Bose Ultra Open Earbuds test: our full opinion –

Gone are the days when headphones were constantly slipping and falling, due to not being properly secured to the ears or because of wires that were too short or tangled. Gone are the days of headphones that irritate the ears. In recent years, in fact with the advent of True Wireless models, current in-ear headphones have been very pleasant to wear. And they have acoustic advantages, since by inserting and sealing the ear canal, they eliminate frequency leaks and bring the sound closer to the eardrum. The icing on the cake, with active noise reduction technology, the intras place the listener in a bubble of calm, which benefits music listening.

However, Bose with the Ultra Open Earbuds takes a surprising side step. These clip-on earphones leave the ear canal completely free and attach to the ear by pinching it on either side of the pinna. In short, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are small speakers installed at the edge of the ear and which broadcast sound indirectly towards the ear canal. This is not without consequences.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Technical sheet

This test was carried out with headphones loaned by Sennheiser. Their firmware has been updated to version 5.3.5.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Exceptional comfort

Atypical in their operation, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are also atypical in their design. These headphones are intriguing with their lines which seem inspired by the snail or the seahorse, or even an improbable ship from the Star Wars universe. We observe two sections, one L-shaped integrating the acoustic transducer, which is installed on the interior face of the pinna of the ear, and the other, cylindrical, which presses the rear of the pinna and encloses the electronics. This last part is also covered with an adherent silicone and accommodates a control button. These two sections are connected by a silicone-coated spring connector.

First observation when putting on the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, it does not go as quickly as with in-ear headphones. It is not uncommon to have to put on one earphone after the other with great effort, or even to use both hands. Once in place, the headphones are very pleasant to wear and we sometimes forget about them completely. On several occasions I had to keep them in my ears when I was no longer listening to music, then realize they were there when I put on glasses. However, Bose has, in all likelihood, anticipated this eventuality and wearing glasses or a hat is not a problem with these headphones.

Second observation, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are light and securely attached to the ears. No risk of them falling, even while playing sports. They are also IPX4 certified and resistant to splashing water. Third important note, the sound signature of the headphones varies depending on where they are placed. Very close to the earlobe, high frequencies are more audible. Higher up, they are less bright. Be careful not to interchange the headphones, because if this has no impact in terms of comfort, the acoustic performance will then be degraded.

The storage case is compact, lightweight and equipped with a button on the back to initiate earphone pairing. It’s a shame that the hinge is so small, because it seems fragile. The USB-C charging port is housed under the case.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Some malfunctions

The control button on each earbud can be used to pause or resume music playback with a single press. A double press skips to the next music title, while a triple press goes to the previous one. Additionally, a short press followed by a long press adjusts the listening volume, down with the left earbud and up with the right.

A long press on the button on the left or right earbud allows, by default, to switch between listening modes, activate immersive sound, change connected devices or invoke the smartphone voice assistant. Only two of these functions can be used at a time and you must define which ones you want in the Bose Music application.

Immersive sound that does not convince

Immersive sound is very often a marketing argument to lure the customer. It’s not Apple who wants and, without support for the immersive audio format Dolby Atmos, it is almost impossible to create an immersive soundstage from simple stereo music. Denon achieved this with the PerL Pro and Dirac technology, but what the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds offer doesn’t come close at all. So, when you activate immersive sound, the soundstage widens a little, but moves further away and you lose… immersion. Unsurprisingly, the immersive mode with active head movement tracking doesn’t add much. Beyond that, offering an immersive audio mode with headphones that let you hear all the noise around you doesn’t make much sense.

Under these conditions and in the absence of an active noise reduction system, the Listening mode function offered in the app is not of much interest, because it is limited to offering to activate the immersive mode depending on the location where we are or the activity we are doing. However, as we have just seen, this sound improvement does not do much and distorts the music a little more.

Equalizer causes distortion

Another downside is that the three-band EQ and EQ profiles built into the Bose Music app don’t do what they promise. The reinforcement of low frequencies is very insufficient and also generates mechanical noise, even without headphones at high volume. The distortion is particularly audible on songs rich in bass impacts.

Single point Bluetooth, but stable

As is often the case with Bose, management of the multipoint Bluetooth connection protocol is not supported. You must therefore disconnect from one device to listen to music with another. The radio connection is solid and I have not experienced any interruption through a thin partition or a wooden floor. Audio latency is noticeable in video games, with the sound arriving later than the image. No problem, however, when playing films or series. On the Bluetooth audio codec side, only universal SBC transmission is supported.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds A big lack of balance

Predictably, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds audio performance is poor. Listening to music is never pleasant. There are two very specific reasons for this. First of all, the excessive withdrawal of low frequencies, which unbalances the signature and allows you to hear practically only the middle sounds and even more the highs. Thus, the drums or the bass guitar never have the slightest consistency. Under no circumstances can these headphones produce the tonal balance of headphones positioned in front of or in the ear canal; in fact, serious sounds escape and only a tiny quantity reaches the eardrums.

The tonal balance of the headphones is thus very unbalanced and we mainly hear medium and high sounds. And again, their reproduction is very uneven, with high frequencies very forward. Listening to music in these conditions is unpleasant: how can you appreciate that an acoustic guitar plays louder than a drum kit? Of course, the Bose app offers an equalizer, but it doesn’t do anything. Even if we push the low frequency key as much as possible and reduce the high frequency key as much as possible, the imbalance remains obvious. Worse, certain bass sounds are then distorted.

The response curve is eloquent, the midrange is at least 30 dB behind the high register. It’s enormous: only 6 dB of difference is enough between two registers to give the impression of a doubling of sound intensity. Beyond that, the extension drops inexorably below 200 Hz and the deep bass (around 60 Hz and lower) is imperceptible to the ear. Even by equalizing (dashed curve), nothing changes at the bottom of the spectrum. The high register is therefore excessively forward and, moreover, very uneven. Such a scale is not suitable for listening to music and at most allows you to follow a podcast or a tutorial on Instagram or YouTube. Small consolation, the mid and high frequencies are fluid and free of acidity.

Dynamic behavior and soundstage

Paradoxically, the transducers chosen by Bose are powerful and efficient. It’s simply the format of the headphones that poses a problem. The mid and high sounds, although too present, are rather dynamic. In fact, the soundstage is wide and deep.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Calls possible in a quiet environment

Can Bose Ultra Open Earbuds be preferred over a smartphone for making phone calls? Here again, the atypical format of the headphones and the fact that the ear canal remains completely open poses a problem. In fact, all surrounding noises disturb the user during the call.

In a quiet environment, this is not a problem, but in the street or on public transport, it is difficult to hear the person you are talking to clearly, especially since the maximum volume is lower than most competing headphones. Conversely, the interlocutor benefits from good quality sound, since surrounding noise is filtered and partially removed.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds High autonomy

Nearly 7 hours of battery life, that’s the manufacturer’s promise. It holds, since I measured 6h50 despite reinforcement of low frequencies and at 50% of the volume of my iPhone. It takes a good hour for the storage box to recharge the batteries, which it can do a little more than twice. It will need a 2 hour charge to replenish its own battery.

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Price and release date

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are available in black or white at a price of 349.95 euros. Their direct competitors are the Huawei FreeClip or the Shokz OpenFit, which have the same acoustic defects, but are offered at a lower price.