OneOdio OpenRock Pro Open-Ear Air Conduction Headphones Review – On the Rocky Road To Enlightenment
Like Hyundais of yore, OneOdio and its sub-brands like SuperEq burst onto the scene with a bevy of cheap, cheerful over-ears and buds which, if scarcely SOTA, packed a lot of features and got the job done pretty well. Their foray into a classier neighborhood, the $129 OpenRock certainly look the part, with solid build, high quality plastics and nice-looking silver flourishes.
Haptic and UI on the OpenRock Pro are a bit of a mixed bag—on the one hand, despite their bulk the Pro are very comfortable and adjustable ear hooks provide for stable fit. Likewise, battery life of 19h is outstanding, although the clamnshell charging case (which gives you another 27 hr) is a bit large for pocketability.
On the other hand, the small physical control buttons, which sit under the headset and atop your tragus, are hard to access and somewhat unreliable. Most critically, maximum volume on these is too low, and they get overwhelmed in nosier environments,
The OpenRock Pro present a very V-shaped, warm signature with a prominent low end which misses the lowest octaves but is full-sounding, fast, and very well-sculpted. High end is nicely detailed and unexpectedly sparkly; drums and percussion have some snap. Midrange is the Achilles heel here—it’s recessed and muted, and female vox in particular and a distant, veiled quality. (These would really benefit from EQ, but there’s no app).
Soundstage is narrow—these OpenRock Pro lack the openness of good buds—but quite three dimensional and imaging is capable; you can place performers accurately on the stage. Tonality is actually quite natural-sounding—there’s none of the metallic shrillness of cheap TWS, though again the hollowed-out mids are conspicuous by their absence and preclude a smooth transition between the higher and lower frequencies.
The OpenRock Pro does sound better than any of the bone conduction models I’ve heard—bassier and more-resolving. However, The similar-looking, comparably-priced open-ear Oladance Wearable Stereo is louder, fuller-sounding and more coherent than the Pro, with a much more expansive stage; the OpenRock Pro has tighter bass and the more extended treble. Most folks would find the Oladance to be the much better phone. Likewise, the Samsung Galaxy Live trumps the Pro with a better-balanced tuning and more stereo spread.
There’s much to admire with the OpenRock Pro—build, battery life and bass quality are all class-leading, and they mostly nail the technicalities. However, these needed a little more output and more time in the lab to eliminate that conspicuous midrange dip and to bring vocals forward. I enjoyed auditioning ‘em, but I would not be a buyer at the current SRP. The future bears watching, however—they’re an ambitious gang—and I suspect the next iteration of these will be a real contender.
Disclaimer: review freebie; you can purchase from OneOdio.
Specifications OneOdio Openrock Pro
| Driver: 16.2mm dynamic Audio decoding: aptX, AAC, SBC Frequencyrange:2 0Hz-2 0kHz Waterproof rating: IPX5 Battery life: 1 9 Hrs(headsetonly), 4 6Hrs(withchargingcase), 5-minutechargingfor1-hourofplay Fullchargeduration: 1.5h Chargingport: TypeC Ratedinput:5 V400mA Support: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP Weight: 13 g (single headset), 90 g (complete set) Tested at: $181 |
