WOW! Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (RANKED against the BEST)

[@pickyaudio]

UPDATE: Regarding volume. The Soundcore AeroFit Pro and Aerofit recently received firmware updates improving their low volume. You have the option in the app to turn on a 'Loud Volume' preset. This works well on the AeroFit Pro and they go much louder although still are lstill acking with bass. The AeroFit loud volume preset makes the sound too harsh and isn't really usable.

[@ricoviii1]

Love the sound but the fit is alright

[@Tony-sp3hg]

Can you also review huawei Free Clips against them?

[@xianzfg]

Soundcore Aerofit Pro....hands down the best. Calls on the Bose are terrible. People can hear all the background noise

[@jnturner506]

Great review Picky. Would you mind adding the Huawei Freeclip? These have the same clip-on MO as the Bose, have multipoint, better mics, wireless charging and are 2/3 the price of the grossly over-priced Bose...would be great to see them compared here as well 🙂

[@comal90]

They cannot be used in the US because Huawei was banned here, that is literally the only reason I haven’t bought them because they are way better than the Bose

[@Achuuuuuuuuuuuu]

Came for the bose, left with the Tozo's. ...ok so I was already set on the Tozo's from the last vid. But at ~$85 vs $450-500, it's a damn good 2nd place. Keep up the good fight for the pickiest buds out there mate!

[@Benzo97]

Loved my Tozo's and loving my Ultra Open's. It's also refreshing to see someone reviewing the sound based on different volumes too. Because at 60% or below, they all probably sound decent, but at 70% even my Bose sounds almost unusable, but it's very rare I need to take it past that. I have tried the Shokz and Oladance's but wasn't impressed. Excellent review!

[@alur9160]

Wich sound better the tozo or bose?

[@pickyaudio]

Cheers! Yea open ear sound just isn’t there yet with loud listening.

[@Benzo97]

@@alur9160short answer: Tozo for value (still very comfortable to me) and Bose for best sound and comfort. (Long rambling) In my opinion, whilst I still think it's best to keep your expectations low, I think the Bose definitely sounds a bit better, I even think it can compete against SOME headphones, especially after boosting the bass a little bit in the app and reducing the treble. However, it's only something I might not even notice without A-B testing them both when my Bose's arrived. For the money you really can't go wrong with the Tozo's and they can still be improved in EQ apps like Wavelet (you can't tweak the sound to your liking with Tozo's app, you can only select presets) So the Bose are definitely overpriced but I love the fit and of the 5 open ears I've tried the last coup years it sounds the best so I'll be keeping them. The shape of your ears could even affect the sound because I've seen some reviewers prefer the way Shokz Openfit sound, which to me wasn't as good as the Tozo's. So far I think the only way to tell is to maybe get 2 of the earbuds that you're the most interested in, keep them on as long as you can throughout the day and maybe a long walk with both of them to test the comfort and return the one that isn't worth it. I know that's probably not how return policies are intended, but I remember doing the same before I had the Tozo's midway through last year I couldn't decide between the Oladance OWS 2 or the Shokz Openfit, I couldn't decide which one I preferred as both of them would sound slightly better depending on the track, although now I wish I returned the OWS2 just because it looked less sleek and its case is much worse. Just a month after that the OWS Pro's came for released and I couldn't help it and gave them a go hoping that they would be an improvement, but I returned those after 2 days because low volume listening on those was pretty bad (especially in quieter environments) and didn't really sound any better as my previous pairs. I really wish the Tozo's got released earlier because if those were my first pairs, I wouldn't returned my Shokz and OWS 2's in a heartbeat. Sorry for the very long reply, it's just something that I've noticed as these kinds of earbuds are something I use very regularly based on my lifestyle.

[@_-Z-]

Thank you for another great ranking list, Picky! 👍

[@pickyaudio]

Thanks for tuning in as usual!

[@nusu5331]

Thank you for the epic comparison! Its the most complete and usefull available. Period! I own a couple of them and you nailed it. Besides convenience and long listening comfort the formfactor excells in soundstage-depth and "out of the head" experience. It already happened, that I forgot wearing the Tozos and tried to use the speaker-remote. It would be incredibly usefull if a simple "+/- rating" could be added to the spreadsheet that ranks soundstage depth, height and positioning in 3d space.

[@pickyaudio]

haha that's great and the soundstage is unique with open earbuds for sure!

[@SANQ777]

With the new update I’ve heard that the call quality now improved, wanna retest? I like your style.

[@arokh72]

Glad to see an Aussie reviewer. The price is quite painful, but as someone who wears specs, and Fit Overs, plus a hat, that's a lot of real estate being taken up on top of my ears, add the hook style buds, and I can see the hook style getting uncomfortable. The Ultra Open seem to solve that ear real estate issue. I'm glad they are open enough to hear the world around me, using in ear and ANC is too disorienting for my liking. At my local JB I tried both the UC and Ultra Open, and I started getting ear pain/headache from the UC after only 5min, no such issue with the Ultra Open.

[@pickyaudio]

Cheers! Glad to hear the Ultra Open worked well for you. I still use mine quite a bit

[@randomguy1612]

Great comparisons as always. Thx bro

[@pickyaudio]

No worries, thanks for watching

[@randomguy1612]

@@pickyaudio Btw can you pls compare the JLab Epic Lab Edition to rest of the flagship buds?

[@emma51532]

check the sound please Huawei free clip

[@innocenceo0o]

yes please this one

[@bobr407]

I want to see the freeclip as well

[@Dimitrios_Kapotis]

Me too!!

[@pickyaudio]

I'm keen to it's just a bit tricky getting them in Australia

[@bobr407]

@@pickyaudio I hear ya. Same here is the US…..

[@papadougpapadougsadventures]

The overlying benefit of these , if like me, you wear hearing aids is the fact they will fit with most hearing aid designs. I have both of the other Ultra’s(earbud and over ear) and the only glaring defect is no multipoint. I have seen both of the previous Ultra’s reduced in price by at least $50 so I might pick these up when that happens.

[@pickyaudio]

That's great! Yea Bose said they're adding multipoint but we'll see...

[@Jlkn93]

Thanks for the in-depth review and scoring. Have you tested the Cleer Arc II earbuds? I have them and really like them, but I'm wondering how they compare to the Bose Ultra Open earbuds.

[@plantlover4991]

Do you have Huawei Freeclip? Wondering how Bose Ultra Open compared to Huawei Freeclip.

[@pickyaudio]

I’m keen to test them, it’s just tricky in Aus

[@RickvS90]

I think price should also be a factor of your spreadsheet. If that was the case then de Tozo Open Buds would be on top. Since it's 5 to 6 times cheaper than the Bose Ultra Open and cheaper than the others in the top 3. Love your videos, thanks for them, very useful!

[@joelsharrock7732]

Thanks again for the video! Btw the latest firmware for Shokz open fit was to apparently fix the distortion issue, not sure if it’s worked or not as I tend not to listen to base heavy music

[@pickyaudio]

Cheers! I had a suspicion the latest firmware improved it. It’s still there but I am noticing much less than when I first reviewed them

[@Benzo97]

I can confirm that it has definitely improved. It's still there but the amount of songs you can listen to without getting that rattle sound in the drivers is definitely higher

[@stephanessammah141]

Sennheiser momentum true wireless 4 are releasing next week, do you have any plans to review them anytime soon? Would especially like to see a comparison between the new TW4 and the sony wf-1000xm5, since the overall scores on the momentum TW3 vs wf-1000xm5 were very close!

[@gtbigdog3507]

I’ve heard that the case is still large

[@pickyaudio]

Yep I'll be getting them march 1st

[@asan1050]

Thanks for posting this video.

[@pickyaudio]

No worries!

[@wifeocaster]

I have never heard the hiss or static on bose ultra open when starting to play.

[@pickyaudio]

Interesting, it could be a manufacturing issue. Some people are more sensitive to different types of white noise as well

[@borowatz]

Nice review! Any chance you'll do Huawei freeclip, so we can compare them to these? Thanks

[@Muiscfromthealps]

Left out buds live?

[@icecave89]

Been using the SHOKZ OpenFit for a while/Great stuff, Ordered the TOZO Open Buds because of the Adjustment ability and price. BOSE can calm down IMHO. 😎

[@Mdogbrown]

What are your thoughts on tozo compared to shokz?

[@icecave89]

@@Mdogbrown TOZO, good idea /nice price, no where near as usable and comfortable as the SHOKZ on a daily basis.

[@Mdogbrown]

@@icecave89 good idea? How do they sound compared to shokz?

[@icecave89]

@@Mdogbrown I'm not an audio nut, about the same. I generally use the SHOKZ for KZbin at my desk, and head phones if I wish to chill with music.

[@itomerco]

Awesome review! I'd love to know how the new Beyerdynamic Verio 200 compares with the Shokz OpenFit and Soundcore AeroFit Pro. Thanks.

[@STR82DVD]

My Openrock X just shipped. Have you heard anything about these lad? I've not heard anything from any reviews as none exist so I ordered based on my previous purchase of the Openrock Pro and honestly, faith.

[@harrisonevans1802]

Will you test the huawei freeclip?

[@pickyaudio]

I'd like to!

[@biphillips20]

Question for you. I have pretty extreme cauliflower ear and regular ear buds don’t work for me. Does the tip fit pretty flat in your ear?

[@Geralt0Rivia]

great review

[@pickyaudio]

Thanks!

[@c2c0s9]

I have bose ultra and shokz open, for calling, shokz win. for listening music I guess bose is the better. Considering the prices, Shokz is the one which you will like. Although Bose is looking nice, but it's calling sound quality is low then expected. (Listener told me my talks sound with big echoes)

[@ellak.2133]

such an amazing review thank you so much! I am curious about the static white noise - I've been hearing it too, it stops when I stop playing something but is this a software or hardware bug? can updates in the future "fix" this? Honestly, I really want an all day comfortable headphone/earbud that I can hear the outside world too - I use Powerbeats Pro for working out (amazing bass quality for such a small thing but everytime I put it on I pray it will work! but its the only earbud that doesn't "fall" of my ear (this was until I bought the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds!), Bose QC35 for whenever I want to get lost in my music/streaming (love the comfort, wish it had better bass) but I've been wanting a pair of earbuds that lets me hear the outside and also whatever I want to hear. The first introduction I had to this type of thing was Bose's wearable frames, I loved the idea and the feeling - frankly the only downside was that I couldn't wear them on zoom meetings with "open" camera... Long story short, I fell in love with AirPods Max for its transparency mode: it's so good (I tried It a few times my friend has one) BUT it's super heavy so definitely not "comfortable"... I've been loving the Bose Open Earbuds so far, but I'm watching the reviews to see the whole picture ( I have 80 days to return it, that is If I want to return it), and one disappointing part is the "microphone" quality - I didn't get to try it myself yet but It doesn't seem to be very good... you mentioned the multi-point connection is software fixable but are the other issues software fixable or no? like would the microphone get better, the white noise issue be fixed with updates? thank you so much!!!

[@frozensquid9301]

could you test Samsung galaxy buds FE? I've heard it's a good budget option in general

[@pickyaudio]

I have been testing them and I'll have them featured in a comparison video soon

[@frozensquid9301]

@@pickyaudio Thank you 🙏 I wanted to buy any of the Soundcore models but it's double the price in my country for some reason so I'm looking for an alternative.

[@andrewdubose9968]

These arrived earlier today. Until now, I had *never* been able to find a pair of earbuds that are comfortable, fit well, and stay put. Are they worth the money? For me, yes. They’re not inexpensive, but definitely justified. For most people? No. If you’re specifically set on an open wireless earbud, yes. If you want something for everyday use, I would definitely recommend these if they were at a $199 price point.

[@jasonMB999]

Now you don't even talk about the aerofit pro anymore. The tozo was out since a long time ago, did you just recently discover it?

[@gtbigdog3507]

I love the Tozo open buds. I use them more than any of the 20 earbuds that I have. Ya I know I have a problem

[@jasonMB999]

@@gtbigdog3507 you have aerofit pro?

[@pickyaudio]

Yea they’re just getting overshadowed by the newer buds.

[@Emre-nl8df]

I'm confused. Which one is better in terms of sound quality? Im usually listen to rock and metal and im love high volume. bose qc 2, beats studio buds plus, nothing ear 2, jabra elite 10, liberty 4.

[@pickyaudio]

I love rock and metal. I'd go for the Elite 10 personally out of all of those buds

[@Emre-nl8df]

@@pickyaudio thank for reply. Good listening to you.

[@JT-ol5xo]

I bought the Shokz and really enjoying them. Forgot I was wearing them since they are so comfortable. Plus being $120 cheaper, I can wait for the Bose to improve and be worth the cost.

[@wollaminfaetter]

How come nobody ever compares to Sony Linkbuds?

[@le-berry]

Tried the Bose and must say they almost worked for me (the volume was that low I needed to push them a bit to the front to get the optimal sound.... I don't understand there are no adjustments rubbers because I cut to layers of felt and the fit perfectly and sound perfect.

[@mrmeeks222]

@pickyaudio I picked these up a few days ago as my old powerbeats finally fell apart. I love the comfort and fit of these however i find the sound quality lacking (expected). I wanted the QC Ultras but they dont stay in my ear, what do you recommend as the best sounding earbud with maximum security in the ear? Great review!

[@Toruk_Makto]

I've been checking out some reviews to decide which earbuds to buy because my JBL Live Pro 2 just died. I noticed that there were no JBL earbuds featured in the videos I watched. Is there a specific reason for that? Is JBL not widely available in Australia?

[@tzechZ4]

I bought the aerofit pro and bose ultra at the same time. I had ti return the bose, I wanted to like them so bad but that clip bruised my ears after 2 hours, like dark purple bruised. It looks cool but without wireless charge and half thr battery if the aerodit pro thr choice was made for me

[@pickyaudio]

Damn that’s sucks! Do you have large ears, I’m surprised it caused bruising!

[@香噴噴-p6f]

for me i would return the aerofit pro because the volume level is too low , i dont mind getting bruised as long as nothing happen with my ear canal , the fatigue and irritating haunts me for months

[@Dllmartins]

Thanks. Will stick to my oladance pro. This design was really great but. For the price,. Sound quality was the biggest priority for me

[@i0wa]

Loved my shokz been using it for a while but my 2 yo. son submerged the earbuds and case in a glass of water and now the case doesn’t charge. 😩Just ordered the Tozo’s hope it doesn’t disappoint. 😊

[@Mdogbrown]

What are your thoughts on tozo?

[@香噴噴-p6f]

i also found that aero fit pro has really low sound level , although it's idea is made for surrounding awareness but most ppl would like to use it whenever at home or office , they should have release a firmware to improve this

[@pickyaudio]

Yes they did release an update improving the low volume. It works well on the Aerofit pro but poorly on the aerofit. I just realised my volume ranking in this video is incorrect thanks for the heads up

[@香噴噴-p6f]

@udioi dont think your volume ranking has any incorrect though , the aerofit pro still only a tad better than aerofit from what i tested ( latest update ) , i never try out the S50 but shokz openfit is way louder than aerofit pro for sure, the loud volume preset is not solving anything , it sounds too harsh basically there's no quality at all and it even worst than any 20 bucks' sound quality

[@yaqoobparacha5781]

Need review of Redmi buds 5 pro

[@dephia]

Do anyone can fix the bug of Bose ultra open : verry low volumn calls

[@GDavidRLopez]

Please try JBL model

[@szymvss]

picky please test xiaomi buds 5 pro. I'm going to buy earbuds with ANC and good sound quality. I have my eye on the above Xiaomi, Huawei Freebuds 5i and Soundpeats Air4 Pro ps. I had soundpeats engine 4 but they broke. Regards

[@nongroupthought5076]

I am amazed you didn't test HUAWEI Free clip!!! Much better than all the product

[@wafiq1958]

these look really interesting, but tbh I'm waiting for a linkbuds s successor if sony ever decides to make another one

[@tamagodonald7149]

can you test out the kinda old but still value for money Redmi buds 4 pro? in my country it retails at 48$ USD kinda a steal and a good ANC as well

[@pabloao1919]

Hi, thank you so much for your videos. Can u make a video about Huawei freeclip? I heard it's so good, but I would like to see the opinion from an expert!

[@Unlucky1776]

These open ears are awesome but theyre all way oit of my budget rn. Probably great buds but for rn im too broke for them lol

[@pickyaudio]

Yea fair enough the tech is still quite new, I'm keen to see some budget options come out soon though!

[@akshitjain3947]

Try oppo enco x2

[@SlipScope]

Definitely had connection problems with bose earbuds too, had to return them as not worth it at that price, felt like they were some cheap sweatshop earbuds

[@shyruti]

Does the sound bleed to the person sleeping next to you? Asking for the baby.

[@pickyaudio]

Yea they all do it will be more noticeable past roughly 50% volume

[@rolins3279]

Sound 🔊 is really something very subjective, but you're really the only one who finds these Boses better than most of the open earbuds you've compared them to 🤔

[@pickyaudio]

I mention this in all of my open ear videos. But I have larger ears so most open earbuds don't sit that close to my ear canal which effects the sound quality. Where the Bose QC with their clip on style sit closer. That's probably why

[@rolins3279]

@@pickyaudio OK ok

[@innocenceo0o]

that mic quality is horrible, you barely hear anything, it should have gotten 5

[@pickyaudio]

I'm comparing it to 11 open earbuds. Mic quality isn't great on most pairs

[@ivartheboneless1456]

You get a 5

[@boromcom]

Yeah mine is super bad for call quality

[@ricoviii1]

​@@pickyaudio hey man the Baseus Eli Sport 1 need review on those

[@dariov5288]

Same here love the clarity, great sound quality, but I'm getting frustrated every single day bc of call quality It's absolutely horrible, compared.to openfit It's night and day

[@omiza3416]

Hi l need a recommendation for my needs:) I want a semi in ear with wide sound stage very closed to edifier x2 wich i am using now. I love everything on x2 except high frequencies wich are sparky and annoying, bass is perfect to be considered :). Please give me some options i will appreciate it. Thank you!

[@bienvenidobatista9774]

I bought these headphones and had to return them to the store, they are garbage and they don't cost 300 dollars.

[@Foun_D_OnePiece]

He never showed any headphones.

[@Danarchy3]

And they do cost $300

[@terriea928]

I returned mine for when on a phone call no one could hear/understand me and vice versa. Unacceptable.....

[@pickyaudio]

Yea the mic quality is not great. Did you update your pair to the latest firmware. That may have improved it

[@terriea928]

@pickyaudio Thank you, yes I did up-date and there was no difference - Very Disappointing.

[@stevej4328]

Just received the Shokz Openfit today and the sound is crap! Couldn’t believe how poor it was and the bass boost on the EQ is horribly distorted. I came from Bose Soundsports and the difference is astounding

[@lukesmith1204]

I like your beard

[@bobbyblade1423]

The sound sucked and was a deal breaker for me. My Shockz Open Fit were louder. And the call quality sucked. Background noise was out of control.

[@redman4419]

If i close my eyes its lime alex volkanovski giving revieuws 🤣🤣

[@steffenneuhaus3397]

The huawei are better than the bose.

[@lider4u]

Hello, I'm an audiobook listener and don't listen to music, so I always use only one earbud. For me, the MOST IMPORTANT feature is not comfort, not sound quality, but the ability to fully control the earbuds using only one of them when the other is in its case. This means volume control, power on/off, and possibly noise canceling must be possible on each individual earbud. Do you know of any Open Earbuds that work this way?

[@gabiaito]

The mic it's so bad sounds like 10 dollar earbuds👎

[@MILSIM530]

Bad review, the boss are shit, specially for calls outside, with wind, in uk, which always I have to take them off and use the phone, because people always complain, just shit lol I have the new Huawei freeclip no issues perfect even sound is better ..... some people if they are paying more they assume better lol they tell them self that

[@darrylberndt4242]

The bose ultra open earbuds have disgraceful mic quality and definitely not worth the money

[@SibTiger33]

Awful earbuds