OpenRock X

Verdict

The OpenRock X are solid-sounding, open-ear earbuds that are good fit for all-day wear and workouts that sit well with other similarly priced options.

Introduction

The OpenRock X is the latest attempt from the Oneodio sub-brand to prove it can make a great pair of open-earbuds.

Its previous attempts haven’t been overly impressive as both the OpenRock Pro and OpenRock S churned out lacklustre sound. There’s big talk about the OpenRock X offering theatre-like sound, big bass and great clarity. 

I was hoping the OpenRock X would at very least, be a better match against rival earbuds and not just another pair jumping on the open-ear bandwagon. Thankfully, it’s not the latter.

Availability

The OpenRock X cost £169, so these are by no means budget earbuds. They’re also not the most expensive ones you can buy either.

They come in slightly cheaper than the Shokz OpenFit (£179), which feel like the most similar in terms of style and being earbuds for all-day wear. They also match the price of the Beyerdynamic Verio 200 (£169), which again sits in the same open-ear earbuds category.

They’re pricier than the Anker Soundcore Aerofit Pro (£149.99) and one of my faves, the Shokz OpenFit Air (£119.99) as well as the JBL Soundgear Sense (£99.99). There’s also the very affordable Sivga SO2 (£69.90), which offers great sound and fit for much less.

At the very top end there’s the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (£299), which offers a much more unique and compact design and arguably offers some of the best open-ear sound available.

Design

• Comes in three colours
• Built-in button control
• IPX5 water rating 

The design of the OpenRock X is a slight departure from the OpenRock S and OpenRock Pro and reminds me a lot of the Shokz OpenFit. The earhook frame here feels better balanced than it does on the OpenFit to ensure they stay put and still make it easy to make use of the onboard controls.

You’ve got your pick of black, gold, white and red colours, with the buds section made from plastic and the earhook built from titanium, with silicone used for the area that sits closest to your ear. Each bud weighs 12g, so they’re not the lightest earhook-style earbuds, but they’ve never felt cumbersome or weighed heavy and I’ve had no problem wearing them for longer than an hour of listening.

On the underside of each earbud is a single physical button that you can press to play and pause audio, skip back and forward a track or hold down to adjust volume. The touch controls used on the OpenRock were fiddly, so it’s good to see that the X gets a more reliable set of controls that work well, even when using them for exercise.

The buds store away inside a very sturdy albeit quite blocky case that does keep them well protected in a bag, but isn’t exactly the most pocket-friendly. When you clip the buds into place you’ll be able to spy the small LED on the buds that’ll indicate when they’re charging or turn red, yellow or green to indicate the level of battery you’ve got to play with.

There is a smaller, additional case, that will only hold the buds and not charge them, with a keychain to make it easier to carry around if you’re willing to forgo charging. 

That case charges the buds via USB-C, with a button on the inside of the case present to reset the buds and to use the supported multipoint mode to pair them to another device.

On the durability front, they come with an IPX5 rating, so that makes them suitable to withstand splashes of water as opposed to being fully immersed in it. Think protection against rain and sweat, which they do seem to be fully capable of handling in my testing time.

Features

• 48 hours battery
• App support

It’s definitely worth your time downloading the companion OpenRock phone app (iOS and Android), which along with letting you view the battery status of the buds and the case and use a useful find my bud mode, also offers a handful of EQ presets and a custom EQ option too.

There’s a few sound-centric extras in the app, like the ability to turn on a spatial sound mode for immersive listening when watching videos and films. There’s also a sound balance option to toggle on and off to adjust the balance of sound to go more to the left bud or vice versa. You can also set a limit on the maximum listening volume and set reminders to make sure you’re not wearing them for too long if you’re mindful of protecting your ears.

They do a good job of handling calls as well. It’s largely the same setup as other OpenRock buds with noise cancelling algorithms jumping into action to block out some exterior noise. I wouldn’t say these are the crispest, clearest headphones I’ve used for calls, but I found them more than acceptable to use, even in slightly louder environments.

In terms of battery life, the OpenRock X put in a good performance. Stated battery life is up to 12 hours off a single charge and 48 hours in total with a fully charged case. You’ve also got a fast charge mode that gives you an hour’s listening from a 5-minute charge. They also take 1.5 hours to charge from 0-100%.

I found an hour’s use saw the battery drop by 10%, which works out to around 10 hours. So, not quite the promised 12 hours, but that’s still a good showing and still matches some of the best open-ear earbud performers. You can get 12 hours, but you’d have to be mindful of listening volume to get it.

Sound Quality

• Bright, enjoyable sound
• Good open-ear experience
• EQ presets available in the companion app

As mentioned, I’ve tested other OpenRock earbuds and sound quality has been a bit of a letdown. It’s been fine, but you’d find better sound for the same price, or even less.

Like those other buds the OpenRock X opts for air conduction, so that means using speakers to channel sound towards ears, with its hinged design allowing you to have some control over how close the speakers and 14.2mm drivers sit near the ears. There’s also four microphones with noise cancellation algorithms in play to let you take calls with them.

The overall sound is a big improvement on previous OpenRock buds and brings the OpenRock X more in line with the best-sounding, open-ear earbuds at this price. First and foremost, there’s good power and plenty of volume and that’s largely retained when using them in busier environments.

You’re absolutely not getting the same level of finesse that pricier buds like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds deliver and I’d say they’re not quite as clean-sounding as the similarly priced OpenFit Air, but they’re more balanced than other OpenRock earbuds and certainly less harsh sounding too.

In terms of the EQ presets, the Rock mode is designed to offer deeper bass and delivers that on more up-tempo tracks, all without letting that upping in bass dominate the pretty even and smooth mids performance. The Relax mode is made for easier listening sounds, so on tracks like London Grammar’s Wasting My Young Years or classical sounds like Nigel Kenendy and Vilvaldi: The New Four Season, trebles are pleasingly relaxed and there’s some nice depth and finesse to enjoy. 

The Boom mode is arguably the least impressive of the presets and where it loses some of that more likeable balance. Bass performance bleeds rather than gives you a more likeable punch. You’re actually better off using the Rock mode instead or opting for the custom EQ to get that more balanced bassier sound.

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