Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsBuy more expensive ones
Reviewed in Australia on 25 June 2023
I've got weird and very sensitive ears. I was born with extra cartilage on both ears that had to be surgically removed, but back then the doctors didn't put much effort into making my ears as normal as possible. So I still have little bits of cartilage inside my outer ear sticking out. It's not very obvious but it makes it nearly impossible for me to find headphones that wouldn't hurt my ears. Earbuds don't stay in and they make my ears hurt. Proper big over-ear headphones also create pressure on my ears and hurt. The only ones that have worked for me were the Jaybird Freedom Bluetooth headphones because they're super slim. But they have been long discontinued. And even with them, I would have to push them deep into my ear, so they stay in, and that would create some paint over time, plus probably hearing damage. So I was at a loss.
I looked at bone-conducting headphones but I don't like how they go around your head, plus some people say that they put pressure on the skull and start hurting too.
Then I saw several Open Ear Headphones, the more expensive ones being by Oladance and among the cheaper ones - Truefree. Not wanting to spend almost $200 on something I didn't know would be comfortable, I decided to try the cheaper ones first. I went for the Truefree Open Ear headphones because they had decent reviews, albeit not many. The day I got them, after a few hours of use, I decided to return them, and here is why:
- The battery went down very rapidly
- As soon as the battery was low (there's no way to know how low), the connection started cutting out, constantly, and the sound became very distorted.
- When fully charged, the sound is OK but kind of muffled, far from crystal clear.
- There is no app where you could see how much charge they've got left and no equalizer.
- The buds are not very sensitive to the touch and need repeated tapping to react. That - again - hurts my ears.
- But: They are light and comfortable and don't fall off. They can be connected to 2 devices at the same time.
Since this type of headphones turned out to be the most comfortable on my ears, I decided to invest in the more expensive Oladance headphones and return the Truefree. You can read my review on Oladance under that listing.