Tag Archives: Open Earbuds

ASUS ROG’s First Open-Ear Earbuds: Hear the Game and the Room

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Gaming earbuds have long operated on an unspoken assumption: that total audio immersion requires cutting yourself off from the world around you. Sealed tips, passive isolation, the whole sensory cocoon. The ROG Cetra Open Wireless throws that logic out entirely, producing a pair of gaming earbuds that wants you to hear both the firefight and the person calling your name from the other room.

The open-ear design rests outside the ear canal rather than sealing into it, sitting against the outer ear with liquid silicone hooks that wrap around the back. It is the same air conduction approach used in sports earbuds, where hearing your environment is a feature rather than a flaw. The difference here is that ROG has tuned the hardware around gaming, not just fitness, which changes both the driver choice and the connectivity options.

Designer: ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG)

Each earbud is built around a 14.2mm diamond-like carbon-coated diaphragm driver. DLC coatings are favored in higher-end audio hardware because the material’s rigidity resists deformation at high frequencies, resulting in cleaner transient response and lower distortion. Open-ear designs lose low-end naturally from air leakage, so ROG included Phantom Bass, a perceptual processing mode that restores the sense of low-frequency weight without sealing the canal.

The connectivity is where the gaming identity becomes explicit. Bluetooth 6 handles general pairing, but the included USB-C 2.4GHz dongle, running ROG’s SpeedNova technology, delivers latency 6 times lower than Bluetooth mode. That difference is meaningful in competitive play where audio sync affects reaction timing. The dongle also supports one-way passthrough charging, keeping a phone powered while the low-latency connection stays active.

Communication gets its own dedicated hardware: four MEMS microphones arranged for beamforming pickup, with AI noise cancellation suppressing ambient sound in real time. ROG’s testing, conducted by PAL Acoustic Technology, a Microsoft-certified third-party lab, puts the MOS-LQO voice quality score at 4.1, clearing the Microsoft Teams certification threshold of 3.9. For earbuds worn during commutes or at the gym, that score carries practical weight.

Battery life is rated at 16 hours per charge in Bluetooth mode, with the charging case adding 48 hours more, bringing the combined total to 64 hours. A 15-minute charge delivers 3 hours of playback. Physical buttons handle on-device control rather than touch surfaces, which stay reliable in sweaty or wet conditions. EQ profiles, button mappings, and lighting are all adjustable through Gear Link, a browser-based tool that needs no software installation.

The ROG Cetra Open Wireless is priced at $229.99 and available through the ASUS eStore, Amazon, Micro Center, and Newegg. For gaming earbuds that pull off the unusual trick of staying useful to a competitive mobile gamer and to someone who simply cannot afford to be sonically sealed off from their surroundings, it makes a harder argument against itself than the open-ear format usually does.

The post ASUS ROG’s First Open-Ear Earbuds: Hear the Game and the Room first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sony unveils LinkBuds Clip open-ear earbuds in peppy colors

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Open earbuds are the fastest-growing segment of the headphone market, but long before they gained popularity, Sony initially introduced the concept to the market. From their first ever iteration, this style of earbuds has graduated into earhook and clip-style designs. When LinkBuds were first released in 2022, they came in a peculiar design with an ear hook and a circular housing that lets in ambient noises.

After the LinkBuds Open were released in 2024, Sony has now introduced the LinkBuds Clip, featuring an always-clip-on design similar to the Bose Open Earbuds, Edifier LolliClip, Shokz OpenDots One, and the JVC Nearphones. These new flagship earbuds improve on the previous open ear version in every aspect, making them a great choice for people who want situational awareness of their surroundings without any degradation in music quality.

Designer: Sony

Targeted towards active lifestyle users, the buds don’t block the ear canals to hear conversations better, and are ergonomically designed for all-day long wear comfort. The Japanese consumer electronics giant is positioning them as a flagship option for music lovers who are worried about losing their pricy pair of buds during workouts, sporting activities, or adventurous escapades. IPX4 splash-proof rated LinkBuds Clip have a glossy finish with a C-bad connecting the two contoured stems that rest on either side of the ear. While I’m not a big fan of the glossy finish on these, the design looks reassuring, and the buds won’t fall out even after rigorous activity.

The flexibility of adjusting the positioning of the buds depending on the comfort and desired audio output makes the pair recommendable. You can go for a closer proximity to the ear canal for a better sound signature with noticeably more bass, or have a laid-back setup that promotes comfort and consequently a more open input of the ambient noises around. The case of these open-ear earbuds is more or less the same as the LinkBuds Open and Fit, but it doesn’t support wireless charging, which is a bit of a disappointment.

As per independent reviewers who have spent time with the LinkBuds Clip, the touch controls on these are not as good as other Open ear options. The taps can be a miss at times or trigger unwanted action. That said, it is the issue with most touch control earbuds, and for people like me who love physical controls, the features can be a bit of a miss. The sound signature on the LinkBuds Clip is balanced when ideally placed in the ear openings. However, it will be interesting to see how they compare to the next version of Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (released back in early 2024), which are speculated to come out this year.

Battery life on the buds is typically hours that extends to 37 hours with the charging case. The clip-ons have three listening modes: Standard mode for more immersive sound with a lot of detail and clear vocals, Voice Boost mode for listening to the other person in crowded spaces, and the Sound Leakage Reduction mode for lesser disturbance to people in the vicinity.  LinkBuds Clip can be bought right away for $230 in peppy color options like black, greige, green, and lavender. The case covers and fitting cushions in coral green, blue, lavender, and black can be added on for $25 each.

The post Sony unveils LinkBuds Clip open-ear earbuds in peppy colors first appeared on Yanko Design.