Bose Sport Open Earbuds review: Quirky design, surprising sound

These are Bose's new $200 Sport Open Earbuds. I'm not gonna lie, they're pretty funky as far as headphones go, but they're also pretty cool. And after use them for a few days, my guess is that some people are gonna love them and some people, well, maybe not. They're just that kind of product. So let's get right into the review, so you can decide which side you might be on. [MUSIC] Now those who follow Bose know that last year released a couple of new sets of true wireless earbuds, the quietcomfort ear buds and sport earbuds, both of which have noise isolating designs, where the ear tips nestled inside your ears, sealing out a decent amount of ambient sound. The quietcomfort ear buds also have Active Noise Cancelling. These, on the other hand, feature an open design with additive, meaning the bud part sits on top of your ear and fires sound into your ear canal from a short distance away. The ear buds are the first use Bose is open audio technology, not bone conduction That's the same technology that Bose uses in its $250 frames, audio sunglasses [MUSIC] The first time you put them on the process can seem a little unnatural. You wrap the hook around Round your ear and the headphone basically clips onto your ear. It can take a little adjusting to get it on securely and in the most comfortable position. And basically how you feel about how they feel on your ears will largely determine whether you like these or not. One of the issues is that these aren't all that lightweight. They actually have a bit of heft to them and feel like a premium product, not a cheap set of earbuds. They have an IP x for water resistance rating, which means they're splashproof just like the AirPods Pro. I got used to them being on my ears and I found they fit pretty comfortably and securely though they aren't super comfortable. I was able to run with them without a problem. They stayed right on my ears. And they really are designed for running and biking because they leave your ears open so you can hear traffic for obvious safety reasons. There are going to be plenty of people who just aren't going to like how they feel on their ears. And unfortunately, the only way to know if they're fit works is for you to try them out. As far as their sound goes, it's fairly similar to what you get with Bose is tempo frames audio sunglasses, though I thought the sound was slightly better with these even though their speaker drivers are smaller. The tempos employ 22 millimeter drivers whereas these have a 16 millimeter drivers. But I think how they sit a little closer to your ear does improve the sound quality a bit. Particularly in the base department, he still don't have as much base as opposed to standard in your sport ear buds. And overall they don't sound quite as good. But for this type of open style headphone, and that includes bone conduction versions of both headphones, and audio sunglasses This has the best sound out there right now with good clarity and natural sound [UNKNOWN] and just enough base along with nice open sound that you might expect from an open headphone, it do blow away the sound from both conduction headphones. That said, you just don't get the base extension and kick that you get with standard in your headphones Particularly ones that cost $200. So if bass is your thing, this isn't the headphone for you. I was slightly disappointed with the call quality. There are two microphones on the right ear bud for making calls. Bose says the advanced microphone system is designed to focus only on your voice and reduce the sound of wind and other noise around you. He's worthwhile for making calls in choir environments but callers told me they heard more background noise compared to those Bose tempo frames I was talking about earlier, which have beam forming microphones and are excellent for making calls. That said it is nice to be able to hear your natural voice when you're having a phone conversation since your ears aren't blocked. And it is possible that Bose will be able to improve the noise reduction during calls with a firmware upgrade. Aside from their unique design what's also unusual is that their charging case doesn't have a built in battery for charging on the go. The good news is the case for these is relatively compact and lightweight considering the size of the earbuds and I did like it The bad news is the earbuds have their own charging dock, which is just another thing to worry about losing, but it is easy to drop the buds in the dock and they stay there thanks to some magnets. Battery life is rated at eight hours at 50% volume level, which is pretty decent. And I will say that these actually sound best at 50 to 75% volume rather than cranking them to 90 or 100% See, you may actually end up getting six to seven hours if you keep the volume in check. These don't have touch controls rather they have a single little button on each bud for controlling playback, though there are currently no volume controls on the buds themselves. And what's interesting is, they don't turn off when you put them in the case you have to turn them off manually. Or you can also set them to automatically shut down after set interval, starting with five minutes if you're not playing any audio, so it seems like a problem but it really isn't. [MUSIC] Finally, I should point out that if you do have the volume up there is some sound leakage, so people sending your Bible Hear Your music, or you're talking to someone on the phone, they may hear that person's voice. However, in the end, despite their small downsides, I did come away liking the Bose open sport Earbuds and will continue to use them from someone who tests a lot of headphones and that is saying something. They're obviously not for everyone and they're pretty pricey at $200. But if you're a runner or a biker who likes the concept of an open your headphone for safety reasons You're just someone who doesn't like having an ear tip or any sort of bud jammed in your ear. This is an appealing option, as are the Bose frames, although people tend to be more picky about choosing a pair of sunglasses than earbuds. At least when it comes to aesthetics. The one thing I just can't tell you is how comfortable you'll find them. As I said, the only way is to try them. So just make sure to buy them somewhere that has a good return policy. I'm David Carter for CNET. Thanks for watching and let me know what you think in the comment section. Take care and stay healthy.