I recently had the opportunity to test the OneOdio OpenRock S open-ear headphones. This design is similar to the bone conduction headphones made popular by Shokz with the exception that these are speakers that sit over your ear rather than using your skull as an audio wave transfer mechanism.
While I generally prefer Active Noise Canceling (ANC) earbuds or headphones; open-ear headphones are speakers are my go-to when running or biking to maintain environmental awareness. Additionally, I prefer to use these types of headphones for conference calls. Keep reading to find out how these headphones perform.
Design and Comfort
The design of the OpenRock S headphones is reminiscent of the Beats Powerbeats over the ear hook earphones, minus the silicone eartip. They are comfortable and light when worn without glasses. Throwing on my readers and the hook competes with the limited space between my earlobe and head. They’re not uncomfortable; just not as comfortable without glasses.
The case is approximately 7″ long by 2.5″ wide by 1.25″ thick. It’s definitely not as pocketable as the Apple Airpods case. The case serves as both storage and charging base like pretty much all other headphones sold in the past 5 years.
The case is charged using the included USB-C to USB-A cable. No power adapter is included in the box but most users should have a junk drawer full of wall wart adapters at this point.
Pairing is as simple as removing plastic film isolating the headphones from the charging pins and closing and re-opening the case to enter pairing mode. Once it is discovered on your device, connecting is a painless process that you’ve come to expect.
Audio Performance
Audio performance of the OpenRock S headphones is much better than I expected. Mids and highs are reproduced accurately and even the bass response was respectable for a small driver sitting directly over your ear.
Rock, classical and acoustic music sound great. If your preference is rap, R&B, or pop; you may not be satisfied with the low end punch. That said, I was able to enjoy Wu-Tang Clan at 80% volume without any distortion or drop-outs.
These headphones feature four microphones for active noise cancelation during phone calls and throughout my testing, calls were clear and never did the person I was conversing with have any complaints. This was true while inside or outside with a gentle breeze or as I walked.
While the volume isn’t as loud as my Airpod Pros, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to mow and blow leaves using gas-powered tools and still hear vocals well. If you’re expecting to distinguish stereo or spatial effects while in loud environment, this isn’t the use-case these are designed to excel at.
Battery Life
The headphones are rated at 19 hours after a full charge of 1.5 hours. Along with the case, it delivers over 60 hours of playback. Throughout this review, I used the OpenRock S headphones for anywhere from 15-60 minutes at a time and over a three week period, the case still showed 50% charge.
Left alone for over a week, neither the case nor the headphones were drained unlike other earbuds and headphones I own which seem to consume power regardless of whether they are being used regularly.
Given the size of the case, I would have liked to have the ability to use it as a portable USB charger but that feature is absent.
Controls
The OpenRock S headphones offer simple touch controls as follows depending on the current use:
- 2x short taps on either left or right headphone
- Phone: Answer or hang-up a call
- Music: Pause/play music
- 2x long (2 sec) taps:
- Phone: Reject incoming call
- Music: Left – Previous track
- Music: Right – Next track
- 3x taps:
- Phone: NA
- Music: Activate voice assistance
Long tap (2 sec) left and right simultaneously is available only when not in call or playback mode switches between Rock and Relax mode. While this mode isn’t explained in the user manual, I believe the bass is a little more pronounced in Rock mode.
Conclusion
The OpenRock S headphones retail for $129.99 but can be found either on the OneOdio website or Amazon for $89.99 or $79.99, respectively at the time of this review.
In that price range, there are a lot of options from more established audio manufacturers. As a runner and cyclist, I appreciate the open-ear design allowing me to hear what’s around me.
I also like the fact that I can keep it in my sport bag and not worry that it will drain in between workouts. With an IPX5 rating, you don’t need to worry about sweat or a light rain ruining your headphones.
Warranty information isn’t explicit on the packaging but hidden in the OneOdio support, there is mention of a 24 month warranty. However I’m unsure if it applies to all of their products. If so, this is twice as long as the typical electronics warranty of one year.
