Customer Reviews for Bose - x Kendra Scott Ultra Open Earbuds - Mother of Pearl
Customer Rating
4
Complementary Earbuds for Bose Lover
on February 27, 2024
Posted by: Kzram
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 month
Very comfortable and cool earbuds! I can easily wear it for more than 3hrs without any issue. I like the design and spatial sound Bose provided. Highly recommend to anyone who does not need noise cancellation, but still wanna go out with a pair of earbuds.
One of the best wireless earbuds I’ve had. I find myself constantly reaching for these. They are so lightweight and comfortable and it makes using them that much more enjoyable no more ears hurting! I also enjoy having the functions on the back of them. 10/10 would recommend to anyone.
I have been using these for the past few weeks and I can’t rave about them enough . I have AirPods , Bose in ear earphones , shokz headphones and I have to say I love these the best. The sound quality is surperb Bose sound and they are so comfortable that I forget that I have them on . The battery life ibefore I have to recharge is so convenient ! If you are looking for quality sound and comfortably all day use … these check all the boxes. They are my favorite everyday use to commute , work out , and just to ru errands. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH !!
These earbuds fit the exact opposite use case of closed/noise canceling earbuds. Being able to go through all my daily tasks and activities with background music while still being able to hear everything around me is a breath of fresh air. The open-ear design really does make a difference since all other earbuds have some degree of passive noise cancellation so listening to music and hearing a friend's voice an all its clarity is a pretty cool experience.
Sound quality is surprisingly very good. I thought having an open-ear design would hinder it's sound quality greatly, but it still sounds very good to me. I usually have these at a lower/medium volume so it's almost like a cafe setting of having music constantly in the background while I talk with friends or coworkers. Once you put these at a louder setting it does lose slightly lose it's privacy, but the details and fullness of the sound really comes through.
The fit and comfort is a bit of a learned experience. Since it 'bands around' your ear rather than going in your ear, you really need to find a comfortable sweet spot. When these are resting all the way down on my ear against my earlobe then I'll start feeling discomfort fairly quickly, but if I move it up on the middle area of my ear then I can leave it there for hours. The comfort at this sweet spot is wonderful because combined with it's weightless feel, most of the time I forget it's there. I tried jogging and playing tennis with these on and it surprisingly stayed on. It took a moment to trust that they weren't going to fall out, but eventually I was able to relax and just enjoy my exercise listening to music and bantering my friends at the same time.
I've been using this product for at least a month now and I love them! The only earbuds I had used before were Apple Airpods, and I rarely used them. I liked being wired because the airpods didn't fit well in my ears, and especially did not fit well when working out--they'd fall out. These earbuds barely moved during an outdoor run, and they sit comfortably in my ears. I love Bose headphones overall, and like the variety of modes with this one, it's like having surround sound when listening to music.
Firstly, this is a great product. I don't like most earbuds because they cause discomfort over time, get earwax on them, etc. The way these sit on your ears is creative and comfortable - I never feel any pain or discomfort at all, no matter how long I wear them, and sometimes I even forget that I AM wearing them! And the unique design doesn't compromise the sound quality (which is excellent).
I like the Immersive Audio setting that these come with - it literally makes it sound like your audio is coming from the real world around you. Sometimes at work I have to check that the audio is coming out of the buds and not directly from my phone! When you turn your head to the side, the audio sounds like it is coming from the direction you were just facing. This is a fun and, well, immersive feature.
The battery life is very good and the charge time is short, so even if I'm listening to music or podcasts all day at work, I can usually get through the day on a single charge or, at most, I'll need to put the buds in their charging case for a few minutes.
They are very reliable - I had a few connection issues early on (like only one earbud would be recognized by my phone) but since then they've been great and I have never gotten frustrated with their connectivity, quality, or performance. One thing to note is that the earbuds don't seem to ever turn 'off' unless they are in their charging case.
A few features are either half-baked or missing. For example, I would really like an audio battery indicator, which my previous pair of Bose earbuds had - I could click a button on one earbud and it would say "Battery 90%" or whatever number. The biggest letdown is that these earbuds have customizable "Modes" and "Shortcuts" that sound amazing but both are actually very limited in how you can use them. From what I can tell, Modes are functionally identical to the Immersive Audio options, literally the only way to customize Modes is choosing which Immersive Audio option you want. Why is this two different settings? Shortcuts had a ton of potential - each earbud has a button and you can customize what they do individually! But there only seem to be four options, which are 1. Cycle Modes, 2. Change Immersive Audio (again, these are functionally the same exact thing since all Modes do is choose which Immersive Audio setting you want), 3. Switch Bluetooth Device, and 4. Access Phone's Voice Assistant. It seems like there were really good ideas here that just weren't developed enough to be super useful compared to earbuds without these features.
One other feature that could be improved is the earbuds' audio control. You can change your volume by tapping then holding either earbud's button, but this makes it difficult to know what volume level you're going to get. How long should I hold it to get the desired volume level? I have no idea, even after a few weeks of using these daily. It would be nice to be able to change the volume in individual increments, which would provide much more control and consistency to the user. I often find it more useful to just pull out my phone and adjust the audio level there.
For people like me who have tinnitus and sleep with earbuds listening to ocean or space or rain soundtracks, be aware that these buds aren't great for side sleepers. The audio only comes through when they're in a very particular position in the ear, which is not a problem whatsoever during normal use but can become an issue when your head is laying on a pillow.
Despite my criticisms, like I said at the start this is a great product. Uniquely comfortable, great sound, great battery life, reliable performance, and easy to get used to - if you're having trouble figuring the best way to get them to sit on your ear, just keep trying and give it a few days! I figured out pretty quickly what works best fornme. Overall I'm happy with the product.
These Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are a great addition to my Bose Earbud collection! I've had a few different sets of earbuds in my time, and I've always come back to my Bose set for the noise cancelling, comfort, range and ease of use, and overall sound depth. Where these new Ultra Open Earbuds add to the market is in the fit, function, and overall music experience. These things are perfect for when you want great sound and still want to hear what's going on around you. In addition, the immersive sound feature is something you have to experience yourself.
Pros: Design: At first glance, I wasn't sure about this design and its ability to stay on your ear, but once I figured out the fit from the instructional videos, I was surprised at how well they stayed attached with the unique fit. I tried everything to get these to fall off. From shaking my head vigorously to jumping up and down. I tried them on my family members too. Once that didn't work, I took them through some group exercise classes and a three mile run. They stayed on perfectly. The different feel does take a little bit of time to get used to as you may feel like they will come off, but they didn't. As an added bonus, I tend to perspire pretty heavily when I work out and the open ear design allowed this to be less of a problem than with the usual closed ear systems (the more you sweat, the more often the earbuds come off; these stayed on the entire time without any adjustments). Immersive Sound: This is where these buds shine. The immersive sound feature turns your listening into a concert like sound experience. When you move, it feels like the sound is following you along. You have to experience it to understand. Uses: Working, exercise, going on a walk, cleaning around the house/yard, you name it, I tried it. They are just a good all around set of earbuds.
Cons: These do have cons, but they are mostly due to things the buds are not designed to do. Noise Cancelling: With the open ear platform, the sound of your environment gets in. These are not designed for noise cancelling, quite the opposite. They are designed for you to hear your environment, and your tunes at the same time. Bass: Again, with the open ear style, you lose some of the driving bass you can expect from a noise cancelling pairing like the Bose Quiet Comfort earbuds. When I want some thump, I turn to my quiet comfort.
All in all, these buds and associated features are an unique set up to enhance a crowded market. The open ear buds are a game changer for letting in the sound, but having the sound travel along with an active user.
Response from bose.comBy Global Customer Service, March 11, 2024
Thank you very much for your review of the Ultra Open Earbuds! I'm delighted that you're happy with the design and sound of the earbuds.
Since you mentioned bass performance, if you're not completely happy with the earbuds' bass response, you can adjust the bass (and the midrange and highs) via the EQ section of the Bose Music app. You can access this from the product control screen.
My new Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are officially my new favorite eay to wirelessly connect to my devices!. They are light as a feather which means I can listen to my devices longer without the ache my other earbuds cause. Listening to music outside and being aware of my surroundings was a balancing act, not anymore. Not only am I able to listen to my play list as I go for my daily run, but the open ear design allows me to still be present and alert to my surroundings. Did I mentioned the amazing sound quality!!! These for me are a win, win!