We review the earring-friendly Shokz OpenDots headphones

While I've waxed lyrical about my deep love for noise-cancelling headphones, they're not always convenient.

Sometimes you need to be situationally aware. Whether it's out in the world with traffic and cyclists, or in the office with your team chatting to you, it's nice to be able to get the best of both worlds.

However, I'm picky about 'earbud' designs:

• I don't like AirPods – they have a weird fit and fall out too easily
• I don't like in-ear designs – they make me feel like I'm underwater, and pushing them into my ear canal usually activates a touch control I didn't mean to
• I don't like anything too hard that irritates my ears

So, I wasn't too sure how I'd feel about the Shokz OpenDots ONE Open Ear Headphones, but I was intrigued by their design and ready to give them a go.

Meet the Shokz OpenDots ONE Open Ear Headphones

$339 on Amazon

The Shokz OpenDots ONE Open Ear Headphones sort of 'clip' onto your ear. The bud sits in a position that hovers over your ear canal without entering it. The silicone band then wraps around the edge of your ear and is held in place by the small, cylindrical part that sits behind the ear.

They weigh just 6.5 grams, and their silicone design makes them ultra-comfy. It's easy to forget you're wearing them, given just how lightweight they are and how securely they fit.

Despite their compact design, they offer excellent audio quality, which is probably their most enticing feature.

Sound quality

They feature Dolby Audio for proper, immersive sound, plus a dual-driver system that promotes powerful bass. The music is clear, not tinny like with some open-ear sets. So, you can hear your music or podcast as clearly as you can hear the things around you.

While I like to drown out the sound of my ragged breathing when exercising, I can imagine these would be ideal for running outdoors, as so many of the Shokz designs are. Remaining situationally aware is essential when encountering roads, vehicles and other people, as we found in our review of the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Bone Conduction Sports Headphones.

Controls

While these headphones are tiny, they still have touch controls.

I had to set these up in the accompanying Shokz app, but they've worked seamlessly ever since. You can play or pause your music by either tapping the silicone band that stretches over your ear twice or pinching the ends of the cylindrical back twice.

These controls also allow you to answer and end calls.

My experience with the Shokz OpenDots headphones

I used the Shokz OpenDots headphones as I do with most headphones: while working.

I'm not into the gym much these days, and I still wear my noise-cancelling headphones when I walk my dog because we mostly avoid roads. So, I wore these at my desk, with my team around me, in an effort to both enjoy music and remain available while I worked. Between listening to deep-focus music, playing my 80s tunes while I organise emails, and taking calls in between, they held up perfectly.

It was a perfect way to get accustomed to the feeling, the sound, and the controls.

While I don't often wear big earrings, it's nice that these sit up above my three piercings and leave them untouched. They also sit just underneath where my glasses end, so that I can wear them without any trouble as well.

While they wrap around the ear, they don't pinch. And since they don't sit inside your ear canal, they don't get earwax on them either (gross, but true).

Are they worth the price?

The Shokz OpenDots ONE Open Ear Headphones aren't cheap, costing $339. However, given how good their sound quality is, I'm not surprised they're in a higher price range.

Many online reviews have compared them to the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which cost $449.95. It seems the Shokz pair have better sound quality and is equal in comfort.

I don't know that I'd have purchased something like the Shokz OpenDots if I weren't writing a review, they're now among my favourite headphones. And as someone who is intensely picky about their headphones, I think they're worth the price.

Our writer was supplied a pair of Shokz OpenDots for the purpose of this review.

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