A big thanks
First of all, i just want to say a huge thank you to the community team for allowing me to get hands on with Nothing Ear (open) before the official release. I’ve been using these for around a week now and i wanted to go over some of my thoughts.
Why have i ignored this product category for so long?
As the title above suggests, i’ve never used a pair of ‘active’ headphones, or even any open style headphones before. The primary reason for this is that i always assumed this category of audio was only for active people, and the thought of runners always popped into my head. I’ve gone this entire time actively avoiding this type of product thinking “well they’re simply not for me”. Having used Ear (open) i now couldn’t disagree more, i’ve been missing out, and im willing to bet a lot of you are too.
Unboxing and first impressions
The case
The actual unboxing experience for Ear (open) is very similar to other products in Nothing’s audio arsenal, a nice white, minimalist box with a glimpse of the product. One satisfying pull tab later and the product slides right out. It was at this point i stopped in my tracks. The design of the case is like nothing i’ve seen before, and it may surprise a lot of you at first to see such a long, flattened out, and smooth clamshell style case. That being said, it fits the design ethos of Nothing, and is instantly recognisable. It’s incredibly sleek, and the smooth, transparent top half reflects, and refracts in some really interesting ways. You’ll also notice the concave part of the case makes a return - as seen on other Ear cases - although this time its a little difficult to spin, in light of its size. For context, the case is almost identical in size to a Google Chromecast TV remote.
Over the past week i have developed some pain points with the case, mostly nit picks. Firstly the shape and size, although easy to get used to, can be a bit much for some to carry around and will almost definitely get scratched up quickly. Secondly, there are a couple of minor quirks; the battery portions - which are the end of the stems - are loose in the case, meaning they hang out when the case is open and held upside down. This also results in them moving around when the lid is closed, creating a sound not too dissimilar to a pack of tic tacs. Thirdly, the pairing button is small and very close to the end of the stems, meaning those with large fingers may find it a bit fiddly. These things are only very minor, but result in something that feels like it doesn’t have the same attention to detail as previous offerings.
The buds
Although i have never personally used a pair of open earphones before - or even seen any in person - i do know generally what they look like. Nothing’s offering with Ear (open) really shakes things up a bit by bringing something new, and quite striking - something they’re very well known for with all of their products. Having used other Ear products before, seeing open was quite familiar but also very new at the same time. The bud is very glossy, almost perfectly circular and flattened, while the stem is strikingly large, especially when compared to previous Ear products. In some ways it feels like a beefed up version of Ear, stuck to a stem. This design is different, it’s quite striking, and bold, but it still very much represents Nothing, and i’ve really come to like it. I guarantee you’ll get looks in public because of the design, but also because its not a product a lot of people are used to, and my advice is to own it. (PS - I really hope these come in black too)
Trying them on for the first time
Due to my lack of knowledge and experience with this product category, there was genuinely a moment where i was unsure of how to correctly place Ear (open) on my ears. It does take a little getting used to but after a few tries i was swiftly putting them on with a kind of twisting motion, which allowed the buds to naturally fall into the perfect position each time. Your experience may differ slightly depending on the size of your ears and the area which i believe is called the concha. For me the bud portion fit just underneath/level with the tragus, while for my wife (who has smaller ears) found that they sat slightly angled above the tragus as they wouldn’t fit completely in the concha area. This did not seem to negatively impact her audio experience, but did result in a slightly different fit.
For those who haven’t used a product like this before, the fit may seem unusual at first, and having used silicone tip in-ear headphones almost exclusively my whole life, it was a strange feeling to have something wrapping around my ear, and to have the bud sit outside the ear canal rather than inside it. After an extended period of use, i have come to really appreciate this type of fit, the comfort level is like nothing else i’ve tried before, to the point where i’ve almost forgotten i’ve been wearing them. This is aided by the fact that they are extremely light and well balanced, and at no point did i feel any weight in a specific area of my ears. This type of fit is also perfect for those who suffer nausea, or experience a claustrophobic sensation when using in-ear silicone tips, as Ear (open) does not fit in this manner, resulting in less discomfort over long periods of time.
So, whats the audio performance like
Indoors/calm and quiet locations
I’ve talked a lot already about the look, feel, and fit of Ear (open) and i’ve spoken a lot about what the experience is like for those who have never experienced a product in this category before, which i believe is important. However, i can imagine the thing on most people’s minds is “whats the audio quality like?”. While im by no means an audiophile, and i struggle with some of the official terminology, i do know what good audio and bad audio sounds like, and i do understand that like art, audio preference can be very subjective.
Due to the nature of Ear (open) i assumed going into this that the audio experience was going to take a hit, i mean ultimately there are genuine physics to consider. That being said, after my first session with Ear (open) i was left incredibly surprised. To set the stage a little bit, my first experience was in a calm environment at home, with little to no external noises to factor in, i would consider this a best case scenario. This resulted in an audio experience that was on par with Nothing’s own Ear (a) and even the flagship offering, Ear (2024), which are highly reviewed as some of the best performing in their price range. This was however, the environment where sound leakage was the most noticable.
The stock sound profile for Ear (open) delivers a very rich, full sounding, and quite bass-y experience, which for me is ideal, as this is the type of sound signature that i would usually go for, and enjoy the most. Fortunately, Ear (open) does integrate with Nothing X and allows the user to customise the sound profile with either the basic, or advanced EQ, to their exact preferences, or even try out new sound profiles that they’ve not considered before, or may have been recommended by another user. I did try a couple of the basic presets, primarily the ‘more bass’ one, but i found this to muffle the vocals and muddy the bass. The stock sound profile set to ‘balanced’ produced a much more accurate, and cleaner result.
*In addition Ear (open) does not support high quality audio codecs such as LDAC and LHDC, only the standard ones. This didn’t have any noticeable impact on performance and audio quality was still very impressive as detailed above. Due to the nature of open earbuds, high quality audio codecs are not essential and likely wont provide any noticeable difference.
Outdoor/Noisy Environments
My next task was to try Ear (open) on my morning walk to work, this was the real test. My walk to work usually consists of a bus ride, a walk through a residential area, a walk past a school, a walk through a quiet park, and a walk past a busy crossroads and underneath a train track. This really was the perfect test as it covered almost every possible type of environment with varying sound levels.
Experiencing the openness of these headphones was really mindblowing at first, espeically since i had never tried a product of this nature before Ear (open). The name is rather fitting as i really was open to the world around me while still enjoying my music and podcasts, it was like having your own personal speaker while still remaining free and alert.
During the calmer portions of the journey, my audio experience was just as enjoyable as previously explained at home. During the more noisy portions of my journey however, was where Ear (open) was really put to the test. Due to the nature of them, and simply physics, noisy environments did drown out my music to an extent, and it was at this point that i felt the max volume (at least up until the volume warning) was just not enough, and i found myself going beyond this to counter the external noise, while still retaining the perfect balance of awareness of the goings on around me.
*In addition the battery life has been solid, and i have not yet had to charge my case. Although my total usage time may be shorter than others, so naturally they last longer. If i was to have one long session, i could easily go 6-8 hours on a charge, + the case battery on top of this, which is excellent.
Not just for fitness/exercise
One thing i really wanted to highlight during this review is the fact that Ear (open) is not just a product for those that are active, which is initialy what i assumed, and is the reason i have ignored this category for so long. Looking back at my experience over the past week really has made me realise what myself, and likely other people, have been missing out on. There are so many other use cases in which Ear (open) is the ideal solution. For me personally the main ones have been; remaining alert while still having a great audio experience, extremely comfort - even after long sessions, no claustrophic or pressure feeling which some may experience with in-ear tip earphones, being able to watch TV or play games late at night without waking anyone up, but also being alert in case my kids wake up. This list will likely grow as time goes on and i really do think if more people give this product a chance, they will realise the potential as well and find use cases unique to them.
If you have any questions at all about the product, please do not hestitate to ask and i’ll be happy to help where i can.
