds on different people with different ear sizes and lobe profiles. None of them complained about how the earbuds fit on their ears. You can listen to music, watch movies for long hours without any fatigue or discomfort.
These earbuds have IPX5 Waterproof rating. While this is good for protection against sweat and drizzle, don’t go in rain or for a swim wearing these.
After this, we listened to some music and made a lot of call. First of all, the sound quality is very good. While the large 14.2mm driver and their “BassDirect” technology definitely produces a lot of bass, the open-ear design struggles to deliver decent bass to the audio (there is bass but it is less profound). The audio lacks punch in the low end of the spectrum, but that is expected. If you are used to in-ear style earbuds with good bass, these buds will definitely feel less bassy.
But the purpose of open-ear earbuds is to allow external audio/noise so that the listener has surrounding awareness. The OpenRock X Earbuds does this job excellently. One thing about listening is you have to play the audio at a higher volume that you would normally listen to. If you are in a very noisy environment, you have to further increase the volume.
The default sound mode (Rock Mode) is the best of the three presets. It has a good balance between lows, mids, and highs. You have to use the app to activate other modes or you can create a new custom mode from scratch.
Coming to call quality, the microphones on the OpenRock X support noise cancellation, but it is not what you think. The noise cancellation is for filtering environmental noise and sending only the voice of the speaker. The four microphones (2 on each earbud) in combination with an AI algorithm, can easily clean background noise. Even in heavy traffic, the other party never complained about noise.
What about battery life? Before that, looking at the large case and earbuds, we expected a huge built-in battery. To our surprise, the battery capacity of the OpenRock X earbuds and the case is less than what you get with the OpenRock S Model. This may be due to the sliding mechanism and the way the earbuds are arranged giving less space for the battery.
On paper, the battery life of fully charged earbuds is 12 hours. In our testing, we got over 11 hours of music playback at 70% volume. As far as the case is concerned, it could provide three full charges to the earbuds, and then some.
The charging time is pretty decent where the earbuds take about 1 hour 30 minutes to fully charge from empty state. These earbuds also support fast charging where you can get a quick top-up of about 1-hour battery life with just 5-min charging.
Everything has an app nowadays. The OpenRock X Earbuds are no exception to this. While the performance ot of the box without any app is perfect for most users, you can make some little tweaks using the app. Thankfully, OpenRock did not ask for any registration while using the app.
So, what can you do with the app? The first and important thing is the app lets you update the firmware. As we said before, you can switch between the sound modes or create a custom mode.
Here’s a list of some other things you can do in the app:
The listed price of the OpenRock X Earbuds is $179.99. At the time of reviewing the buds, the selling price was $169.99. The price may seem a little bit high but OpenRock X are serving a niche category of users who prefer form over function.
With coupons and discount codes, you can get these buds for much less than this. You can use the code USOPENX15 to get 15% discount on the OpenRock X Earbuds if you make a purchase from the official website. Alternatively, use the code G4WQOYWI on Amazon and get a 20% discount.
There is a 24-month warranty on the OpenRock X Earbuds.
The OpenRock X Open-Ear Air Conduction Sport Earbuds are perfect for anyone looking for an audio experience that complements an active, outdoor lifestyle. Their unique design, while prioritizing safety and comfort, doesn’t sacrifice sound quality.
There are a couple of trade-offs in terms of bass intensity and full noise isolation. But the benefits of environmental awareness and a secure, comfortable fit make these earbuds a highly attractive option, especially for the outdoor and fitness-focused people.
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