I barely even knew open earbuds were a thing a few months ago.  I knew of the existence of bone conduction headphones, such as those from Shokz, but open ear is something I’d never considered.

I tested the extremely affordable Belkin SoundForm ClearFit not long ago and was impressed with the sound quality compared to even the best bone conduction headphones.  The open ear nature of them means that you can still be aware of your environmental sounds, such as cars.

The Soundcore AeroClip open ear earbuds clip onto your ears to deliver a comfortable fit that is easy to obtain without having to wrap parts around your ears, etc.  The open-ring connector allows you to clip the earbuds onto the cartilage surrounding the ear.

The open ear design alleviates in-ear pressure and discomfort caused by in-ear earbuds, allowing music or media to be pumped into your ear canal. At the same time, you remain somewhat aware of your surroundings.

The AeroClip is a new iteration of our C40i’s. In a nutshell, they’re lighter and more comfortable (boasting a 37% smaller acoustic chamber which alleviates in-ear pressure and discomfort), with better AI (4 beamforming mics, wind-blocking meshes, and an advanced AI algorithm ensure the voice is 3× clearer in phone calls).

We received the Midnight AeroClip earbuds from Soundcore, which retail for $199.  They are also available in Champagne Mist and Rosy Brown colours.

Design

The Soundcore AeroClip are possibly the weirdest-looking earbuds I have ever used.  They remind me of a large hardcore goth-style earring and I bet that’s what people thought I had when I was wearing them.

Soundcore calls the design a “flexible, open-ring connector that allows users to easily clip these earbuds onto the cartilage surrounding the ear.”  The ring sits around the outer part of the ear, with the ring section being the tap area that is incredibly easy to locate and use – much easier than other solutions on other earbuds.

They are effectively an open-ear design with a compact acoustic chamber to decrease in-ear pressure and discomfort.  

The rear of the ring is what secures the earbuds to the ear but if it doesn’t fit your ear, there are a couple of sets of ‘ear grips’ to make this slightly bigger to help it fit more snugly to the ear.  I opted for the medium ear grip and it was super comfortable and incredibly secure.  

Overall, the design is relatively simple, and although they look weird, they are possibly the most comfortable and secure earbuds I’ve ever used.  Although they are not wedged into the ear canal like most earbuds try to do to secure them, the simple clip means they can’t be dislodged because that’s the anatomy of the ear.

I have been doing a lot of running on the treadmill at the gym lately (rehab) with interval sprinting sessions and if you can imagine a 93kg man sprinting at full pace on the treadmill, you can imagine the stress I was putting on the fit of these earbuds.  At no time did they even move, become dislodged or require adjustment.  In fact, I forget that I’m wearing them.

The Aeorclip earbuds are also IPX4 water resistant so you can be sure your sweaty head won’t give you any issues with them.

Sound quality

The open-ear nature of these means that you are still semi-aware of your surroundings.  You are not as ‘aware’ as you would be with bone conduction headphones but the sound quality is much better.  There is some bleed of the environmental sounds into your ears – enough to make you aware of cars and other machinery – but you will not hear someone sneaking up on you.

The problem with this is that the annoying doof doof music of the gym does bleed in a bit as well, but this is a compromise – hear most of your surroundings while out and about, while also only having a small amount of gym music be heard over your music.

The sound is apparently improved using AI algorithms to isolate and enhance low frequencies in real-time, boosting bass.  I’m not sure if it makes a difference or not because you cannot turn it off.  We’ll have to take their word for it.

Overall, the sound is quite good, although even with their “AI algorithms,” the bass is still a bit lacking.  This may be because they are small and compact.  When compared with a different set of open earbuds I have the bass was lower but the mid and upper frequencies were crisper and punchier.  

Although the app does allow you to change the equaliser to increase the bass it did not make much difference at all.  

By themselves, they were good with decent loudness and sound quality, so it depends on the style of music you listen to.  If you listen to bass-heavy music, there may be better options available.   

Battery life

Like most earbuds, there is plenty of battery life in these earbuds and the charging case.  Soundcore states that each earbud holds eight hours of playtime at 50% battery life with another 24 hours in the case.  My point here is, who listens at 50% – not I, that’s for sure.

That being said, I had no issues listening for over two hours without the earbuds running out of juice, and the battery in the case hasn’t run out yet either.  Battery life is not an issue with these.

Final thoughts

The Soundcore AeroClip are certainly a different design to most earbuds you see out and about but that doesn’t make them wrong. They are incredibly secure and comfortable and no amount of running managed to dislodge them one iota. The sound is decent without being brilliant, and at the same time, you are aware of your surroundings to some degree.

If you are a runner who wants a set of earbuds that you can use inside the gym without having the gym noise drown out your media while also being able to use them while running outdoors and be able to hear machinery and dangers around you, then these are for you.

The AeroClip earbuds from Soundcore are available in Midnight, Champagne Mist and Rosy Brown colours.  Pre-order now from www.soundcore.com/au, Amazon, and at their store in Chadstone for $199.  Shipping is expected to begin on 15th May.

Those who order before 15th May will receive a free Soundcore Care package (50% off a pair of brand new earbuds if yours are lost or damaged).