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SHOKZ OPENDOTS ONE - great for sensitive ears!

amper42

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2020
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I had a chance to try the SHOKZ OPENDOTS ONE open ear headphones. I have tried lots of different ear buds and headphones. It doesn't take long for my ears to feel fatigue from their use. For me, in ear buds rated well on ASR become uncomfortable rather quickly, so I wanted to try something different for walks. I have used the iPhone 15 external speaker and it's not too bad. But headphones keep the neighborhood a bit quieter during early mornings. :D

The SHOKZ OPENDOTS ONE open ear headphones offer a nice option for being alert on the road and protecting sensitive ears. I moved a few of my favorite albums to VLC on the iPhone which supports more formats and higher resolution than Apple Music. Next, I paired the OpenDots One to the iPhone and simply clipped them on my ears. Once paired, as soon as the case opens the audio is diverted to the OpenDots One ear buds. While walking I can still hear oncoming vehicles, dogs and people just like using no headphones at all, but they also offer amazingly decent sounding music. Touching the left bud twice controls the VLC start/stop playback and I can adjust volume touching the right side or the iPhone. Not as intuitive as I would like, but it works fine.

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What really impressed me was not only was the music nice sounding and easy on the ears but if I left the iPhone on the kitchen table inside and simply went out in the backyard to clean the pool or trim bushes, the earbuds continued to play while I was over 55 feet away outside. It surprised me that bluetooth offered this kind of range. While these open air buds aren't cheap at $199 they go on sale for $169 and even as low as $150. If you have sensitive ears and prefer loudspeakers to earbuds/headphones as a result, these open air OpenDots One may be worth a try. I enjoy using them for walks and casual listening outside. Their fast charging capability over USB-C is also a nice feature.
 
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I had a chance to try the SHOKZ OPENDOTS ONE open ear headphones. I have tried lots of different ear buds and headphones. It doesn't take long for my ears to feel fatigue from their use. For me, in ear buds rated well on ASR become uncomfortable rather quickly, so I wanted to try something different for walks. I have used the iPhone 15 external speaker and it's not too bad. But headphones keep the neighborhood a bit quieter during early mornings. :D

The SHOKZ OPENDOTS ONE open ear headphones offer a nice option for being alert on the road and protecting sensitive ears. I moved a few of my favorite albums to VLC on the iPhone which supports more formats and higher resolution than Apple Music. Next, I paired the OpenDots One to the iPhone and simply clipped them on my ears. Once paired, as soon as the case opens the audio is diverted to the OpenDots One ear buds. While walking I can still hear oncoming vehicles, dogs and people just like using no headphones at all, but they also offer amazingly decent sounding music. Touching the left bud twice controls the VLC start/stop playback and I can adjust volume touching the right side or the iPhone. Not as intuitive as I would like, but it works fine.

View attachment 484552

What really impressed me was not only was the music nice sounding and easy on the ears but if I left the iPhone on the kitchen table inside and simply went out in the backyard to clean the pool or trim bushes, the earbuds continued to play while I was over 55 feet away outside. It surprised me that bluetooth offered this kind of range and no issue playing 192kHz music. While these open air buds aren't cheap at $199 they go on sale for $169 and even as low as $150. If you have sensitive ears and prefer loudspeakers to earbuds/headphones as a result, these open air OpenDots One may be worth a try. I enjoy using them for walks and casual listening outside. Their fast charging capability over USB-C is also a nice feature.
If you're using Bluetooth from an iPhone it'll be limited to 256 kbps for Bluetooth as you're stuck with AAC for a codec, but it's more than adequate for human hearing .
 
Ordered the Baseus Eli 2i Fit
There was a $6 off coupon at slick deals.com taking the price down to $13.99 plus tax. I can't get the code to work again.
I can't believe how good these sound. They are within 80% of the SHOKZ OPENDOTS sound quality for 10% of the price.

The CONS?
1. The Quick start manual requires a magnifying glass. :D
2. The company website doesn't have the product listed but I found a manual here:
3. The two tap pause doesn't work most of the time.
4. They wouldn't pair until I took them out of the case. Opening the case wasn't enough.
5. They lay on top of the ear instead on the side like SHOKZ OPENDOTS. If you wear glasses possibly more chance they are in the way.
6. Bluetooth range away from iPhone is about 25 feet instead of 60 feet with SHOKZ OPENDOTS. But this really doesn't matter if you keep phone with you.

The PROS?
1. The sound is amazing for a $20 pair of open ear buds.
2. They come with a case albeit cheaper looking than SHOKZ.
3. $20 price for 80% of the $200 SHOKZ OPENDOTS functionality is a fantastic value proposition.
 
If you're using Bluetooth from an iPhone it'll be limited to 256 kbps for Bluetooth as you're stuck with AAC for a codec, but it's more than adequate for human hearing .
Got the Shokz openrun pro 2, they fit perfectly and comfortably without slipping even after several hours, while still allowing you to hear your surroundings clearly. Soundquality is "meh", doesn't matter as I listen to audiobooks most of the time. If you like (especially bass-heavy) music avoid these ...
 
The Baseus Bass BC1 open ear buds went on sale for $20 on amazon with a coupon code from slick deal.net

The sound is not as good as the Baseus Eli 2i Fit to my ears. I used the Baseus app to turn off Bass bump and use the Hi-Fi Live EQ mode. They fit on the sides of ears similar to SHOKZ OPENDOTS ONE. I definitely would suggest playing with the app EQ settings to get the sound right for you. Bluetooth range is about 30 feet.

At higher levels distortion was audible. Switching back to SHOKZ OPENDOTS ONE open ear headphones was audibly cleaner while playing "Sticks and Stones" from Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live album. So maybe we do get something for that extra $100. :cool:
 
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