I’m currently an avid runner, and while I enjoy listening to music or podcasts during my runs, I’d love to be fully immersed in the experience.
However, safety always comes first, so I’m both cautious and curious about trying new earbuds.
The OpenRock X Earbuds aren’t just any earbuds, they’re designed for athletes, runners, and anyone who values staying aware of their surroundings, with a unique case design. Perfect for people like me who love running and need that combination of safety and sound quality. So let’s dive into it!
What are Air Conduction Earphones?
These earbuds use air conduction technology, which along with bone conduction technology, they are different types of earphone tech, which are becoming a game changer for sports enthusiasts, and are different from the traditional earbuds that sit inside or over your ears, these rest just outside.
Ass it says in the name, this design sends sound waves through the air directly to your ears while keeping your ear canal open. Which is different to bone conduction, which vibrates through your skull. Instead, air conduction delivers clear audio without sacrificing comfort or safety.
Features of the OpenRock X
The charging case, which comes in silver black, gold white, orange and in this Forbidden City limited edition red, which is lot more costly than the standard colours.
The case is made out of a solid aluminium alloy, but with that finish it may be prone to scratches in the future. On the top of the case, is the loop for the carabiner.
To get to the earphones, the cases has a push push design, which when you push the bottom of the case, it reveals the openrock earbuds, stored on each side of the case. It has a USB-C port for charging.
I really like the unique case design, something other than those traditional flip lid designs.
My only concern is that after prolonged use, with that constant opening and closing of the case to get the earbuds out, how is this mechanism going to hold up? If anything, like dirt were to get in the mechanism, would that prevent the case from opening, and then how would you get the earbuds out?
Fortunately, most users won’t have any of those issues. For me, the case stays at home, I put the earbuds on and then go out on my run. So the case stays here.
Moving on the earbuds themselves, they are lightweight, each weighing only just over 11g and they have that over the ear hook design. The hooks themselves are made out of silicon rubber which ensure comfort when wearing them and allow for these to be worn for long periods of time. They wrap snugly around your ears, and stay in place no matter how intense your workout gets.
If you wear glasses permanently, then the over the ear hook design may not suit you as you’ll feel like there’s a battle for room on your ear between your glasses and the hook, but if like me and you don’t need to wear these while doing something active, or don’t wear glasses at all, you’ll not find this an issue at all.
I have found these to be really comfortable to wear thanks to the ability to be able to adjust the fit, with other similar earbuds, it’s essentially one size fits all, with these you are able to adjust the ear hook either 50 degrees vertically and 45 degrees horizontally, thanks to the dual axis joint which allows you to truly have a tailored fit, that both incorporates your personal comfort and safety.
If you find the earbuds too close to your ear adjust, if you want to be able to hear more of your surroundings in real time adjust it, simple as that.
I often find that when I’m running, I’m obviously sweating a lot and at the end of the run, if I’m wearing in ear earbuds, those are often damp. These allow my ear that normal airflow that should keep your ear canal drier.
Like most audio equipment aimed at people who are active, you want there to be minimal reasons for the user to have to touch the earphones while they are engaged in their activity, but what is common on them all and is essential, is the buttons, there is one each on both earbuds on the underside, which carry out the regular functions, play, pause, skip, back, answer phones etc.
What these can do while your audio is playing can be customised a little within the Openrock app.
It has two microphones on each buds, which not only allow your clear voice during verbal assistant requests and phone calls, also allow for the AI Noise cancelling algorithm to give you clearer audio to the person your talking to even if you are in noisy environments.
Thanks to the bluetooth 5.3 technology and the range of about 10m within these buds, as soon you open the case, these are connected to your phone almost instantly and by the time you put them both on, you will be greeted with the familiar connected voice.
Unfortunately, there is no proximately detection, so when you take these off, you’ll have to remember to pause what your listening to at it won’t do it automatically.
Also, with the bluetooth connection in these, you are able to connect to two devices simultaneously. I could be listening to music on my laptop through these, get a phone call, which will automatically pause the music on the laptop and connect to the phone, and then when I’ve finished the call, automatically revert back to the music I was listening to on the laptop.
In terms of battery life, on a single charge, you’ll get up to an amazing 12 hours of life and together with up to 3 further full recharges from the charging case, you can get up to 48 hours of battery life. With 5 minutes of charging of the earbuds via the case, you’ll get an extra hour of use.
Sweat? Rain? No problem. These are built to handle the elements. With an IPX5 waterproof and sweat resistant rating, wearing these earbuds during high intensity workouts in most weather conditions should be fine.
Honestly, the secure fit alone makes them a standout for runners like me. They never budge, no matter how hard I push myself.
Safety: A Key Benefit
One of the biggest advantages of the OpenRock X is safety. When I’m running, I need to hear the world around me, traffic, other runners, even someone shouting a warning. With these earbuds, I can stay aware without sacrificing my music or podcasts.
There is a bit of sound leakage, but with the nature of this design, this is one of those things that happens due to the nature of the design. But, on the other side, that’s the beauty of air conduction earbuds, your ears are free to take in important sounds while still being open enough for you to still enjoy your tunes.
With a 14.2mm custom dynamic driver and a custom bassdirect acoustic cavity, coupled with the LISO 2.0 Algorithm, I’ve found that the audio quality from these earbuds is exceptionally clear.
Whether you’re listening to music or podcasts, the sound is crisp and detailed. While the bass may not be as impactful as in-ear or over-ear headphones (considering the physical gap between the earbuds and your ear canal), it’s still quite impressive.
While I was out on a run, a runner came up behind me. With these earbuds on and music playing, I heard the runner overtake me as we exchanged greetings. However, the most important thing was that I heard him come up behind me (I also separately heard two drivers about 10 meters away from me casually having a chat). Being able to hear those external sounds as if I wasn’t wearing these, is an important safety factor.
OpenRock App
On the main screen, you can see the current battery levels of each earbud and the case. However, the battery levels of the case aren’t displayed in real time because the connection is only between the earbuds and your phone. Therefore, when the earbuds are returned to the case, they receive the updated battery levels from the case and relay this information to your phone when they’re next connected.
Some of us who prefer customising the audio levels of music or podcasts instead of just listening to the default ones are provided with four different audio effects tailored to help you get into the zone, depending on the level of immersion and intensity you’re after.
The first mode is Rock mode, which emphasises deep bass and rhythmic motion audio effects. It aims to reduce exercise fatigue, activate your exercise potential, and enhance the efficiency of your exercise training. In this mode, it’s recommended for various sports like running, cycling, and High-Intensity Interval Training.
The second mode is the Relax Mode, which highlights the three-frequency natural and comfortable sports audio effect. It’s designed to help individuals unwind and alleviate stress. This mode is ideal for exercises like yoga, stretching, meditation, and other low-intensity activities, sports that are often accompanied by soothing and stress-relieving music, such as classical and ambient music.
The third mode, my personal favourite, is Boom Mode. It aims to fully maximise energy by improving sound pressure level. In extremely noisy environments, it provides an astonishing music experience that effectively overcomes background noise interference. Boom Mode enhances music, making it more energetic and powerful, allowing users to stay fully immersed in the music even in a noisy setting.
The fourth mode, is the custom setting, where you can tailor the frequencies to your own personal requirements.
While we’ve primarily focused on safety and sound quality features, OpenRock also takes into account your ear health and hygiene.
The app features a maximum volume limiter that enables users to set their preferred maximum volume based on WHO recommendations for safe volume levels.
Additionally, when you exceed the recommended levels, the app provides suggestions on how long you should listen to audio at those higher volumes.
An over time wear reminder, if you’ve found yourself listening to your audio for hours and hours, and want to subconsciously reduce your time spent with these on, you can set a specified amount of time, up to 4 hours, for you to receive a voice reminder to take a rest from wearing the headphones.
Next is gestures, while the general hands on functions are pretty standard across almost all audio devices, with the single press, double and triple presses, you are able to customise the long press actions on each earbud, from a choice of four actions.
(For simplicity, I’ve currently got each bud set to volume up and volume down).
The other app features that you are able to change are spatial sound, giving you a more immersive sound experience, sound balance, auto power off and voice prompts.
If you do lose one of the earbuds in the near vicinity, there is a find my buds feature which plays a very high pitched sound alerting you to the location of your misplaced earbud. Just be advised, don’t wear these when you do press the find my feature because it’s pretty loud.
Use Cases Beyond Running
While I primarily use these for running, they’re also great for biking, hiking, or even just walking the dog. Anytime you want entertainment without losing awareness, these are a solid pick. They’re also fantastic for casual work environments or when you need to keep an ear on your surroundings.
My Experience: Running with the OpenRock X
I’ve been using the OpenRock X on a few of my recent runs, and I’m thoroughly impressed. These headphones are comfortable, lightweight, and feel almost invisible once you’re wearing them. I even tried the ultimate shake test, and they didn’t bulge at all.
Initially, I was skeptical about the sound quality, mainly because they’re not in-ear or over-the-ear headphones. However, the audio on these is clear and immersive, even in noisy environments.
For me, the most important aspect of audio wear while running is maintaining awareness of my surroundings. Fortunately, I never feel disconnected from my environment, which is a balance that’s hard to find in most earbuds.
Who Should Buy This?
If you’re a runner, cyclist, or outdoor enthusiast who values safety and comfort, the OpenRock X is a good choice. They’re also great for anyone who needs to stay aware of their surroundings, whether you’re commuting, working, or just out for a casual walk.
These earbuds will become a good companion for running and everyday use. They combine safety, comfort, and great sound in one sleek simple package. If you’re in the market for open-ear earbuds, these might be worth checking out.
If you want to see the video version of this article, check out the YouTube link below: