Nothing Ear (Open)

Over the past several months, the Nothing Ear (Open) have quickly become my favorite pair of earbuds thanks to their comfortable fit and ability to deliver excellent audio quality without blocking out the world around me. But the problem with open-ear headphones is that they’re only ever a secondary option, so price matters. That’s why this $80 alternative to the Nothing Ear (Open) has been so compelling.

Truly wireless earbuds are basically a commodity at this point. You can find options at any price point that sound decent and work well enough. But many of those don’t last, or have some random, deal-breaking flaw. Finding the “right” pair has often ended up costing hundreds of dollars, and even then, there can still be big problems at play. Over the past few months, though, I’ve been using the earbuds that have cracked the formula – Nothing Ear, Ear (a), and Ear (open) – and I don’t think there’s any point in searching further when these exist.

Open-ear headphones have always been alluring to me, but it’s an idea that’s hard to pull off in a pair of earbuds. With the new Nothing Ear (open), though, I’m remarkably impressed with their design and sound quality.